Did you ever find out why?

I have been asked this a lot the last week, and I wanted to write a blog updating/explaining a little bit more on what happened with everything with Elle. So in my last blog I said that I had discovered that my doctor put me on a estrogen based birth control after my 6 week postpartum check up, and that I should of been on an progesterone based birth control pill. What can happen when taking an estrogen birth control pill is, it can dry up the mother's milk, or can even affect the quality of her milk supply. I believe that that was the whole thing that affected Elle from gaining weight off of my milk. No, I don't know 100%, but after doing the math on when I started taking it, and when she started losing weight, it all adds up. She was gaining weight off of my milk in the beginning, and then shortly after starting the pill, she starts to lose weight. Now my mother in-law did do some research and found out that estrogen can cause blood to clot fast in babies, if passed through the mothers milk (which is one of the things that Elle was tested for and it came back abnormal). I addressed this to Elle's doctor and she didn't say yes thats true, but she didn't say no thats not true. She wasn't sure on that.

We had an appt scheduled for today in Detroit with the G.I specialist, but we cancelled it, because of many reasons, 1. Elle's liver enzymes are or where just above normal. I am sure they are in normal range now 2. She is gaining weight! She has been gaining very good weight and is continuing to do so, Praise God! 3. They wouldn't of done anything more at this appt then what has already been done one her 4. I want to wait 3-4 weeks for all those hormones that where passed through my milk to be out of her system before she gets her blood drawn one more time to check her levels on her liver enzymes, cholesterol, iron, and blood clotting fast ( they would of wanted to check her blood levels again at that appt or order to have them done in the next few days). 5. Plus Elle is doing SO much better, and we don't feel like it was necessary at the moment to go to it, and we really don't feel like there is anything seriously wrong with her either.

So all that being said, we want to wait a few weeks before her next blood draw, and of course if her levels are high still on Cholesterol, and iron, and her blood is still clotting fast, and her liver enymes aren't in "normal" range then we will schedule another appt with the specialist and go.

So back to the question........Did you ever find out why? Yes we did :) My milk supply was messed with, so we started supplementing a small amount of formula to it, and we saw a feeding therapist and discovered we can help Elle get her milk in her faster (so more calories getting in her faster and not burning as many calories eating for long periods of time). Between those two things Elle is doing wonderful! Gaining weight just like she should, if not more than the doctor wants. In fact she is eating 5-6 oz every 2-3 hours, which is double what she use to eat! She has been a piggy, and Im loving it!! She is much happier, not so fussy like she was for a while. Makes my heart so happy! Thanking and Praising God for all of it. Answered prayers! So for some of you that where curious and wondering thats what has happened. I will update when we get the results for her next blood draw (which won't be for a few weeks).

4 months old

Elle is 4 months old today!! 4 months old seems so much older than 3 :( Makes me a little sad. What a crazy last month we have had. Such an emotional roller coaster! But we have been more up than down, knowing God is going to take care of this. He has his hand on her and is going to make all this good. He is slowly showing us that, with Elle gaining weight and her liver enzymes going down. I know anyone that is reading this will know what has been going on with her on Facebook, so I don't need to go into all of it. The newest discovery that was made this last Friday, was my doctor put me on a birth control for non-breatfeeding/pumping moms at my 6 week postpartum check up! I told her at that appt. how I couldn't breast feed Elle because of her cleft pallet, and that I was exclusively pumping and giving her breast milk through her bottle. I have no idea how she didn't hear any of this, but she put me on an estrogen based birth control, when I should be on a progesterone pill! YIKES! Talked to Elle's pediatrician as soon as I (with the help of my mother in law and God's help) made the discovery. Elle's doctor said it can't harm her mentally, but it messes up the mother's milk supply, and can even dry her milk supply up! So thankful that the drying up part never happened, but it is possible thats what caused Elle to stop gaining weight off of my milk, and could be the main reason we got to this point. Of course there are many other things that where going on during this time too, but one of our biggest things with Elle is she needs to gain weight! Especially now that her liver enzymes are about normal, and things look good there. I am not happy with my doctor, not one bit. But my heart forgives her, and knows people make mistakes. I did talk to the nurse at the office about the situation and did let her know that I am not happy about the situation, and what has happened. But that all being said, I am thankful that was discovered!!

Elle is looking better, and feeling better. She is grabbing at things now, playing with toys, she has rolled 3 times so far, she only does it on occasion. She is starting to giggle more, especially when I tickle her on her rib/arm pit area. She is so happy, as long as mommy has her LOL. She is literately attached to me at all times, and protests most of the time if I don't have her. I love it though. Her 4 month check up went great! She weighs 9 lbs 6.5 oz (0%), 24 1/4 in long (51%), and head circ. is 39 cm (7%). She got 3 more shots and an oral vaccine. She was not happy one bit about the pokes. In fact I noticed with her, vs her brothers at this age, she is upset a lot longer after it gets done. With the boys it was like as soon as I would pick them up and comfort them they calmed right down, and then I would nurse them and they would be fine, but with Elle after she gets a shot she has to cry and tell me all about it, for 5 min. lol. I guess thats the difference between boys and girls! HA! But after she calmed down she had a bottle and was much happier. Speaking of bottles....we had an appt with a feeding therapist on Monday, and long story short we found out we can assistant deliver her bottle every suck/every other instead of every 3-4 sucks like we learned in the hospital. They told us every 3-4 sucks in the hospital because its a new born baby and don't want to over do it, but as they get bigger they handle it much better. Elle took 4 oz in 20 min at that therapy session and thats awesome! With knowing this, she will get her calories way faster which will make weight gain very successful! I had a feeling it was going to be something so simple like that. The therapist said she is an excellent eater! :) Well thats the updates on our baby girl. Just want to thank everyone once again for all the prayers! They mean so much to us! Im also thank God for answered prayers, and being there with us through all of this.

Dominic is 3!

Well Dominic's birthday was last Friday, and I wanted to write this blog then, but, pssshh, yeah right! It has been WAY busy for us! With Elle going through everything she has been going through makes our life busier and more chaotic. Trying to find time to do the basic house chores has been hard. I have been driving into Lansing 3 times a week, plus dropping Eli off to school and picking him up (Ross does go get him too) life has just been busier than normal, and I am ready for it to SLOW down a little bit! But anyways, Our little Dom is 3 now! AWWWW :( Seeing your child grow up is such a bitter-sweet thing. You love to see them grow, get smarter everyday, and discover new things, but at the same time, inside your like "no! its going WAY to fast! I am just SO thankful, and blessed to be a stay-at home mom. I don't miss anything, and I LOVE it! So on Dom's birthday we played board games, made chocolate chip cookies (his request) and had sloppy Joes for dinner (one of his favorite dinners). We sang happy birthday to him and he loves it lol. Asked for us to do it again! His favorite part is blowing out the candle. Then on Sunday my dad and his girlfriend came over and spoiled Dom  with a birthday cake, presents, tacos, and love. It was lots of fun! This coming up Saturday we are finally able to do his Ninja Turtle Party he has been waiting for. We were in the hospital with Elle the weekend I had originally planned doing it, so had to reschedule it. He is very excited for that :) So to wrap up his birthday blog I started a tradition with Eli at 4 (you can start at 3, but didn't come across it till Eli was 4) on asking the same 20 questions every year on their birthday, and see how they change. The boys like it! I highly enjoy it lol. So here are Dom's 20 questions.....

