BEFORE CLICKING PLAY, GO DOWN AND PAUSE THE MEDIA PLAYER!
I loved how much fun the kids had finding all the eggs last weekend! Here is a slideshow of everyone with their finds! I tried to get all the kids, and i'm sorry if I missed anyone, they were moving quickly to get those eggs! I have an album of all the pictures for anyone that wants copies of them! Just let me know, and i'll send you the link to download them!! Thanks again to everyone, all our gifts for Fionn were wonderful!
Yep, Gestational Diabeties! Augh! There are no other words for it. I know it's temporary and people live with and fight this disease daily, but i just feel so let down i guess is the right word. I was just hoping and praying the this pregnancy would be easier, that I could enjoy it a little more.
With Maggie I had so many complications and I was so scared that I literally cried everyday. It seemed like the longest 37 weeks of my life. The minute i held her, it was all justified. Every miserable point that i had in my pregnancy was all worth it. I know most moms can tell you that it's not easy having a baby, that labor is horrible, but that they honestly can't remember how painful it was, because it all went away as soon as they touched or looked at their child. I laughed at all those women, thought, yeah right, laughed at the ones that said they never knew what love really was until the moment they met their child. Then I had Maggie. What a glorious Lord we have, to give us such gifts. What clarity comes in those first few moments with your child. Everything in the world makes sense suddenly...
Here comes the emotions again, I'm sure it's the pregnancy hormones, but as I sit here looking down at my crooked belly(he's in a weird position)it's sad to think that this is it, my last baby. I always said that I was done after I had Maggie, but God had other plans. He let me know once again, he had other plans for me. And what wonderful plans they have been. What a wonderful husband I have, i never thought i would truly be this lucky. And now Fionn! It seems the circle has completed and my life is amazing, and it's barely begun!
So even if this is, or is not, my last baby, I will enjoy this pregnancy to the very last minute. NO matter how uncomfortable, how annoying the testing may seem to be, as long as it keeps him safe it will all be worth it in the end!!
I can't believe my last post was our anniversary, and that was almost a month ago. So much has happened in the last month, it seems the closer we get to Fionn's arrival, the faster the time seems to fly.
We had another sonogram last Thursday and we finally got confirmation(well i got visual confirmation)that he is def. a boy! A big boy at that. He was measuring 3 pounds, 6 oz already(at 29 weeks) The same day as our sonogram I had to do a second three hour glucose test since my last number was high when i took it the first time. It was a long day last Thursday at the hospital, but it was all worth it when we had our sonogram. Fionn is breech right now, and facing my spine, so it's not the most comfortable of positions, but as long as he's okay it's just another minor complication.
We just heard back today from the doctor about the glucose test and it's looking like Gestational Diabetes after all. I'm not sure what all this entails, but get to find out in the morning. My two middle numbers were SUPER high so now i go to the specialist. The first person i see is a dietician tomorrow who will go over a more specific diet that i will have to follow and tell me what all i will have to do to try and control this.
I feel silly asking for prayer, but i could use some on this matter. My grandfather had diabetes and i watched him almost daily as a kid checking his levels and giving himself a shot and it slighly traumatized me. I hated needles and the click of his machine when he pricked his finger scared me to death. I know it's just a mental block and i'll be fine, but it makes my heart race just thinking about it. And i'm not sure how many people know, but i'm already supposed to be checking my blood pressure daily to be on the look out for preclampsia. All fun stuff i know, but as long as it's keeping Fionn safe, then i'll do anything they tell me to. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is just something i can control with diet.
On a lighter, happier note, Greg had a big week as well. He got a call from Robert Morris on Tuesday and now is an Associate Professor there starting this fall. He goes back this fall to start his doctorite and they offered him a position teaching a clinical as well. Maggie and I are so proud of him, we prayed long and hard for a way for Greg to continue his education without having to take out MORE student loans and this seems like an answer to those prayers.
I guess it's about time to wrap this one up. My eyes are staring to burn even though my brain hasn't stopped yet. I'll settle for a couple hours of sleep tonight!
