Surprise!!!

So after a good appointment at the doctor yesterday (the ultrasound went well...he's still stable and a growing boy weighing in about 5lbs12oz) my first graders (and awesome room moms) surprised me with a baby shower at school today. Today was my last day of teaching and the kids were so excited to do this for me (so excited they had a hard time keeping the secret.lol.). It was chaos of course but they were so sweet to do this. I will really miss them next year.

We played the "estimation string belly" game where they guess how long of a string will go around my belly. Believe it or not the winner was right on! What luck! 

Way to go Lane! (Funny thing is that he is the room mom's little boy. You'd think they rigged it but there is no way to do that! haha)

Opening adorable baby presents.

Needless to say after 3 kids had already brought in cupcakes and cookie cake for their birthdays that fall over the summer....we had more cupcakes. But isn't it cute? It's like a cake made of cupcakes! :)

This is my favorite pic I think. It is a perfect portrayal of how my days feel everyday! I have 15 children! You try getting them to pose for a picture! haha.

Okay that's better. Lots of fun. Happy Summer everyone!

Baby Bump - 36weeks

Yep! Time is goin' by and we are now 2 weeks away from my cesarian date! If all goes according to plan, baby's birthday (May 26th) is just around the corner! I'm so excited but suddenly experiencing anxiety and fear like I haven't had since we first found out about his spina bifida. I find myself talking David's ear off with "I wonder if he'll sleep good?" "How big will he be?" "Will he eat good?"....things I cannot know now or control...worries that are completely unnecessary and cannot be helped by worrying about them but seem pretty common from mother's I've talked to. :) And of course there are worries specific to our baby: "Will I be able to nurse him after him being away from me for several days?" "How long will we have him before they take him to Scottish Rite for surgery" "How will my heart not break in two without him for the days I have to stay in recovery?" "How long till I can hold my little boy". So needless to say, these days are full of joy and anticipation mixed with a bittersweet realization of what is to come. People keep asking me if I'm ready? Such a loaded question for me right now. A huge happy "Yes" and yet a resounding frightened "No." I've heard it is so much easier (from the moms I've met whose babies have SB) once your baby is here. So until he is here, I pray that they are right, and I pray for my little angel's healing and safety once again.

The Nursery and Another Baby Shower! :)

Baby's Room!!!

We finally finished the nursery and I can't wait for our finishing touch to make it complete - our little boy. :) 4 weeks from today is the day we get to meet our little doodlebug for the first time. We showed off his room today at our second baby shower hosted by my girlfriends from school - Thanks Kristin and Lindzey! In the words of Linda "you rock!" haha.

Adorable invitations and yummy food!

Gifts and Games!! Be kind ladies...

It was great to see my favorite Cheatham Hill Elementary ladies there today as well as...

...my good friend Kacee from Kennesaw Elem.

The cake was adorable! One of my absolute favorites! 2 great cakes in a row! A friend of Kristin did it and it was as delicious as it was beautiful.

Cutting the Cake for a Happily Ever After Ending!

First Baby Shower

What a wonderful church family and friends we have! I cannot believe how many people were there! How blessed we are to have such people in our lives - the shower was truly an outpouring of love and generosity. The cake was adorable and delicious. I don't have a picture yet but I'm getting one. Now I've got to reorganize and go through all of baby's presents that are stuffed into the guest room! lol. Not a bad problem to have of course. What a day!

Cutest baby socks! They're so tiny!

Shopping cart cover. Yay!

My favorite diaper bag ever from Nina and Papi! Cute guitar onesie from Aunt Kayleigh!

Pink baby gap dress shirt! Daddy will love him in this. :)

So true! This says it all.

More adorable clothes!

Michelle and Katie: The official photographers of the shower and clothing fairies for baby. :)

Aunt Kelly! Thanks for writing down all that stuff so I can get started on thank you notes asap!

