The final countdown

We are having a baby in two weeks.  Two weeks!

This pregnancy has gone by pretty fast surprisingly.   I'm 36 weeks and being induced on the 24th when I'm 38 weeks.

Penny is low giving the signs that she will be ready to come. At my 36 week check-up I was 75% effaced and 2 1/2 cm dilated.  Ellie is so excited.  She talks about Penny all day long.  She also talks to my stomach all day long, and gives it a hug and kiss every night before she goes to bed.

Everything is ready for her to come.  Clothes washed, diapers bought, bed set up, we just need her.  Part of me was very hesitant to set things up and be ready for her, because I did that with Thomas and didn't bring home a baby.  But my mantra this whole pregnancy has been to not let fear fuel my decisions.

I'm pretty proud of myself for only going into Labor and Delivery once in a panic.  (Everything was fine)

Tonight Ellie and I went out to dinner just the two of us, since Andy had a work dinner.  I realized this will be the last time for a long time that Ellie and I will go out do something jus the two of us.  I love her so much and I so excited to see her be a big sister.

Pregnancy after loss

I knew that when we got pregnant again it was going to be hard.  I knew that I would overthink every little thing, being afraid that if I overlooked or assumed again that we would come home empty handed again.  We've been told time and time again by our doctor that the chances of having another stillborn are almost non-existent, but it doesn't get rid of anxiety.

Now that I am 21 weeks, I'm feeling this little lady every day, and actually have been since I was 15 weeks.  However, when doing my gender ultrasound, they found that my placenta is on top, which makes it harder to detect movement, but includes no other problem, thankfully.

I actually held things together really well until I started feeling Penny move.  If anything her movement has made me more paranoid for the times that I don't feel her.  With the placenta on top I only feel her 1-2 times a day, and it is never consistent.  The doctor said that as she grows I'll feel her more and that her movement will become regular like my other two pregnancies.

Its hard to be upbeat that everything will be fine, because I know that it always isn't.  I have never been so scared/anxious to have an ultrasound done.  I was so sure that they were going to find something wrong, but she really is a perfect little girl.

Its taken a lot of will power to not drop by the doctors office a few times a week to have a heartbeat check, but I'm really trying to have faith that everything will work out.

I know that getting pregnant when we did was best time, even though it was an incredibly difficult trial to conceive, on top of the trial of loosing Thomas.  I would have been a mess if we gotten pregnant again when I originally wanted to.   At least now, I can mainly deal with it.

Baby Girl!

We are thrilled to be adding another little girl to our family!

We already decided on a name, Penelope Marie.

Penelope is just a name that we both really like, and Marie is my mom's middle name.

Ellie is so excited to be getting a sister, and has been telling everyone who will listen.  Thankfully we still have all of Ellie's clothes and by just getting some leggings, and sweaters, they will all work great for Penelope in November.

I don't know if I mentioned that I will be getting induced at 38 weeks as a safety precaution.

Andy was able to get the whole day off and so we celebrated!  We went to Antelope Island and did a hike and visited the pioneer homestead.  For dinner we went to Wingers, and after we put Ellie to bed Andy set up a movie outside and put a mattress in the back of the truck and we enjoyed "Guardians of the Galaxy" under the stars.

We can't wait for our Thanksgiving baby to be here!

Catch Up

Maybe all my titles need to be Catch Up.

We've been really busy for the last month and enjoyed the nice weather before we had several weeks of rain.

Ellie made a silly hat, just like Curious George.

We played in downtown and Andy taught Ellie the fine art of sliding down stair rails.

Have I mentioned that Andy is the Cub Master?  Here he is doing an Arrow of Light Ceremony.

We also were assigned to clean the church for the month of May with a  few other families.

Ellie and I made a trip to the zoo with a friend.

Ellie and Andy have been incredibly patient during my first trimester, which thankfully is now over and I'm feeling a lot better.  We even heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time today and it really is the best sound in the world.

Pregnant

April 6th-
I found out today that we are pregnant!  I stared at the test over and over again, and I couldn't believe that it said "pregnant".  I ran downstairs and told Ellie and sank to my knees crying and said a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for this blessing.
I got dressed really fast and went to Andy's work and Ellie told him that "Mommy had a baby in her belly."  He was so excited.  We all are.
The baby is due December 8th but I'll probably be induced November 24th.
Please grow and be healthy little baby!

8 Weeks-

My body definitely knows what it is doing this time around.  My stomach popped out around 6 weeks.
I went to the doctor and he said that everything is looking great, and the baby has a really strong heartbeat.  He assured me that he would do all he could so that I would be as comfortable as possible with this pregnancy.  He said that I should never hesitate to come in for a heartbeat check, because my peace of mind was very important to him.

This baby was conceived with out any fertility drug. My doctor thinks a test I had done must have cleared a minor blockage in my fallopian tubes that was preventing pregnancy.

 Ellie is so excited!  She talks to and and kisses my belly everyday.  She is telling everyone, so there wasn't much point to keeping it a secret.

I feel a lot of peace with this pregnancy and I am so grateful.