Molli
I tried to type under the pics I posted but I couldn’t figure out how. I’m just excited to have pics on my blog!! It’s not fancy but they’re there. We had 3D/4D ultrasound pics done yesterday. She didn’t cooperate very well because she was sleepy and she wanted to keep one hand over her face. She’s got chubby little cheeks and a dimple in her chin just like her Uncle Travis and Papa Joe (that just made me cry a little, I am so pregnant!) She also had her face kind of smashed up against the placenta so she looks like she has a pig nose in some of the pics (they assured me that she doesn’t really have a pig nose, but if she does I will love her anyways). It was so exciting to get a little preview though. I can’t even describe how much I love her already, I’m sure all you moms understand that! Aaron is painting the nursery this week, we got our bedding last week (thanks mom!) so I’m really excited to get the nursery together. I will post the “after” pics when Aaron is finished. I can’t believe all the stuff piled up in the closet already, that’s just from my mother-in-law, sis-in-law, and me! We’re a little excited. Anyways, I switched to light duty at work and I’m feeling better. My back is still causing me a lot of pain, and it’s been getting worse the bigger Molli and I get. I think I can handle it for 11 more weeks, she’ll be worth it I know. I just need to say one more time how awesome Aaron has been thru all of this. He had been doing all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, dishes, etc etc. Whatever I need he does, and the best part is most of the time he does it without my asking him too. I am so thankful and blessed to have my husband, family and friends. Who could ask for more?
No More Baby Mama Drama
We went to see the high risk OB doctor this morning. First, they did an ultrasound that measured EVERYTHING. After that the doctor went over it with us. He said everything looked completely normal. My fluid had built back up and wasn’t even borderline low. He kept saying he was really baffled because it doesn’t usually build up that quickly and he just couldn’t explain it. Praise God, I can!!! The baby has no growth/birth defects. She is measuring right at 25 wks, I am 24 wks 1 day according to my due date. He is going to do one more ultrasound in 3 wks just to recheck, but he fully expects another normal report. I am so relieved and thankful. I know God touched me and the baby. He said that fluid doesn’t get that low unless there is a problem. I know we were healed. Praise God. Thank you for everyone that has prayed. I’m gonna go take a stress free nap now!
Update on Baby Mama Drama
Well, not much to report. I spoke with Dr. Branson today and he said that he is concerned with the ultrasound and wants to transfer my care to the High risk OB group at Centennial. I think they’re called to Maternal-Fetal group. My appt is tomorrow at 9am. They will do another extensive ultrasound and other tests. I’m not really sure what to expect. He said that he didn’t feel that there was anything I could be doing differently right now, and he didn’t feel that it was a deficit in my body. He said most likely it is something anatomically with the baby. What does that mean you ask? I have no idea. One of our ER docs said that with low amniotic fluid it could mean there’s some kind of urinary obstruction (kidneys,bladder, etc). If they are constantly ingesting it then they aren’t able to excrete it. If that is the case then they have to do surgery in utero!!! We don’t want that! So, needless to say I’m freaking out. Please continue to pray and I’ll post any updates as I get them. Thanks for your prayers!
Baby Drama
Well, some of you may have heard about our eventful weekend. For those of you who didn’t, I will fill you in.
