Quick Baby Update

Today I had an appointment to have my blood pressure checked. Two weeks ago it was super high and the doctor increased my dosage. I have been seeing the other doctor in the office since my doctor was out on maternity leave so I needed to see her too to talk about the blood pressure and the last ultrasound.

Thankfully my blood pressure was down, but still a little high. It was 140s/82 which is a little high for a normal person, but for me she said was really good. She decided not to increase my medicine right now because she is afraid of making my blood pressure drop too low. She said that the baby and I are used to a little higher blood pressure and dropping it too low to a very normal blood pressure could make me feel like crap and harm the baby. So we kind of want to try to keep it around what it is.

At my last appointment they had trouble during the ultrasound seeing some important things. My doctor took a look at the ultrasound and said that it looks like due to the baby's position and her not wanting to cooperate at all that they didn't get a very good look at much of anything. They were unable to get a good look at the heart, they couldn't see any hands, and they didn't get a good look at the nose and mouth (looking for a cleft lip). She assured me that everything looks normal and she doesn't believe anything is wrong. That it was just a position and baby not cooperating issue.

She gave me the go ahead to not have to come back for 4 weeks at which time I will be 26 weeks. At that time they will do another ultrasound to get pictures of what they couldn't see before, make sure the blood pressure is still under control, and I get to do the lovely glucose test at that time too.

Shortly after this next appointment probably the appointment after it, I will start my weekly or every other week non stress tests and ultrasounds. With both Mason and Taylor around 32 weeks I always started having weekly visits that consisted of a non stress test, ultrasound, and a doctor visit because of the high blood pressure. Once I hit those long weekly visits I know I am near the end and because of my previous record it could be anytime. Both Mason and Taylor were induced because of a combination of the high blood pressure, a failed non stress test, or a bad report on the ultrasound.

For now I just keep thinking positive and pray that maybe this time I can actually go into labor on my own. It will just depend on the darn blood pressure!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend! Be safe and have fun!

Peanut #4- weeks 21 and 22

This is a quick update on our little peanut and my pregnancy. With this pregnancy I wanted to do a weekly update with pictures from the beginning to document everything. But due to my severe morning sickness, that is just now really going away, I was unable to keep that up. Most days I had a hard time even getting off the couch.

Thankfully I think I can say I am pretty much past that phase. This is my favorite part of pregnancy! I am no longer throwing up multiple times a day, I actually have most of my energy back (can't say all since I do have 3 other kids that drain my energy on a daily basis), and I am feeling really well. This phase I am not too big yet where I am really uncomfortable, but enough to really feel pregnant.

Last week is when I really started to feel her move. I was getting a little nervous because all three of my other kids I felt move before 20 weeks. So when I hadn't really felt anything yet, I started to get a little nervous. Knowing that I am overweight this time around , I knew that could be the reason in not feeling the movement as quickly. But after my appointment last week with the ultrasound, when I knew everything was alright I started to feel her more and more. Now she moves ALL. THE. TIME. I love it!

Nothing too exciting going on. Trying to keep up on my blood pressure medicine so we can keep that in check. I feel like I am growing and growing and growing. And just soaking up all those precious movements. Even on the hard days, when I am either so tired or not feeling well it's all worth it when I feel her move inside me. By far my favorite part of pregnancy!!

Another Prince or Princess?

Last Tuesday, I went in for my 20 week checkup and THE ultrasound. My guess was another boy, I had that feeling from the beginning. Everything about this pregnant reminded me of Timothy's pregnancy. Tim was thinking girl. Really I didn't have a preference. I have both boy and a girl so I would have been thrilled with either.

During the ultrasound the tech did the all the usual measurements they do around this time. She measured the head, belly, femur bone, looked for all the vital organs, checked the heartbeat. Everything looked good except there were a few things she couldn't really see or get a good picture of.

She was never able to get a good picture of the heart or things like the lips. WTF?! She said that she is sure everything is fine that it could be I am a little more overweight this time around so it's harder to get clear pictures. I mean I'm sure my little angel has lips, but It made me a little nervous to know that there were things they couldn't see. I have never had any problems with ultrasounds.