1. What is your favorite color? Green (thats new lol, it was orange for the longest time)
2. What is your favorite toy? Num-chucks (Ninja turtles toy)
3. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries 
4. What is your favorite tv show? Super Why
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Sand which
6. What is your favorite outfit? A ball (LOL ok )
7. What is your favorite game? Mario Bros. (He doesnt actually play he pretends he is, when Eli is playing...so cute!)
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks 
9. What is your favorite animal? A horse
10. What is your fav. song? What does the Fox say? (LOL o gosh)
11. What is your favorite book? He said "The bear one" (meaning Corduroy)
12. Who is your best friend? "Eli! Eli is my best friend" (AWWWWW)
13. What is your fav. cereal? Coco Puffs
14. What is your fav. thing to do outside? Play in the snow
15. What is your fav. drink? Water (LOL, no its not its chocolate milk, but if he wants to say that it is ok)
16. What is your fav. holiday? Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed at night? Water
18. What is your fav. thing to eat for breakfast? M&M's (cracks me up, I don't let him have m&m's for breakfast. He wishes though!)
19. What do you want to eat on your birthday? Pumpkin drink (Wait, whaattt!??? lol)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A flower (LOL OMG)

Love you little bug! Happy Birthday!!

3 months

So much to say for this blog! Well for starts Elle is 3 months old already! I really wish time would slow down! I hate to think how fast it is going! She doesnt get a check up at 3 months, so I have no idea how much she weighs, or how long she is. But she feels heavier and is looking longer. But she still looks tiny at the same time lol. She is cooing and "talking" like crazy! In fact she discovered a new squealing/razzing sound, and it is her absolute favorite thing to do, other than look at me, Ross, or the boys :) She is loud while she does it too lol! Loves to be heard! I have a very good feeling that she is going to love to talk a lot, like her momma. She gives the biggest gummy smiles, and it is the sweetest thing to witness. She makes my heart burst and melt all at the same time! She wakes up once in the night, anywhere between 4 and 5 a.m., and sleeps till I wake her up to get Eli ready for school which is 7. I know she would sleep longer if I let her, but I wake her up to feed her and change her diaper so she will sleep after I drop Eli off at school. A routine with her and the boys just fell into place in the beginning and I think, shoot this is easy lol. Of course life is busier, but it isnt any harder for me having 3 kids vs. 2. In fact I think to myself, I could handle 4, but dont worry, we arent having anymore, unless, God says lol. She is eating 2.5 oz-4 oz every 3-4 hours, and is starting to bat her hands at things. She loves to watch her hand hit her bottle when she is eating, and she likes to hold her bottle for a little bit. Thats a new thing, believe it or not. She is getting extra splashy when she takes her baths, and likes to get mommy very wet! I am just enjoying every single minute with her!! She has been here 3 moths already, but I am still in aww of her, and cant get enough of her! The boys are amazing helpers, and love to snuggle, kiss, and hug her as much as possible! Elle got baptized this month and what a beautiful/wonderful day we had celebrating! Tacos, cake, family, God=perfect! Plus we also enjoyed the cider mill/apple orchard this month and that was LOTS of fun!

There isnt a ton to update about the boys this past month. They are always silly/saying the silliest things. They are getting big, and being boys! They love to play with each other, yet at the same time do the sibling feuding they do lol. Oy!

On a slightly different note....I did a part of my journal that I had when I was pregnant with her, and it is now into the part "baby is here!" So I wanted to share this entry with you......

Praise and Thanksgiving

The most difficult part of you pregnancy was undoubtedly the labor and delivery of your child. No one can deny you worked really hard to bring your baby into the world. In fact, it was likely the most difficult-yet most fulfilling- thing you've ever been through. But something amazing happened the moment that baby made her entrance into the world and was placed into your arms- you suddenly forgot the pain you went through, and decided you would be willing to do it all over again in an instant.
There is an intense love that envelops you the moment you feel the softness of her baby skin and smell the scent of her soft hair. She is now a vital part of your life. You find yourself enraptured with each small move your baby makes and with each tiny sound that escapes from her sweet lips.
Each milestone your baby achieves will nbe a reason to give God the praise and the glory for His beautiful creation. Each smile she gives will bring you unending joy. And the intense love you have for your child will serve as a constant reminder of God's sovereignty and love for His children. What better reason to be thankful than that?

You love us so much You gave mothers the capacity to forget the pain of childbirth. Thank you, God, for that and for the precious gift of my new baby.

I wanted to share that cause everything it said is so true! I can relate and it just spoke to me! So I thank God, like I do daily, for Elleana, and Eli, and Dominic! What precious blessings! Which leads me to a letter to Elle. In the kids baby books there is a spot that says a letter from mommy, and a letter from daddy. So I filled them out with each child, and I finally filled out Elle's letter from me today. I could say SO much more, but wanted to keep it short and sweet. These letter things always make me cry, but here is Elle's.....

My precious Elle,

Before God even put you inside my womb, I prayed he would bless me with a beautiful little girl! Someone to do girl things with. Playing dolls, doing her hair, tea parties, dress up, tu-tu's, lots of pink stuff, and the fun list of girl things goes on! Then I discovered I was pregnant, and what a wonderful day that was! Then we found out you were a girl and I couldnt believe it! I cried when it sunk in! All I kept thinking is God answered my prayers!! Which is exactly what your name means Elleana: God has answered. I couldnt wait to meet you! See what/who you looked like, how much hair you would have, and finally on July 20th, you were born!! I cant even find the word(s) to describe what a precious day that was. A mothers love for her child is indescribable. I thank God every day for blessing us with you Elle. I love to just stare at you! Your perfect in every single way! I look at you and think "WOW, your sooo beautiful!" You are the perfect piece in completing our family and I am so lucky to be your mommy!!! I get to be the one to watch you grow and that makes my eyes water! Mommy, daddy, and God love you SO much, but God loves you more! I promise to let you know that every single day! Love you baby girl!

Mommy

                                         See what I am saying!? Her smile, makes me smile!

                                        So lucky they are mine, and I get to be their mommy!

This and That

Our little Elle bean is 2 months old today!!! I swear that second month went faster than the first month!! Elle had her 2 month check up today and she weighs 9 lbs 2 oz. (14%), 23 1/4 in long (79%), and head circ. 37.4 cm (20%). So she was 1 oz shy of a gaining  1 lb since last month, and grew 2 1/4 inches since last month, which I knew she looked longer, and her head grew 1.1 cm since last month. Lots of growing!! She got 3 shots today and wasnt happy about it. That part is always hard. She is smiling like crazy and cooing! I love when they (babies) start smiling and cooing. Elle just melts my heart! She is starting to be ready for bed earlier, yay!! 9-9:30, seems to be the time. Better than 11, which she was doing. And she also had her more advanced hearing test and passed! Such wonderful news! We have her baptism/dedication set Oct. 13th, and we are looking forward to that!