Friday while I was at work I had some downtime so I went over to Ultrasound to get a quick pic of Molli. Well, as soon as they got her up on the screen she says, “I’m sorry honey but I’m gonna need to call your doctor right now. She then proceeds to call him on his cell phone, while he is at lunch.” Apparently I had very little amniotic fluid. So, he gave her a verbal order to do a real reading for the radiologist to read. Well, by now I’m freaking out. She went ahead and showed me the baby real quick, I saw her little heartbeat at 152-160, which is her norm. She just wasn’t moving as much as normal. So, I call my mom and Aaron freaking out and they met me at the hospital. We got registered and had the real ultrasound. The good thing about working there is not having to wait. She marched it right over to a radiologist and made him read it right then. My fluid level was 4.3, low is around 9. So, he calls Dr. Branson back on his cell phone to give him the results and they tell me to go back to work and he’ll be in touch. Well, I’m a complete nervous wreck by now so when I get back to the ER I tell them I’m gonna have to go home. Luckily we were staffed really good and it wasn’t a problem. I was still worried about working with the levels so low, and just not knowing what was going on so I called and paged the on call doctor, because it turns out Dr. Branson’s office isn’t open on Fridays and he wasn’t even working (poor guy, we harassed him on his day off). Well, the on call physician called me back and I told him what was going on and he told me to head to Hendersonville for some tests. He said if my fluid was low because my membranes had ruptured then we were gonna be having a baby that day. I was like “Oh my God, say what?” I am 24 wks, I can’t have a baby, I don’t even have a car seat. Wierd thing to be worried about considering she would live in the NICU for several months if she survived. So, we went to the hospital and they monitored the baby and checked for leaking amniotic fluid. The test came back negative. Thank God !!! While we were waiting the nurse told us that it was still so early that the chances of the baby surviving was very slim if we had to do an emergency c-sec. Well, my family and Aaron’s were freaking out, as you can imagine. So, the told me to go home and call the doctor on Monday. They really couldn’t tell me why the fluid was so low, or how low it could get before putting the baby at risk. It was very frustrating, but they said Dr. Branson would be the best person to answer those questions. So, I’m going to work tomorrow and I’ll be calling Dr. Branson as soon as his office opens. So far, what I’ve read says that this is fairly normal in pregnancy and to rest and drink plenty of water. If the fluid levels don’t come up after a series of ultrasounds then I may be put on bed rest, worst case scenario they will have to go ahead and do a c-section. Please pray that my levels are up this week. I can’t imagine them taking her this early, there are so many things that can go wrong! I’ve been feeling her move more today so I’m hoping that’s a good sign. She’s kicking me now as I type! I will post an update as soon as I know anything. Thanks for your prayers! Love you all.
Big Saver
Well, my coupon lesson from Deann has paid off! I went grocery shopping yesterday and saved $26.96!! Woo hooo!!! It’s quite exhilirating! Aaron went with me too so we got to share the excitement. We didn’t fight or argue about any of our purchases either. Normally I won’t let Aaron go to the store with me because he wants to know why I’m getting everything I get and if it’s necessary, or the cheapest, blah blah blah. He drives me crazy!! Not yesterday though. We were partners in our coupon mission. I’ve been reading a lot of blogs that Deann referred me too also. These moms are crazy!!! There’s a whole couponing, frugal secret society out there, and I want in! Here are some of the blogs she gave me:
http://fiddledeedeeblog.blogspot.com/
http://free2befrugal.blogspot.com/
http://freebies4mom.blogspot.com/
http://www.dealseekingmom.com/
http://thecentsiblesawyer.blogspot.com/
Those are just a few that I have started reading. I finally learned how to create a google reader. I think I might be slightly obsessed. Anyways, I figure now is a great time to start pinching pennies since Aaron is out of work. One thing I forgot to mention in my last blog is that I’m not too stressed about his job right now. Last week I told Aaron I was praying for the Lord to show us if he is where God wants him. I specifically said “If this is where God wants you then I just need a sign so I don’t worry about you finding something better”. Well, I got my sign!! God must have something different in store and I’m trusting he will show us the way. Please continue to pray with us that we seek His will in all of this. Have a great day!
Updates
Well, vacation is so over. I’ve been back to work for almost 2 wks and I’m ready for another vacation! Last week I worked 51 hours, I don’t know what I was thinking. Doesn’t leave time for much but sleep. I went to the doctor today for my 4 wk check-up. Everything looks good, my quad screen was negative. We also got the results of our ultrasound and the baby is growing at a good pace. They had a hard time visualizing her spine and her aorta so he’s gonna do another ultrasound in 4-6 wks or so. I knew that was gonna be a problem because during my ultrasound the tech said the baby was laying really wierd and she wasn’t getting very good shots of her spine. I’m sure everything is good. Aaron felt her move today for the first time, that was really neat. I think more for me than him. She’s really starting to kick alot. I love that feeling!! I took a note to the doctor also from physical therapy. They really want me to stop working, or go to extremely restricted duties because my back pain is getting progressively worse. They don’t forsee things getting better until after delivery. Dr. Branson said he would give me a note or do whatever needed to be done. I talked to my boss on Monday about it and he basically said there’s no lighter duty than what I’m doing already (no lifting, pushing, or pulling). Yet, I’m still on my feet for 12 hrs at a time. I was considering just going on partial short term disability or transferring departments, but it doesn’t look like that’s gonna be a possibility right now. Aaron lost his job on Monday. There wasn’t enough work at his office to justify his position so now he’s out of work, again, and he doesn’t qualify for unemployment. We are putting our house up for sale. Please pray it sells fast because we can’t survive on just my income right now with this house. Please also pray that Aaron finds a job quick. He’s applied to over 20 places. Poor guy, he’s having a rough year. Well, that’s all for now, I’ll try to post more regularly, between sleep and work!