She decided to schedule me for another ultrasound in 4 weeks, and said that by then the baby will be even bigger and they should be able to see everything. But at the very end she asked if we wanted to know the sex, and of course we did! I have no patience to wait.

And then she wrote it out for us. We will be welcoming a new baby......

GIRL!

I was shocked! I was really thinking another little boy. Tim of course had to brag that he has been able to guess all 4 of the kids correctly. Nonetheless though we are ecstatic, and I cannot wait for Taylor to have a sister. I could not think of a better way to complete our family. 2 boys and 2 girl. Perfect!

Now comes the hard part, picking a name!

Coming Back!

Hello to my loyal followers, who are still here after my very lengthy absence. I looked at my last post, dated for May 31st, and I still cannot believe I have not blogged or been able to keep up with all of your blogs in almost 2 months. Let me just say I have missed it. But we have been plenty busy around here!

I am officially 15 weeks pregnant, and finally starting to really feel better. Getting my energy back, and not throwing up multiple times a day. It's great! Still taking my Zofran, usually everyday which is probably why I am not throwing up.

I had a doctor's appointment at the end of June. I had an ultrasound to take measurements and get a more accurate due date. I thought I was around 10 weeks, but during the ultrasound it was determined that I was measuring more along the lines of 12 weeks. The baby looked awesome, and I was given a new due date of New Years Day!! So it looks like we will most likely have a Christmas baby. I was also put on blood pressure medicine at that time because my blood pressure has been really elevated. I have had this problem with my last 2 pregnancies. So she decided to start the medicine now to hopefully control it from the beginning before it gets out of control and hard to bring back down.

I am really trying to be optimistic that this time around my blood pressure will stay under control, that maybe I won't have to be induced, and that I could just go into labor on my own. I would really love to go into labor on my own. All three of my kids were induced because of blood pressure, so this would be a miracle. But I am hopeful!

In other news, all the kids are doing great. Taylor is getting so big and sassy! She is running all over the place, chasing her brother's and keeping up with them too! Oh and the climbing, she climbs EVERYTHING. This morning I caught her on the kitchen table. I have no idea how she got up there! Thankfully she didn't fall. She babbles non stop too. Just a talkative little thing. Her favorite thing to do though....play dress up. The boys never did that, but if Taylor finds a shirt, pants, any clothing item on the floor she is trying to put it on. I am always amazed at the differences I have seen in Taylor's personality and the boy's. It really is like she girl's are wired to be drawn to certain things, and boys to certain things.

Mason is really starting to talk and pronounce a lot. We were a little concerned about his speech, because he was just not a talker. Just grunted for things. But boy does he talk now. A lot of what he says is still hard to understand, but I think that is pretty normal. And oh the energy there is plenty of that! Both the boys have more energy than I can imagine, but especially Mason. He is on full steam from the time his feet hit the floor in the morning, until I convince him it is bedtime. He is so much fun though! He has his 3rd birthday at the end of the month, and we are planning a small party at the park on Sunday the 24th, his actual birthday. I am really excited!

I still have a hard time believing Timothy is 4, crazy! He is a little devil sometimes. Having a little bit of a hard time with his behavior. He likes to talk back, and his tantrums and whining are worse than a 2 year old. My hope is that since he is not going to be going to preschool, that I can slowly stop his naps and take that time to work with him. There are still things I need to work on to prepare him for kindergarten, and I hope that this time with him will help his behavior. Because when he gets that alone time, he is such a great kid!

Not much else has really been going on here. Just trying to keep sane. I have spent most of the time at home, just trying to keep from breaking down from really not feeling well. The poor kids are probably so ready to get out more and to see friends. I am hoping the weather cools, it's been in the high 90s with a heat index in the 100s, so that we can get out to the park and Zoo!

Going to spend the morning with my feet kicked up, trying to catch up on all of your blogs! I hope you all have a great day!!

Project 365: May 12th- May 31st

Due to the rough past month, my project 365 kinda fell the the wayside. I didn't realize I was so behind until I rent to do this post. In the past 1 1/2 - 2 weeks I have hardly taken any pictures. Hopefully now I can get back on track, I am really sad I fell so behind. Anywho here are the few pictures I have taken.

