Updates and some exciting news!

The last 6 days have been quite eventful for us. It all started last Wednesday, December 3 when we went for my 36 week OB appointment. I was a little nervous...I've gone from a private practice that was always so calm and relaxing to a crisp, large military hospital that is nowhere near calm with all the people milling around everywhere for everything. Not my idea of comfortable. Anyway, my appointment got underway and was going okay until they took my blood pressure -- 149/91 (not good and not normal for me). I'm usually pretty low (the 110/60 range) so they decided to wait and check it again before I left to see if it had gone back down. Unfortunately, it didn't help when the nurse told me that if it did not go down I was going to need to have some blood drawn, give a urine sample and go to Labor & Delivery to be hooked up to the fetal monitor. So, when they went to take my blood pressure again, it had gone up to 153/92...so much for calming down. The only good news we received was that the baby has finally turned head down, so we no longer have to worry about him being in the transverse position. He is ready for delivery!

I headed down to the Lab to have my blood drawn and to submit a urine sample and then went back up to the Labor & Delivery area. We waited for 2 hours to be seen and were finally taken back to a small room with a curtain pulled to separate me from another patient. They monitored my blood pressure for about 45 minutes (which finally leveled out around 125/77) and everything looked okay. My blood test and urine sample were normal, but the doctor wanted me to submit a 24 hour urine sample to be sure everything was okay and there weren't any signs of preeclampsia. The doctor told me to call or come in if I was seeing spots, having headaches that wouldn't go away with Tylenol or if I had any severe pains in my upper abdomen.

On Friday, we went back to the hospital to turn in my 24 hour sample and to fill out hospital paperwork so it didn't have to be done when we were there for the actual delivery. While we were filling out the forms, I started to see a funky spot in my vision, which kept growing larger and was something similar to what you might see if you looked through a kaleidoscope (a prism of colors). It scared me so Ryan calmly took me up to Labor & Delivery where we checked in to be monitored again. My blood pressure was elevated (how could it not be -- I was terrified) but it slowly went back down and the baby was doing fine. He even got the hiccups while I was hooked up to the monitor, which lightened the mood. I was having some mild contractions so it was neat to have the doctor confirm that's what they were when he looked at the test results. Again, everything looked fine but the doctor told me that I would now have to come in twice a week to have my blood pressure monitored until I deliver. We left the hospital feeling okay and thinking that maybe this was a little blessing from God -- since we had just moved here it would give us an opportunity to meet some of the nurses and doctors that would be delivering me. So far we have been impressed with the doctors who have been monitoring me, so that is a blessing.

On Sunday morning at 5:15am, I woke up to roll over and the prism light spot appeared again. It scared me so I woke Ryan up and we called Labor & Delivery to see what they wanted me to do. Since the spot wasn't coupled with any headaches or other symptoms, the nurse advised me to go back to sleep and call if it happened again. Thankfully, it didn't.

Today (Monday) we had our first scheduled blood pressure appointment at 1:15pm so we headed back to the hospital. They hooked me up to the monitors for about 30 minutes and again my blood pressure started out slightly elevated but eventually leveled out. When the nurse did an ultrasound the baby looked fine and my amniotic fluid levels were great so they let us head on home.

We go back again this Thursday and will go again Monday and Thursday of next week too. My last appointment for blood pressure monitoring will be on Monday, December 22. If I haven't gone into labor on my own by then (I'll be 39 weeks) they will induce me.

So...after all the drama...it looks like we'll be having a Christmas baby! Ryan and I packed our bags for the hospital this weekend so we're prepared for whatever God has in store for us. I'm praying baby Matthew will decide to join us on his own terms, but if not we're excited that he will be here sometime during the week of Christmas!

36 Weeks and Counting...

We're finally feeling a little more settled here in San Antonio, TX and we're finding our way around pretty well. The most important thing is that we know exactly how to get to the hospital and that it takes around 25-30 minutes! Baby Matthew is due in 4 weeks and we're getting very anxious and excited about his arrival! Naturally, I'm nervous about the delivery (and the pain that goes along with it) since we've had to transfer to a new hospital with new doctors so late in my pregnancy, but God knows what we need and I'm sure He will provide the proper care and support!

I'm still feeling pretty good but my poor feet have just recently decided that they have had enough and just plain hurt! I have been fortunate to not have any swelling...they just ache so I try to keep them propped up as much as possible. Other than that, sleeping has been challenging and I can't wait to be able to sleep on my back again! I have pillows everywhere and still seem to toss and turn quite frequently through the night (poor Ryan...). We both laugh at the fact that this is just God's way of preparing us for when Matthew wants to be up all night (which ironically is when he seems to be the most active right now).

We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow for my 36 week checkup so I'll be sure to post an update on my progress. I still can't believe he could be here in 4 short weeks! Hooray!!!

Back Together Again

We had a wonderful time celebrating Ryan's graduation from Officer Training School (OTS) on November 3-4 at Maxwell AFB (in Montgomery, AL) and I'm so happy that we're finally back together again. Ryan had been chosen to act as the Wing Commander when he became an "upperclassman" at OTS so he played a major role in the graduation parade. He was also a Distinguished Graduate and won the highest honor of being the "Top Graduate" (can you tell I'm a proud wife)! I'm so proud of his accomplishments and know he was well deserving of his awards. It was an exciting two days and it was really nice to spend some quality time with family. Here are a few photos of our time together.

Here is a photo of the family after the awards ceremony.

