Lions, Tigers, and Baby Registries, Oh MY!

And I thought a wedding registry was time consuming....baby registries are much more difficult.  This week I think I finally have most everything on our registry for our little girl that will be coming in late August, early September....but it was a long hard process to get to that point.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the process (at least most of it) but it was long and complicated.  When it was just us and we were getting kitchen things I didn't really care if we had the best or the safest appliance, but I would have to say that my motherly instincts have kicked in for the baby and I want everything to be safe and good quality - so I have read reviews, product descriptions, compared prices.... wow - all this from a non-shopper - now you can understand why it was a bit overwhelming.

For any of you that will be registering the near future, let me give you a couple tips that I have learned....

1.  Call up a few new moms that have infants under age one.  Ask them what they have, what they like, what they don't like, and what they can for sure do without, as well as what is a must have.  Each mom will be different but it will help you greatly.  I even went over to look at their things and try them out.

2.  Pick several places that you would like to register.  This will allow you to get the items you really want instead of settling for something different just because the one store doesn't have it.  It will also help you to pick which place has it the cheapest.  For us I picked one place that was an internet site - Amazon which offers free shipping for $25 or more orders.  We picked a store that focuses on babies - Babies R Us.  And we picked a store that was local that you can just walk into and find good prices.  It gives your friends and family some choices as well.

3.  Take your mom (if you have a cool mom like I do)!  Joel isn't real picky and I knew he would rather do other things than go shopping, so I left him at home and met my mom for the day.  Though it has been a long time since my mom had children (all five of us are in our 30s) she is an expert Grandma and she is up to speed on all the new safety things.  On top of that - it was a great day to spend bonding with my mom.  I don't know how she managed five kids, but I hope that I can manage one as well as she did her five.

Another option would be to take a friend that has had children within the last two years - they can be helpful in the registering process.

4.  Remember this is your child, you need to be comfortable with your choices, pick things that good for you and your situation.  For instance, with my MS I have trouble with my hands and decided to be very picky about the car seat that I chose.  The stroller that I chose I had to consider where I lived (in the boonies) with rough surfaces.  So instead of getting a cute travel system that matched, I picked a car seat that I could actually clip with my hands and a stroller that will actually move on our back roads.  But like I said before each person's situation is different.

5.  I have not experiences this one completely yet, but I have been told by several people.  Don't be afraid to put bigger things on your registry - people will go together to help purchase the bigger items.  Also don't by a ton of stuff before your shower - you will be amazed at what you get as a gift.  I have already gotten many great used items from others in the church that are in great condition, however - if you want new - don't be afraid to say it, it is completely understandable.

I hope this helps!  My little one is getting excited just thinking about (she is kicking away as I type, maybe she wants some music!).

Spoiler Alert

What an amazing day!!!  After a few days of feeling very anxious, we had several days of active baby moment which I saw as a direct gift from God!  Every morning and every evening our little one seems to want to dance around, but I am loving every second of it.  It gave me peace to know that things were okay.

Then today (or yesterday - depending on when you read this) we were able to get a full ultrasound and 4D picture of our little miracle.  I wasn't sure what I thought about those 4D pictures - they often seem a bit weird looking, but the first picture we saw - changed my whole opinion.  Here is a picture of that picture.  You can see the babies face with the fist next to it.  I actually cry tears of joy every time I look at it, it is amazing to see God handiwork as the child is being knit together in my womb.

So now for the big reveal - if you are not interested in knowing what were are having you may want to stop reading now.... we know some people are opposed to knowing but for us - it was still very much a surprise it was just a 5 month surprise not a nine month surprise.  We are blessed to be able to know what we are having and pray specifically for this child.

We are having a...... GIRL!!!!  and we couldn't be happier.... the ultrasound looked great and she measured perfectly for when she is due - they checked all her organs and her heart - she is perfect!!!  And I got a good report as well!  So baby and mommy are great!  I have a feeling she is going to be a Daddy's girl, but I can't think of a better guy to have my daughter spend time with.

My biggest fear as some of my friend's would say - is that she will love the color pink - because as many of you know - it is far from my favorite - but I am sure it will grow on me - but please consider all the other beautiful colors out there that a girl could just love - peach, purple, yellow, orange, red - really the sky is the limit!!!

Check out her picture - isn't she just precious already.  I can't wait to hold her in my arms in four short months!!!

We are so grateful for all the prayers and support that we have been given so far in this journey and we know the journey is just beginning.  We also know that God has a special plan for our little one and we pray that she will one day change the world!!!

Anxiously Waiting

This week seems to be taking forever!!!  Or more like this month seems to be taking forever!  As much as I appreciate feeling much better than last trimester, and I appreciated not having to drive 45 minutes to the doctor every week, these last four weeks seem to be going very slow!!!

I am excited and anxious for Friday - not just because we can find out the gender (hoping the baby will cooperate!) but mostly because I want to hear that heartbeat!!!  There is nothing as soothing as that sound.  I am at that weird stage where I feel pretty good most of the time.  I have weird pains here and there (round ligament pains they call them - seriously just call the growing pains!).  In the last two weeks I have even started to feel movement....but that I think is part of the anxious issue for me... I feel it - then nothing (or nothing that I can determine for sure is movement) for days.  Then I feel something....hmmmm - just an FYI this is killing my type A personality!  I like to know that things are okay - I like to know that there is consistency of which in this case there is none.

I am guessing that as I get farther along and the baby starts moving on a daily basis - I won't have to wonder - I will know, but until then I must practice patience (which interestingly enough I talked about this morning in a chapel talk).  Praying for the next two days to go quickly, praying for the baby to keep giving me shimmers of hope by moving around...... I am sure that in a month or so I am going to wish that the baby would move less as I am trying to sleep at night, but until then - dance, baby dance!  I want to feel you move!!!