Prayer request from Sis Sue
Here is what Ellen said:
“This is Ellen Webb, Cheryl Stamps’ sister. Cheryl had breast cancer surgery
today. They thought it wasn’t going to be as bad, but when they got in there, it
was worse than what they thought. They had to remove 2/3 of the lymph node
glands and they are keeping her overnight to do full body xrays/scans to see if
it hadn’t spread any further.
I was calling to see if you can get everyone in the church to pray for her. My
phone number is 803-300-7957.”
I spoke to Ellen and she said her mom and her need prayer too because they
are having a hard time going through this.
Ellen & I prayed together over the phone, she said she felt the Holy Ghost all over her.
Just to let you know that she needed and so appreciated a touch from the Lord.
Sis Sue Pippin
PS Genevieve Grover
Cheryl Stamps
13626 SC Hwy 64
Barnwell, SC 29812-2755
Vacation almost over
Booo…I only have one more day of vacation after today. It makes me so sad. I know I’m not gonna be able to walk after I work Thursday! Last night we had Shane and Deann over for dinner. It was so much fun. I really miss fellowshipping. It seems like Aaron and I have gotten to be such couch potatoes. We never come out of our little hole to see what everyone else is up to. I don’t even think they cared that I didn’t mop the floor! lol..this is seriously what will stop me from inviting you over! Deann taught me her couponing secrets. I can’t believe how complicated some of it is! I am really excited about trying it out. I can’t wait to have my own “coupon bible”. I’ve been reading a lot about frugal living since Sarah had been posting stuff. I really want to be a better steward, and do things to help the environment. Anyone who wants to learn a new craft needs to come to the class at church tomorrow at 10. I am seriously just going to practice sewing buttons tomorrow (can you believe I don’t know how?). I finished part of my baby blanket so I’m also gonna start the matching burp cloth. If you don’t want to learn to sew there are women who can teach knitting, crocheting, smocking, embroidery, cross stitch, or even crafts like making cards. It’s kind of a plethora of talents and crafts. I enjoyed the fellowship last week more than anything! Well, this is me rambling so I’ll stop. Hope everyone has a great day. My big ultrasound is this afternoon. I can’t wait for Aaron to see she’s really a Molly in there!!!!! I’ll try to scan some pics (Sarah I will need your help with this flickr business)
Canoeing
Well, this trip wasn’t as interesting as our white water rafting adventure 2 yrs ago, but it was fun. We ended up buying a two person inflatable canoe so we could ride together. I’m not too good of a paddler, plus in the heat we didn’t want to take any chances of me getting heat exhaustion. So, the raft was very hard to steer. Anytime the wind blew we would spin in circles, or sometimes for no reason at all. We spent a large portion of the trip trying to turn around. We were on the Harpeth River so the waters were at least calm. Then, about half way thru we hit a huge log and popped a hole in the bottom. Luckily the sides were still inflated so we could still float, just very poorly. Aaron said it made the steering that much worse. However, we made it without doing too much damage to ourselves. We went over a couple of unexpected rocks and of course they hit me right in the back where I’ve been hurting. I didn’t think I was going to be able to walk when we were done, but I survived. The best part of the day was stopping at Del Taco on Charlotte on the way home. MMMM…I love green burritos! The bad part is it took us extra long to finish after the raft popped so we didn’t get home until almost 8. Also, when we were at Wal-Mart in Rivergate buying the raft, someone got into Aaron’s car and stole my cell phone. Word of advice, never go to that Wal-Mart. I’m sure that’s not a new piece of advice. Well, I’m gonna work on my baby blanket. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!
