2 Months Old and Growing!!!

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I posted. Brooke is now 10 weeks old and is starting to show us a little bit of her personality! She is now cooing and "talking" to us all the time! It is the cutest thing in the world! I even caught her talking to herself in her crib the other morning when she woke up. I LOVE this so much! She is such a happy baby and loves to smile at us and make noises. I am always saying "hi" to her, and I swear I've heard her say it back to me! (At least it sounds that way!) I've also caught her "singing" in her carseat while I have the music on in my car! Of course her "singing" is just a bunch of "oooo's" right now, but it sounds great to me!

In this last month we have taken Brooke out a lot more. Her very first outing (other than the dr. and to other homes) was to Earl of Sandwich so Reagan and I could have some lunch together. Then we went to this new park that has opened up here in Sugar Land. There were some walking trails, however they weren't paved, so I put Brooke in the sling so I wouldn't ruin the wheels on her stroller. It was such a nice day and we had so much fun taking her out for her first time! Of course, Brooke slept the entire time, but I'm sure she'd tell you she had a blast! :)

We also recently took her to our church's pumpkin patch. We put her in a onesie that says "Cutest pumpkin in the patch" and propped her up in the middle of some pumpkins! Super cute. She really didn't know what was going on though...she seemed a little confused at all the big orange things. THEN, we dressed her up in her Halloween costume to take pictures....she was a pumpkin! I found this really cute baby pumpkin costume at Target and she actually really likes wearing it...I think because it keeps her so warm. We got some really good pictures of her in her costume. I am sure she will thank us for them when she gets older. :)

On Halloween weekend, Brooke went on her first trip! We drove to New Braunfels to visit Reagan's family and to go to Wurstfest on Halloween night. It was so much fun introducing Brooke to the family! Brooke got to meet her Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa and she had so much fun with them. While we were in New Braunfels we took Brooke to her first restaurant and she did AWESOME! (Earl of Sandwich from before doesn't count since we were outside and only there for like 10 minutes!) We are so glad to know that if we ever want to get out of the house for dinner, we know she will do great at the restaurant. On Halloween night, Brooke's Grandma Suzy watched her while me, Reagan, Tom, Elisa, Melissa, Travis, Gretchen, Billy and a couple of their friends all went to Wurstfest! It was so much fun! We saw some great costumes while we were there. We spent the majority of the time inside the big tent listening to the German bands play while we all danced. The next day, we drove back home and Brooke did great again! I think she's going to be a great traveler!

Today was Brooke's 2 month doctor visit. Most of you may know that at this visit, babies receive their first round of shots. :( It was not fun, but I stayed strong and didn't cry! She got two shots in each leg and then an oral vaccine. She was in so much pain, but I will have to say I am very proud of my baby girl. She only cried for about a minute after the nurse was done, and then she was fine! Dr. Hogarth told me to give her some baby Tylenol today to keep her comfortable, so we did that and she has been sleeping ever since. It was a rough morning! Brooke is growing right on track still which is GREAT news. She is still in the 3 percentile, but her growth is right on track. Her weight right now is 8 pounds, 7 ounces. It's so weird to think that some babies are BORN this big and Brooke is 10 weeks old and just now weighs this much! Brooke has also been on baby Zantac for the last few weeks because she has reflux and it has worked wonders! She no longer has her crying episodes all day or night! Thank goodness!! So, Dr. H gave us a refill for that and told us everything looks great! We go back when Brooke is 4 months old and she said by that time Brooke should be over 1o pounds.

Well, that's about all the main stuff that's been happening in our lives in the past month. I start back to work on Nov. 16th and I will admit that I am extremely sad about it. In the beginning, I was looking forward to going back because everything was so overwhelming at home and I thought that break in the day would be nice. However, now that Brooke is over the crying fits and is now smiling and talking to us, I am having so much fun with her and I am going to miss these days so much. I know I will still have my evenings and weekends, but I am just heartbroken to know that I will probably not be the one to see her first crawl or step or even her first word. I am going to soak up every minute I have with her in this next week and a half. I am sure I will be the mom who goes back to work crying, but I guess I've gotta get used to leaving her! I am sure my next post will be all about life as a working mommy! So, until then, I will be playing and cuddling my baby girl all day, every chance I get!

One Month Doctor Visit!

Yesterday we took Brooke to the doctor for her one month checkup. I have to say again that I LOVE our pediatrician!! She is fabulous! Thanks again Kathryn for the recommendation! She was super busy but spent almost 45 minutes talking to us about Brooke. She is so informative and lets us know exactly what to expect with our little one. Brooke did really good too! She didn't get as upset as last time when the dr and nurse were checking her. Brooke now weighs 7 pounds, 2 ounces. We were taking a bet, and of course I guessed the closest! (I said 5 pounds, 3 ounces) I guessed her birth weight correctly too! :) She is now measuring 19 and a quarter inches long. Dr. Hogarth says even though she is only in the three percentile among other babies at this age :( her growth is right on track...which means that she has grown the appropriate amount of weight since our last visit.

We recently noticed a tiny little red spot on the left side of Brooke's head, right next to her little blonde spot. We asked the dr. about it and she says it a strawberry hemangioma. Apparently it will kind of bubble up like a mole, but then by around her first birthday it will start to go back down. Dr. H says that a lot of babies who are small or born early tend to get these. But, the good thing about it is that it's on her head, so her hair will eventually cover it.

We also asked the doctor about all of Brooke's screaming episodes. She has us trying out a new formula that is lactose-free. However, this is an expensive formula! I'm hoping it works because I hate seeing my baby in pain, but at the same time, I wish there was a less expensive approach that we could try. We started her on it yesterday afternoon, and so far so good! Other than the cost, the only thing I don't like about this formula is the SMELL....yuck!!! It stinks soooo bad! But, Brooke seems to like it so that's all that matters! Dr. H says that if this formula doesn't seem to stop her screaming episodes, she most likely has colic.... but at least we know that typically only lasts until she's 3 months old. So if it is that, all we have to do is be patient and know that it WILL end!!

Everything else with Brooke checked out great. She had to get another shot, though. The needle was HUGE! I couldn't believe they used such a big needle for such a little baby. I could tell it really hurt her. As soon as she got it, her face squished up and got all red, and then she just started screaming! Poor baby. I am dreading the next visit when she gets all of her vaccines... I will definitely need Reagan there for moral support!

On another note, I would like to ask everyone to keep my good friend Lindsey in your thoughts. She is currently four months pregnant and has been put on bedrest for the rest of her pregnancy. She is doing okay, but needs to stay off her feet until baby arrives. I know it's hard to stay put inside your home for a long period of time and not be able to do much, so please keep her and baby in your thoughts!!

One Month Old!!!

On Wednesday, Brooke turned one month old!! I can't believe how fast this month has gone! Many people said to cherish every minute while they are babies because it goes so fast...I now truly believe that!!