Baby is Beautiful

We had our 32week perinatologist doctor's appointment today. Praise God it went very well! The doctor is consistently pleased at how stable our little boy is. Our baby's strong movements continue to be a good sign and he is growing beautifully now at an estimated 4lbs3oz. :) They continue to say he is "right on track" and it is so wonderful to see him on the ultrasound. Today the ultrasound technician even pointed out how much hair he has! :) It was really cute - she kept saying "all the girls in the nursery will be jealous." haha. She measured it at almost an inch! I cannot wait! We saw his little face and arms and legs and feet and everything looked perfect. Though we couldn't get a picture (he had his hands and even a little foot up in front of his face most of the time! silly boy.) I was able to see him so clearly for a minute that it was amazing. There is a lot that cannot be known or seen of course. So much will be waiting to see what he is capable of as he grows. But we are SO thankful that what the doctor can see now looks as good as it possibly can it sounds like. The doctor even went as far as to say "everything looks so good...it's a little spooky"... he was smiling so I guess he meant that as a good thing. We don't find it "spooky" at all, unless he is referring to the Holy Ghost. :) God has been so good to us and we feel His hand and blessings on our little one every day. Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement. We feel positive so much of the time but that doesn't mean we are immune to times of worry, sadness and fear. It sometimes feels like a daily effort to keep the faith and trust in The One we know will bring us though. But that is exactly what we need to do and MUST do and your love and support make God's love stronger in our hearts.

Please continue to pray for...

God's wisdom, peace and comfort to reign in our hearts.

That we will be able to balance our ever shifting emotions and count our blessings in times of heartache.

That our precious baby will continue to grow and heal under God's protection and come into this world without complication.

That God will continue to guide and steady the hands and minds of the many doctors and nurses we will be trusting our baby with.

Thank you again so much. We will keep you posted! Have a great evening...we are. ;)

Easter! Baby Bump - 32 weeks

We had a great spring break and a lovely Easter Sunday. The family got together for a delicious lunch at my Aunt Lisa's and minus the traditional egg hunt it was just like always. Maybe there'll be some kids around next year and we'll bring back the egg hunting party. :) I know one baby who will see his first Easter egg next year....can you spot him in these photos?

Aunt Kelly and Uncle Nate love Baby

Baby and I love Daddy. :)

Even though he's such a goofball.

Can you tell we're a bit possessive of our little boy already? lol.

Aunt Kelly, Nina and Mommy 

Happy Easter Aunt Kayleigh!!

Our Spontaneous Hospital Tour

So after scheduling a hospital tour with both Kennestone (where I'll deliver) and Scottish Rite (where baby will go afterward) we unexpectedly ended up at Labor and Delivery at Kennestone Hospital yesterday. Don't worry! No baby yet. :) In fact baby had nothing to do with it and was probably oblivious to the whole thing cause he just kept swimming around like normal. lol. It was all mommy and believe me that was actually a relief. But of course whenever mommy is having problems, doctor wants to make sure to fix them so baby doesn't have to feel anything later on. I started having some pains in my right side around 10:30 yesterday morning at school and, to explain the progression of the pain, by 12:00 I was laying down on the floor of my classroom on a couple of bean bag chairs! Yes the kids thought I had lost my mind and looked at me with smiling wary faces as I graded papers from the floor. By 2:00 the pain was even worse so I called my doctor and she wanted me to come in. I was pretty certain baby was fine (I could feel him kicking all around) but I was glad to get checked out anyway. After checking baby's heartbeat and confirming it was not likely related to baby (not labor pains) I was sent to Labor and Delivery to check out everything from gall bladder, kidneys, pancreas, appendix etc. My blood pressure was up and I was running a fever (both probably due to the pain I'd been in for 6 hours) so they hooked me up, tested blood, did ultrasounds of the area and make me more uncomfortable. lol. Good news - 4 hours and 2 IVs later we were free to go. The doctor said everything checked out fine. The pain had gone by this point and I was actually hungry again (all I'd had was a bagel and a little egg salad at 1:00).  Diagnosis? Thankfully (though rather anti-climatic) the doc thinks it was just some trapped air in a really bad spot. I've been given specific eating instructions to help avoid the situation again. Apparently this is not uncommon in pregnancy and can mimic labor pains it can be so bad. Glad it was not something serious this time. :) She also discovered in the bloodwork that my protein is low (and iron...found that out last week) so I'm supposed to eat an egg a day and I'm on iron supplements. Doc says baby is doing a beautiful job of "being a little parasite." haha. Good baby. So my mom, David, baby and I left the hospital tired, thankful and hoping to not visit again until it's BABY TIME! Phew!

Forming the Nursery

David started painting the nursery last week. He's putting up some white wainscoting around the bottom too and it looks adorable. :) We've done some registering at Target and BabiesRUs and that was fun (and exhausting. lol). I'm really excited to put things together and get ready for baby.  