Eli has been doing great in school. After his first day I asked him how his day was and he said "Good, but it was long!" LOL. Other than that he said he likes school, and loves gym class! Dom has been really good with Eli being gone all day. I was afraid he would be really board, but he has fun with Elle and I and likes to do his own thing. Dont get me wrong he misses him and he is SO happy to see him when he gets home, but he isnt board, and that makes me happy! But that sums up our month :)

1 month

I wanted to do this blog 6 days ago when she turned 1 month, but man its so hard to get on the computer let alone do a blog lol. I usually just check Facebook from my phone when I have Elle sleeping on me or when I am feeding her. Well its hard to believe that she is 1 month old already! I just wish I could seriously slow time down! We are all adjusting wonderfully, and the only thing that was hard for me the first month was Elle having her nights and days mixed up. Not so much going from 2 to 3 kids, just the nights a days mixed up. Yikes that was hard! I cant begin to explain how tired I was! She would be up most of the night, and instead of sleeping in the morning, when she finally falls asleep, I had to continue with Eli, and Dom, cause they are awake and ready to start their day. Plus the boys dont take naps, so I cant do that much either. Thankfully I had my mom, mother in-law, and Ross to help me out on trying to catch up on some sleep those first 3 weeks! The first days home where rough at nights cause Elle has acid reflux and it bothered her at night. But we got her on medicine right away and noticed a difference right away! She finally figured out her nights and days in her 3rd week. I now have to work on getting her hours adjusted to our time. Elle likes to sleep most of the evening (and its so hard to wake her up) and be awake from 7 or 8 p.m. until 11 pm. So I am going to bed around 11 and getting up at 6 in the morning cause the boys are ready to go around 6. I will say that Elle sleeps like a rock star at night though! She sleeps 4 hour stretches, which the boys never did that so soon. They were up every two hours at that age. So I feed her and pump right before we go to bed, get up with her between 2:00-3 for a feeding and then up around 6:00 with the boys/ Elle's next feeding. So I only get up once in the night with her. Very nice! Cant complain much there! When we went to her first doctors appt Elle weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and the first few weeks they were keeping track of her weight. She was slowly gaining weight, but they were wanting her to gain a little bit more a day. So today was her 1 mon check up and she is finally past her birth weight! She weighs 8 lbs 3 oz. (18%), she is 21 in long (36%) and head circumference is 36.3 cm (24%). She is a little peanut! Doctor is satisfied now with her weight gain, and we now dont have to keep a close eye on it. She is eating 2.5 to 3.5 oz at a feeding, and she means business when it comes to eating lol. She gets upset fast if she doesnt get her bottle quick enough lol.  She is pretty much out of all of her newborn clothes :( And now into 0-3/3 mon size. She is so strong and holds her head up so well! She loves to look around, in fact she gets mad if you hold her laying down, cause she wants to see whats around her. 

While in the hospital after she was born she had her first hearing test, like all babies do after being born, and Elle didnt pass on her left ear, so the other week we had to go to the hearing center office for another test on her left ear and she didnt pass again. What they did when we went was hook up wires to her head cause they pick up her brain waves when there is a noise. Elle got 3/4 of the way through the test and would stop responding to the noise (they did the test 3 times and that would happen every time), so she is hearing the noise. We dont know why she stopped responding, but I think one of the wires they hooked up on her wasnt on very good. But we have to go back for a more invasive hearing test on Sept 6th. We are not concerned, we know she can hear cause she responds to us all the time and the boys. 

The boys are adjusting wonderfully with her. They are SUCH good helpers/big brothers! Always wanting to help, and hold her/kiss her. Its such a joy to see! Its been a wonderful first month with her, and I cant thank God enough for our beautiful children. 

She's here!!!!

She is here!!! We welcomed Elleana Yvonne Weaver Saturday morning, at 8:40 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. (same size as big brother Eli) and was 20 1/2 in. long.

Birth story:
Now Friday evening I cut Ross, Eli, and Dom's hair, and decided to vacuum the house, just so I don't have to do it tomorrow. After I got done doing that Ross helped get the boys bathed, and dressed and took Eli up to church for his last night at VBS. My back felt really crampy/achy, and just felt "different" then it normally did. I wondered in my head if that could be the start of something, but didn't want to think anything more just in case it wasn't. I did remind myself that I did just do a lot of stuff lol. So after Eli got back from VBS, and got into bed, I relaxed with Ross for a bit. I was feeling ready for bed, so I went to bed around 10 p.m. Then around 12:30 I woke up to a contraction, but I thought maybe I had dreamt it, so I got up to go pee. I noticed that when I got up Elle felt even lower then before, and there was a lot more pressure than before. So after coming back from the bathroom, I laid down and waited to see if there would be another contraction, and sure enough 9 min later there was. Once I had another one after that I knew I was finally in labor and wanted to go downstairs to time them, cause there was no way I was going to be able to go back to bed. The first few contractions were 9 min apart, but then went down to 5-8 min. Once I timed them for a little over an hour I called my mom around 2 to let her know this is it and I need her to take off to come stay with the boys. My mom got to our house just before 4 and by that time my contractions were coming every 3 1/2 min- 4 1/2 min apart, so Ross and I got our stuff in the van and car seats transferred over to my mom's yukon, and took off to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital about 5 and got into a triage room. They checked me and I was 5 cm and 80%- 90% effaced. Since they were really busy, they said they cant admit me to a Labor and Delivery room until I was 6 cm or my water had broke. So they wanted me to wait an hour and see if I progress to a 6. Well we waited an hour and I didn't progress to a 6, which I was so bumming cause I just wanted to get the epidural, because the contractions where really uncomfortable. So they said to walk around the halls and we would check again in about an hour. So Ross and I walked the halls, and the contractions got so intense that I needed him to rub my back when a contraction came on, because of wonderful back labor. Well I could only take 45 min. of walking, so we came back to our triage room so I could get checked again, and I was a 6! YAY! I was so concerned I would lose my window of opportunity to get an epidural that I asked if I could get my IV hooked up right away before they moved me over to my L&D room (because I assumed it would be a little bit before they got around to moving me). So the nurse got an IV in me and after that my water broke (the time was 8:10 a.m.). The nurses all knew how fast Dominic came after my water broke, so they literatlly hurried me up to my L&D room right away after that! The cool thing was, I was in the same L&D room from when I had Dominic, but anyways once they got me in the room I wanted the epidural ASAP! So the anesthesiologist came right in to get my epidural going, right before she poked my back I had a contraction, and I said that it was starting to feel like Elle was going to come out. The nurse asked if I wanted them to check me before doing the epidural, and I said no just get it done with before she comes lol. So they proceeded with the epidural. Ross sat in a chair right in front of me to hold my hands. I had one more contraction before the epidural got done and it was SO SO painful that I said she is going to be coming with the next one I had. Now this is were it got crazy lol.  It turned out to be pointless to even get the epidural in the first place, cause it takes 15 min. for it to fully kick in. I just didnt expect her to come so fast, I thought I had 15 min for it to kick in before she was going to come lol. But they laid me down on the bed, checked me, and sure enough fully dialted and effaced! The next thing I know I see Ross on his knees leaning over the sink LOL. I asked the nurses if he was ok cause he had three nurses over by him  and come to find out he was dizzy, and felt like he might throw up lol. After asking if he was ok, I didnt have any time to worry about him, cause my next contraction was coming, and this was going to be it! Since Ross was out of commision to help, my girlfriend that was there for Elle's birth, and to take pictures, stepped up to help hold my leg and coach me :) Thank God she was! She was the one that helped me get through it. It was absolutey painful, but 2-3 pushes from that contraction we meet our sweet little Elle. She came out so fast, she was ready to meet the world! I didnt have a doctor in the room to deliver her, the nurses had to do it. Ross got to see Elle's birth from across the room, but didn't get to cut the cord. They had him lay down in the room next door and have juice and a sand which. Once he had that he started feeling much better and he came back to the room to see Elle and I. It was quite funny, and we laughed pretty good about it. We still chuckle when it comes up. Its a very special birth story that we can tell Elle many more times, as she gets older. He has no idea he reacted that way, cause he was just fine with Eli and Dom's birth. He thinks its because I was in so much pain.

