27 week appointment and update

We had our ultrasound and appointment with the perinatologist yesterday and, although things are still looking normal, the doctor was a little concerned that the blood flow in the baby's brain was trending up at a faster rate than normal. This means we have to go back next week for another ultrasound and a biophysical profile. We are praying so hard that things will still be normal. When we asked what happens if the trend continues upward too quickly she mentioned betamethasone shots. That means premature delivery. :( She said if that happens we will hope to try and make it to at least 32 weeks and preferrably at least 34 weeks. It seems like such a long way away... Please pray that things will level out and the baby will continue to measure in normal limits.

Update

So as of last Wednesday, everything was looking fine with the baby and the growth on my placenta hadn't gotten significantly larger, which was very good news. We continue to pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy and birth for this little one without further complications. I passed the 26 week mark on Sunday and I can't wait until we get to the 28 week mark so I can breathe a little easier.
In other pregnancy related news, our childbirth classes are going well so far. We are taking Bradley Method childbirth classes and I really like it. They focus on preparing for birth the way you would prepare for a marathon or other such intensely physical event, which makes sense. Right now I am trying to focus mostly on increasing my activity level and on my diet, especially eating more protein and green vegetables. Things kind of went crazy over the holidays and I found myself eating a lot of sugary foods and the more I eat sugar the more I want sugar, a vicious cycle. So today I was checking my email and I saw an email with a link to this in my inbox. How cool is that? It's just what I needed to get back on track planning meals, which really helps in the healthy eating department. I find when I don't meal plan I just grab what ever is easiest/quickest and that doesn't translate into the most nutritious food most of the time.
Otherwise things have been good if a bit stressful. I have started knitting things for the baby and I sometimes wish I had a few extra pairs of hands so I could knit more than one thing at a time! I have finished another flannel diaper which came out much better than the last one, and I got a bunch of receiving blankets on sale for $4.98 for a 4-pack at Target. I have read that they make good flat fold diapers and the prints are so cute and girly. I think I am starting to lose some of the energy boost I got in the beginning of my second trimester. I am finding myself wishing for a nap in the afternoon at work lately. So that's the update, thank you to those of you who have said prayers for us and please continue to pray that we will have a healthy happy outcome with this pregnancy.

Merry Christmas!

Please Pray

We are headed off to the perinatologist this morning for a follow up ultrasound. They saw a mass on my placenta last Wednesday and we are praying that the baby is and will be ok. More after we get back from the appointment.

**Update**
Well we got some good news and I am so thankful to God and our Blessed Mother for that. The tumor on my placenta (it's a chorioangioma) hasn't gotten any bigger in the last week and is just on the borderline of of being a size that can cause major complications. The baby looks normal, all the measurements look good, the heart and brain are normal, and baby is growing well. I am so relieved! Now we just need to keep praying that the tumor won't get bigger/cause problems for the baby. We also found out it is a little girl! I was very surprised at first since from the beginning of my pregnancy I "felt" like it was a boy. Now we just need to pick out a girl name.

The Immaculate Conception

A new hobby

Sewing! Well, sewing diapers and covers to be exact. Now that I am working part time I have more time (and energy!) to get ready for the baby. Here are my latest accomplishments.
These took me a LONG time to make but I am encouraged by the results. Hopefully as I get better at sewing it will get faster. Aren't they cute!?

Product review and free stuff!

Hop on over to Jen's blog and check it out!

First week

So what's new? Well I am 17 weeks and 2 days today and feeling much better. The nausea has mostly subsided and I have a little more energy these days. Also for the first time, as of this week, I am working part time, on purpose, and not because I have other obligations such as school, etc. I am working only 3 days a week and to be honest it feels a little weird. As someone who has either worked full time for the last 5 years or so and who always was trying to fit work in anytime I could when I was in school it feels a little strange to have this sudden... freedom. Not that I have nothing to do, there are things to be done, housework, preparation for the baby, projects to finish... Just the knowledge that I can make my own schedule is kind of wonderful and frightening at the same time. Sometimes I think it is a little crazy and selfish of me to take this time when the economy is in such dire straits. Money is certainly going to be tight around here for quite awhile. On the other hand, I didn't realize how exhausting it would be for me to continue to work full time while pregnant. It isn't that I can't do it, it's just that at the end of the day I rarely have any energy leftover for the things in my life that are really important: my husband, my home, prayer, and my personal well being and health. Well anyway, it seems like this post has started to ramble a bit so to spare anyone my long winded musings I think I will leave it at this. Trim the sails me hearty! We are off into uncharted waters.

I am still here

Still sick all day every day, still throwing up every couple days or so, but still here. This has been much more difficult to handle than I thought it would. God is truly testing me and I don't think I am passing most of the time. I am s-l-o-w-l-y learning to place my trust in Him, however, since so much of what is happening to my body is completely out of my control and the realm of my experience. For example: I always used to say that I just "don't throw up". I hate it so much that I refuse to do it, I won't let myself, etc. etc. I used to believe that it was simply a mind over matter type of thing. I even sometimes thought that people who throw up when they get sick either: a) don't mind throwing up or b) didn't have sufficient willpower not to. Oh how silly and sad and wrong I was. I even read this before I got pregnant and didn't quite believe it, well I believe it now!
(Excerpt courtesy of babygaga.com)

"Some women are lucky; they don’t get morning sickness. There are some that have a little less luck; they get some morning sickness. Then there are the rest of us, the women with weeks of nonstop vomiting.

All that nonstop vomiting has a name: Hyperemesis. I have a feeling that hyperemesis is Latin for “Poor woman that vomits everything in sight.”

Since hyperemesis isn’t that well known, most people tend to ask questions such as “have you tried crackers?” or “I hear that ginger works.”

For many women, the only thing that works is having an 8-pound baby shoot out of her crotch

.

I know that people are trying to be helpful, but it is really hard not to go postal on someone offering “advice,” especially if you spent the night before in the emergency room, getting IV fluids for dehydration.

I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to say “Crackers? Really? That’s all it takes? Eating a few stinking crackers? I’ve been vomiting for five months straight and all I needed to do was eat a stinking cracker?” "

Thank goodness I don't have it that bad!

May she rest in peace

My grandmother died this morning at about 6:30am. Please pray for the repose of her soul.