This month has been an amazing one, but it has also been quite a challenging one. I've had a lot going on with me, and trying to get used to having a newborn in the house has made for an exhausting and overwhelming month. As I said in the previous post, I had been on some antibiotics. Well, apparantly my body was resistent towards those, so the infection that I had got worse. I woke up around 2:30am one morning to feed Brooke and noticed a horrible pain in my lower back. The pain continued to get worse as the day went on and I aslo started running a high fever and had the chills. I called the doctor and they did all kinds of things to figure out what was going on. In the end, I found out I had two infections and needed TWO different antibiotics! I had already stopped breastfeeding because of the previous meds, but I was still pumping...hoping to go back to it once I stopped taking the medication. Now I was on even more drugs! So, I have finally come to the decision to stop pumping, which means no more breastfeeding. This was very hard for me to give up for a few reasons. For one reason, Brooke has not been doing that great on formula. She is way more fussy and has had lots of tummy aches. It has really made me extremely sad to know that I can not provide for her the way I should be...and because of me, she is having all these tummy problems. I know it's not my fault for getting the infections, but I still feel so upset about the situation. The other reason I found it difficult to give up breastfeeding was because it was the last little bit of "pregnancy" I was experiencing. Even though I was soooo ready to be done being pregnant there at the end, it is really strange not being pregnant, and I kind of miss it! BUT, I have this beautiful little girl that I can actually hold in my arms and look at every single day now!! I am finally done with my antibiotics and am starting feel a little bit back to normal. Hopefully things will stay that way. I had been in so much pain lately and realized that I hadn't had a "pain-free" day in months! Well, I have finally had a day with no pain, so that shows me right there that I will soon be feeling back to normal! FINALLY!

Although we don't go to the doctor again until next week, we know that little Brooke has been growing! She no longer fits into the very first set of premie outfits we had for her! There are still some premie outfits she does fit into and even a few newborn onesies!! YAY! The newborn onesies are still a bit big on her but she is slowly growing into them. I will be soooo excited when she finally fits into her newborn dresses!

Right now, Brooke doesn't do much other than eat, sleep and cry! She is starting to get a little bit of a schedule down though. She's usually awake with me during the day from noon till about 4 or 5. Then, she usually sleeps during the evening, then wakes back up at night around 9ish. And then, around midnight she's out for the night...with the exception of feedings every 2.5-3 hours! When Brooke is awake, she likes to look around and stare at things, but not for long! After only a little time awake, she starts getting fussy. During the day, Brooke sometimes gets a little fussy for about an hour or so in the early afternoon and then she has a real big fussy episode every night around 9-10...and it usually lasts until midnight! I'm reallllly hoping she doesn't have colic!! But, she has all the signs. We will just have to ask Dr. Hogarth next week to know for sure. She's also getting that baby acne...I feel so bad for her!! She's got the face of a teenager! :(

Last weekend, Reagan and I were able to get out of the house for a few hours to have a date! We went to eat Mexican food and I was able to have my first margarita since December!! It was yummy! :) After that, we went over to the Town Square to walk around. There was a guy playing music, but as soon as we parked and walked over, he was just finishing up. So, we decided to just walk around and look at all the new places that have opened up. It was so nice just to get out of the house and get some fresh air! Next weekend is Reagan's birthday and he is wanting to go out all night with some friends...so Brooke may have her very first "slumber party" with her grandparents! I'm not too sure how I will do going all night without her...

I have a couple of videos that I'd like to post, but for some reason it takes like hours to upload a video on here. Maybe my computer is too slow, I don't know. But, maybe I'll be able to upload them this weekend if I get some free time to do so. Keep checking back!

Life at Home...

Today is a very special day...today was my original due date!! It is so strange to think that Brooke was supposed to be in my belly until today!

On Sunday, Brooke celebrated her 2 week birthday! :) I will have to admit that having a baby is a huge adjustment in the home and can be quite overwhelming at times. However, I wouldn't trade this for anything. I am loving every minute of being a mother. Having to wake up every 2 hours in the middle of the night is pretty rough, but it is definitely worth it. I was never one to believe in love at first sight, but once I saw my daughter for the very first time, I immediately fell in love. My love for her continues to grow every day! It is so neat to see how she recognizes Reagan and I. She can be screaming from hunger, but as soon as either one of us picks her up, she instantly stops! She loves to just look at our faces and stare at us. Right now, we have had to switch to formula because I am on an antibiotic for about a week. Although I was REALLY about to quit breastfeeding (it can be such a PAIN!), I have definitely seen a difference in her since we've been giving her formula...and it's not a good thing. She has been more fussy and has had several tummy aches. Maybe we need to switch formulas, but I'll be anxious to see if she gets any better once I can breastfeed again.

We are in the process of picking out our photo announcements to send out to everyone. We've been having some trouble getting good pictures of Brooke because she's constantly moving! So, we've got a bunch of really blurry photos. We also have been trying to get some good pictures of her when she's awake. Once we have some nice ones, we will be sending out the announcements, so be on the look out for one in your mailbox!

Brooke is here!!!

WARNING: VERY LONG POST… :)

Well, I’ve been trying to get on here every day since we got home from the hospital, but I’m sure you all understand that we’ve been pretty busy! So, for those who’ve been wondering about Brooke’s birthday, here you go!

On Thursday, August 20th, I stopped taking my Procardia. I took one dose in the morning and that was it! I went to work and did some last minute things in my classroom so my sub would be ready for the first day of school. I started having quite a few contractions, so I left school and went home thinking “tonight’s the night!” …well, the contractions spaced apart once I was home and resting, so nothing happened! I had gone ahead and taken the next day off of work because I was just so exhausted and again I thought I’d be going into labor anytime now.

So, the next day was Friday and I slept in since I wasn’t going to work. I was still having contractions but they were about 15 minutes apart. I ended up doing a lot of housework and a lot of walking, thinking it would help bring them closer together…again, nothing happened! This night was “Meet the Teacher Night” at TWE and since I hadn’t gone into labor yet, I thought it would be good to go ahead and meet some of my students along with my sub. While at school that evening I got to meet about 15 of my 19 students! I was a little worried that the parents of my students would be upset that I would be gone at the beginning of the year, but they were actually very supportive! I think it was good that they were able to meet both me and my substitute at the same time. During this event, I noticed my contractions were getting MUCH stronger and were quite painful. When it was time for everyone to go home, a huge storm came through. Our power had gone out at our house, but my parents still had power…so Reagan and I went over there. While we were there, my contractions continued and were getting closer and closer…about 7 minutes apart. Once we realized our power had come back on, we went home and immediately began packing some last minute items into our hospital bags. By this time my contractions were 3-4 minutes apart. I decided to sit down and have a snack before we called the doctor since I knew they wouldn’t let me eat once I got to the hospital. Well, as I sat for about 30 minutes, my contractions started to slowly spread apart!! I couldn’t believe it! I timed my contractions for almost 4 hours that night and then finally gave up when they were 11 minutes apart. I was sooo sick of having painful contractions! How many more days was this going to go on?! So, I went to bed and got a good night sleep…and I once again said to myself “maybe it will be tomorrow”…

