Christmas 2008

Kellen

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Baby Kellen

Kellen Thomas

Born December 4, 2008 at 4:37pm
5 lbs. 10 oz.
19 inches

Our miracle

9 Months!

Today I am 9 months! We have had an eventful holiday week. At my appointment on Tuesday my blood pressure was still high and there were other signs and results pointing towards possible pre-eclampsia. They had me do another test over Thanksgiving and we went back in on Friday for more tests. Friday afternoon we got a call from the doctor letting us know that based on the results I am diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and we needed to go into the hospital that afternoon/evening. This was completely unexpected! At the hospital, I was admitted and hooked up to machines to monitor the baby's heartrate, his movement, my heartrate, and contractions. I was having regular contractions, evenly spaced, and a lot of them. Though I did not feel them at all so they weren't to concerned about those. The doctor did an ultrasound to check the amount of fluid around the baby and that was fine. They also did several blood pressure checks and labwork. I was released late last night. The doctor has taken me completely out of work and they will continue to monitor me and baby at least 3 times this week at the office, starting on Monday. The plan is to deliver baby via scheduled c-section at 37 weeks (next Saturday). A definite date has not been set but we should know more on Monday. We weren't expecting to deliver so early, but we want what is safest for everyone. Hopefully we can make it till next Saturday without getting admitted to the hospital again!
I was given permission to go get our Christmas tree in the mountains today and that was so much fun. I will be taking it easy this week and mentally preparing for Baby Boyer's early arrival. We hope everyone had a wonderful time with friends and family this Thanksgiving!

35 weeks?!

Wow, I can't believe that next Saturday I'll be 9 months! We are having an awesome and surreal time preparing for baby's arrival. We finished up our classes at the hospital last week. I really enjoyed the hospital tour and Tom seemed to really like Bootcamp for Expectant Fathers as well as all the other classes we went to. We learned a lot, though I have a feeling there is a lot more to learn when the hands on experience comes!
We are pre-registered at the hospital, have selected our pediatrician, sent in the birth certificate information, enrolled baby in his back up daycare (in case we don't get called on the waiting list from our first choice), and generally been running around making sure everything is ready. I love it!
We are going to weekly doctor appointments now that we are nearing the due date. I had some test results come back a little concerning, but everything seems to still be on track. Baby is not in the right position yet and we're thinking he may not be able to get where he needs to be due to the fibroid tumor. We'll have an ultrasound on December 4th that should answer any of those questions. We still don't know whether I will have a c-section or not. We're hoping the ultrasound will be able to give us that answer as well. We'll see! We are looking forward to the following week's Thanksgiving festivities and our annual trip to the mountains to get our Christmas tree. As well as our 4th anniversary on the 2nd. We have a lot to celebrate!
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Time Flies...

I can't believe how fast this time is going by! Two months from today is my due date; unbelievable. We have been enjoying this time, starting our Birth and Baby classes, getting the nursery ready, and planning the holidays and Baby Boyer's arrival. We've had two more showers! One at my work and a co-ed shower hosted by my sister and step sister in law at my mom's house. Both were amazing and I was blown away by the creativity of the hostesses! We are definitely very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives.
Our last appointment was on October 24th. Everything is looking good and the baby is doing great. I am right on target as far as weight gain and the size of the baby, so that's good. Our baby is already getting attention for being so photogenic in his ultrasound photos. At our appointment our ultrasound tech pulled Tom aside to show him her computer. Not only is our little boy in her screensaver but he is the actual background of her computer! I can't say I blame her! The pictures are absolutely amazing, I know I have mine up at my desk and love looking at them.
Our next appointment is November 6th. We are pretty busy between now and then with multiple classes at the hospital and other 'getting ready for baby' preparations. We both love this time of year and are looking forward to these fall days and the time before the holidays. We hope everyone is enjoying their fall so far and has a fun Halloween!

