It's a...

We had an ultrasound today. Baby looks good overall, but amniotic fluid levels are pretty low (even though I'm not dehydrated, so based on that they are sending me for an extra consult with the MFM specialist.)

Anyway, the treat I made for the kids looks like this
So that as soon as school is done, they'll know they are getting a little sister. We are excited!

Attention Passenger!

I am almost 39 weeks & the baby is transverse (sideways) with her back to my cervix. I'm supposed to be induced this week so I know when to stop taking my shots/bloodthinners, but the baby's position complicates things a bit.

So we've prepared the following announcement for her:

ATTENTION PASSENGER! In anticipation of you imminent ejection, please take a moment to locate your nearest exit. In this case, it is behind you.
Please move towards that exit. Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Our house this fall

Here are a few things I'm proud of this fall...

My garden! Having a garden was one of the things I was most excited for with the new house. We build a couple raised beds, but you can only really see the bed from the angle below b/c it grew well beyond the borders.

Miss H helped me decorate our table for fall. She even wrote placecards. (Usually I'm not a fan of our red/orange/yellow lamps, but they actually fit the autumn theme right now.)

And it's hard not to be proud when you are gaining weight- if it's for a good cause...

FVL Pregnancy Blog

I have been doing a lot of research on the condition they diagnosed me with, Factor V Leiden. It's an inherited thrombophilia (propensity to form blood clots). We are fairly certain that's what has caused my losses. I think a lot about what I could have done differently with Hope. I wish I'd had testing done after we lost James last year. I wonder if the 15 lbs I've put on in the last few years incresed clot formation or perhaps it was made worse by the less-than-ideal diet I had while pregnant and selling our house/ helping hubby prep for the Feb. bar/ moving in March. (Life has been STRESSFUL!)

But, I can't change anything in the past. I have to remind myself that hindsight is 20/20. We did our best with the limited information we had at the time. I'm starting a blog about FVL in order to focus my efforts on searching out more information on the condition & making better decisions based on that.

We'd really like to have another baby. The Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist thinks that with daily injections of blood thinner, our chances are good of carrying to term. I've read that the medicine really stings & my stomach will be covered with bruises, so I'm not looking forward to that. But of course I'll take temporary physical pain over the lingering emotional heartache of losing a baby. YOU BET!

But, I'm afraid the joy of pregnancy might be gone for me. Last time, I was worried, but I REALLY felt like things were going to work out & I still enjoyed the pregnancy. Now I'm considered high risk & even if I make it to term with the baby, the delivery is more risky for me, and I could develop a life-threatening clot post-partum (that's actually the most dangerous time for the mother). I think when we get pregnant next it will be for the last time & I worry I won't even be able to savor it. How do you recapture the belief that "being pregnant" is the same as "EXPECTING a baby"?

Good news & more good news!

Our midwife did an ultrasound for us yesterday. Baby is about as big as we thought (8 1/2 weeks) & we saw it's little heart thumping.

Also, we've accepted an offer on our townhouse, so if all goes smoothly, we'll move in March! Not sure where exactly yet (we still haven't heard on the short sale we put an offer on in Aug.) but the selling end is what's tough in this market. It's hard to go wrong buying right now.

We're so happy we feel like dancing!

Conventional "Wisdom"?

We are pregnant & due in September!Why are we announcing so early when conventional wisdom says wait until the 2nd trimester when it's "safe" to tell?
This is my 6th pregnancy but we only have 3 living children, so we are under no delusions that + test = baby in 9 months.
But here's why we think coventional wisdom is not the "wise" course for us:

1. I regret not enjoying the last pregnancy more while it lasted and want to make the most of every day this child grows.

2. We know from painful experience that you can lose a baby after the heartbeat is heard, after passing the 1st trimester, & after it's "safe" to tell.

3. Not announcing pregnancy because you might miscarry just reinforces the traditional stigma that miscarriage is something shameful. Each person who knows you are pregnant is an extra person who can support you if you have a loss. If no one knows you miscarried, you are isolated in your grief.

4. I get so big so fast that my belly announces itself quickly if I don't.

We are thrilled! A little more nervous this time, of course, but still hopeful.

Baby's Here!

Everything went so well with the baby's arrival. We had a planned home birth w/ a Certified Professional midwife who was wonderful. He was born in a birthing tub, which helped so much through those intense contractions. The kids are thrilled as you can see & I am thrilled to no longer be pregnant!

He is healthy & precious & loved!

While we wait...

My mom flew in on Tues. to help us with the new baby. Ever since she bought her tickets. I've been saying Wed. would be the perfect day to deliver. That's a week before my due date, which is when I had the other two. But, Wed. came & went with no baby. Even though a due date is technically an "Estimated date of delivery", the closer it gets, the harder it is not to think of it like a library due date... the exact date an item must be received before penalties apply!

So, while we've been waiting, we've had some fun adventures with the kids (pics. below), taken lots of long walks to encourage contractions, and made a soft fleece cover for the infant car seat. (I've never been fond of the original cover design, but was pleased how our car seat makeover turned out. I'm also including a picture of the cute diaper cake that inspired the design.)

Here's to hoping my next blog post includes a happy delivery story!

It's a...

Today we had an ultrasound (we are at 30 weeks- baby due to arrive late Sept. or early Oct.) & the midwife is fairly certain we are having a boy! We are still a little disbelieving, since we felt so strongly like it was a girl & our "gut instinct" record was 2-for-2 so far.
D is really excited- he was hoping for a brother! We got clearer pictures of the baby's cute face than between the legs, so while we're not certain of the gender, we are certain it's cute...