Here are some pics of the nursery "in the works" as well as some things I've collected to go in it (sheets, bumper pad, decorating things). Some of my girlfriends were asking what it looked like..so...heres an idea of where we're going. :)

Blessings

Baby's Latest Glamour Shot. :)

David and I are very happy to say that our doctor's appointment with the perinatologist today went well. We went in for my 28week ultrasound to check on baby and many things weighed on our minds. Praise God we were given positive news. The doctor said that our baby boy was still growing right on schedule (weighing 2lbs10oz now :) ) and that there were no new concerns. Baby was all over the place and looking adorable! We were relieved when the Dr. said that everything was stable and looking very good. :) Feet are still kicking (caught on ultrasound) and he had good movements. The Dr. did notice the left ventrical of the brain is still "slightly swollen" (like last time) but that the right side was normal and the fact that no further swelling had occurred in the last 6 weeks was a good sign. When we commented that our baby was "hanging in there" he said "he is more than hanging in there." :) Such a blessing to hear. Thank you all so much for the prayers that went out for our baby today and always. We go back April 15th for our 32week check up. It seems like forever away but after today's blessings we are content to wait on the Lord. Please continue to remember our baby in your prayers as the doctor reminded us that so much is still unpredictable. Pray that we are able to dwell on the hope we received today and the hope we have in God - not the uncertainty we still face. Pray that the baby's condition remains stable or even improves! :) (particularly with the brain swelling) so that we may have a chance of avoiding additional surgeries. And pray for our hearts to feel God's love and strength so we will be able to face whatever lies ahead. We know our God can work wonders - He has so far on our baby and we have faith in the wonders yet to come. Praise God! And thank you all.

Baby Bump - 28 weeks

Okay! This afternoon - 28 weeks. 10 more to go till baby's here. :)

My mom says it looks like I stuck a ball under my shirt.

Prayers

David and I go in for our 28 week ultrasound with the perinatologist this Wednesday the 18th. We're excited to see our baby again and see how big he's gotten, but we're also nervous at what news we could receive. So if you could please say an extra prayer for us over the next 2 days we would appreciate it. Waiting and not worrying is so hard.
Please pray that we will have peace while we wait and faith that God will take care of everything. Pray that the doctor will see good developments and positive images on the ultrasound.
Pray that whatever the outcome of this appointment, we will have renewed strength and hope. And as always, pray that God will continue to form our baby with His hands and that if it be His Will, our miracle baby will just get better and better. :)

Thank you so much. We cannot imagine going through all this without your love, prayers and warm thoughts.

A psalm for our baby. :)
"He has put His angels in charge of you, to watch over you wherever you go." Psalm 91:11

Some Special Babies

I always have a reason to have "babies" on the brain. :) Especially when my little one is pounding away on my stomach like he can't quite get comfortable. Today I was preparing lessons for my first graders on "folktales and legends" and I read about John Henry and how legend has it he was born with a hammer in his hand. Silly you might say....but the things I feel with this little guy I actually wouldn't be too surprised if he did come out with a hammer.

But there are some special babies I wanted to take note of today for different reasons. One is a new addition to the world - Baby Isaac, born just yesterday some friends of ours from church. Isn't he precious! I'm not sure what was in the water this year but he's number 5 of babies born to friends or family of mine this year! Baby fever!

I also wanted to share with my family and friends 3 other special babies (well...one's not really a baby anymore and would probably resent that :)) whose blogs I follow and get so much from. These kids are beautiful and amazing and bring me so much hope. They have all been diagnosed with SB and though they are all different, they all bring the same smile to my face. They are just 3 out of many I have met through a Spina Bifida Kids group on BabyCenter.com for mom's who are raising children or are pregnant with children who have been diagnosed with SB. They captured my heart. I know how I felt the first time I saw them and read about them - and how comforted and encouraged I am by their parent's strength and love. Just thought you should meet..

