20 weeks 3 day Apt. Update + Back 2 Work & New House

<sup>1 Peter 5: 6-8

6</sup>Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

⁷Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

What awesome verses in the midst of our infertility and pregnancy woes! So true that God has His perfect time and He waits for that perfect time because He cares for us! So true also that satan is always waiting in the wings to rip us apart. We need to make sure we keep our eyes on our Savior for our strength and our help against this foe.

So on Wednesday I went back to my OB for my 20.5 week apt. Things were looking a lot better for Baby Zoey. The membrane sac was apparently attached because the ultrasound tech couldn't see any place in the ultrasound that showed that it was unattached. There was still a small amount of blood but not enough to bother anything. The ARNP said that it may just be reabsorbing into my body. My cervix was about 3.4 cm. That was good. Shorter than last time but I read that it can go back and forth a bit and that anything above 3 is good. I was taken off modified bed rest and given the OK to head back to work. Here are the pictures that the tech printed after I reminded her. The first shows that Zoey is a girl (though it isn't as clear as the other views of this we have seen in previous weeks) and the second shows Zoey laying on her side.


My mom and I also spoke with the doctors about the Swine flu pandemic. They were concerned as well. They explained the precautions to take because I work in a school and that makes it easier for me to be exposed. My ARNP is actually putting off getting pregnant now until the first of the year so that she can take the H1N1 vaccine without having to be in her first trimester. I think this is all a bigger deal than most folks think. I keep hearing that it is all hype but I'm pretty sure that it's bigger than what most people think.

They also discussed me being exposed to Fifth's disease. I had heard of this before because my niece had it last year. Kindergartners pass it left and right (also other small kids at daycare, etc.). They ran a test on me to see if I had had it as a child. If so, I would be ok but if not I have to be aware of that also because it can cause problems for the baby. I asked if I would have known and she told me that probably not because a lot of times it goes unnoticed because sometimes there aren't any symptoms.

So, we had a good visit. I am shaken up with the Swine flu and Fifth's disease discussions but I am just Praying that God will keep me and my baby safe. Please join me in Prayer for the same thing.

I did go back to work on Thursday and I am adjusting ok. My feet and legs are swelling some from being up all day and I have to get use to doing that again. But all in all things are going good. I am teaching 4th, 5th, and Kindergarten music, a 3rd grade reading, and various grade levels for a tutoring class (it changes daily).

In other news... I have waited to share this until it's closer but WE ARE BUYING OUR FIRST HOUSE! We have gotten to the point before where we agreed on an offer so this time when we did I was afraid to mention it because it seems like something always falls through. Well this time, we have had an accepted offer on the same house that we were buying a couple of months ago but with a better price this time and with better loan options. It was a blessing that it didn't work out the first time. We have had the home inspection, the survey on the land (1.4 acre lot) and now we are awaiting the FHA appraisal. I have been packing (don't worry ... just sitting and sorting with my momma's help, while my brother and hubby lift boxes and things). We have a whole lot finished. We worked the Friday that we found out and the following Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We took a break on my birthday (Aug. 21) and started again this past Monday and Tuesday. A lot was accomplished in 6 days.... but it was in Creation time with God, too wasn't it? haha

Just continue to bathe us in your Prayers as we do the same for you! Much love to each of you!

Prayer for Jeremy Camp & Family

Please Pray for Jeremy Camp and his wife. They lost their baby on Friday. They went in for an ultrasound and there was no heartbeat. I know many of you have faced this and I can't even imagine. I hope I never know that pain. But I know that they are broken hearted today and so I ask that you remember them in your Prayers! Here's the blog entry from Jeremy's blog: Click Here!!!

20 Weeks Today ... Halfway!

Just a quick note to say that for my birthday weekend (Friday August, 21) I get to celebrate the halfway point of this pregnancy! I am 20 weeks today! I just Pray we can make it the rest of the way. Please continue to keep us in your Prayers! Praise God for His unchanging love and mercy!

Much love,

Make Me Babies! .... What Our Kids Will Look Like!

According to the Make Me Babies! application on Myspace, here's what mine and Michael's babies should look like:



What will your baby look like?





What will your baby look like?

18.5 Week Update & It's A .....

Hello all:

I have the hardest time making myself sit down to write about my appointments anymore. I always try to be so detailed for you guys (and mainly for me so that I'll remember all this in the future). I get to where I really have to push myself to type all this out. I am certainly glad I do though because I have so many local friends who are also going through infertility that ask me questions and I have to get on here and look up to see the information that I remembered at some point and what happened with it. It is a very handy tool for me as well as the most awesome way to keep up with my blog friends (all of you guys)!

So... I went to the doctor on Wednesday. I, for once, was nervous but not overly nervous like I usually am. I didn't have to wait long and I got the ultrasound tech that I just love. She is so sweet and so informative. She explains everything to me. She is also the tech who predicted that the baby was a girl right after all of that bleeding. Well, she told me again on Wednesday that she definitely is indeed a little girl. I am having a Zoey Danielle!