Ryan and I preparing to leave for the "Dining Out" on Monday night - it was fun to get all dressed up.

He's officially a 2nd Lieutenant!

We made it safely to San Antonio, Texas on Thursday, November 6 and are slowly getting settled into our new "hometown." We found a house to rent since we'll only be here about a year while Ryan is in Navigator training and have the movers scheduled to deliver our furniture and belongings on Monday, November 17. We're excited about getting moved in and ready for the baby's arrival next month. For now, I'm just really happy to be back with my husband after 12 long weeks apart...absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder and I'm so very proud of how hard he worked in OTS! God has truly blessed us and we give Him all the glory!

Moving Days...

The movers came yesterday and packed up all of our belongings -- where did we get all of this stuff? There are so many boxes! I am so thankful that my Mom was able to come last Friday and spend the weekend with me. She stayed an extra day and sat with me while the movers boxed everything up. It was a blessing to have her with me since I'm handling this on my own until my sweet husband is finished with OTS (Officer Training School). It was sad to see Mom leave, but I know we'll see each other again when the baby is born!

Locking up the house to head to our neighbor's for the night was strange. Waddles and I walked back over this morning at about 8am to meet the movers and they are loading the truck today. So far, so good. We have had so many great memories in this house -- holidays, birthdays, fun with family and friends -- so it's sad to close this chapter and start a new one. I have always said I wanted to live in Texas, so I guess my wish is coming true!

My final appointment with my doctor in Macon was on Monday and it went well. They have been so wonderful throughout my pregnancy and I'm praying we will be blessed with equally awesome doctor's in San Antonio. Mom was able to go to my appointment with me and see the sonogram of baby Matthew! We found out that he is "transverse" (he is basically "sideways" -- his head is to my left and his bottom is to my right). This isn't uncommon and my midwife told me that they usually turn head-down somewhere around 32-36 weeks (I'm 31 weeks). If he hasn't turned by 36 weeks they may try to "manually" get him to turn and if not, I'll be scheduled for a c-section. I'm praying he is a good boy and turns! I really want to avoid a c-section if possible, but honestly I really just want to make sure he is healthy!!

The most exciting part of my week will be this Sunday when I'm officially back with my Ryan again! We are both so ready to be together after this 12 week separation and we have so much to look forward to over the next 2 months -- his graduation from OTS, moving to TX and baby Matthew's arrival at the end of December! I promise to post photos from graduation and of our move. In the meantime, thank you for your prayers and support!

A whirlwind of a month...

I’ve been out of town for the last 4 weekends, so please forgive me for being absent in my baby postings. It’s been a whirlwind of a month so I'll do my best to quickly recap...

My dear husband continues to do great things in Officer Training School and I am so very proud of him. He was chosen to be the "Wing Commander", which is the highest leadership position in the training program. He had to go through several interviews to be chosen and now "runs" the program of 190+ trainees. Can you tell I'm a proud wife?!! I was able to go visit him last weekend and words can't describe how special it was to be together after the last 2 months apart. We took a few photos -- notice my new haircut (I went in for a trim on Saturday morning before I left and ended up chopping it all off!). This is me at 29 weeks...

We only have 2 more weeks and then we'll finally be back together again. My last day at work is this Friday, October 24 and the movers are scheduled to come on October 28 & 29. I've been busy trying to get things organized for the move. I am so thankful that we sold our house and closed on it in mid-September. It will make it so much easier to tie up loose ends after the movers come and not have to worry about a closing date. We were blessed with a buyer who was kind enough to let me stay in the house and rent the last month and a half. God has been so good!

My best friends from high school put together a baby shower for me in Rock Hill, SC on October 4 and I was once again overwhelmed with everyone's generosity. I feel so blessed! I attached a few photos below. It was so wonderful to be at home for the weekend and to spend it with close friends!

My First Baby Shower

I had my first baby shower last Saturday, September 13 and it was so wonderful! Four of my sweet girlfriends from work hosted it and I felt so special! My Mom was able to drive down from SC to attend with me and everyone was so thoughtful with the gifts they gave to us. I feel so blessed to have the most amazing and precious friends! Seeing all the tiny gifts and opening everything from onesies to a baby bouncer has made "Matthew's" arrival feel that much more real. I am getting so anxious to have him join us!

I posted a few pictures from the shower below, so I hope you enjoy! Have a great weekend!

24 Weeks

I reached the 6 month (or 24 weeks) mark yesterday and I am still feeling really good! Sleeping is slowly getting harder. I always loved sleeping on my stomach or my back, so it's been an adjustment to sleep on my side. I have an extra pillow on each side that I "snuggle" with and that seems to help. It's still hard to believe that I only have a few more months to go before our sweet baby boy arrives! We've been talking about names, and so far we both really like Matthew Charles. Both are family names. What do you think? It's not his official name yet, but we're "testing" names to see how they sound.

The wee one continues to kick and feel like a little miracle! It is so funny to see my stomach rise and jump as he moves around. It's actually quite hilarious at times because it's all so new to me too!

My sweet husband found out last week that we will be moving to San Antonio, TX at the beginning of November! Feel free to come visit any time!! It will be an adjustment to be so far away from family with the arrival of the baby, but we have faith that God will pull us through the challenges and joys that lie ahead!

I finally had a friend of mine take a few photos of me pregnant. We took them at her house and they didn't turn out great (the lighting was way off), but you can at least get the idea of how "prego" I actually look these days. This is me at 23 weeks.