Nellie Greyson and Nate

These are not all recent photos. :) Just some of the many pictures I thought were cute. Nellie is almost a year old now. You can check out their blog under MeinhardtFamily. Greyson (OurLittleGibblet) was just born in February and is very special to me. (Maybe its because he seems so close to our own little boy. And he's precious. :)) Nate is the oldest of the three at (I think) 2.5 yrs (ColleenandNate). His mom is the leader of the group I joined and she is amazing! 100% there for anyone who comes her way. They are just rays of sunshine to me and I've never even met them. I love reading about how they are doing and seeing how happy they are. So if you were wondering about some of the other blogs I follow...these little angels and their inspiring parents are the reason. Feel free to look at their blogs - their parents would love to share the story of their darlings with you I'm sure - and it can help shed some light on what "spina bifida" really is, and what it is not. It really helped me to see the families who have been there and are there living happy, loving lives - like the kind of life David and I want for our little miracle.

Baby Bump - 24 weeks

Okay so it's not so much a bump anymore...but I like consistency in my titles. :) lol. Baby, Daddy and I are doing well - although today baby has rolled and bumped around so much I'm beginning to wonder what he's doing in there! I like it but it's admittedly a little freaky to see this round knot protrude from my already protruding belly and move around. I've also had a few rib shots from our little kickboxer (strong baby makes mommy happy though :) ). We have a doctor's appointment on the 18th to see baby again! :) Then I go back the 20th for my glucose test at my regular OB. Will keep ya'll posted!

Welcome to Holland

This is a poem I found through one of the mom's who's part of the S.B. Kids group I joined on BabyCenter.com. She sent it to me when I first joined the site and although it made me cry the first time I read it, I really felt like it described the feelings I had when we first found out that something was not right with our baby. Although now those feelings are already fading and I don't feel that overwhelming sadness or helplessness, it was a sweet and honest way to help others know a little about what it is like. I wanted to share it with you. :)

"Welcome to Holland"
By Emily Perl Kingsley, 1987. All rights reserved.
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...... When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And some of that pain will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland

M.F.E.O.

Does anyone remember the movie Sleepless in Seattle? It's a favorite with my family I know. :) Well, there's a part when Tom Hanks' son Jonah befriends a rather dramatic little girl and the two decide to write a romantic letter to Meg Ryan's character. To make a long story short they send it as if Tom Hanks has written it and the juvenile somewhat silly language makes for a pretty funny scene as Meg Ryan tries to figure it out. Well, there's a line in the letter that reads "let's find out of we are M.F.E.O - (made for each other)." The silly abbreviation and corny wording makes Meg Ryan roll her eyes, but it seems a perfect phrase to describe how I feel about our little baby. We are totally M.F.E.O. :)
We hit the 6 month mark and I already find myself getting impatient to meet him while at the same time enjoying every minute of having him roll and kick around inside me. And boy has he! He got the hiccups twice yesterday! It was a first for me and took a second for me to realize what was happening both times. So fun to think about. He's so active that I hope I don't worry when or if he finally settles down. We are beginning to buckle down and decorate his nursery (fun!) and will probably start the registering process soon.
These are fun times and hard times as we dote on the idea of our little boy while trying to push back the worry of the unknown that threatens to bring us down. However, most of the time we're happy, hopeful and postive so keep those encouraging prayers and thoughts coming so we can continue to walk by faith. :) Thank you for all your love.

A Little "Cousin" for our Baby

Baby Jane Darcy Weis was born this morning to my cousin Jenna and her husband Chris. She was 4 weeks early but a healthy 6lbs 6oz and 19 3/4 inches long! She seems precious and I can't wait to meet her! It probably won't be until this summer though until we introduce the two (since baby Jane lives in PA). So "Yay" for babies! Just wanted to share some happy news. Our little doodlebug is still kickin all the time. We're counting down the days until my next ultrasound. :)

Future Kickboxer

I had my 24week doctors appointment today. Just a normal check up but we heard his quick little heartbeat again. The doctor had to stay on her toes to keep up with the heartbeat because he was moving around so much. He kicked the little microphone (or whatever it's called) 3 times while we were listening. :) The doctor laughed and said he was "an active one." I knew that (he's always bumpin' around inside) but it was nice to hear. He's measuring right on and I go back in 4 weeks. Yay! 

To our family and friends, thanks again for all your love and support. We wouldn't be where we are without you.

Growing Strong!

We went back Feb. 4th for a check up with our perinatologist. He took this picture for us. Baby was measuring right on track at a healthy 1lb 3oz. :) He was moving around so much the ultrasound tech could hardly get a good picture. We were thrilled to hear that everything is looking very good so far. We keep praying everyday for our little miracle baby.

