17

The countdown says 17 - heehee, do you believe it?!?! 17 days and counting. Where has the time gone? I'm so excited!! And it's Husker game day, to boot!! Oh little man, we're so excited for you to be here!! And, we FINALLY picked a name FOR SURE - no changing our minds anymore!! Yay, can't wait to share it with you all along with a cute little pic of him!!

Home Stretch

Hi everyone,

I've been really slacking on updates - sorry :). We had our ultrasound a week ago Friday, and baby is about 6 pounds, so he'll be about 8 at birth or so. He has a 'big head' according to the doctor. Suprise, my sister & I never could wear those one size fits all hats!! Haha. Anyhow, everything looked good.

They had just gotten a 3D ultrasound machine in & wanted to try it out on us, so we got a free 3D ultrasound!! It was so cool. I'm posting those pics on here. When they got a picture of his face, Jared turned to me and said, "oh my gosh it's your dad!!" - needless to say, many have agreed that the ultrasound, especially the first couple pics, look like Dana!! It's bizarre!

We go back to the doctor today. 3 weeks from tommorow is due date. As you can see on the countdown, we're down to 22 days - woohoo! I started my shots a week ago Saturday, and all has gone pretty well considering. My body didn't seem to have to 'adjust' to them like back when I first started shots & got so sick. I'm just really achey the Sunday after I take it, but that is normal & to be expected. So, I can't complain.

Just really ready for baby to get here! Not really sleeping well anymore and don't like asking for help, so I'm getting frustrated even though I shouldn't! Bending over, sitting, walking, it's all a task these days it seems - haha! Will be so glad when baby is here!

Jared's grandad Wes passed away last Tuesday. We were able to go down and see him the week before he passed away. And, Jared was able to make it down there for his last minutes of life. It's been really tough on Jared, especially since I know he was so excited to make Grandad a Great-Grandad in just a few weeks! But, he is not suffering anymore & is at peace. They are holding a memorial service for him in Mullen, NE on October 28th, so I am praying that everything works out so that Jared can head out there for that; I really want him to be able to be there. I would love to go, too, but needless to say me being 6 hours away from my doctor in the middle of 'nowhere' isn't recommended by the doctor right now :)!!

Well, I'll try to be better at updates from here on out I promise!! Who knows, maybe next update will be that baby is here - haha!!
Take care,
Emily

Quick Update

Hi All -

Quick update......short I promise - yes, I'm capable :). Just got home from baby class, so I'm ready for bed, but wanted to update.......

Went to the doctor yesterday, and heartbeat & all is still great with baby. BUT, doctor is wanting to know how big baby is, as I am measuring big and "all baby" in my stomach, so she has scheduled an ultrasound for Friday the 9th of October at 9:30. I am personally excited to get to peek at my little guy again :), but the diagnose of "fetal weight determination" for the ultrasound reason makes me a little nervous :). Oh well - needless to say, we're 42 days (or less) away, and all is going well :).

We will update you after the ultrasound & post pics of baby's room which will hopefully (finally) be complete by next week at this time :).

Take care!!

Emily, Jared, and Baby Boy

Finally, another post

Sorry, I'm slacking on posting updates. I promise I'll be better at that :). The countdown is on - less than 8 weeks, folks!! I'm so excited, have I mentioned that yet?!?!

We had an apointment Monday. Jared didn't get off work in time, so I told my mom she could meet me and get to hear her grandson's heartbeat if she'd like. Of course, she didn't pass up that offer :). I'm measuring a week ahead still, which, again I was informed by the doctor doesn't mean he's coming early, but rather that he's going to be a big boy. Neat, thanks doc!! We'll take him either way of course, we just want him to be healthy, but I told her she's not allowed to tell me things like, "He's going to be big!!" We shall see......

Heartbeat was higher this time than last - about 145. It was only 3 weeks between this apointment and the one before that. Doctor said she wants to see me again at 2 weeks (I'll be at 34 weeks then). She said she may do an ultrasound at 36 weeks just to see "what we're dealing with" in regards to baby's size. Um, did you say I get to sneak a peak at my baby again - sure, if you insist!! But, we'll see if she ends up doing that or not.