The next morning (Saturday), Reagan and I decided we needed to get out of the house. Maybe that would help move things along! At this point we were willing to try anything. School was starting Monday and I sure didn’t want to go to work with all of these painful contractions! So, we drive out to Katy and eat at a really yummy Mexican food restaurant to see if the spicy foods would help :). Then, we went to Katy Mills Mall…during tax free weekend…to go do some shopping. The whole time we were out, I was timing my contractions! They were about 10-15 minutes apart all day. Later on that evening once we were back home, Gretchen and Lindsey stopped by. They were as ready as we were to get little Brooke out of me! So, we all decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood. When we got back, we got out some chips and salsa! However, the salsa was actually kind of sweet, so Reagan went on a hunt to find something to spice it up. He ended up finding chili paste from Pei Wei!! So, I added it to my salsa and BOY did it make my mouth feel like it was on fire! Well, I guess I can be one to say that spicy foods really do work!!!! About 2 hours later my contractions were extremely strong, very intense, and were getting closer and closer. By this time, Lindsey had already gone home, but Gretchen was still at our house, so she got to witness everything!! We called the doctor and they said to go ahead and make our way to the hospital…hoping this would be our FINAL visit!!! Yay!!

We got to the hospital at about 1am. The nurse checked me and said I was 4cm dilated, so they were going to admit me! What a relief!! Throughout the night, my contractions continued, but I was not dilating. By this time it was early Sunday morning, and Dr. Patel was on call. He gave the go-ahead for the nurse to start me on Pitocin to get my labor to progress! I couldn’t believe it! After 5 weeks on bedrest for preterm labor, I’m having to be induced! Oh well, at least that means she was for sure going to be born that day! They started my Pitocin at about 8am. At this time, we decided we needed to call our parents! We had been waiting until morning because we knew if we had called them when we first got to the hospital they wouldn’t have been able to sleep. We wanted to wait until things were progressing before we got everyone all excited.

It didn’t take long for the Pitocin to start working. My contractions started getting closer and stronger. I knew I was planning to get an epidural and since the anesthesiologist was down the hall giving another patient an epidural, I decided to go ahead and get mine as well. Actually, I probably would have waited a little longer, however the anesthesiologist said he was going home…so it was either now or much later! I was so nervous about the epidural but it actually was not bad at all! Just one little sting and then some weird pressure in my back, but once it was done, I felt GREAT! My whole belly and legs were numb and I couldn’t even tell that I was having contractions.

I had a fantastic nurse during my delivery. She was so nice and helpful. She continued to check me often to see if I had dilated any more, but I was kind of stuck at 5cm for a long time. Dr. Patel came in and did something…not sure what!...and then I was dilated to 6cm. Then a little while later I was fully dilated! It was about 3:30pm at this time and I had noticed that my “numbness” in my legs had kind of gone away. There was a little button I could push to give me an extra shot of pain medicine, so I kept pushing it! I wasn’t having any pain from my contractions, so I thought pushing the button was doing the trick even though I wasn’t numb like before. Well, about 20 minutes later, it was time to start pushing! Dr. Patel wasn’t back yet, but the nurse was going to have me start pushing so that when he arrived, he could deliver my baby. Well…I had done my research on how long a woman is usually pushing before the baby arrives…and a lot of the answers I had seen said that it usually takes around 30 minutes or so. Well, after about 20 minutes of pushing, I asked my nurse if I had made any progress, and her answer was that I had made about a centimeter of progress! Oh boy, this was going to take a lot longer than I’d expected! I was already extremely exhausted and I was starting to feel a lot of pain. My nurse had me rest a little bit in between some pushes. I was so exhausted that when I rested, I started to feel myself passing out. I forced myself to keep my eyes open. The pain by this time was so intense. I couldn’t believe how bad this hurt! I thought the epidural was supposed to help at least a little bit! I was given oxygen, but I still felt like I couldn’t breathe. I could tell Reagan was worried…I kept asking him if he was okay! He continued to give me ice to chew on, and then I had to ask him to start rubbing the ice all over my face! Apparently my little Brooke was considered a “back-slider”…I would push and push and push, her head would get closer and closer, but then when I stopped pushing to take a breath, she would “slide” back in!!! OUCH is all I have to say. FINALLY after about an hour and a half of pushing, Dr. Patel arrived!! Thank goodness…maybe he could help get this little girl out of me. In between pushes, he tried telling jokes to distract me…ha! That didn’t work. Then he started to get serious and was telling me “Get mad Amy!” So I did. I have to say that this was BY FAR the worst and most extreme pain I have EVER endured in my life. I felt EVERYTHING. It basically felt as if my epidural had worn off and I was going at this naturally. While pushing, I had two nurses in the room…one on each side of me. They both had their arms across my stomach and were pushing on my belly to try to help get her out. I seriously thought I was going to pass out and wake up in an operating room or something! I don’t mean to scare my pregnant friends…I was even told by my nurse that this was NOT a normal delivery! So, after getting mad and asking our good Lord to give me strength, our little Brooke Nicole finally was born at 6:13pm after over 2 hours of pushing!! I was so relieved! Reagan was going to cut the cord, but because of all the distress being placed on her, she came out blue and purple and had to be given to the nurses right away. I kept thinking “is she okay?” but then we finally heard her cute little cry!! I could hear everyone in the hallway scream! (All of our family and friends were outside my door listening to everything going on!) You know, when you see on movies or tv, right after the woman has the baby, she kisses her husband…well I did, however instead of saying “I love you” I told him “That was the worst pain I’ve ever been in, I am NEVER doing that again!” I’m sure he loved hearing that! Brooke weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 17 inches long. The nurses had to do all kinds of things to Brooke and it seemed like forever until I was able to see her, but when I did, I could tell she was the most beautiful little thing I’ve ever seen! I finally got to hold her after a while and then all of our family and friends came in a few at a time to meet her. I knew I looked HORRIBLE, but I didn’t care!! I was so happy to finally have her in my arms.

Over the next two days we had lots of visitors to see Brooke. It was so much fun introducing her to everyone. We also found out that Brooke was jaundice so she was going to have go under the bililights for 24 hours. The hospital let us “board in” while she was under the lights so we didn’t have to go home even though I had technically been discharged. All of the nursing staff at the hospital was just fantastic. They were all so nice and kept asking how Brooke was doing. I feel like I got to know quite a few of the nurses there! On Thursday, we were finally able to take Brooke home! Her jaundice levels had gone down! We were so excited. We put her in a new outfit and made our way home. My mom was waiting at the house and got some good pictures as we showed Brooke her new home. Brooke is such a good baby! She finally got the eating thing down and is now on a schedule of every 2-3 hours. In between feedings, she mostly just sleeps. She is so cute when she’s hungry…she likes to suck on her hands and fingers!