The Power of Prayer

We went to meet with a neuro surgeon on Jan. 19th to find out more about SB (spina bifida) and what we could expect. We sent this email out following the appointment. :)

We are happy to say that our doctors appointment with the neuro surgeon today went well. Dr. Hudgins was able to tell us more about how a "typical" case like ours would go regarding the surgery and recovery of our baby. He was willing to answer any questions we had but made it clear that much of the diagnosis would depend on how things go after the operation. At this time we know that the spina bifida is in a good place (the lower on the spine the better) and that any area of concern would likely be limited to the feet/ankles (weak areas that may take time to develop) and bladder (which is commonly affected by all forms of spina bifida). The doctor says that typically children with this case of spina bifida will walk and run (Praise God!) just maybe a little later than normal. For example, it may not 11months...but more like 18 months before he starts to walk) and possibly with some help from ankle braces at some point depending on what they see as he develops. David and I agree we can easily wait a few more months before our little boy starts running away from us. :) Most likely he will be in the hospital for about 2 weeks in recovery after he is born and the surgery is done. At this point it is also likely that a shunt will have to be put in to drain any fluid off the brain that will likely occur following the spinal surgery. After they release him to come home the doctor said that home life will likely be "just like having any other newborn." (So good to hear!) The doctor also seemed positive about the bladder control issues stating that either medication or sometimes surgery will help with any problems when the time comes. We are so thankful for the prayers and encouraging words that have been offered and that we know we will continue to receive. Even after the surgery, we will be meeting with doctors very frequently for the first year of his life and then at least once a year through his childhood. There are many other possible worries of course. Having a healthy baby is always a miracle -so many things have to go right even without the risks we are aware of. Prayers of patience until the baby's birth and surgery as well as an "uneventful" pregnancy in the months to follow are appreciated. We want to keep everything else normal and healthy for the next 4.5 months -- no more complications. :) Prayers of healing in the weeks and months to follow his birth are still greatly needed as well. Thank you so much for this great comfort -- the power of prayer. 

Fear and Faith

It was right before these 20 week pictures that David and I had some difficult news. Here is an email we send out to our church family and friends from that time. January 8, 2009.

"David and I are so grateful for the prayers that have been offered up for us and our baby yesterday and today. It has been a great comfort to us. We received very troubling and upsetting news at a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon. My blood work from a routine appointment a few weeks ago showed cause for some concern. The blood test results were a possible sign of spina bifida (an opening in the baby's spine) so our doctor wanted us to see a specialist who would perform an ultrasound to make sure everything was okay. We had heard that this was often a misdiagnosis and therefore everything was probably fine. However, at the ultrasound yesterday the doctor was very concerned at what he saw. The ultrasound showed what looked like an opening at the top of the spine at the base of the brain. This location of spina bifida was very problematic and very rare. The doctor himself had never seen a case like this before and thought this to be very grim news for the baby. Based on this prognosis the doctor thought the baby would likely be severely handicapped or even unable to live outside the womb. He wanted us to see his colleague for a second opinion. Needless to say we were heartbroken and didn't know what to think or do. 

Today we went to see the recommended doctor for a second opinion. We were prepared to hear the same horrible news and were stunned when the ultrasound showed the neck/upper spine of the baby was fine and intact. The spina bifida is still present, but at a much lower point on the spine. In these cases the lower the opening the better. While the spina bifida still poses certain risks, (mostly to the lower extremities like the legs, feet, and bladder) it can and will be treated. We will be meeting with a neurosurgeon who will tell us about the surgery that will be done to fix the opening upon birth of the baby. During all this we wondered how this change of events could have happened. The doctors reasoned that the machine yesterday was not as accurate or that maybe the baby's position caused them to mistake the location of the opening. We feel God's hand in this new development and we will not cease to pray for the health and development of our baby as we continue to meet with the doctors.

We cannot begin to thank you all enough for the thoughts and prayers - our families have both felt an unexplainable peace and now a new hope for our future that we can only attribute to God's hand resting on us. We need your love and prayers more than ever now and ask specifically for you to pray:

* For the baby's health and continued development (especially that of the legs and bladder)

* That the opening will not widen or leak fluid to the brain (which is a common risk with spina bifida)

* That God will steady the minds and hands of the doctors throughout the pregnancy and surgery.

* That God will continue to give David and I the strength, peace and faith we need during the uncertainty and worry that lies ahead.