#131 of 365- May 12, 2011
No picture taken

#132 of 365- May 13, 2011

Positive pregnancy test taken that morning! Baby #4 on the way.

#133 of 365- May 14, 2011
No picture taken

#134 of 365- May 15, 2011
No picture taken

#135 of 365- May 16, 2011

Timothy fishing with grandma!

#136 of 365- May 17, 2011
No picture taken

#137 of 365- May 18, 2011
No picture taken

#138 of 365- May 19, 2011

#139 of 365- May 20, 2011
No picture taken

#140 of 365- May 21, 2011
No picture taken

#141 of 365- May 22, 2011
No picture taken

#142 of 365- May 23, 2011
No picture taken

#143 of 365- May 24, 2011
No picture taken

#144 of 365- May 25, 2011
Huge storms hit St. Louis again. Lots of hail and tornados!

#145 of 365- May 26, 2011
No picture taken

#146 of 365- May 27, 2011
No picture taken

#147 of 365- May 28, 2011

Love!

#148 of 365- May 29, 2011
No picture taken

#149 of 365- May 30, 2011

Asleep on Memorial Day at Papa and Judee's house!

#150 of 365- May 31, 2011

Caught Taylor trying on my shirt HAHA!

Update!

Hello my lovely readers! I just want to thank those of you who have sent kind words to me about our new addition, it truly means a lot to me. I also want to thank those of you who stuck around during this rough time, and with my lack of posting.

I cannot believe it has been so long since my last post, but I have been so sick. This morning sickness, well I should say all day sickness, it really kicking me in my butt. I feel like it was my first pregnancy with my son Timothy. I had a really rough time, and was sick most of my pregnancy with him.

I somehow lucked out with Mason and was only sick in the beginning, and REALLY lucked out with Taylor because I was hardly ever sick. I have felt bad for what seems like at least a month. I have a headache and nausea EVERYDAY! It's really starting to take a toll on me. I just feel like crap.

It really stinks when I have 3 little ones at home that count on me, and some days it takes all I have to just get off the couch. I feel like such a horrible mom because I haven't been as active with them, and I know they don't understand why mommy is always laying down.

The other day when we were over at Tim's grandparent's house for dinner I decided to just check my blood pressure out of curiosity. I tend to have blood pressure issues when pregnant and end up on medicine and with the headaches just wanted to see what it was. I was shocked when I seen the numbers. I took it a couple times to be sure, and I kept getting a reading around 160/102! No wonder I can't get rid of my headache.

Then yesterday morning I woke up and immediately thew up everything I ate the night before. I continued to throw up all day long. I couldn't keep any food or liquids down. By that night I had NOTHING all day, everything I tried to eat or drink immediately came back up. I was dizzy, had a severe headache, couldn't stop throwing up, was just sick. I called the doctor and they told me to go to the hospital.

Tim was on call, so I had to have him dad stay with the kids and his mom take me up to the hospital. As soon as we got there I threw up all over the main entrance to the hospital as soon you get in the door, ya know just for good measures and all. Once we got to the ER they were able to take my blood pressure, which was 161/106 I even blew the cuff off my arm, and they started an IV and gave me some medicine for the nausea.

After waiting a couple hours for a room, they finally started a bag of fluids, did an ultrasound to check on the baby, and monitored my blood pressure. By that time the Zofran had kicked in and I was able to keep sprite down. After a couple more hours I had a whole bag of fluids in me, I was feeling good, drank a whole bottle of sprite, and my blood pressure came down a little. They released me with a prescription for Zoran and another anti nausea medication.

By the time we got home it was around 3am and I was up that morning with the kids around 7:30am. Other than being tired, I feel a lot better than I did yesterday, granted I did take a Zofran this morning. But I have been able to eat and drink all day.

So thus is the reason for my lack in posts. I just have not had the energy to do much of anything. I haven't been on the computer hardly at all in weeks, my house is a wreck, and I am just drained. Anytime that I am feeling halfway decent I try and spend it with the kids.

Hopefully now with the prescription Zofran I can control the nausea better and will be able to blog a little more.

