Good News from the Doctor! :)

So this week was my 2 week check-up with the Periantologist (high-risk doctor). We received some pretty great news. The hematoma is absorbing. Yea! It's amazing and such an answer to prayer. My doctor thinks it's a combination of the bed rest, coming off the blood thiner and time, that has allowed it to finally begin absorbing. My doctor, as well as her associate, were both pretty surprised. Josh and I weren't of course, we knew this was the Lord taking care of us and letting us know that he's in control and watching over our baby girl. It was so wonderful to FINALLY receive some good news. So, I'm still on full bed rest for the next two weeks and then if everything looks good at my next appointment, she said she would allow me to slowly start adding back in light activity (i.e. work part-time in the office, but still off my feet as much as possible). I won't ever be completely without restrictions this pregnancy, just because of the damage the hematoma has already done and the increased risk for pre-term labor, but honestly, I would be more than grateful for just a few days out of the house. So, thanks so much for the prayers. Love y'all.

Oh my, how it grows!

My tummy has been growing and growing.

Here's a recent pic from just the other day at 24 weeks + 4 days.



Of course I worry about our sweet little girl, but she reminds me constantly with her kicks, stretching or whatever she's doing in there, that she's doing just fine. I'm still so amazed by this miracle that the Lord has blessed us with.

I survived week 2

So, 2 weeks down on bed rest and who knows how many to go. :)

This past week was a little better than the last. That's all I can ask for, right? My sister sent me a GREAT book in the mail about Surviving Bed Rest, it's got some great info and lots of suggestions. I had some fun visitors, Sarah came to visit with her sweet little boy Cason and brought us dinner, so thoughtful; I received some beautiful flowers from Kristin and Phil and some delicious ones too, from my Community Group gals. :) Thank you to everyone for making me feel so loved and cared for.





Then, this past weekend Josh headed to Arkansas with his brother-in-law Adam, to visit his brother, Caleb. He was hesitant to go, but after both the doctor and myself told him I'd be okay, several times, he finally agree to go. They had been planning this trip for some time now and I really didn't want him to miss out by staying at home and sitting on the couch with me. Not too much fun. :) So, before he left he helped me line up visitors and made sure I was well taken care of. My sweet friend Cyndi came over on Friday night to keep me company, my parents came on Saturday and Josh's family came on Sunday. It was a fun filled weekend with lots of movie watching and I loved every minute of it. Thanks to everyone for your help and company. Love y'all.

A Special Valentine's Day

I always look forward to Valentine's Day each year, Josh always has something special planned. However due to my bed rest restrictions, this year was going to be a little tricky. He did not let that stop him, he brought a very special night to me. He started out the day with giving me a beautiful bouquet of red roses. Then he gave me a sweet card that made me cry, of course, and the movie "Definitely, Maybe". We went to see this movie last year on Valentine's Day and absolutely loved it. Then, he gave me a gift that said to "Mom" on the front. He had gotten me a gift from our little girl! So sweet! The card was precious and made me cry again :) and the gift was very thoughtful. Throughout pregnancy, we've really enjoyed reading to our baby girl, so Josh gave me a book to read to her by Dr. Seuss called, "Are you my mother?" So cute! On Saturday afternoon we attempted to register online and had a tough time making the big decisions such as the car seat, stroller, pack-n-play, etc. without being able to see them in person, so Josh made a trip to Babies-R-Us all by himself. He returned with our dinner, from Cristina's Mexican Food Restaurant. Delicious! He ordered queso and chips and fajitas, my favorite. We enjoyed the delicious mexican feista and then curled up on the couch to watch our movie. Afterwards, we roasted marshmallows in our fireplace and enjoyed some messy, but oh so yummy smores. :) It was really a fun night, even though we couldn't "go" anywhere. After all he did for me, I felt so guilty because all I was able to get for him was a card and some candy, that his mom had to pick out for me. :) Boy do I owe him.

I survived week 1

So, I survived Week 1 of Bed Rest. The week started out nice and smooth after much help from our families over the weekend. Josh had already signed up to work PRN, so both of our parents kicked in and helped us out a ton. Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, they did it all. Work was kind of tough at first, but by the end of the week I had the hang of it. I had a few visitors this week, which was definitely the highlight of my week. Thanks Kim and Erin for bringing me lunch and coming to visit. And I've definitely been looking forward to this weekend. Josh has something planned for this evening and I can't wait. Thanks so much for all of the prayers, cards and sweet words of encouragement. We really appreciate it. Love y'all.

To Bed I Go! :(

Last week I had a sonogram to check the growth of our little girl and the doctor discovered that my hematoma has grown quite a bit and she actually saw a new blood clot in the placenta as well. So after discussing everything with a few of her associates, everyone agreed that I should be put on bed rest. Our sweet little girl is growing and developing just as she should (she's already 1lb. and 2 oz.)-thank the Lord, the doctors are just concerned that I might go into pre-term labor. So to play it safe, they want me on FULL bed rest (I can only get up to go to the bathroom, shower and prepare a quick meal, i.e. microwave :) for the next few weeks. At that point I'll go back for another sonogram with my high-risk doctor and see how everything looks. It is possible that I will be on bed rest until our little girl comes, but there is also the possiblity that the hematoma will decrease in size or go away all together, which of course is what we are praying for. After the initial shock has worn off, I'm doing much better. My office has been gracious enough to let me work from home for now and Josh has, of course, been very supportive and encouraging. I'm trying to accept/embrace this change and to take it one day at a time.