I'm sorry i never posted anything in the last week, it's been an emotional rollercoaster. Kristy had Asher a week ago Friday, even though it doesn't seem possible it's been over a whole week already. What a brave little fighter he was, and was with them for a little over half an hour. We tried to make it in time to be there when she had her C-section, but ended up there about an hour later. We were privledged to share in Asher's day though. He was beautiful, this little nose and big cheeks, and if you just glanced you would have assumed he was sleeping in mom's arms when we got there. He weighed in at 4.1 pounds and was 16 inches long.
Kristy and Howard were surrounded that day by family and friends lifting them all up to the Lord, and I hope through their pain, they felt a little comfort by all of us being there.
Tomorrow is Asher's memorial and I'm asking tonight for more prayers over the next two days for our friends. They've taken it a day at a time so far, but i'm sure tomorrow and Monday at the burial will be more than a little hard for them. We're leaving early tomorrow to go be with them, and just ask that you remember them for the next few days as you go about your lives...
I know that there are people reading our blog, even though no one ever leaves us comments or even lets us know they were here, and even though i've emailed this same request to a lot of people that we know, i thought i would leave it here as well, in case someone reading doesn't already know.
Our friends Kristy and Howard are nearing the end of thier pregnancy now, and need all the prayer they can get. We all know that there is no such thing as too much prayer, and i'll keep asking for it everywhere i can for them.
Baby Happy suffers from severe microcephaly and they arn't sure how long he will survive after birth due to these complications. For those of you that have no idea what microcephaly is, "Micro" means small and "cephaly" refers to the head. Most children with microcephaly also have a small brain and mental retardation. However, some children with small heads have normal intelligence.
From the sound of that description, it doesn't sound that bad, but in thier case, it is that severe. Kristy and Howard unfortunalty had their second son, Issac, pass from the same thing, and were told at the time that it was caused by a virus during her pregnancy, and was NOT genetic. They assured them that they did not need genetic testing. Issac's passing was unexpected, and no one realized there was even a problem until 37 weeks(i believe) Issac was a fighter though and lived for 6 miraculous days before going home back home to his Almighty Father.
Kristy and Howard have since had another son, Ben, who just turned one this past summer. At the end of July, they found out they were pregnant again. Everything was going well until November when they had thier anatomy ultrasound. Besides finding out that Baby Happy was a boy, they were told that his head size was just a little behind at that point. They were sent here to Pittsburgh to see a specialist where they learned that he was a little further behind head size wise, and on top of that he may/may not have a hole in his heart, and may have a club foot as well.
Since that first visit to Pittsburgh, there have been highs and lows with Happy's progression. He has continued to progress, even though at this point i believe he's still about four weeks behind in head/brain size, he has CONTINUED to fight!! They have ruled out the club foot now, and they still arn't 100% sure about the hole in his heart.
This is different from big brother Issac because Issac's head and brain stopped growing at 20 weeks. So for Happy to continue to grow, that itself is a hopeful sign. As you read up above, babies born with microcephaly CAN have normal intelligence, and at this point, we're not giving up hope!!
Kristy had a non-stress test and ultrasound yesterday and they sent her right to the hospital and they prepared them for the possibility that Happy might be born today. Yesterday he still had fluid on his lungs since they are not fully developed yet due to him not being due for 6 more weeks, and that fact along would cause serious complications at his birth. Kristy and Howard were presented with options on how they would want to proceed at that point, what they wanted to do to try to prolong his little life, when in fact, there was no promise that it would. Could you imagine, i know i can't! It all depended on the tests that they would preform this morning if he was to be born today or not. MIRACOUSLY, this morning everything looked better, and Happy was no longer at risk, so they sent Kristy and Howard home. As of right now, they have a C-section planned for Monday, and even though that is not that far away, it's long enough to hopefully help Happy's lungs mature a little more so he has one little battle to fight.
Now that everyone is caught up, here is what we are hoping everyone can help pray for:
Peace, not just for Kristy and Howard, but for their two other wonderful children, Luke and Ben, to just relax and get to be a family this weekend without letting the worries of Monday overwhelm them.
We are praying for Strength, for all of them, including their extended families, who will continue to hold them close, and continue to lift them in prayer no matter what lies in store for them.