We are doing good. We found out after having her, that she has a minor (nothing severe) cleft pallet, in the back of her mouth on her soft pallet. So I cant breast feed her because she cant latch on (cant get enough suction/latch), and that was hard for me to hear at first, but I am pumping and thats all that matters is she is still getting my milk. We had no idea that she had a cleft pallet, so it was shocking and hard to take right at first, but its all good. She is more then perfect, and we just cant thank God enough for this beautiful little girl he has given us. Its hard to believe our little girl is finally here! The boys are in love with her, and love to just watch her. Our fist day home has been some what busy but I cant be happier to be home, we have missed the boys and our bed :)

                                                               Our sweet Elleana

The end is SO close!!

Well I figured I would update my blog about my doctors appt I had this morning. It went a lot better then I thought it would. I was expecting at this appt. to not have much to talk about and my doctor to say, we wait some more! But I was wrong. On some of it that is lol. She did tell me we wait, but she scheduled my induction date for next week Thursday, the 25th (Eli's birthday). Thats if little miss E hasnt made her entrance yet. Now I was totally surprised how my doctors office does inductions. I was under the assumption that when you get induced, you go the hospital, and they get an IV in you and get patocin  going and let you body get into labor, but my doctor's office does it differently I guess. What I will do is go to my doctors office at 2 (thats my appt. time) and when I get there they will check me to see how dilated and effaced I am, and depending on my progress I will either take a pill, or ingest a drink, and I cant remember what the other possible thing was, but I take one of those and go home. What I take will ripen my cervix, and get things/labor going. She did say that they usually dont do the induction till late afternoon/evening so then I most likely wont go into labor till the next morning, but of course that all depends on my beginning progress of my cervix, and the person. It's funny in a way that my induction day is on Eli's birthday. My original due date was Eli's birthday (the 25th). The odds of her coming on the actual 25th arent any greater then not having the induction that day, if that makes sense lol. God knows when she is coming, and if his plan is for her to come on the 25th, then thats what it will be! Eli and E will just have something extra special together, on sharing their birthdays :) My doctor wanted to do the induction originally the 24th, but the ladies that do the scheduling said the 24th is out, they were busy! So the 25th it is! I mentioned something about stripping membranes at my last appt. but my doctor doesnt recommend it, and doesnt like doing it because it can just increase the risk of bacteria and infection, so she said to just go with the induction. Which now that I know how they do it, of course I will take the induction over the stripping of the membranes lol! It doesnt sound bad at all!

Of course I want things to happen naturally, so that is my main prayer this next week, for things to start naturally. I am really hoping something happens today or any day from now till this weekend! The boys yesterday were talking to her and telling her to come out :) And my husband keeps texting me from work asking if I am in labor yet? lol! Which cracks me up, cause if I was I would be calling him right away :) We are just all so excited to meet out little one, the one that is going to complete our family. Just praising God for this journey he has put me on, and I cant wait to see/meet this precious miracle he is blessing us with real soon!

Ready or Not!

Well I am 38 weeks and 1 day today, and I am impatiently waiting to meet out sweet little girl. Yesterday I was thinking maybe, just maybe something would happen based on the way I was feeling. I felt horrible yesterday! I was very achy in my back hips, and pubic bone area. I was exhausted and crampy. I was just feeling off. It was all pregnancy related, I never once thought "maybe I caught a bug." On Saturday at my mom's I was also achy, and crampy. So I would assume thats all a good thing. But nothing started yesterday, nor has anything today :( I know I am only 38 weeks and 1 day, and I have just less then 2 weeks till my due date, so thats still plenty of time for labor to start, but its so hard to not get impatient when 1. Your first child was born when you were 38 weeks exactly 2. Your second child was born when I was 38 weeks and 4 days and 3. Your extremely uncomfortable and ready to meet your baby! So in my mind I keep thinking/hoping that any day this week she is going to come.

Back in the beginning of my pregnancy a very kind lady at our church got me a Mommy to Be journal, and I have been filling out my journal through out my whole pregnancy. I love it too! It is a christian journal, so it makes me think about God and what I am going through, and leaning on him through it all. So today I decided to grab my journal (because it had been a few days since my last entry) and fill some more of it out. I want to share what my journal entry was about, because I know God is telling me something.......

Here it is:
Did you ever think about the fact that Jesus was willing to endure the cross because of the joy set before Him? Everything He went through was somehow buffered by joy.
Joy is a wonderful motivator, especially as you face the final days of your pregnancy. When you look forward to your delivery day and to that little baby you'll soon carry in your arms, the joy will surely be overwhelming. And that same joy will give you the strength to endure any pain you might face.
Every woman wonders what her delivery day will be like, and you're surely the same. Will you be in the grocery store when your water breaks? Will you be sleeping soundly in the middle of the night when those first contractions awaken you? Will you be washing dishes or tending to toddlers when those twinges in your lower back hit? Will you find yourself completely unprepared, or so you think you will have all your ducks in a row?
Whether you're ready or not, baby will come-and on her timetable! Perhaps you have the perfect date in mind, the date you're praying she'll make her appearance. She's sure to come on a different day. Maybe you have your bags packed and ready to go and are counting down the seconds until you are truly in labor. Likely, baby will make you wait even longer then you hoped! Maybe you've already made a run to the hospital or birthing center, only to be sent home again with the words "false alarm!" ringing in your ears.
No matter how much preparation you've made for the big day, it's likely you'll still be taken by surprise when the moment comes. God is in the surprise business, and He's pretty good at sweeping in when you least expect it.
As you enter the final days of your pregnancy, lean on the Lord as never before. Take care of the business at hand- nesting, nursery preparation, bills, ect., but don't forget to stop and smell the roses. Once that baby arrives, the words "free time" will be a thing of the past. You've paid your dues: carrying the child all of this time; dealing with changes in your body, your emotions, and your marriage; making purchases; pre-washing baby clothes......now it's time to rest- while you can.
And relaxing your mind is equally as important as giving your body the rest it needs. Make a conscious effort to rid yourself of any fears; turn to the Lord every time you start to question or wonder. And trust that He's just as excited about the big day as you are! The angels are likely circled about, perched and ready to usher your child into the world with a rousing hallelujah chorus.
Let the celebration begin, Mom-to-be! Let the celebration begin!

After I read that, all I could do is tear up and say WOW! A lot went through my mind 1. God is telling me to be patient, give it to him. She is going to be here in no time. 2. Slow down! God wants me to slow down and take this last bit of time (before it gets really busy) and enjoy it, relax, soak up more time with Eli and Dom before most of my attention is going to need to be on her 3. God knows her birthday (I knew He knew, but he is just reminding me). 4. He is going to get me through these last days/weeks, and ease my uncomfortableness. I never once thought about God being just as excited as I am for E's birthday. It made me tear up thinking of it, cause he loves her way more than I do, and I know he cant wait for us to meet her!