Busy Busy

This has been a whirlwind month for all of us! Baby has grown and so have I! A lot! Everyone is healthy and doing great. Last weekend we had visitors and my first baby shower. It was amazing and I was honored to have my mother in law here all the way from New York. I am still in awe of all the generosity and outpouring of love from friends and family!
On Wednesday I had my glucose tolerence test and an ultrasound. I passed the glucose test and it wasn't bad at all. I actually kind of liked the orange liquid you have to drink, honest. My hemoglobin was a little low so I'll work on that by adding some foods to my diet that are rich in iron.
Now, the ultrasound. As you can see in the post below, we have one cute baby! I'm always taken aback by just how "real" the 3D ultrasounds look. We could see him moving and opening and closing his mouth, it was awesome. The placenta had moved 4 cm so we are out of the low lying area and it is no longer a problem. Very excited about that! There is still the possibility of a c-section because of the large fibroid tumor that I have, but it is no longer a definite. All good news!
Next week Tom and I start our Birth and Baby classes at the hospital. We have both been looking forward to those and hope to learn a lot.
After the shower, the nursery is really coming together. It is quickly becoming my favorite room in the house. These are going to be a busy next couple of months for sure! I know they are going to fly by but we are going to enjoy every second of them.

Our Baby!

Getting Ready for Baby

We are quickly approaching the 6 month mark! I can't believe it! The baby has been kicking, squirming, and doing all sorts of acrobatics to keep us entertained. He is quite the little fish, just moving all around all the time.
I am still working only 5 hours a day which is working out well. I am exhausted by the end of those 5 hours let me tell you! At our appointment last week I was given instructions to take it easier than I have been. I don't feel that I've been doing that much, but I guess those extra errands we've run have taken a toll.
The past month has been filled with daycare tours and childcare research. We found a daycare that we love and have been put on the waiting list. Keep your fingers crossed! This place is way above and beyond any other one we have been to and we were both very impressed. And as I have learned, we are difficult to impress when it comes to possible childcare options!
We are working on getting the house ready and have purchased a few baby items. We both love shopping for baby! It's something we never knew if we would be able to do and it is just so surreal and such a big deal that here we are doing it. Tom has really gotten in to periodically checking out the local Once Upon a Child stores. I love to see him so involved, we are just having so much fun with this whole process.
Mid-month Tom is embarking on some painting in the house. I have a whole list of rooms that I would love to have newly painted so I am excited about that.
Our next appointment, barring any unforseen changes, is September 17th. This is the longest time we have gone between appointments and it feels good! The baby is doing beautifully, we couldn't ask for more.

20 Weeks!

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant! This is a huge milestone for me and I have been looking forward to this day.
I always had it in my mind that at 5 months I would be looking very pregnant. Well, considering I have gained less than 1 pound, I'm not exactly huge. But I think that you can definitely tell. I'm eagerly awaiting some weight gain; I know, I know, I'm sure I'll be reversing these thoughts in the not so distant future. I just feel like I should be gaining some weight for the baby! With all this bedrest and my increase in hunger lately, I'm sure it won't be long. There are so many things to worry about and so many things to look forward to. This is definitely the most exciting journey I have ever been on. Everyone that describes this experience as a roller coaster ride is right.
Today is a beautiful day! 20 weeks!

Half Days

Well, after a few hours of work yesterday I decided that a half day would be best. All the symptoms of the placenta previa & fibroid tumor are still there and seemed to worsen a bit as the day progressed. Nothing major, but enough for me to admit that I wasn't ready to come back full time. So I'll be working half days for now, well actually 5 hour days which technically is more than a half day, but you get the idea. My work is fine with it and my midwife thinks it's a great idea as long as I'm okay with it. I have the option of being totally out of work still, but I feel like a half day is totally do-able and takes some stress off me for sure.
The dogs are definitely happy with this decision. They have gotten spoiled having me here 24/7. Right now I am surrounded by all 5 dogs, all sound asleep, except for Beusch, but I think he'll be snoozing in no time.
Baby Boy is still doing great. We heard the heartbeat, very strong and healthy, at our appointment on Wednesday. He is still kicking away and I'm loving it. Our next doctor appointment is this coming Wednesday, but I don't think we'll have another ultrasound till 24 weeks. So probably no more cute baby pictures till then. I love the extra ultrasounds I have to admit!
Have a great weekend!

Back to Work

I am headed back to work tomorrow. After our appointment today I decided to make a trial run back at work. I'll go in tomorrow and if I have any problems I'll leave. It may end up being a half day, we'll see. I'm just going to test the waters and see how it goes. Nothing has really changed health wise and I'm not sure if it will or not. I've been having a lot of contractions and pain from the fibroid tumor (I don't think I've mentioned that here before. I have a baseball-sized fibroid tumor in my uterus that is putting pressure on my cervix). If things worsen when I'm at work then it will be back to bedrest. It's important to me to at least give it a try though. The most important thing is the health of the baby of course. So I will do whatever I need to do to keep him healthy! Right now I just don't know if that is bedrest or if it is okay to work. The only way to find out is to try; so here goes.

On the Move

Baby Boy has been quite the wiggle worm lately. This past week I have been feeling kicks consistently throughout the day. I'm sure that has a lot to do with the bed rest. I know movement lulls them to sleep and I haven't been moving very much, therefore he is quite active. It is such an amazing feeling, it just makes me smile. The best part was that Tom felt the kicks for the first time on Saturday. I was so happy that he was able to feel that. I wasn't sure if he would be able to, I know that I can, but I didn't know if it was strong enough for him yet. But it was! So that is our exciting news for this week.
I have my next doctor appointment tomorrow and will hopefully find out more about how things are going. Also, whether or not I will need to remain on bed rest. It's possible I could be back at work on Thursday! We'll see. I want to do whatever is best for the baby. If that's staying in bed for the next 20 weeks or so, I can do that. I can't believe that I will be 20 weeks on Saturday! Wow.

Baby Boyer's Journey so Far (in pictures)

4/11/08 (6 days) Transfer Day...these embryos, one of them being our baby boy, were retrieved in September '07. Then they were frozen and were thawed on 4/11/08. I wonder which one he is.

5/9/08 (6 weeks 6 days)...we saw the heartbeat for the first time this day

5/12/08 (7 weeks 2 days)

7/19/08 (17 weeks 0 days)...this is the day we found out we are having a boy!

7/29/08 (18 weeks 3 days) Baby in 3D

Baby Boy

I had a doctor appointment today and for now will remain on bedrest. Things are looking good though and the baby is doing great. Here are a few pictures from today's ultrasound. As you can see he had his hand up to his mouth almost the whole time. So beautiful.

We're Having a Boy!

We had been planning on keeping the gender a surprise, but it's just to exciting to hold back. We're having a baby boy!

An Eventful Weekend

That's our baby! Baby Boyer is doing beautifully at 7 oz. and measuring 5 days ahead. I only have a moment to post, but hopefully will be able to put more details later. I was admitted to the hospital because of bleeding on Saturday morning. We had our "big" ultrasound. Which was amazing, the baby was moving so much! That is when they found the reason for the bleeding, placenta previa. The important thing is that the baby is doing wonderfully, but I do have to be on bedrest. So back to bed I go!

Back from the Beach!

We just spent the last 4 days in Ocean Isle with family. Such fun! In between time on the beach, in the ocean, and the pool we managed to get some Christmas shopping in. It may sound a bit early, but that is one of my goals this summer. I want to complete, or close to complete my Christmas shopping, since December will be so unpredictable. Tom and I made a quick day trip to Wilmington on Wednesday and had a great time. We picked up some Baby’s 1st Christmas ornaments in Calabash. With a December 27th due date we just don’t know whether his/her first Christmas will be 2008 or 2009!
It was fun thinking about next year. We are planning on taking our son/daughter for their first beach trip in June, July, or August. I think 6-7 months is a great age for a first beach trip. After so many years of dreaming and struggling, it is simply wonderful to plan our very near future with our child. Baby has definitely been making its presence known lately! I can’t wait till the “flutters” become kicks and are strong enough for Tom to feel as well.
Friday night, I began taking a prescription for Zofran. We’ll call this the miracle drug! I have not gotten sick since Sunday night, what a blessing that has been!
Everything is going great, just still so surreal. Back to reality now that we're home from vacation. I just love summer vacations!

Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July everyone! We had another doctor appointment yesterday and heard baby's heartbeat loud and clear. Such an amazing sound! Next appointment will be the "BIG" ultrasound with an anatomy scan. We have decided to keep the baby's gender a surprise though. I know this will be incredibly difficult to do!
Have a safe and FUN weekend!

As many of you have noticed, I have not posted in quite awhile. I’ll attribute it to the energy-sapping first trimester and camera/computer compatability. I just could not drag myself to the computer each night after sitting in front of one all day at work. But here we are, 14 weeks! I can’t believe it. A part of me feels its gone by slowly, but another part of me feels like its gone by so fast. Either way, here we are, healthy and happy and in the 2nd trimester. I’ll still post pictures here and there, but I also want to start sharing some of this amazing journey.
We have been quite busy! My brother graduated highschool and my mom retired! We went to Boston with my Dad and met Tom's brothers there and had a wonderful time. Go Red Sox! My sister starts graduate school in August. This is a life changing year for sure!
I feel like I am living in a dream. This pregnancy is all we have ever hoped for and we are so ecstatic.