I will start on my Avonex medication starting October 10th. It is the shot I get once a week in the leg muscle for my multiple sclerosis. Since I haven't been on it since last July, my body may have to adjust all over again. I am praying that it 'remembers' the medicine and I don't have to go through the horrible side effects of first using the medicine like I did last time. But, either way we shall survive! I figure if it is hard to adjust again, at least I'm getting a month under my belt before little man arrives. And, it should help with some of the risks associated with post-pardem and MS. I've 'beat all the odds' so far and will continue to do so if I have anything to say about it!!

We are slowly getting the room ready. I very much want it to all be ready now, as I feel like a walking time bomb!! Hopefully he doesn't decide to join us for a while yet, but I want to be prepared either way. I told Jared I feel like an overfilled water balloon these days, like I could just 'pop', so feeling like I need to get all these things done!

We started our Childbirth classes last night. They are for 4 weeks, every Tuesday night. We also got a tour of the "Baby Tower" at Bryan - SO AMAZING!! I cannot wait! It made it very real to be there. Although, pretty sure I about had a panic attack just 'touring' the delivery room, eeks, better get over that!! I decided I like the post-pardem floor better - you're done with delivery & baby is with you :). Haha. When the instructor asked who was planning on getting an epidural, I raised my hand high in the air with no shame, only to realize that the few others who did raise their hand barely had it in the air. Whatever, I'm not embarassed, I'm getting the epidural thankyouverymuch!! I'll be the oddball in class if that's what that means - drugs for me, please!! Kudos to those who don't, but I don't have any intentions of that. In a class of 20 pregnant ladies, I think I"m just being honest & there's a few that aren't being so honest if I was one of the only ones.......oh well, we shall see!! The nurse said epidural rate is about 94%, so that adds up to a few more in class. Birth plan for me = epidural, please!!

Well, Jared and I keep looking at our list of things to get done for baby and realizing that the list isn't getting shorter nearly as fast as the days left on the calendar till baby comes - better get hoppin'!! Take care!!

29 weeks tommorow!!

We had a doctor's appointment today. Baby's doing great!! My uterus is measuring "ahead" the doctor told me. I became excited and said, "Oh good, so he's coming a little early maybe??". She laughed and informed me that it meant I'm probably going to have a big baby. We'll see about that - as long as he's healthy, but I wouldn't mind proving her wrong on the 'big' part :)!!

His heartbeat was between 135 and 145 while we were there - quite a bit lower than it's been. It was really strong and she said it sounded great! When I had my ultrasound at 22 weeks he was breach. But, based on how low she found the heartbeat today she said she thinks he is now head-down. But, if they don't know for sure I will have another ultrasound at 35 weeks to be sure of what this little guy is up to in there!!

I go back to the doctor in 3 weeks - the appointments start getting closer together already!! When I go next time I'll be 32 weeks, and then will start going every 2 weeks, then every 1 week once I hit 36 weeks.

We are so thankful for how well this pregnancy has gone and how well baby is seemingly developing! We just keep praying for a healthy outcome for both mom and baby after delivery!! It will be great!

I talked to the doctor about the MS drugs dilemma and when to go back on, etc. She won't make the decision for me either, but made me feel alot better about it and and which choice I make either way. We're pretty sure we've made up our minds as to what will be best, and will need to decide for sure in the next few weeks. If I am going back on Avonex, that will be early October, so by the time I get the prescription written by the neurologist, get the meds ordered and they get delivered, we need to get on the ball if that's what we're going to do. That process can take a while.

Thank you for your prayers and all your love and support. I know I say it all the time but we just can't believe how fast time is going and how truly blessed we are!!

I'm including a couple of pictures - they are from our weekend last weekend at Krissy's parents house in Columbus - we went up there for the weekend and it was a blast - our annual trip :). One pic is of me and Jared and the other is Kelly's boy Asher with Jared - Asher and Jared are such good buddies - makes me SO excited for Jared to have his little guy here!!

Talk to you all soon!! (P.S. Football starts a week from Saturday - I cannot wait!! This "big" baby isn't going to stop me from tailgating and getting to a few Husker games - I am my father's daughter, after all :)).