Zoey is a name that my momma and I heard at my brother's football game the night before my IF surgery. Of course I had heard it before but we just fell in love with it. It was brought up again a couple of months ago and it has stuck. This baby is a Zoey! The name means "LIFE" and that's just what she is to me, my life already : ) The middle name is Danielle which is in remembrance of my beloved, best friend Danielle Bowman. I have said from the start that when I got pregnant, I would use her name if I had a little girl. I Prayed at the beginning for God to let her be a part of this pregnancy and baby in some way and He has!

Would I have been disappointed with a little boy? NO, NO, NO! I would love either and would hope to one day have both. I have just yearned for a baby, no matter what it's gender was. But it is nice to be able to name the baby after Danielle. The name Danielle means "God is my judge" and that fits perfectly, too, because it is God who has judged this situation and decided to provide life to this little child and to this expectant momma. Praise the name of Jesus for this wonderful blessing! May this situation, this child, and this family bring honor to the name of God!

I did find out more than just the gender. The baby is growing well and measured up well. The genetic counselor came in during my ultrasound to aid in looking for markers for Downs Syndrome since my test came back at an increased risk. Some of the things they looked for were the kidney shape, the "sixth digit" which was making sure there were 3 bones in the pinkie finger, other organs and their shapes, and cysts on the brain. They thought that they possibly saw a cyst on the baby's brain but they were really unsure. I felt at peace the whole time because I truly feel that she is OK. The doctor came in and did a third ultrasound and confirmed that there was no cyst there and that it was normal! Praise God! The only thing they couldn't really see was the heart and they will scan it next time. So, be Praying that the heart is functioning well please : )

The genetic counselor realized in the middle of the scan that I had bled in the weeks prior to, and during the week of my Quad Screen. She said that the bleeding could have thrown the blood work off, too. The doctor confirmed that as well. He said it was the HCG levels that were off a bit and those were what would be affected by the bleeding. I had read this online when researching so I was familiar with what they were talking about. I hadn't been overly stressed either because God had given me a peace about the situation just hours after the phone call with the test results.

The blood clot was mostly gone. There was some blood left in the uterus and was just laying there. The doctor said that I could pass it or it could reabsorb. The membrane (water sac) had began to attach to the uterine wall but was still unattached just a bit. For this reason, I was kept on modified bed rest for another 2 weeks. Also, the placenta had moved out of the way! Praise God!

I do have a couple of pictures for you. These show the baby looking at us. None of my pictures have been as good as those from 14.5 weeks but we'll take them! No big deal to me. I just love seeing her. There was even one point where she covered her face with her hands as if she were saying, "Not more pictures!" Too funny because I am the picture queen! The tech tried to get a picture of the baby so that I would have proof she was a girl but she closed her legs right as she tried to capture the image and she wouldn't open them again. Oh well, at least she is modest. That means we are off to a good start : ) HAHA

Thanks be to God for giving me such great news at this appointment! I am so blessed to have gotten good news and I just praise my Heavenly Father's name for that! Thank You Father for this little girl who has already touched my life and the lives of so many. Continue to bless her in my womb and throughout her whole life. Use her life to glorify You! Strengthen me so that I am able to teach her all about You and Your perfect ways. I love you Jesus.

Here are the pictures of Zoey Danielle. Enjoy and remember that I am still Praying for each of you guys. I feel like God is moving in a lot of your situations even though I'm not sure how. He is good and I know that you guys know that because after what we've all been through, I can't imagine heading into such a dark tunnel of infertility without the light of Jesus guiding us through. I love you guys!

Quad Screen Results

I should have posted this last week but I am just now getting around to it. The results of my quad screen were OK. The Spina Bifida came back OK but the Downs Syndrome was slightly increased risk. My risk was 1/240 compared to 1/866 for women my age. She said it in no way meant that my baby had Downs Syndrome, just that it was a slight increase in the risk factors according to my blood work. I was really upset at first because I Pray that this baby is healthy but I felt better when I crunched the numbers and realized that it's a 0.4% chance. Don't get me wrong... I will love this baby no matter what, I just hate to see it have to go through even more especially since it will probably be a preemie.

My placenta was working at a 2.2 and they said they didn't flag it as a problem unless it was 2.5 or higher. That was still pretty close to me, so I'm curious as to what they'll say about it. This was the main thing I wanted from the test since I've had placenta problems already.

I go Wednesday at 10am for my 18.5 week ultrasound. This one will be the anatomy (as long as the baby is big enough and it should be) and they will also look for markers for Downs Syndrome to hopefully lower my risk. I also will hopefully see that the membrane sac is attached and that the blood clot is gone. I will be talking with the genetic counselor as well and hopefully they'll confirm the baby's sex.

A lot of stuff will be going on at this appointment. Please keep us in your Prayers, as I know you do, and Pray for lots of healthy, good baby news. God is good as He has been throughout this entire pregnancy and pre-pregnancy phase. I truly feel that His hand is upon this precious, little soul!

Love to each of you from the bottom of my heart!

Ps. I think I've felt the baby move but I'm not sure. I can't distinguish if it's really the baby or just stomach issues.