We went back to see Brooke’s doctor today and were given good news! Her weight is now 5 pounds, 8 ounces, which means she’s gained 2 ounces. The doctor said it usually takes babies 2 weeks to get back to their birth weight, but Brooke did it in 8 days and gained extra! She is now 17 and three-fourths inches long. I felt so bad for my little girl, though. She was probably traumatized by this doctor visit! As soon as we got there, they completely undressed her to weigh her, the dr. was poking all over her body, and then she had to get a heel prick for a blood test! She had her little fingers wrapped around one of mine and as soon as the nurse pricked her heel, her grip tightened so much around my finger. She started crying so much and she had tears running down her face! I stayed strong and didn’t cry…I just kept trying to comfort her and kiss her forehead. Poor baby girl! The whole way home, she had this look on her face like “what did you do to me mom?” (see the picture!) I felt so bad! It’s a good thing we don’t go back for another 3 weeks!

Whew…that took forever to write. Even though it’s super long, I’m sure I left out a lot of stuff about Brooke’s birthday. Although it was the most painful experience of my life, it was the absolute BEST day of my life as well. It is something I will truly never forget and will cherish the rest of my life. I hope you all get to meet our little gift from Heaven one day!

Putting on the Pounds...

Today we went to see Dr. Gei, who is the high-risk doctor we've been seeing to keep track of Brooke's growth. We saw him about 3 weeks ago and Brooke's estimated weight was 3 pounds, 7 ounces. Which, at that time, she had gained a pound and a half in 5 weeks...not so great. Well, when we were there today, she had gained about a pound and a half in THREE weeks!! Her estimated weight at this point is 4 pounds, 13 ounces. She is still very tiny for her age. The average baby at 36 weeks is about 6 pounds...so Brooke is actually only in the 5th percentile for her weight. However, Dr. Gei said he was very happy to see that she has kept a constant growth over the last three weeks and she is still looking very healthy. They were originally considering having me induced at 37 weeks (unless she came on her own!) if her growth hadn't improved. But, the way things look at the moment, Dr. Gei says there is no need for that and we will let her come naturally whenever she decides to!

I have a feeling that part of her slow weight gain had to do with the stomach parasite that I had back in May. I had lost weight during all of that and was very sick, so I'm sure it affected Brooke too. She now seems to be right on track as far as how much weight she should be gaining. All the books say that she should be gaining a half a pound a week right now, which she has done over the last 3 weeks! So, next week on Wednesday I will be taken off the Procardia. Chances are, I will go into labor very soon after, if it's anything like what happened last time! That means that if Brooke stays on this track of gaining half a pound a week, she will be over 5 pounds at birth. I know that is still very small, but it makes me feel a lot better knowing she will have passed the 5 pound mark!

It was so neat to see Brooke on the screen! The technician even showed her to us in 4/D! We could see her yawning and sticking out her tongue! She is so beautiful! We did get a little glimpse for a picture, but it's nothing compared to what we saw on the screen. Brooke kept putting her hand in front of her face (just like last time!) so it was very hard to get a good picture. My computer does not work with our scanner, so I just took a picture of it with my camera, therefore the quality doesn't look so good. You will notice in the picture that she has her little fingers near the left side of her face and it almost looks like she's sticking out her tongue just a tad bit. Reagan and I definitely think now that she has his nose!! We can not wait to see her in real life!!

Thank you to everyone for all of your love, support, and prayers!!! Please continue to pray for little Brooke~pray for pounds!! :)

Brooke's Room!

Okay, so Reagan and I are pretty much done with the nursery...there are just a few more things to hang up. We want to find a pretty mirror to go above the dresser, so right now that spot is bare. I decided to upload the pictures to flickr because the last few times I've put pictures on my blog, some of them enlarge when you click on them, and some don't. I haven't quite figured out why it does that...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11628512@N02/with/3814722663/

Yesterday I had a visit with Dr. McDonald and another BPP test. Everything looked good on the BPP test and I was once again contracting away!! Dr. M checked me and said I hadn't dilated any further so the Procardia was doing it's job. She also said to keep taking it until next Wednesday and then I can OFFICIALLY stop! And, if Brooke decides to come as soon as I stop the medication, they will NOT try to stop her any more! Thank goodness! I am so tired of going to the hospital! I'm so ready to meet this little girl...she keeps teasing us!!

Tomorrow I will go back to see Dr. Gei to see how much Brooke has grown over these last 3 weeks. I had sooo many dreams about this last night because I've been so anxious to know. In one of my dreams, she had only gained about half a pound and we were very worried. I kept thinking, how on earth has she not gained any weight, while I on the other hand have gained EIGHT pounds in these last 3 weeks!! (by the way, the 8 pounds I'm referring to really DID happen, that was not a dream!) My other dream was that she was a whopping 6 pounds...which I don't think she is cause my belly hasn't gotten that big over 3 weeks and I don't know if it's even possible for her to have doubled her weight in that short amount of time! We are just hoping for a good 5 pounds. Well, I will write another post tomorrow to let yall know what the official number is! Please pray for pounds!! :)

What a Night...

Well...where to begin? I guess I can start off by saying that last night was definitely one of the more emotional nights I've ever been through. As you may have read in my last post, Dr. McDonald had wanted me to stop taking the Procardia and said that if Brooke decided to come after getting off the medication, we will let her come! Well, I stopped taking the Procardia Wednesday night. My last dose was at 7:30. Not even twenty-four hours had passed when I began having consistent contractions at about every 15 minutes. At that time, they weren't really anything to worry about since they were still so far apart and I wasn't in any pain, just a little uncomfortable. As the night went on, the contractions began to get closer and closer. Eventually they were coming at about every 8 minutes. Reagan and I already had a bag packed, but we had some last minute things that still needed to be put in the bag. So, we decided to go ahead and get all of that together and call Dr. McDonald. She said to go ahead and make our way to the hospital. At that point, I got pretty nervous, while Reagan got very excited! We were going to have a baby! ...or so we thought.