T-minus 11 weeks & 5 days (If I were counting :))

We have gotten some odds and ends for baby and are slowly but surely getting ready for his arrival! I've been feeling great and that darn MS hasn't caused any problems for me thus far, which is such a praise! I spoke with the neurologist's office this week in regards to how he wants everything to go at and around delivery time. That is the time that becomes a little scarier for us, as the risk of relapse during & in the 2 months after delivery is 80% for those with MS. But, we have been so blessed and I have beat all the statistics so far, so I don't plan on stopping with that trend now!! I don't have time for a silly relapse, I just want to hang out with my baby, right?!?!

In all reality, though - I won't get into all the details, but Jared and I have a lot of decisions to make in the next month or so. There are pros and cons to each choice, it just comes down to what we decide. MS is such an undpredictible disease that the neurologist won't make the decision for me (trust me I tried to make him :)) as far as when to go back on meds, etc. I've been really upset struggling with the choice to make all week, but I am just handing it over to God and pray that He leads us in the right direction. The truth is, I was off Avonex for 7 months before I was able to get pregnant, and in that time had no new lesions or relapses, which in and of itself is a miracle!! The doctor himself was pleasantly suprised at that time.

So, I am trusting that we will be able to make the right decision and feel confident in that. I am planning on taking 8 weeks off after baby comes. I don't have childcare totally figured out yet, so that is another decision we have to make in the coming months. Part of me is having a hard time because there's so many choices, and part of me is having a hard time because I don't want to have to pick one period, I think :). I just don't know what to expect. But again, I am just going to have to trust God and know that He will show us exactly what he wants me and baby boy to each be doing come January.

So, that's what's going on with us right now. We continue to be so excited for this baby. We are also trying to be logical and realizing that we need to acknowledge the risks that may lie ahead and how we plan to handle that. I don't mean to sound naive like we didn't know of this before, but some of the details of it all are just now becoming a soon-to-be reality that we need to figure out :). But, I know that miracles happen every day and often things that don't "make sense" to the doctors, as God is ultimately in control.

I feel like this post is a debbie-downer - ick, I don't want to sound like that - I just know some have said to let them know of prayer requests, so I guess now you all know what that is as we prepare for baby's arrival :).

On another baby note, "Multiple Blessings" comes to mind when I think of the next several months that lie ahead. No, I'm not just plagarizing the (gulp) book written by Kate Gosselin before everthing turned to a mess. Rather, this is what I mean: In September and October I have baby showers. Then, in November our son comes! Then, in December my cousin is due to have a baby! Then in February my dear, dear friend Krissy is having a baby! Then in March my wonderful friend Nikki is having a baby!! Now, do you see what I mean?!?! Wow, what a year!!

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers - we look forward to being able to introduce our little guy to everyone!!

I get winded easily these days, and this blog post has gotten so long, I think I'm winded just from typing it!! I will stop now. Goodnight!! Emily

94 and counting :)

No, I'm not talking about the temp outside today - duh, that's 100, not 94 :). According to the cute little counter at the top of this blog, that's how many days I have left. Time is flying by!! When I think about all that's between now and then - weddings, showers, NE football (I'm convinced I'll make it to a few games and tailgate some, too), I know he will be here before we know it!! I have been so blessed and everything has gone so wel l!! I'm now at the not sleeping stage as of a few days ago, which, well, stinks. But, maybe it's just a phase!??! Or maybe it's the way life will be for the next year?!?! Haha - we shall see. I can't complain though, everything is going as it should be, even the no sleeping thing, so I'm told :).

Well, here it is - a pic of what I'm looking like these days. So, now you all know, not left to the imagination any longer :). Things are going great!! Baby is SO active!! He's on the move all the time, especially at night. You can now see my stomach moving when he kicks, or whatever he's doing in there, it's so crazy!! I feel like I'm out of room already, but I know this will be nothing in another 3 months. 3 MONTHS!?!?! Did you hear that - that's all that's left - did I mention that?!?! I guess I did :).

Hope everyone's doing great and having a wonderful summer. We've had great weather so far this year, so I guess it being 100 out today isn't worth complaining about - we haven't seen this all summer. In 3 days Jared and I will have our 2 year anniversary, WOW!!! What a wonderful 2 years it has been - next year we'll have to get a sitter to go celebrate our anniversary, how wild is that?!?!

Take Care!!

Emily, Jared, and Baby Boy (yes, he has a name, NO, no one is going to find out until he's born :))