Tomorrow I hope to catch up on my project 365 and I have some posts planned for next week.

Thank you for your support!

I'm Alive...kinda!

First I want to say thank you so much for all the support, and wonderful comments on my announcement post. It means a lot to me.

This pregnancy so far has been sucking the life out of me! I am so exhausted, not sleeping well, and waking up to a headache and nausea every morning. It's rough, but I know it's all worth it in the end.

The hardest part though about announcing this pregnancy has been the reaction of family and friends. I expected people to be shocked, I mean honesty I was totally shocked. I never in a million years thought I would conceive on the IUD once much less twice. But most of the reactions have been rather negative.

I know that most of the family like my parents and Tim's parents are just worried about us. I understand, we live tight now with three kids and adding one more is going to be tuff. But I haven't really received much positive reactions from friends. It makes it a little hard to be really excited about a new member of our family when no one else seems to share in the excitement with you.

My main stress right now is all about our living situation. To me at least, it appears that we will have to move. We have absolutely no wear to go with a new baby. We live in a small 3 bedroom house with no basement. The boys room is crammed with a bunk bed and all the toys, Taylor's poor room is crammed with her crib and the boys 2 dressers. I have NO idea how we would fit 2 beds in Taylor's room. Tim doesn't think it will be possible to move because we know our landlord and are paying a lot less than normal for this house.

So I am stressing a little about what we are going to do, but I know that in the end it will all work out. It always does!

Last week after I took the positive pregnancy test, I immediately called the doctor's office and explained my situation. I went in that afternoon. They did a urine pregnancy test, it came back positive. They did an ultrasound to make sure the could see a baby and that they baby attached to the right place. There was a tiny baby and a low IUD visible during the ultrasound. She then removed the IUD. I have a 2 week period now to wait and pray that I don't miscarry, there is always a risk for disrupting the pregnancy when you remove the IUD.

She said that the IUD appeared to be way too low, but that it's uncertain if it was originally put in too low or if it has slipped over the year that it was in. So I go back in about a week and a half for another ultrasound the make sure everything is still OK, and to check for sure how far along I am. The baby was so tiny it was still too early to really tell how far along I am. But going by my LMP which I am 100% sure on, my due date that they gave me is January 13th.

Switching gear. Yesterday we took the kids to the lake with grandma and grandpa to do a little fishing. I wasn't feeling well, and was hoping that some fresh air would do me some good. It was a beautiful evening, not too warm, and a cool breeze by the water!

Timothy did great with his little pole. He would have grandma hook a cricket, and he would cast all by himself. He had a little trouble staying focused and watching his bobber, but he hooked quite a few little fish. The excitement on his face was priceless! His favorite part was fighting to reel the fish in. These were tiny fish, but they put up just enough fight for Timothy!

Mason was much happier to follow grandpa around the lake, blow bubbles, or of course snack on food! Taylor was just along for the ride, literally. I pushed her all around that lake and she just happily kicked her little feet! She was such a good little girl.

Mason did catch one fish that he was pretty thrilled about, but he didn't want to get too close to it. He really just wanted to leave it hooked hanging it the water, but don't worry we let him go! It was such a fun evening with the kids!

All the fun ended though when Timothy hooked himself in the head. I didn't see it, but Tim's mom said he started to get wild with his casting, and some how hooked himself right behind his ear. Thankfully it barely stuck and was easy to get out with no bleeding at all. He was fine, scared, but OK!

I hope to get back to regular blogging, and stay caught up. But it's all up in the air with how I am feeling. Some day's it takes all I have to hold my shit together and not puke. The past few weeks, I get on the computer once or twice a day for a few minutes, and that's all I can handle.

If anyone has any suggestions for morning sickness, I am all ears! I have had several suggestions to try Unisom, has anyone used that for morning sickness? I may just give it a try.

I promise that one of these days, hopefully this week, I will catch up on all of your blogs and commenting. I have missed all my blog reading, and keeping up with your lives. So please hang in there as I slowly try and get back into the swing of things.

Again thank you for all the kind words, I really appreciate it! I hope you all have a wonderful week!