Time is Getting Away From Me!!! Pumpkin Update

I PROMISE, I AM going to write about Rosie's b-day, the Women of Faith Conference, and my kitchen. However, all of these posts require me to download, condense and upload pictures, and I have been SOOOOO bad about doing this lately; and I DON"T want to post about these events without the pictures, b/c they are great!! So please hang in there with me:-)

As most of you know, Sunday was Mother's Day. What some of you weren't aware of, the 1st was Babyloss Mother's day, and Friday the 6th was Military Spouse appreciation day. Although I was unaware until the day of these events, my husband was prepared and knew about ALL of them! He never ceases to amaze me! With Rosalynn, I had so much swelling, that by the 24th week, I had to take my wedding band and engagement ring off and wear them on a chain around my neck. Although it didn't really bother me, because I was sure people weren't judging; Foster was worried that it looked like I was pregnant and not married. He didn't like this idea. We joked that if we got pregnant again, we would buy a cheap CZ from Wal-Mart in a bigger size so that I could wear it while pregnant again. I guess he never forgot this conversation.

Foster came home on Thursday and matter-of-factly stated, "I am taking you out on a date tomorrow night."
I was thrilled, because it had been so long since we had gotten a chance to go somewhere nice and enjoy a good meal together.

When I woke up on Friday morning, there was a pretty gold wrapped box from Kay's sitting on our entry ledge, "What is that for?" I asked.

"You can open it tonight at dinner. It is a combo gift for Baby-loss mom's day, Military  Spouse Appreciation Day, and Mother's Day. Of course dinner is also for Mother's Day. Right now it is just there to tease you!"

I fall in love with this man over and over and over again. He took me to this AMAZING, upscale restaurant called Martini's. I would rather have gone to this place while I wasn't pregnant, b/c their menu of martinis was overwhelming, and anyone who knows me in real life KNOW how much I love my martinis, but I was just glad to be spending some quality time with Foster. Before dinner was served he told me to open my present. When I did, it was a simple, but beautiful white gold wedding band. It is the same band he has, but still shiny, his was brushed, "I figure you could wear it when your hands swell up again. Also, we can get it engraved with all of our children's names in it." (Sorry in advance for all of these photos, they are from my camera phone!)

He is incredibly thoughtful. I LOVE the idea of having our children's names engraved! Right now, it is too big for my finger, but I have it on my right hand ring finger and it is being held in place by a ring my sister gave me that her, JJ and I all have matching.

Saturday we headed up to Foster's sister's house and had a cook out with his side of the family. I felt so bad, because right after dinner, I passe out on the couch! I felt like such a bum, but I was soooooooo tired, and they all seemed to understand. One of his sisters offered to let me sleep upstairs, away from all the noise, but I was fine on the couch, and slept through EVERYTHING, including Foster wrestling with the kids. I guess Basic Training taught me to sleep anywhere, anytime and add pregnancy exhaustion, and it is a dangerous combination.

Sunday was spent with my side of the family. We went to Sunday Mass with my mom, dad, Bug and Ky and then headed to a Chinese Buffet. My dad was RAVING about this buffet for days, so we decided to try it. It was okay, but I kind of felt like we could have taken mom somewhere nicer, but it was all about us spending time together, and we all had a blast.

Monday was my Nuchal Translucency scan. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that, it is the test that checks for the likelihood of Trisomy 13,18, and 21. They took my blood at my last appointment, and then performed the U/S on Monday. I am not one to trust statistics, due to my loss, but I took this as an opportunity to see Pumpkin again.

Of course I got nervous the night before, so I checked for Pumpkin's HB with my doppler. My AMAZING friend, Mrs. Prince, is letting me borrow hers through this pregnancy. This put my mind at ease in order to sleep. Foster was able to go to this appointment with me. We headed out in the morning, and i started saying my prayers that all would go well. As if cued to put my mind at ease, I got really nauseated.

The nurse took me in for my weight and BP. BP is running 110/64, and I am still down 1 lb since the first appointment. This is definitely how I wanted this pregnancy to go! By 13 weeks with Rosalynn, I had gained 13 pounds! My goal is to still not gain any weight, and if I do, keep it around 10 lbs this entire pregnancy!

As soon as the tech placed the wand on my stomach, she exclaimed, "Look at that baby moving all around!" Foster and I sat in awe, watching Pumpkin as the tech took all the measurements. She said that the neck measurements were looking GREAT, that they like it ti be under3, and ours was measuring 1.7. i don't know if that is mm or what, but sounded good to me. She then tried to get the bridge of the nose measurements, but Pumpkin would NOT move his/her hand away from their face. So we got a lot of screen time watching the tech trying to move the hand. I was okay with that. The HB was 163, and we were measuring 12w5d, 1d ahead of schedule. She printed off tons of pictures for us, and even said, "If I had to guess the sex right now, I would say it is a girl."

She warned us not to paint the nursery, but that was what she could tell at this time!! Another GIRL!! I would be soooooo thrilled if she is right with her guess. I am not going to get too excited till the 18 week U/S, but I will continue to hope this is true. Don't get me wrong, I would be happy as long as the baby was healthy, girl OR boy, but deep down I was secretly hoping for another girl. Foster's face lit up too. As much as he talks about wanting a boy, I think deep down he would be happy with another girl too.

The tech also informed me that the baby was settled into the left horn of my heart-shaped uterus. This is the same side Rosie settled into. I don't know how I feel about this, because OBVIOUSLY, this side didn't do much good for Rosalynn. All we can keep doing is praying.