The Prayer that Two Shall Become One

To give you a little background on the title - I have noticed that over the past two months as I am getting bigger and the baby is growing, I actually have two bumps in my belly area.  The lower one is where the baby is growing and getting bigger day by day, the other bump is all the stuff that used to be in my lower belly, but had to move to make room for the baby.....  I don't think this phenomenon is an issue for thin people because when you look at their baby belly they are perfectly shaped.  However, I have never been one of those people, so therefore my current baby belly is anything but perfect.  In fact is is double!  I keep waking up and looking in the mirror hoping for a single belly....

The thing that makes it even more entertaining is that many people see my top belly and want to rub it thinking it is the baby - hahaha - it is just my stomach!  I was explaining this to all the youth group girls the other night, and now every time I see them they ask me - are your bellies one yet? 

Well my husband being the spiritual leader that he is  - has decided to put that into his prayer for the baby each night, so after we pray for the health of our baby - he prays and may her two bellies become one!  Gotta love my husband.  I know God has to be laughing as he listens to me..... I also know that several months from now when I start to get hugely uncomfortable - I will wish I could go back to my two bellies - but for now I will celebrate that I have a growing baby - that I felt flutter for the first time yesterday in church!

Some things I have learned

Here are some things I have learned over the past few weeks.  Just a fair warning - I do talk about gross things so be prepared!

1. Being sick while pregnant is ten times worse than when you are not - it compares to being sick while having MS - so maybe it is just the combination of all my ailments put together (not that being pregnant is an ailment - you know what I mean)

2.  When you have a sore throat - don't gargle with salt water!  Bad idea!!!  I was trying so hard to try all the non medicine options since the list of approved meds is small so I thought I will give it a try - the result - vomitting!  Yuck!

3.  Brushing your teeth is a chore - yet it is of utmost importance while pregnant to keep your gums healthy (or at least so I have read)  Gagging is now part of my daily brushing routine.  Actually it did get so bad one morning that I did vomit - several times!  Yuck Again!!!  I did change flavors - from mint to orange since I have been craving oranges a lot - it reduced the gagging emensly!

4.  Sinus Head colds are not fun!!  Coughing is not fun!  I have tried the teas and the honey and the lemon juice.... no relief - so I tried benedryl which is on the approved list - well I did sleep a bit more but I had some weird dreams!!!  Really weird and I remember every detail of them!  Since it has been four days and I still can't breath out of my nose I tried saline spray - bad idea!!  Vomitting!!!!  Yuck again.

5.  Some women vomit alot during the first trimester - I was just nausaus - but second trimester I am making my vomitting come back - it is so weird too - because I don't feel sick I just start gagging and the rest is history!

Well that is all I have learned this week.  I am sure I will have more lessons learned by next week.  As for now I am signing off to get ready for my four month appointment - can't wait to hear the heartbeat!!!
Trusting God that everything is going smoothly inside my belly!!!

The Bittersweet of April 1st

Last year on this day - April first was also Maundy Thursday, last year April 1st was a beautiful sunny day.... it was a day that started out like any other, but by noon time it quickly turned into one of the hardest days of my life, as I spent the day at the hospital, soon to realize that we had just lost the baby that we had prayed so hard for.  We were only 6 weeks along in our pregnancy, but it seemed as though we had known that child.  It is a weird feeling that I can't explain, but that day we lost our child and it seemed as though we lost our dream of being parents.  We didn't know what the future held for us, we just knew that day that we felt lost and empty.  As I walked outside this morning I could see the tulips that we planted in memory of our little one were peaking through the ground - I long to see their beautiful bloom as a reminder of God shining his love on our lives.

You should also know that four years ago on April 1st I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  Let's just say April fools day is not a day that brings about a lot of joy in my heart - as I look at my past.  I thought that was one of the hardest days of my life, but little did I know at that point - how much harder it would be to deal with a miscarriage - three years later on that same day.

Though my heart is sad and heavy over the loss of our child, I am comforted in knowing that God's plan is always perfect even though I don't fully understand that many times.  I will always have a special place in my heart for that little one.

This year - April 1st was a full day - but a day filled with joy and knowing God has something great in store for us as parents to be, because this year - we are close to our 17 week mark in our pregnancy - the stress and complications of the first trimester are over, and we are well into our 2nd trimester.  God is good, and we are trusting each day that he will continue help this baby grow and develop.  But we also much trust that God plan is perfect - regardless!

We are so thankful for all those that have prayed for us - in our losses and more recently in our joys!  We know that God has big plans for our little one (5inches long, 4-5 ounces this week)!

Ode to My Immune System

Dear Immune System - I would really like it if you worked like other people's immune system, by that I mean when something foreign comes into my body you are supposed to attack it!  Not attack me!  This has been one of those weeks where pregnancy and my MS are teaming together to kill my immune system.

Strep throat is my newest of issues!  Oh I pray that my baby has an immune system from his/her father and not from me.  If you want to pray for that too - I would be grateful.  I was kinda expecting to be feeling better by today since I have been on the antibiotics since Monday night, but today it has moved from my throat to my sinuses and my whole body is acky and yucky!

Now it is bed rest because I am sick, not because of the baby!  Oh the joys of being sick and pregnant!  I don't know what I would do if I had a 9 to 5 job or if I had other kids to care for.  It is good how God works all things for the good of those who love him!

Okay I am done with my rant about my Immune System, looking forward to feeling better soon, until then I will snuggle up under my covers, pretend my house is clean, and rest!