When we got to the hospital, they took me into the triage room to see how far along I was. When the nurse examined me, she said I was still about 2-3cm dilated...the same as when I saw Dr. M on Tuesday. So, she called the doctor to see what we should do. I was still having continuous contractions about every 7-8 minutes. Well, when the nurse came back in, she said Dr. M had told her to give me a shot of Terbutaline to stop my contractions... Reagan and I were instantly confused. She had just told me Tuesday to stop taking Procardia, even though she knew I was dilated and having labor contractions!! AND, she told me that it was very possible that Brooke would be here this week. So, WHY on earth is she trying to stop them AGAIN?? I understand that I am only 35 weeks along, but don't tell me that it's okay to have her and then two days later turn around and say "NO, we have to keep her in your belly". I put all of my trust in the doctors I see, and this action of hers made me wonder what was going on and why she was doing this. Anyways, we asked to speak with Dr. M directly before the nurse gave us any medication. Dr. M said that since I wasn't dilated anymore than when she last saw me, we needed to try to stop the contractions because they weren't putting me into full blown labor yet. She gave us a few options...1.) take the Terbutaline 2.) Take the Procardia or 3.) go home and see what happens... Well, I had JUST gotten to the hospital, so I began to think "what if we got here too early and what if I start to dilate once the contractions get even closer?" So we decided to wait at the hospital to see if anything changed. The nurse said she would come back to check me in an hour and if I hadn't dilated, we would go from there. So...after about an hour, when she checked me, I was a full 3cm dilated. This appearantly wasn't enough, and I certainly didn't want to go home because I was now in pain as my contractions started to get closer together! So, we decided to just stick with Procardia. We were taken to an L&D room for the night for observation. Not long after I was in there, my contractions intensified soooo much! I just knew that this was labor pains I was feeling, however I had just taken the Procardia! So, now the labor I was probably going into, was now being stopped by medication. Once the medicine took its full effect, the contractions had spaced out to about 6 minutes apart and weren't as instense, but still a bit painful. I just kept thinking...if I hadn't taken the medicine, we'd probably be in full blown labor by now! This was bittersweet, though...I so badly was ready to welcome Brooke into our lives, but I knew it was best for her to stay put as long as she could...and at the same moment, I was so mad at my doctor! If she had just kept me on the Procardia, NONE of this would have happened! I wouldn't have had to go through this roller coaster of a night. My nurse came back in at around 6:30am for my next dose of Procardia. I asked her to check me just to see if anything had changed because of those really intense contractions I had had before the medicine kicked in. When she checked, I was a good 3.5cm dilated, 80% effaced and she could feel the bag of waters. So, again, I wonder if I hadn't taken the meds, would we have had a baby? I guess we will never know...

Later on that morning, Dr. M came in to see me. She said I should probably go ahead and take the Procardia until I am 37 weeks along...should have told me that TUESDAY!!! She did say that I could go home and not take anything, but why would I want to put myself through this mess agian. Doesn't make any sense to me. So, needless to say, Reagan and I have been an emotional wreck today. I've cried so much today, all from only getting one hour of sleep, being mad at my doctor, and being disappointed about not getting to meet Brooke...although I know that this is best for her. This whole experience has made me lose some of my trust in my doctor unfortunately. I put my health and the health and life of my baby in her hands and trust her to make professional decisions on what's best for us. However, going through all this has put me under so much stress and confusion that I don't think I can completely trust what she wants us to do from here on out. I know this will all work out in the end, and we will have a beautiful baby girl to bring home with us, but for right now, I am very upset with how things have turned out. So, now I'm back at home, still having contractions, but taking the Procardia for the next 2 weeks. I hope that my next visit to the hospital will finally be for the birth of Brooke!!!!

35 Weeks & 2-3cm Dilated!

Our little family is about to get bigger!

Yesterday, I had my weekly appointment with Dr. McDonald and my biophysical profile exam. The BPP test was first again, so I got all hooked up to the monitors. I was watching the paper roll out of the machine and realized that I was having contractions...but I was not feeling ANYTHING!! Normally, with the Braxton-Hicks contractions, I feel my belly get very tight, but this time I didn't feel a thing. No pain, or anything!! I also noticed that according to the machine, I was having these contractions every few minutes and they appeared to be very big. I started thinking something was wrong with the monitor...maybe it wasn't positioned right, or it was broken! :) When the technician came back in to check on me, her eyes got real big and said "are you feeling all of these contractions?"...I said "no, not at all!" So, she took me off the monitors, and it was time for my quick ultrasound check. Once that was done, she took me to see Dr. McDonald. As soon as Dr. M saw me she said that I was having labor contractions and needed to examine me! She said I was already dilated to 2-3cm and that Brooke could very well be here this week! I asked Dr. M. when I should call her, since I can't feel the contractions I'm having now, how will I know when I'm going into labor?? She said as soon as I notice pain and feel any contractions that are coming on regularly, I need to call. I was really excited when I left, but nervous at the same time. Yesterday was me and Reagan's 2 year wedding anniversary and we were really hoping she wouldn't make her appearance on our anniversary! We want her to have her own special day and not have to share it with mommy and daddy. Well, obviously nothing happened last night, so now I feel like it's just a waiting game! I know that many women go weeks being only a few cm. dilated, but Dr. M did not check me the last 2 weeks that I saw her...so who knows how long I've actually been dilated!

I've still been taking the Procardia, so the fact that I'm contracting and dilating while on it, makes me think that as soon as I stop taking it, I may very well go into labor. Well, I'm actually supposed to stop taking it today! I am going to try to slowly get off of it by only taking a couple doses today, and maybe going ahead with one dose tomorrow morning. Not sure if doing it this way will make any difference, but we will try it! I'd much rather her wait until the end of the week to arrive, if she decides to wait until then! As for now, I am taking things very easy and will let everyone know if anything new happens!

Taken @ 34 weeks

Ultrasounds & a Baby Shower!

Last Tuesday, I went in to Dr. McDonald's office for my 2nd Biophysical Profile exam. The first one I had, landed me in the hospital so I was kind of nervous about this next one! Well, I once again was hooked up to the fetal monitors, and this time everything looked great! YAY! So, it was on to have a quick ultrasound to see how little Brooke was doing in my belly. It was a very fast ultrasound and the technician was clicking away on the machine. I had no idea what I was seeing on the screen! At one point, I thought I saw her face, but the screen image was so blurry it was hard to tell. The technician did say that she saw hair on her head! I was surprised since I was a bald baby. She couldn't tell how much...it could just be like peach fuzz! But, I can't wait to see if she will be a blonde baby like Reagan and I were. We keep thinking she will come out with a head full of red hair! My Nana is a red head, so we will just have to see! So, after the ultrasound, it was on to see Dr. McDonald. She said everything looked great and to keep being lazy. She still wants me to stop taking the Procardia at 34 weeks because she said after that point in pregnancy, there's no real proof that the medicine will still work. Which I am fine with...I'd rather not take any medication while pregnant especially if it has no use! And, this Procardia has been giving me some serious headaches. I will just make sure I take it extra easy once I'm off the medication so I don't have any more contractions.

On Friday, we went to see Dr. Gei again. Dr. M wanted me to see him again because he is a high-risk doctor and they have the better ultrasound equipment. They wanted to see if there was a reason why Brooke was so small. This ultrasound was very neat! We were actually able to see everything so clear on the screen. The technician was trying so hard to show us her face, but I think Brooke is taking after her mommy already...she was being very shy! First of all, she was face down and then she had her arm over half of her face! The technician was trying all sorts of things to get her to move her arm, but she just wouldn't. We were able to see one eye and her nose. Reagan and I both agreed that we think she's got Reagan's nose! Guess we will have to wait and see if our prediction is right! Dr. Gei came in after a while and talked with us while he looked at Brooke on the ultrasound as well. He said that she looks very healthy and even though she is underweight, the good news is that they don't see any reason why she is small. Her lungs look good, there's enough amniotic fluid, she's getting all the oxygen she needs...she's just teeny, tiny. I guess by the measurements they took, they were able to tell how much she weighs. Right now, she only weighs 3 pounds, 7 ounces. The average weight, where she should be at this point, is 4 and a half pounds. So, my diet has no restrictions which means eat as often and as much as I want! And, hopefully some of it will start fattening up little Brooke! He wants me to come back for a follow-up ultrasound on August 13th...we will see if she decides to stay in until then!