The doctor came back to tell us the results, and we were thrilled to find out our child is already an overachiever. The best odds is <1 in 10,0000, and he/SHE made those numbers across the board.

On Thursday I am officially out of the 1st trimester. to most mom's they would be sighing a breath of relief. For me, on the other hand, I am hoping this means God will answer my prayers. I asked that IF this baby would be taken from me too, that He would be merciful enough to take it in the first trimester, before I feel him/HER move, before I see my belly growing, etc. I just pray that this is a good sign, however, we still have 21.5 weeks to go!!

Quick survey;

Weight: -1 lb from pre-pregnancy
HB: 163
Maternity clothes? Yes...i know, I know, it is soooo early, but I popped QUICK!! So my theory is I am losing weight from my butt or something, cause by belly is getting HUGE!



Yes, I am only 12w5d...luckily i didnt try and keep this one a secret! lol!


Craving: Fruits, fruit juices, chocolate oreos with milk, and McDonald's Chicken nuggets. Now, OBVIOUSLY, since I am losing weight, I am not caving to every craving all the time, but I indulge from time to time.
Best moment: Seeing Pumpkin dancing all around on the U/S screen. SHE/he is looks like a little human now instead of a glow worm!!
Random/Strangeness: Foster is getting sympathy pains! He has been waking up with nausea, had a Headache when I woke up with one, and has lost a few pounds too. Oh, and he eats my Oreos!

U/S pics:



Sorry about the glare...phone camera




hand up by face! Such a cute little face!!!




See the little legs sticking up? and the tiny little butt!! Def does not take after me and her dad!! lol



Signs she is with me!

I am a firm believer that God has his own ways of comforting us. How many times do we ask for signs from God? Have you truly taken the time to look around and notice them? Well, I have noticed that in this time of grief, God has given me many signs that my little Rosie is watching out for me, and on this night, the eve of her original due date, I am going to share a few with you.

1. Mothers Day was looking to be a very hard day for Foster and I. For the obvious reason, but also because the night before we stood at his best friend's mother's bedside as she took her last breath. Foster pretty much grew up in this woman's house, she was like a second mom to him. We woke up in the morning and attended an early Catholic mass so we could attend church service with his best friend, Mr. Red, and his family. As we met up with the Reds, the day was somber due to the passing of Grandma Red, but being together made everything seem just a little better. We sat through a couple of opening songs, when all of the sudden the all too familiar words came on the big screen preparing the congregation for the next hymn, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the song, That saved a wretch like me......." I started to laugh and smile through tears of pain. This was the first song that was played at Rosie's funeral. Foster grabbed my hand and squeezed. I looked down the line of my friends, and there was not a dry eye in the bunch.

As we all dried our tears and sat down, the pastor opened the bible and read from Luke chapter 18 verse 15-17 "......Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God is theirs....". This time the entire row of our friends leaned towards me and smiled, because they had all been present when these exact words had been read at Rosie's funeral. It was her way of letting her mommy know that she was with me on Mother's Day, and although I was sad, I was truly comforted, thanked God for this blatant sign, and enjoyed the rest of my Mother's Day.


2. Foster and I moved into our new house a little over a year ago. When we moved in the yard and garden was a bit of a mess. I had numerous rose bushes that had gone unattended for 2 years, and needed some major TLC. I was able to get most of the rose bushes to bloom last spring, but there was this one particular bush that didn't even get a single bud on it. This year Foster got a trellis for it to grow up, and it seemed to take a liking to this, because when Foster and I returned from a trip to Port Clinton, this is what it looked like:
We returned home 2 days before our C-section had been scheduled. To top it off, this rose bush has at least thirty to forty more buds, it is going to bloom all summer! It is such a comfort every time I walk out my front door and every time I return home.

3. Foster and I got into a little fight the other night. No, as much as we seem like the perfect couple, we are still human, and still have our differences. It was over something really stupid, the air conditioning. However, being the hormonal psycho I am right now, this was a big deal to me at that moment. I got so upset and hot, that I decided to go down stairs where the temperature was easily ten degrees cooler. As I lay on the couch, tears quickly turned into sobs as I started thinking of Rosie. Then I found myself praying to God to give me a sign she was around and watching over her mom and dad. I fell asleep before God could answer my prayers that night. I was woken up by a text message. It was from a number I did not have programed into my phone so did not recognize, and the first word I saw when I opened it was "Rose". It read "Just wondering how you were doing.~Rose" Although I knew it was a girl from work named Rose, I almost felt like it was my own little personal message from my Rosie.

As I went downstairs to make coffee and breakfast I flipped on the TV. It happened to be on "A Baby Story", which I have avoided like the plague lately, but before I could change it, I hear "It is our little Rosie." Apparently the parents kept the sex a surprise, and as she saw the sex, she announce her name. I guess God answered my prayers from the night before.

Although some people would think these were all coincidence, I truly believe that God does not need to make a bush burn, walk on water, or drop manna from heaven to show us that he is with us and he cares. If we only take the time to look and listen, we can see the small signs he gives us every day.

Here is an update on the puppies...

Rowdy is getting ready to go to his first puppy preschool this Saturday. He is growing up very fast, but is still a little bouncing fur ball, and makes me laugh multiple times a day. Gotta love that one, beautiful blue eye!


Reagan is her same goofy self. She is still very UN-ladylike with her clumsy ways, and her belching after every meal. She has recently become camera shy i don't think she likes the flash, but if she even sees Foster of I holding the camera, she flees to the other room. I have resorted to holding her in order to capture a shot!