Reading that is just what I needed to read/hear from him, and it makes me feel SO much better! So I may still be a little impatient, but I see things clearly now, and what I should be doing with my time before she comes, and that is all I need to know/do right now! So today the boys and I had lots of fun after lunch playing a ton of board games, and watching cartoons. Lots of laughing and time spent with them. Makes my heart happy! Tomorrow morning the boys and I are going to go watch Despicable Me 2 (unless E comes in between now and movie time). I am so excited to take them! It will be both of their first times at a theater, and I know all 3 of us are going to enjoy it! Then Wednesday and Thursday is Eli's t-ball practice, and I have my 38 week check up doctors appt at 3 on Thursday, and Friday I will catch up on Laundry and then Ross and I and the boys have nothing planned for the weekend. Looking forward to what we have planned this week, and if God decides to sweep in when we least expect it, to introduce baby E, then we will be SO excited and ready for that!

37 weeks and Eli's birthday

So yesterday I hit week 37! Full term!!! Its amazing to think I am there now! Its also SUPER exciting that she is going to be here really soon!! I went to my doctors appt on Thursday, and it was a quick one. The boys went with me and they thought it was very cool to hear the baby's heart beat on the doppler. Eli told Ross when we got home that it is fun going to mommy's doctors :) But anyways, her heart beat was in the low 140's, and the doctor didnt tell me what my belly was measuring (I forgot to ask too) I think we got distracted by the boys, but she said she has grown a lot since the last appt. Which is good! I told her about how I am having horrible heart burn and acid reflux at night, and she put me on prilosec, cause tums wasn't cutting it at all! It is working, and I love it! My heart burn was getting really bad! My next scheduled appt is July 11th. I wont be going in for my 37th week check up because of the holidays I guess, but by my next appt, I am going to be almost 39 weeks, so it is very possible I wont be making it to my next appt! I hope so! :) Ross and I were taking our guesses on how much E is going to weigh and how long she is going to be, and Ross thinks she is going to be 6 lbs 4 oz, 20 in long, and my guess is 6 lbs 13 oz, 19 in long. So we will see who is the closest :) Braxton Hicks contractions are coming a lot, even more then my last blog, so thats a good thing!
I have everything ready! I have our room set up with her pack n play/changing table station up, all the stuff I will need in the middle of the night. Our hospital bag is packed as much as I could pack it, and her diaper bag is all set! I just need to get her car seat in the van, which I want to do today when Ross gets home from work. Everything on my "To do list before E gets here" is done! Now we are just waiting! So come on baby girl!!!!
We will be very busy in the mean time of waiting, so waiting wont feel like waiting lol! Eli starts t-ball practice today, and he is so excited! Then he has two more practices next week (July 10th, and 11th), and if I do have E then my mom will be taking him to them. The boys and I also have to get grocery shopping done today, then this week is a holiday week, and we have plans with friends and family on Wednesday and Thursday, so we are looking forward to a fun week! Then my mom's 4th of July party on Saturday! Which we just had a fun weekend this past weekend! Friday we went in to Grand Ledge, to do Eli's birthday dinner, which he picked Pizza Hut, and then we went to a few stores. We couldn't do his putt-putt golf because it was raining. Then Saturday we had Eli's and his cousin Ben's birthday party, which was a great time! The rain held off just in time! An answered prayer, so thank you Lord! Then Sunday we went to church came home, had lunch, and took off to do putt-putt golf and take Eli to Meijer's to spend his birthday money he had. We had a very busy but fun weekend! Eli did great at putt-putt golf. Ross and him hit a whole in one, one time! I even got one too (with Dom's help of course) :) It was a great family adventure weekend!
Well this could possibly be my last blog, but we will see! Hopefully my next blog post is "She is here!"

34 weeks

Well since it has been 4 weeks since my last blog I thought I would update :) I did address my doctor about my itching, and she didn't like the sounds of it, so she wanted me to do some tests to make sure I didn't have Chloasma of pregnancy. Chloasma of pregnancy isn't good for the baby. So I had to collect my urine in a jug, that the lab gave me, for 24 hours (Ewww, I know) and then go in and get my blood drawn once the 24 hours was up. Everything turned out good on that and I didn't have it. Thank goodness! Its just hormones that are causing the itching and my doctor did give me Benadryl to take at night for the itching, which has helped! Good news on that whole thing is that the itching is MUCH better! It only bugs me once in a while. YAY! Thats so much better then the intense itching I was having every night for a good 2-3 weeks. Everything was good at that appt., and I scheduled my 32 week app. (which I didn't end up having cause my doctor was at the hospital delivering a baby all day). So I scheduled my 34 week appt., which was today, and everything went great! I had some questions I needed to ask my doctor, and she said that baby is very low and can tell that I have dropped, which I figured I did by the way I have been feeling. Her heart beat was in the 140's-150's. She was moving all around. I have been having a lot of intense Braxton hicks contractions the last couple days (which I have been having Braxton hicks contractions since I was 17 weeks). Like last night I had 7 in one hour! I remember it getting like that with Dominic when I was 36-37 weeks along, but this is happening sooner, so it makes me wonder if she is going to come early! Honestly I think she will, but I don't want to keep thinking that just in case she makes me wait the full 40 weeks lol. I did tell my doctor about the BH contractions, and she said that is totally normal to be having that many right now, since this is my third pregnancy. She said that if I go into labor now they don't try to stop it. Baby would be just fine.
I have one more 2 week appt., which is June 27th (36 weeks), and then I start going every week till she decides to come! So crazy to think I am that close to the end! I cant believe how fast this pregnancy is going!
My amazing friend threw me a shower this last Sunday, and it was more then perfect! I enjoyed and loved every minute of it! So much fun! I got so much great stuff for E and I already have it washed and put away! Everything is completely ready for her! Washed, put away, and her room is all done. Tonight I went in her room and just looked at it, I got thinking how its still some what unbelievable that we are having a girl! I am scared I will go to the hospital, have the baby and then the doctor says its a boy, and we have everything pink lol! But then I remind myself that that barely happens now and days, and it was obvious at the ultrasound that it is a girl.
All I have left to do to get ready for E is put up the pack n play in our room (to use the changing station that is on it) and put the rock n play in our room also (cause I plan on putting her in that to sleep in next to the bed). Get the diapers and everything else I am going to need at night in the room. Put her car seat in our van, pack my bag for the hospital, and get dinners in the freezer. I plan on doing that in about 2 weeks, just incase she does come early I will be ready, and prepared! The end is near, and I am soaking up every min I have left of her in my tummy, cause I am going to truly miss it!
She is so busy in there though! She really likes to try to stretch out, which is a big ouch sometimes, but Eli has been seeing my tummy moving all around and he thinks its so funny! He then moves my belly around so she will do it again lol. He also loves to feel her have the hiccups, which I get a lot! He is getting very excited and anxious to meet her, just like me! Dom doesn't quite get it that there is a baby in there and she will be coming out and we will bringing her home, but he is excited too.

30 weeks/Eli's almost done with preschool!

