This pregnancy has been so different that I just didn’t catch the signs that I was preeclamptic again.  After all, my blood pressure had been normal up until this point.  But yesterday, it proved to be severe preeclampsia.  After spending most of the day in the hospital, my doctor released me to go home.  They were able to get my blood pressure down, my blood work came back normal (i.e. my organs were not affected), and they checked on the baby via ultrasound and he was just fine.  Otherwise, they were going to keep me overnight.  I do have to go back first thing Monday morning for another blood pressure check and I’m on “strict” bed rest this weekend.  I’m pretty much not supposed to do a darn thing but sit on the couch and stay off my feet.  When I go back on Monday, they will have more lab results to review and will give me instructions on what to do next.  But I will definitely be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.

All of this said, it is a reminder of how fragile life is.  It is amazing to me the changes that your body goes through with pregnancy.  How it adjusts for the growing baby.  How it gets ready for labor.  How it produces milk to feed your baby.  The whole process still amazes me, even though I’ve already done this once.  And so many women go through so much not only to even get pregnant in the first place, but also to just get through pregnancy and have a healthy full-term baby.  I watched a 20/20 or Dateline episode not too long ago about the number of women in other countries that die every year in child birth.  We are fortunate to live in a country with up-to-date technology and education in the medical field.  I am so thankful for the quick action of my doctors yesterday.  And running every single test on me to make sure things were just right before sending me home over the weekend.  After having 2 miscarriages, I understand the struggles women go through in trying to conceive a baby.  I have friends that have gone through so many dark times just trying to conceive.  But even when you do get pregnant, the journey is only beginning.  Life is precious and children truly are a gift from God.  If I could just get through this pregnancy safely and deliver a healthy baby boy, I would be ever so grateful.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” — Psalm 139:14

For whatever reason, this pregnancy has definitely been the opposite of when I was pregnant with Ashley.  I feel like the uncomfortable-ness is worse…shortness of breath, tired, back aches, lack of sleep, etc.  Top that off with zero patience and a body that can’t keep up with a very active 2-year old, and it makes for a cranky Mamma.  So we are ready!  Ashley is ready, too.  She still likes rubbing my belly and talking about the baby.  She even felt him kicking last week.  She was sitting in what is left of my lap (there’s not much room for her to sit with my big ole’ belly).  And as she was sitting against my belly he starting kicking.  I guess she was leaning against me too hard and he didn’t like it.  She put her hand on her back where he was kicking as if to try and stop it.  I told her it was the baby kicking, but I don’t suspect she fully understood that. In fact, that’s another thing that is different than when I was pregnant with Ashley.  She was no where near as active as this little guy is.  I swear he moves non-stop all day and all night long.  At my last OB appointment, the doctor was listening to his heartbeat and said he was a “wiggler”.  It took her a minute to find his heartbeat clearly because all you could hear in the beginning was him moving around.  Which also makes me a bit nervous…he’s going to be a handful!

A friend gave him a soft lovey that I have perched on his crib.  Ashley will take it and say “baby” and put it to my belly as if she is showing it to him.  She knows it is for him.  So cute!   And she gets excited when she sees newborns out in public.  She’ll point and say “baby” and then rub my belly and say “baby”.  So she definitely comprehends what is going on.  We also go in his nursery every morning and just look around.  Ashley likes it in there as much as I do.  She is going to be a great big sister!  I can’t wait for this new chapter of our life to begin!

In the picture below, that is a strawberry in Ashley’s mouth.  She was being silly for the camera   And yes, I am HUGE compared to 4 weeks ago!

Friends and family from near and far came to Raleigh on a rainy Friday night just for Dad.  We had folks drive all the way from Chapel Hill, Roanoke Rapids, Sanford, Henderson and Holden Beach, to name a few.  Just shows how much he is loved by everyone!  And one friend that came he hadn’t seen in 5 years!  We all had a wonderful time.  My favorite part was seeing the reaction on Dad’s face when he saw everyone.  It was awesome!

Happy Birthday Dad!  We love you!!

Ashley and Brody

I also had the strangest dream this week.  I dreamt that he came out and was already 2 years old!  We brought him home from the hospital and he was sitting next to me on the couch – didn’t need to be nursed or swaddled.  No cooing or crawling.  No oatmeal or pureed foods.  He was all grown up just like Ashley.  AGH!!  I absolutely loved the newborn stage with Ashley (late nights and all) and cannot wait to have that with him.  It was so scary to think that he would be born a toddler.  What a bad dream!  That just shows you how much I am looking forward to all the baby stuff!

Anyway, enough of my crazy talk   Here’s a sneak peak of our little guy!

Anyway, we ran a few errands after class and came home.  Since the iPad batteries were dead, I gave Ashley my iPhone to entertain her while in the car.  She likes looking through the pictures; no big deal.  We got home, had lunch and I glanced at my phone to see what she had been looking at.  Unbeknownst to me, she had taken a video of us getting out of the car!  And I had no idea!  You hear me grunt as I was getting her out of the car (the large belly is making me grunt a lot lately…LOL).  And you see her view as she walks up to the front porch.  Anyway, here’s the video.  It’s neat to see the world through her eyes.  Plus, it is just so funny to me!