On Saturday, Gretchen, Lindsey, Keren, and Cathy threw Reagan and I a Hawaiian themed couple's shower. It was so much fun! They did such a great job and the decorations were so cute! We even had hula skirts to wear. Mine didn't fit so well...it popped off when I sat down! They made a diaper cake AND a diaper wreath! They decorated them with all kinds of much needed baby items and LOTS of monkeys!! Brooke is definitely going to be our "little monkey"! They made a fabulous meal with pulled pork sandwiches, pasta, potato salad, fruit, corn, and YUMMY petit fours for dessert. I was definitely stuffed after eating all that good food! Brooke received a lot of wonderful gifts. She got a cute bag with her name emboidered on it, lots of toys, some cute outfits, and lots more! We got some much needed baby items as well. Some of the things we received are her baby baths, bottles, lots of diapers, and a tubside kneeler. Thank you to everyone, we feel so blessed to have received all of these gifts! We also received a lot of hand-me-downs from Keren which is MUCH appreciated!! It was so good to see everyone. I loved being able to get out of the house to see my friends! Thank you ladies for throwing us such a fun shower!!

Baby Shower!

Even though I am on bedrest, I was given the "ok" to go to my baby showers as long as I sat the whole time! So, yesterday my aunts, sister-in-law, and close family friends threw me a "women's" baby shower! It was so lovely. They all did such a nice job with everything! It was so much fun getting to see everyone...I only wish I could have been able to get up and visit with everyone some more. Everyone was so generous and supportive...and they were all making sure I was taking it easy! (Although, I'm sure I was being a little stubborn since I kept telling everyone I was fine.) The cake was beautiful and super yummy! My sister-in-law made us a diaper cake (with help from my brother!! wow!) and it was absolutely amazing! Baby Brooke received a lot of wonderful things. She now has a closet FULL of clothes! And when I mean full...I mean packed with hardly any more hanging space! She's got more clothes than I do! I can't wait to dress her up in all the cute clothes. We also received lots of bibs, hats, and blankets. Gretchen and my mom both made blankets for Brooke and they are so pretty! The one Gretchen made is green with little turtles! It was her first blanket that she's ever made, and I am so honored to receive it! Brooke will love her turtle blanket. My mom made her one that's got lots of bright colors and will be perfect for tummy time. We also received a very special blanket from Reagan's side of the family that his grandmother made. It has been passed around to all of her grandchildren, and now it's being passed on to her first great-grandchild. It has all of their names and birth years on it. It is so neat to know that Reagan, his sister, and all of his cousins shared this blanket when they were all babies! The hostesses all pitched in and gave us the stroller we registered for! We also recieved our diaper bag, lots of books, gift cards to buy the dresser for the nursery, along with many other wonderful gifts! I am so excited and can't wait to use all of these new things. We are feeling a litte more prepared now that we have some of the "necessities" for Brooke. Thank you to everyone who came and shared this special day with me and Brooke! And thank you to the wonderful ladies who gave me the shower!!


Next Saturday is our couple's shower given to us by Gretchen, Lindsey, Keren, and Cathy. I am very excited for their "Hawaiian" themed shower they are throwing for us! Reagan and I feel truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives...and we are so thankful for everything you all are doing to help us bring this little girl into our world!

My Adventures to the Hospital again...& AGAIN!

Well, I was originally planning to just write this post to inform everyone about the weekly biophysical profile tests Dr. McDonald was going to start doing on me...however I now I have a LOT more news! My test was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but appearantly little Brooke just couldn't wait that long for us to hear her heartbeat! Tuesday evening around 5:30 I began to have a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions. As I've mentioned before, I had been having a lot of these lately, but this time things felt different. Around 8pm, I noticed that I was having them every few minutes. Reagan and I had just ate dinner and were sitting on the couch watching a movie. I decided to change from a sitting position to laying down to see if that helped. Reagan went to get his watch and a piece of paper and began recording my contractions. Well, the contractions did not go away when I layed down. They were coming about every 10 minutes and lasting 50 seconds on average. We decided to call our awesome friend Kendra...she's a labor and delivery nurse at a hosptial here in Houston. She told us we needed to go ahead and call Dr. McDonald, so we did. Dr. M told us to go ahead and go to the hospital and she was going to let them know I was coming. Well, I was thinking, oh goodness ANOTHER trip to the hospital and it's not even time for her to come yet! As soon as we arrived, the nurse hooked me up to some monitors to hear Brooke's heartbeat and to check my contractions. We could definitely see my contractions on the screen! As I said earlier, these didn't feel the same...they were a little stronger but not really painful. They were actually more annoying feeling than anything! My nurse examined me and said I was not dilated, so that was excellent news. They did do a fetal fibronectin test which basically would determine if I would be going into active labor within the next two weeks. Well, the test results were going to take a while so they decided to keep me overnight since my contractions were not going away. My doctor also gave me a medicine called terbutaline to stop the contractions. They had to give me three injections of this and it definitely helped! My contractions stopped, however the medication made me very jittery, kind of like I had drank way too much coffee!

The next morning, Dr. McDonald came to see me and said my test results for the fetal fibronectin came back negative, meaning that I would not be at risk for preterm labor. What a relief! So they were able to let me go home! I still had my regularly scheduled appointment with Dr. McDonald that afternoon along with the biophysical profile test, so she told me I still needed to come in for that. So Reagan and I headed home and it was off to bed for me! Right before I left for my appointment, I noticed I had a couple of contractions again. It was a good thing I was going back to the see the doctor! Well, the doctor was running late, so we didn't get back to start the BPP test until almost an hour after my original appointment time. The BPP test basically constists of 2 tests. They first hook you up to fetal monitors to check baby's heartbeat and to see if you are having contractions and how baby reacts to contractions. The second part consists of a quick ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid and baby's movements and muscle tone. When I was finally called back, the technician hooked me up to the monitors and told me I would be on them for about 20-40 minutes. Reagan was with me for this part, but he had to leave as soon as it was over because he had a meeting. While the technician was monitoring this, she noticed I was having contractions about every 4-5 minutes apart. She said that Brooke was reacting just fine to them, howeve she thought Dr. McDonald would need to examine me before doing the ultrasound. So off I go into another room for the exam. By this time Reagan had already left. As soon as my dr. began to examine me, I noticed she had a concerned look on her face. She then told me that since last week, my cervix had began to thin out a little meaning that these contractions are starting to do something. So, she said it was back to the hospital for me again...and this time she was expecting me to be there for 24-48 hours. Well, since Reagan was not there, I began to bawl! I was so scared becuase she said that we were going to have to try new medicines to stop the contractions, as well as getting steroid shots to help mature Brooke's lungs in case I went into labor. Even though my fetal fibronectin test came back negative, she didn't want to take any chances in case the results were wrong.