We are praying for Guidence for the nurses, doctors, and specialists that will be present at Happy's birth, to guide their hands and hearts to help this precious baby make his debut as stress-less on his litte body as possible.
And last but not least, we are praying for HAPPY! We are praying that he proves these doctors wrong, and shows them that medicine has nothing on faith and prayer.
IF, Happy does not show us our miracle, then we are praying that he gets to spend every moment that he has wrapped in his parents loving arms, knowing how much he is loved...
Thank you, all of you, who are helping to hold this family up in prayer. We all believe in miracles, and are hoping to witness one on Monday!
If you would like to read more, Kristy has one amazing blog, here's the address:
www.babybolte.blogspot.com
Another Valentine's Day is just about over and we just wanted to wish everyone a great "Love Day" My valentine just walked in the door from a long day at work so i'm going to cut this really short!! I hope everyone had a GREAT day!!
Wow, it's been a month since my last post, and what a long month it's been! We have a new house(which we all love) Greg's job is going well, and he's on target to start his Doctorite this fall. Fionn is on track still, even though he's starting to make it difficult to get up when i'm sitting down. He likes to sit right between my hips, and Greg just chuckles when he has to help me up! He esp. likes my right hip even though it's not that comfortable for mommy!
Maggie is just Maggie, our little princess. Not too much can through her off kilter, but she was going a little stir crazy last week with no entertainment! All her books are still boxes, we had no tv and our DSL was out. On top of that Verizon told us for over a week to wait daily at the house, they were coming that day and never showed. We could have went to the Childrens Museum or to the zoo to keep her occupied, but instead we sat here unpacking everyday. The one box of toys that we brought down from the playroom and unpacked seemed to occupy her a little, but she still wasn't so impressed with the new house yet.
She was happy to go to Mema and Pop-pop's for the weekend so she had all her normal comforts. That combined with Mema and Pop-pop, i'm surprised she came home today!
Supposedly Tuesday the DirectTv people will be here, so she should be happy again!
We are so excited for "Love Day" this week, even though Daddy has to work all day! My wonderful husband made it up to me by taking me to dinner and a movie over the weekend. 27 dresses is a cute movie and i recommend it to anyone! I hope everyone else has a great "Love Day" this week, i know it's a special day here at our house. Maggie loves making other people presents, and she gets a real kick out of "love day" Until next time!
yep, it's official(i guess you could say) that we're having a boy. Our little man was pretty stubborn and uncooperative this morning for our actual anatomy ultrasound but we were lucky enough to have a great tech that did our Echo-Cardiogram later in the day.
In our first appt, the baby kept it's legs closed, knees tight together. We were in there for a good party of an hour while she measured everything and the baby just wouldn't change position. We got great pictures of arms and legs and feet and fingers, just no "hot dog" or the "bun"(that's for you aunt shell) to give us an answer!! There were a lot of great shots though, and we got a video to bring home to show everyone! We then went downstairs for our monthly check up and i had to do the Glucose test where you drink the nasty sugar drink and wait an hour. After that was all over we headed up to ultrasound again for our Echo-cardiogram. After the tech was all done she took a "quick peek" to see if she could see anything, and she got an eye full! LOL
I didn't get a chance to see, i was laying on my left side away from the screen but Greg was looking and he said there was def. something between the legs. I really would have like to have seen, but the baby turned when i tried to look over my shoulder. I'm excited, just would actually positive "pee-pee" proof to look at! When i asked for reassurance on the sex, the tech told me "you are good to buy boy things, just maybe leave the tags on" Sooooooo, i'm really hoping she's right at this point!
Maggie and the rest of the family is thrilled. It seemed that everyone else already knew we were having a boy! Maggie is putting up quite the fight for "Barney" when we told her we should start calling the baby Fionn now. She said she and Mema already named the baby and they would be sad if we called the baby Fionn. When we explained she could call the baby "barney" as a nickname she was adament that "barney" likes his name already! lol, poor girl. I'm sure she'll come around. In the spring she wouldn't even talk about a baby boy, it was a girl. Ever since we told her this time we were having a baby, she's insisted it's a boy!!
I'm beat for now, it was a long day with lots of belly prodding that wore us both out! More soon, i promise!!