WOW! I am at 30 weeks! This is where you know you don't have much time left, but at the same time it starts to feel like forever lol. I have a feeling though this isn't going to feel like forever, cause it really has been going by super fast. I have been feeling pretty good, besides all the basic pregnant aches/pains/ feeling like a huge whale lol! I am enjoying being pregnant as much as I possibly can, with out much complaints, because I wont be doing this again. I haven't updated about my 3 hour glucose yet! Which I know most of you that read this already know the results! So I got my 3 hour test done on a Friday, and by Wednesday of that next week I hadn't heard from my doctors office about the results. I was thinking that no news is good news (cause they only call about lab results, if the results are negative) but I also knew that I have a history of gestational diabetes (from Dominic) and that this is the 3 hour test, so they might just call me to let me know weather the test was good or bad. Mind you I had a bunch of my mom's group friends from church praying for me, baby E and this test, on top of family praying. So like I said Wednesday comes and goes, and nothing, so Thursday morning I thought you know what, I am sick of wondering how this test went or if they are going to call or not, so I am just going to call the nurse at my doctors office and ask her what the results where. So I call and end up talking to the receptionist first. I asked her if she could tell me what my results where for my 3 hour glucose test. SO she got my file and was looking at it, and says "Well I don't think your test results have been looked over yet. I am going to send you over to the nurse's line and you can leave a message with her." Great! I started to panic a little. I left a message with the nurse and she called me back a couple hours later. She said that they still haven't gotten my results back yet, and asked if I did do my 3 hour test. Of course I did, so she said she was going to make some phone calls and figure out whats going on! Well she called me back a few minutes later and said that some how I had my results under another Id number. She then tells me everything looks good, good, good! Music to my ears! I was just bursting with excitement and praise, for the Lord had healed me from being gestational diabetic! He is the only one to praise for it! He answered my prayers once again! YAY!!! So I am very happy to say I am not gestational diabetic this pregnancy! Thank you Lord!

I have a doctors appt this Wednesday at 2, and I start going every two weeks to my ob/gyn after that! I go every 2 weeks till I am 36 weeks, and then I will go every week till she is born! Once you start going every 2 weeks, then you know you are getting to the end! EEEKK!! I am planning on addressing  to my doctor something that has started in the last week, and that is being itchy in the evenings! It only happens in the evening hours! It has let up a little (not as intense), but it is still there, and enough to drive me crazy! My back, belly, arms, wrists, legs, and feet all start to itch. Weird! I never had this when I was pregnant with the boys. I am hoping it is nothing serious, and just hormones! But I plan to tell her about it, and then see what she says. Hopefully I can do something for it.

This coming up Sunday we have our church baby shower and I am so excited for it! What isnt fun about getting baby stuff!?? Once again, we are very thankful/blessed for our church to do this for us! We also decided to not go up north for memorial day weekend. So we will be home possibly going over to my in-laws new house (thats if they close on it before then).

On a different note, I just have to add that our little Eli has only 2 weeks left of preschool! WHAT!!?? Talk about a fast school year! Next Tuesday is Eli's class celebration where they are having ice cream and getting there certificates :) His last day is next Thursday, May 23rd. We made the decision to put him in DK (developmental Kindergarten) next year for many reasons! 1. If he went on to Kindergarten, instead of DK, he would be 17 when he graduates,  and thats just so young! Ross was 17 when we graduated high school, and did just fine, but most young adult boys could mature a little more. 2. It benefits him if he plays sports! Boys always take a little longer to fully develop and grow into men. Ross grew a couple inches the year after we graduated and his shoulders got so much broader. That was just that year after we graduated! I cant imagine Eli wont play sports, he already says he wants to play football. He loves all sports, so he is going to have fun finding the ones he really loves and wants to do! 3. DK goes at a little slower pace then kindergarten. I know that Eli would be able to handle Kindergarten, with out much problems, he is a super intelligent boy but there are still some things that he needs to work on, and why overwhelm him, when he will already be adjusting to 5 full days a week, a new sibling (all though I don't think thats going to be an issue at all, he has already done adjusting when Dom got here), and being young for his class. And last but not least, when we thought about it, we cant go wrong when we put him in DK. There isnt going to be any regrets going that route, but there is a possibility of regrets on putting him in Kindergarten. I know we will be very happy with this decision (which we already are!) as he continues to get older, especially when the year his class he could have been in, graduates, and he wont be! Why rush it, if we don't have to!! We will have him for one more year, before he goes off to college, and becomes an adult! I know this will benefit him in so many ways as he grows and develops! God has given us peace on this, and it feels great!

Getting things accomplished!

I am getting lots of things accomplished, and it feels great! I am glad I am doing most of it now, cause I am slowly starting to feel my energy get less and less lol. So its nice to know I wont be doing everything at the end and really tiring myself out. Yesterday afternoon after dropping Eli off at school, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so I dozed off on the couch for about 15 min. while Dominic watched Peppa Pig. Of course I was asked every 5 minutes "watch ya doin momma?" He is a silly little guy :) 

First of the things I have accomplished is making E's curtains for her room, reupholstering the rocking chair, making her flower decals for her wall, making her letter E out of buttons, making her pillows and also sewing on the flower to them, making her head band holder, and getting the rest of her room stuff (curtain rods, breathable bumper, and lamp) which grandpa and grandma Sloan got the bumper, rods, and lamp for her room :) Very thankful for that! Then a week and a half ago, my mom and dad took the boys for the night and Ross and I painted her room. It is completely finished! YAY! I LOVE it so much! Its exactly how I imagined and wanted it to look. I love to just walk into her room and look at everything and imagine her here and what she is going to look like. I know it wont be long till we meet our little beauty,  and that makes me so excited! I remember doing the same thing while I was pregnant with the boys. Such a fun/exciting time! Here are some pictures of her room......

The other thing I have been doing is getting rid of almost all of the baby boy clothes I had. I had 4 totes of clothes from newborn to 18 month sizes and I am down to 1 tote left of all the sizes. I will try again to sell the rest of them and if I have no luck, I will donate them. I also bought E some head bands, and cloth diapers with some of the money I made from selling the clothes. That was fun!! Plus I have been organizing her clothes that I have gotten from friends and family. I havent washed them yet (I plan on doing that when I am done with my 2 showers I am having and it gets a little closer). But I have them all put away. She already has a lot of cute clothes! I am pretty much set on newborn to 6 month sizes already. I am so thankful for all the clothes I have bought/ was given :) 

So whats coming up is my first baby shower that our church is kindly throwing for us the middle of May, then we are heading up north to some cabins memorial day weekend, and then just a couple weeks after that my amazing friend Mandy is throwing me a shower (an all girls shower). After my showers I will wash her clothes, and get them all set. Then we are doing my nephews and Eli's birthday party together this year, and I will be getting ready for that! We are doing Eli's party early this year so I can just enjoy it, and wont have a brand new baby to also take care or possibly go into labor the day of the party if she hasnt come yet (which I sure hope she comes before the 25th lol). Eli is SO excited to be having his party with his cousin, they are both going to love it! After the party (which is the last weekend in June) I will be in the home stretch of any day now E could come. I want to get some frozen dinners set up and ready for when E does come, then I will have meals pretty much already to be made up after we come home from the hospital! 

So I am now 27 weeks! This coming up Sunday I will be in my third trimester (28 weeks) and I cant believe it! It is going by so fast and I know it is going to continue! Not complaining, we are getting very excited to meet our baby girl :) I had a doctors appt yesterday, and before I went to that appt I had to get my one hour glucose test done, and I got a call back saying my sugar was high (153 and it cant be higher then 138), and they wanted me to do the 3 hour one :( BOO! So while I was at my appt I got my carb diet I need to follow for the next 3 days before I go in and do the 3 hour test. For those that dont know what you do at the three hour test, I will need to fast for at least 8 hours before I go to the lab (which is why I am doing it as early as I can in the morning) I go to the lab, get my blood drawn, then drink a really sugary (nasty) glucose drink and get my blood drawn every hour for the next three hours. It is not fun, but what can you do! I am just thankful we have a lab right here in Portland, so I can leave the lab after getting my blood drawn and go home and go back when I need to get my blood drawn again.  This diet I follow isnt fun. I remember doing this when I was pregnant with Dom and I was starving. You are only allowed 150-200 carbs for the next 3 days. I was gestational diabetic with Dominic so if I dont pass this test I know what to expect and what I need to do till she is born. Its annoying, (checking my blood sugar 4 times a day and I will be on a carb diet) but I will do whatever I have to to make sure she is healthy and happy :)  The only cool thing about having gestational diabetes is I will be getting a lot of ultrasounds! But I would way rather not have gestational diabetes then getting a bunch of ultrasounds. But overall my appt went good. 

Baby E's room

Well I have had a good idea for awhile what I would want her room to look like. Thanks to pinterest I got my ideas from there! Which I have had a board named, If I ever have a girl......lol for a long time. Now I am going to and I get to get/do things off of that board and I am SO excited!

I am not doing her room till next month sometime, because one I have time to, and I dont need to hurry and rush to get it all together, although if you know me I would be doing it right now if I could lol. But the main thing is Dominic will be moving into Eli's room (so it will be "their" room) the very end of March beginning of April. Plus another thing I have to do, so I can open up room in the her room she is going in, is I have to get rid of all the boy clothes I have! I have so many totes of boy clothes that wont be needed anymore that I have to go through and keep a few of my favorite items of the boys and get rid of the rest. We know a couple in our church that is due anytime now and they didnt find out the sex of there baby, so if their little one is a boy I told her she could go through all of the stuff I had and have it. I am thinking I am going to do a garage sale with all the stuff I want to get rid of, but part of me really doesnt want to deal with that part. I am part of a rummage sale page (its like craigslist) on Facebook for our area, and I think I will add things on there and see what I can sell. Then I might not have to do a garage sale :) So once I get Dom in Eli's room, and get rid of all the boy stuff I can move on to getting E's room put together.

My in-laws got E part of her crib set already! I am so thankful they did that, and so excited for it to get here! I am waiting for it to come in so I can use the color of that pink for doing the rest of the things in the room. I want the pinks to be pretty similar if not the same. So I need it for when I go to the fabric store to get the fabric for her curtains, and for picking out a lamp, ect. So here is the crib set that she is getting. I have no idea how to put a picture on here, only the link, so there are going to be a lot of links lol.....its just the crib skirt, sheet and the quilt that is draped over the crib in the picture :)
http://www.bedding.com/baby-bedding/one-grace-place/simplicity-hot-pink-3-pc-crib-bedding-set

Now the color of her walls I am doing in this color.....http://www.myperfectcolor.com/en/color/89614_Valspar-4004-1B-Urban-Sunrise, and the accent color of her bedding and curtains. and lamp will be about this color (as long this pink matches her crib set).....http://www.lowes.com/pd_94101-4-10031BFROSTYBERRY_0__?productId=3330272

Then I will need to get a white breathable bumper to go with her crib and the curtain rods I will be getting for her curtains are these, but they will be pink not purple......http://www.walmart.com/ip/your-zone-28-to-48-purple-faceted-curtain-rod-set/19514920 and the lamp (as long as the color is right) I think I want to get this one.....http://www.amazon.com/Trisha-Light-Table-Lamp-Shade/dp/B005C0BNPE/ref=sr_1_125?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1362579326&sr=1-125

For the decor on her wall I will be putting up framed paintings the boys made for her and want to do this button letter thing instead of a wooden letter......http://www.etsy.com/listing/83469502/personalized-vintage-style-nursery?ref=sr_gallery_34&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=nursery&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet= and another thing I want on her wall is this......http://lilyandthistle.blogspot.com/2010/07/turning-thrift-store-frame-into.html plus I will be making these paper flowers for her wall (another diy pinterest find)....http://www.honeybeevintage.com/2011/02/diy-wall-flowers-for-25-cents.html

O and I almost forgot to say that I plan on reupholstering the rocking chair I have (cause its baby blue). I am hoping to find a fabric that has a pretty pattern with the shade of pink and gray I am doing. That is everything I have to do to get her room ready, on top of washing her clothes and everything else. So I have a fun list of things to do to keep me busy. Our church is throwing us a baby shower and my good friend is going to throw me an "all girls" baby shower too. We are so blessed for the loving friends and family we have!

Its a ......GIRL!!!

Well as most of you know we went and got our ultrasound done today and we found out the Lord is blessing us with a little girl. It is sinking in, slowly, and I start to cry when I really think about it! I cant believe it at the same time! I just keeping thanking the Lord for a heathy baby, and for the added blessing of a little girl! I had a feeling it was a girl, but doubted myself. I would of been equally happy and blessed if it would have been a boy as well, but this is just an added blessing! She is going to complete our family, and the boys are going to be such great big brothers! I always said growing up, I would have 3 kids, and the first two would be boys, and the last would be a girl, cause that way she would have two big brothers to protect her :) My vision is coming true!! I just cant find words that express how happy/lucky/blessed I feel! I cant thank God enough for this little miracle he is sending us! I think of all the great things he has planned for her and it makes my heart burst! I get to do tea parties, hair bows/bands, color pink, shopping when she is older, barbies, baby dolls, and the fun list of girl things goes on! EEEEKKKK!

She was sleeping when we got started, which I was afraid she would be, cause in the afternoon I don't get much movement from her, so I figured she would be snoozing :) But she started to wiggle once the ultrasound wand was pushing around on my belly. She was measuring a week smaller then my due date, but my doctor isn't changing my due date because we got a real good one in my first trimester. I honestly think she is going to be petite/tiny. I already have had pictures/visions of what she would look like if we had a girl, I picture a head full of dark hair! Not as dark as Dom and Eli's but a dark brown, and of course blue eyes (Ross and I both have blue eyes). My heart just melts thinking about her already. Her heart rate was 153 bpm. She had her hands up by her head a lot and by her mouth a lot. Reminds me of Dom when he was in my tummy :) At first she had her legs close together and we couldn't get a good clear view if it was for sure a girl, but from what the we could see it looked like a girl. The ultrasound tech wanted to get other measurements and was hoping she would move more to get a more clear view. So she went back again and she still was kinda hiding, so she did some more measurements and went back once again and she had her legs more open to see better, and yep she made it know she was a girl :) I was thinking I would see boy parts pop out and surprise us lol!

After the ultrasound I called my mom and mother in law first, cause they were impatiently waiting, while watching the boys, and of course I heard screams and excitement on the other end when I said it was a girl! Then Eli said "I knew it was a girl! I just knew it!" So cute! He sure did know it! He has been saying this whole time he was having a little sister :) Dommy is excited too! He just laughs when I say he is having a baby sister, and then he came and pat my tummy saying "hi baby." Awwwwww. When I got home from my appt Eli came running into the kitchen, cause he heard me come in the door, and he was looking carefully at my hands/arms (he was looking for the baby), as he was walking closer to me, and asked "mom when is the baby coming home?" SO sweet! We have a name picked out for her, but dont plan on posting her name till she is born! Our parents know it, but thats it. Her name was a God thing too! We had her name picked out before I was even pregnant, and that was the only name we had this whole time cause we couldn't agree on a boy names. I said it was a sign that we had a girl name picked out and not a boy name lol. It was! Once again I am thanking God for the many blessings he has blessed us with! Here are some of the ultrasound pictures we got today :)

                                                              Her sweet little profile

                                                         Showing us she is a girl!

                                                          Covering up her ears lol!

                                                 Looks like she is sucking her thumb :)

Another update ;)

Man I dont update often enough. Really the main reason is I dont have a lot of new stuff to talk about lol. The boys are always growing and doing new things everyday. Eli has this week off of school, due to at home visits his teachers are doing for there students. Eli is loving school, and all the learning he is doing. He also loves his buddies from his class. I love seeing his school work, and seeing all the progress he is making. He is such a smart little guy :) Dom just came down with a fever last night, and seems to be doing much better this morning! He is talking like crazy! Talks very clear, and says up to 9 word sentences. We have been working on the alphabet and he knows most of his vowels. He knows all his colors, and can count up to 10 by himself. He knows about half of his shapes, which is another thing we have been working on. He loves puzzles, and coloring. He amazes us everyday! We are ready for cold weather to be gone and warm weather to come. Come on spring!!! Ross started running, which is awesome! He has been busy at work, and we have been enjoying our time at home. We are getting really excited cause 2 weeks from this Sunday we take the boys to Great Wolf Lodge! They are going to LOVE it! I am excited for them lol. Cant wait till we go :)

I have been feeling great! 18 1/2 weeks right now and it is going fast! Baby is getting stronger and feeling some strong kicks! Last night for example, I was watching the MSU vs. Indiana game with Ross (Boo for State losing) but anyways I sneezed and the baby doesnt like it when I sneeze (I seem to be doing it a lot lately). He/she started kicking up a storm, that you could even see my belly moving. Very cool to see. I called my doctor's office on Monday because I realized (which I never thought of it till now) that I had a check up appt on Feb. 27th and then 8 days later I was going to go back in, and get my ultrasound done. So I thought why not see if they can get both appts on the same day. My doctors office is 30 min. away, so its not like its super convenient. Well the receptionist was able to make it work and I got my ultrasound moved up to the 27th at 2:30 and I follow up with my doctor for my check up afterwords! YAY!! I was SO happy/excited! I cant wait to know who this little one is!! I have been leaning on a girl for the most part. There were 2 weeks in there where I was convinced it is a boy, but I am back to thinking a girl. I keep going back and forth lol. I am planning on hearing the ultrasound tech saying a boy and being completely shocked if she says girl! Only 7 more days till we know for sure! It cant come soon enough, Im not only excited to know who this little one is, but to see him/her! I am excited to see him/her in the 3d ultrasound. We get that done too, which is cool, cause I never got it done with Eli or Dom. That will be neat to see! 

Well I figured I better just update my blog since it has been a month since my last post! 

Update on the baby!

I havent updated in a while, so I have a bit to fill you in! So my first appt at the doctors on Dec. 10th, went good! It was just a quick appt. to confirm I am pregnant and ordering lab work. Well while at my first appt. I talked to my doctor about how at the end of my 5th week I started getting really nauseated and it lasted for about a week and then died down and (at the time) came and went in waves. I wanted to make sure there was nothing that put a flag up in her head when I told her that. Make sure nothing was wrong. She said "no nothing wrong, but the only thing that puts a flag up is that there might be more then one baby, with you getting so nauseated so early." I guess she said most women dont start to feel nauseated till week 7-8 (which at the time of appt. I was 7 1/2 weeks). Or she said it could be just a bug that lasted a week, which I found kinda crazy. So she said if there is more then one she would find out from my blood work and call me in for an ultra sound, so I never herd from her before my appt that was today (Jan. 3rd), so I figured all was fine, only one baby lol. Because my doctors office only calls if something is wrong on blood work. But now that I said that part I can fill you in on my appt. from today!

So I was just getting off the exit to my doctors office, less then 5 min. away, mind you it is 10:20 and my appt. was at 10:30. My phone rings and it is my doctors office calling me, so I answer it. The receptionist says " I know you have an appt. 10:30, but you were suppose to be here at 10 for an ultra sound, so I wanted to make sure you were still coming for your appt?" I said "What!? an ultrasound!? No one ever called me to tell me this information, I am less then 5 min. away, can I still get one? she said "O yeah thats fine." So I get there freaking out, omg, there cant be more then one (cause that was the first thing that ran through my head cause of my previous appt) then I asked the receptionist if everything was ok, once I got there? She said "yeah, just your lab work was a little low." That was it, so I knew twins was out of the question, then for a split second I freaked, and then God gave me peace and I knew everything was ok. So I went in to the room to get my ultra sound done, and the tech told me that my hcg didnt double (cause I had to go get my blood drawn 48 hrs after the first time I got it drawn to see if it doubles) so they want to make sure all is good. Then the wand went on my belly and right away there was our little baby! Heart beating away, and he/she was moving like crazy! Arms and legs kicking and moving all over! A couple times the little one was stretching out. SUPER cute and sweet! I had tears and laughs. I was so happy to see him/her! Then the tech checked the bpm and the baby's heart rate was 166 bpm. Then she did the measurements and the baby was measuring 4 days bigger then my original due date (11 wk 4 days) so my due date has changed to July 21st, instead of the 25th,  which the nurse said my doctor might keep it the 25th, but doubts it, so she changed it to the 21st for now. I will be 12 weeks on Sunday now :) So my morning had quite a bit of emotions going on in a short amount of time, but it all turned out fantastic! My next appt. is the 28th and they did schedule my 20 week ultrasound already, it is on March 7th! I found out it will be in 3D! COOL! Im so excited to see that!! Let the count down begin lol! So we have a healthy baby and that is all that matters, and that makes me feel so blessed, thankful, and happy! I have to get my blood drawn again. I guess the last time I got my blood drawn they only tested my hcg and progesterone, but this blood draw is everything else! They are even going to test my glucose (since I was gestational diabetic with Dominic). Here are some pictures of the baby.......

                                              Baby's head is on the left and feet on the right

                               The baby's head (profile) on the left and on the right it's leg/foot stretched out

                                 This is the view of the baby's butt and then its legs/feet going up

This one is kinda hard to see, but on the far left baby's head (barley seen), then the two little white dots in the middle are the hands and far right is baby's leg and its foot

Eli has been asking all sorts of questions in the last week about the baby! He gets so excited when we talk about the baby, and asks every time "How much longer till the baby gets here momma?" I have to explain to him that it wont be till summer time, when its almost his birthday. Then we go into talking about the seasons, and whats next, ect. Then he gets so excited! I told him the baby has a lot of growing to do before it can come out. He asked me "Does need to grow some muscles?" I found that pretty funny. Then one night I was getting them ready for their bath and he got so excited to tell me something that he ran over to me and said "mom I think this baby is going to be a little girl, and the next is going to be a boy!" LOL!!! I then had to tell him that this is the last baby mommy is having! HA!! Then he told me the other night that my belly is getting big hahaha!  I love his curiosity and statements!!

I am feeling much better! Still tired, and that is expected, so I take a nap when Dom is napping and Eli is at school. My appetite is slowly coming back and I dont have much morning sickness at all any more. Once in a while something sounds gross or makes me feel yuck just thinking about it, but that is going to happen throughout pregnancy. Overall I cant complain about my first trimester, which is hard to believe I have just over 2 weeks of before going into the 2nd trimester!!! It is flying by so far! :)

Well thats the update on whats new with the baby and me :)