So, as I continue to bawl my eyes out, I get in my car and make my way to the hospital across the street. Mom told me she would meet me there while Reagan went home to pack us a bag for our stay. Suzy and Tom also came by a little later, as well as my dad. I checked back into labor and delivery and guess what...same room! This was also the exact same room for our hospital stay back in May when I had the stomach parasite! I need to get out of this room! I think Brooke likes it too much and keeps wanting to come back! After getting hooked up to the all the monitors AGAIN, I was also given an IV...thank goodness for that because I was told I could not eat until I stopped having contractions. (I should have eaten more for lunch that day!) Dr. McDonald prescribed a new medicine called Procardia to stop the contractions. My first dose was considered a "mega" dose and I was given 4 pills at once...and then I would receive one pill every four hours after that. I was also given antibiotics through my IV in case I had some unknown infection that could be causing me to contract. THEN, my first nurse leaves as soon as she gives me the Procardia, and a new nurse comes on to give me the first steroid shot. I would receive 2 of these, one every 24 hours. Well, 5 minutes after the steroid shot, a huge wave hit me and I was incredibly dizzy and light headed. I couldn't even see straight. The new nurse came running into my room to check on me. We found out that the Procardia lowers your blood pressure (which as many of you may know, I already have a problem with low blood pressure!) and along with the other 2 medications they had just given me, it was too much for my body to handle. My heart rate shot WAY down. After about 20 minutes, the extreme dizziness had started to go away but I was then on a close watch every time they gave me my next dose of Procardia! This medicine has taken a lot longer to control the contractions. I still had some contractions throughout the night, and we found that if I layed completely flat that they stopped. I was also given Ambien to help me sleep through the night and boy did that have a funny effect on me! Appearantly, about 10 minutes after getting it, I started hallucinating! I remember seeing all these crazy things, however when I woke up in the morning I thought it was all a dream until Reagan told me that it definitely was not! Well, there are some big spotlights in the ceiling and I appearantly saw 2 cartoon mice in each of them and the spotlight was there spaceship! I also saw lights flashing all over the ceiling and even asked Reagan "don't you see those?!" and told him he had 4 eyes, 2 noses, and 4 ears. This was all said in front of the nurse! I'm sure they both thought I had gone absolutely crazy! Well after that it was off to sleep for me. Even though I was unaware of it, I still had contractions throughout the night and was given another shot of Terbutaline to help. The contractions finally stopped sometime early this morning!

Dr. McDonald came to see me again in the morning and told me that I needed to continue bedrest laying flat to keep the contractions under control and that hopefully I would be able to go home Friday morning. I would most likely be sent home with Procardia to continue taking for the next few weeks to keep Brooke from coming too early. I was FINALLY given permission to eat as well! I hadn't eaten since lunch the day before so I was starving!! I'm still in the hospital as I write this trying to pass some time...can't you tell by how long this post is?! Lindsey and her mom stopped by this afternoon and brought me frozen yogurt from Swirl! yuuuuum!! So, I've decided to try sitting up to see if my contractions had officially stopped and so far so good! I've been sitting up for the past 4 hours and have only had about 3 contractions!! Which that's about normal for what I've been experiencing for the past few weeks. So, it looks like I will officially be able to go home tomorrow morning! I still have to get my 2nd steroid shot this evening but other than that, I'm feeling great! Maybe I won't have to be on strict "lay flat" bedrest and will actually be able to sit up from time to time once I'm home. My mom also informed me that a girl from high school is just down the hall moments away from having her baby today! We are able to see the monitors for all the patients and we recently saw that her monitors were turned off which means her baby is here! Such a small world!

Please keep baby Brooke in your thoughts...we can't wait to meet her, but we need her to wait a few more weeks before she comes! And since Reagan and I have had so much extra time with nothing to do, we've officially decided on her full name... Brooke Nicole Tielke! I'm really glad things seem to be doing better right now since I have a shower being thrown for me on Saturday! I'd hate for everyone to go to all that work for me and then I'm not even able to attend. I may have to sit the whole time, but I'm very much looking forward to it and seeing all of our family and friends! I will keep everyone updated if anything new happens. Thank you all for your love and support during this very scary time for Reagan and I!

Childbirth Class

Today we had our one day childbirth class. It was a very long day and my brain has been overloaded with labor, delivery, and baby information! I am really glad we decided to take a childbirth class. Reagan and I learned so much, and I walked away feeling much more confident about what's going to happen! In the morning, an anesthesiologist came in to talk to us about pain management options...the epidural being one of them. I have already decided that I will absolutely want an epidural! I am a wuss when it comes to pain, and after watching those lovely "miracle of birth" videos from the '80s today, I know for a fact that I do not want to do this natural!! (Bring on the drugs!!) The anesthesiologist was very helpful and showed us exactly what would happen during an epidural. We were also able to speak to a pediatrician and ask him some questions, too. My favorite part of the whole day was when the husbands had to learn massage techniques!! Our instructor showed them exactly how to massage our backs and our feet during labor! I am going to make sure Reagan gets in a lot of "practice" on these techniques before I even go into labor! :) Massage time was very helpful to me during our class today in another way as well. All day long I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions and was very uncomfortable. The massages really helped me to relax and the contractions went away for a while. I didn't mention this in the previous post, but I've had a LOT of B-H contractions. Dr. McDonald had told me I have to take it easy, so I did. Last week I barely had any contractions, but today was a different story. I think it probably had to do with not getting a lot of sleep last night and being really tired all day. I was put on "couch"rest when we got home by Dr. Reagan. :)

One thing that I was kind of shocked about (and thought it was poor planning on the hospital's part) was what they provided for lunch. First, they brought out sandwiches with lunch meat...and as most of you may know, deli meats are one of those "no, no's" during pregnancy. THEN, they brought out the drinks...every single drink had caffeine! I couldn't belive it! Guess the cafeteria didn't realize they were providing lunch for a room full of pregnant women.

Pregnancy Pictures

Here are some belly pictures I've taken throughout the last 8 months:

This was taken at 14 and a half weeks.

18 weeks

20 weeks

25 weeks

30 weeks

More to come soon!

It's a GIRL!

So, I have been searching for a blog website ever since I found out I was pregnant. I loved the idea of sharing this experience with family and friends online, especially those who live in other cities and states. Well, my search was not a very extensive one! I occasionally looked for the perfect blog site, but never found one that I truly loved...until now! (Thanks Lindsey for sharing your friend's blog with me!) So, since I am quite behind on sharing news and updates with everyone, I will try my best to go back and remember all the milestones of this pregnancy to share with you! Here are a few stories of some of the most exciting things that have happened in the past 8 months. It's long, but again, this is from the last 8 months!



December 29, 2008
This is a day I will never forget. I decided to go ahead and take a pregnancy test first thing in the morning, although I had a feeling it was too early to tell. I knew something was different with me because I had been having quite a few stomachaches in the weeks leading up to this day. My body just felt "off", but I kept thinking it was some sort of stomach bug. But, I decided to go ahead and just see if there was a chance I could be pregnant. So, the directions for the pregnancy test say to wait 3 minutes before your results show up...it took 30 seconds and the word "Pregnant" appeared! I think at that very moment my eyes popped out of my head and I fell to the floor with my mouth hanging open. I have never been more surprised....so I took 3 more tests just to make sure! And to my astonishment, they all said the same thing! This was probably the longest day I had ever experienced as well. Reagan and I had already planned to meet for lunch, however we met at Potbelly Sandwiches and I was not about to tell him the big news there. So I kept my mouth shut with a huge grin on it throughout lunch. THEN, Reagan worked later than normal this day...till after 8pm! I was just about to go crazy because I could not keep this secret any longer! When he came home, I handed him a card stating that I had a "New Year's" card to give him. When he opened it, the cover of the card had two little baby footprints on it. He looked a little confused...so when he opened it and saw what I had written (I'M PREGNANT!), he looked at me in disbelief. He honestly did not believe me...but then I showed him the 4 pregnancy tests I'd taken! Lo and behold he was ecstatic and I've never seen a bigger smile on his face!


December 30, 2008
This is the day we told our parents! We went to each of our parents homes and gave them a "belated" Christmas gift. We told them they had to open it at the same time because it was the same thing....we had found frames that say "I love my Grandma" and "I love my Grandpa". Well, as soon as the moms opened their gifts, they knew right away and were in shock! However, the dads thought this frame was for putting a picture of our dog Molly in it! But, I think once the moms said "You're pregnant?!", they got the point!

When we shared the news with my brother, Ben, and my sister-in-law, Windy, it was on a later date. We went over to Mom and Dad's to see them and their little girl, Kylie. I was holding Kylie in the living room when I said to her (loud enough so everyone could hear), "Kylie, are you ready for a new cousin?" Ben and Windy were very excited to hear the news! It's really great having a sister-in-law who just went through a pregnancy to share all her advice with me! It's been really helpful and I'm sure I will have plenty of questions once Brooke arrives!


We also shared the big news with Reagan's sister, Melissa and her husband, Travis. Travis was not in town at the time, so we went to Panera Bread with Melissa to tell her. Reagan wrote on a piece of paper "Are you ready...to be an aunt?" She was very excited. So, we then called Travis to tell him the news on the phone. They are both so supportive and helpful! Thanks Travis for all of the baby gear you've sent our way!!



January 20, 2009

My first doctor vist. We were taken in for an ultrasound first before meeting with Dr. McDonald. When we saw our little baby on the screen, I of course began crying! I was so happy to see that there was really in fact a little baby in my belly! Of course at the time, all it looked like was a little circle with a flickering heart beat, but it was still our baby and that was the best feeling in the world.

After this doctor visit, we decided to go ahead and announce to the rest of our family and friends that we were expecting!

April 20, 2009

On this day, we drove down to the medical center to see Dr. Gei for our 20 week ultrasound. We also found out some very exciting news...it's a GIRL! I honestly was shocked...and I think the rest of our family was too. We had all been predicting that I was having a boy. But, I was in no way upset! All I cared about was having a healthy baby no matter what it was. Dr. Gei gave us lots of pictures. He even took one where Brooke is giving us a thumbs up...she's definitely going to be an Aggie! :)

This day was also very special in another way. Later in the evening, Reagan and I were watching tv when I began to feel Brooke kick. I had already felt her kicks, however Reagan had not. So, he put his hand on my belly, and after about a minute, Brooke gave a good hard kick right to his hand! He couldn't believe how well he could feel her kick! Reagan loves to put his hand on my belly now while we are just lounging around and feel all of Brooke's movements! Feeling her move and kick is one of the weirdest...yet most wonderful...feelings in the world!

The picture below is not the one of her thumbs up, but a good profile shot of little Brooke.

I have felt very blessed throughout this pregnancy. I only had a couple mornings of morning sickness and that was it! I did have an every day kind of queasiness, more so at dinner time than anything else. I never wanted to eat dinner until I was about 13 weeks along. I also had the very strong "pregnant nose". Every morning when I opened the fridge, I would gag! I could not stand the smell...I kept telling Reagan that something had gone bad in the fridge, but he didn't smell a thing. I even bought those Arm & Hammer fridge things, but that didn't work! I would have to say my strongest pregnancy symptoms have been EXTREME fatigue in the first trimester, and then absolutely terrible migraines....imagine the worst headache you've ever had, multiply it by ten. That's what I felt. I was even sent to a neurologist by my ob-gyn because even she was worried about it. But, the headaches began to slowly go away as I got further along in the pregnancy (thank God!).

On the other hand though, I have had a few illnesses during this pregnancy (not related to being pregnant) that were pretty rough. I had the flu the week of my birthday, and being pregnant, there was not a whole lot I could take! I also had a very scary, and painful, illness back in May. About an hour after eating a turkey sandwich at Panera Bread, I began to feel a little nauseous. Well, it continued to get worse as the night went on, leading up to me becoming very sick! I thought I had food poisoning. I was having extreme pain in my abdomen, so much that my whole stomach was swollen and I looked much more pregnant than I actually was! Well, this whole thing had started on a Sunday. I missed Monday and Tuesday of work, and decided to try to make it on Wednesday since I had so much work to do with it being the end of the school year. I barely made it through the day. My stomach was so swollen that I could not feel Brooke's movements. This of course made me, Reagan, and both of our parents very worried. They all decided it was time to take me to the ER. When we got there, they took me right up to the Labor & Delivery wing and put me right on to a bed. They hooked me up to some monitors and I heard the best sound in the world...Brooke's heartbeat! Everything with the baby was fine, however I was still in so much pain and very sick to my stomach. They decided to keep me overnight, which was really neat since it gave us a little preview of the rooms we would be in when Brooke arrives. They let me leave the next morning, telling me that my symptoms were probably due to food poisoning. However, I still felt extremely sick. I decided to call Dr. Stein (my tummy doctor!) and got an appointment for the next day. He came in to the office just to see me! He said it was NOT food poisoning that I was experiencing...it was in fact a stomach parasite! Yuck... So anyways, he was able to find 2 antibiotics that were safe for me to take. Two days later, I began to feel much better! We still don't know how I got the parasite...but I'm guessing I got it from one of my students at school. Oh, the joys of being an elementary school teacher!

July 2, 2009

It was time to trade in my little coupe for a family car. I was very sad to say goodbye to my cute little Altima coupe...that I only had for a year and a half. But I was very excited to know that my "new" car would soon hold our little baby girl!

My old car. Bye, bye pretty coupe!

Hello new car! 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid