Short Update

Brielle is doing great!!  She is seriously the best baby.  After having 2 babies with reflux, it is so fabulous to have a baby that I can lay flat in her crib.  She sleeps like a dream - I have to wake her from most of her naps.  She takes 3 naps 2-2 1/2 hours long and one catnap.  She then sleeps from 7:30pm to 7:30am minus a "dreamfeed" Jeff does with a bottle of pumped breastmilk at 10pm.  We follow the Babywise system and it has always worked well for us.  We are about to drop the dreamfeed in the next week, hopefully, so she will be sleeping for 12 hours and we can have our evenings back!!

Breastfeeding has also been a dream.  She is eating on one side only per feed and it takes her around 8-12 minutes!!  I have oversupply issues, but once those got worked out it has been fabulous.  She still gags and chokes on one side every now and then, but she is getting used to the fast flow.

Brielle is unlike my other two girls in that she is in the 90+ percentile in height and weight.  She weighed 13lbs 10 oz at her 2 month checkup.  Oh my goodness!!

She is a super happy baby.  I say she just sleeps, eats, smiles, and poops.  That's about it!!  Ha.  Sadie and Keller are loving her.  It is so fun to see them sing to her and read to her.  They both love helping her with her bath too.  Their adjustment has been great.

Keller is potty trained.  Don't know how I managed that one with a newborn, but I was motivated to not have 2 in diapers!!  She still is wearing training underwear (padded underwear) as she can tend to forget here and there, but she only wears pull-ups for nighttime and naps.  I'll work on that one later! : )

Jeff lost his job right before Christmas, so you can be praying for us.  Hopefully, he will land somewhere soon.  It put a bit of a damper on our holiday, but God is always good and SO amazingly faithful!!  He went before us (as He always does) earlier this year by providing a huge check through Jeff's invention of the PowerCurl at Quirky, which went directly into our emergency savings.  So incredibly grateful for God's provision.

A few pictures... hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a happy New Year!!

Brielle's Birth Announcement

Stationery Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Where to Start??

So much has happened over the past couple of weeks!!  Last Sunday night I woke up with excruciating pain in my uterus and ended up in the ER Monday morning.  I started having horrible labor contractions that came every 5 minutes or so.  They were giving me narcotics, but they were not helping at all.  It was crazy.  I have never been in so much pain in my life.  They had done an ultrasound and said that there might be some retained products of conception (aka placenta) in my uterus that are trying to be passed.  I was admitted into the hospital and about 30 minutes later after having these horrible contractions, I went into the bathroom.  When I was about to sit down, literally a bucket of blood poured out of me along with a cantaloupe-sized clot.  I immediately felt complete relief!!  It was crazy!  My husband about lost it because before I could say "I feel so much better!", he thought I was dying and all of my insides just came out!  Later, a midwife told me that the labor pains were a bazillion times more painful for me than natural labor because I had the C-section incision in my uterus that hasn't completely healed yet and I had a massive infection.  I never want to feel that kind of pain again.  You could have stuck me in my eye and it might have felt better.  : )

I had another one of these episodes another hour later.  They were giving me rounds of IV antibiotics for infection and did a CAT scan on Tuesday which uncovered more masses that still needed to be delivered.  Seriously??  So, we scheduled a D&C for the next morning.  The doctor was a little leery to do a D&C since I had just had a Cesarean and because he didn't want to be scraping a uterus that was infected.  So, we waited an extra day.  My hematocrit was also super low and he wanted me to have 2 units of blood to get stabilized.  We had the D&C on Wednesday morning.  They said that there was definitely a piece of the placenta left in my uterus.  WHAT?  Supposedly, it is super rare with a C-section since the doctor can see everything right there.  I don't know what happened.  After the D&C, I ended up needing 2 more units of blood before I could get discharged.  We finally left around 9pm on Wednesday night.

The big bummer in all of this (well, one of them!) was that Sadie's birthday was on Tuesday.  I absolutely hated not being home for her birthday.  Jeff brought the girls to the hospital for 30 minutes that night to have cake and open presents, but it wasn't the same.  It was really hard to be away from the girls again after just being away for several days with the C-section.

Brielle, fortunately, was able to stay with me at the hospital so that I could continue to breastfeed.  And, honestly, it is a miracle that I was able to.  Somehow the Lord allowed her feeding schedule to sync up with when I wasn't in so much pain.  I had to pump a couple of times, but that was it.  It was also against hospital policy to allow her to stay overnight since she hadn't just been delivered and wasn't a patient.  After much debate, they decided to make an exception for us with the knowledge that she didn't have a security band on and they weren't liable for anything that would happen to her.  I was so very grateful!!

I have been recouping well minus a trip back to the ER on Friday due to weakness, lethargy and dizziness.  They gave me a couple bags of fluid and I was on my way.  My body just doesn't bounce back the way it used to.  Plus the demands of breastfeeding make it more of a challenge probably.  I am feeling much, much better this week!

More update on Brielle for my next post.  She is my absolute dream baby!!!  So super easy compared to my other two : )  Love her!!!

Pictures!

Still don't have time for a formal update, but thought I'd at least post a few pictures of our new love! She is an amazingly easy baby - is eating great, no breastfeeding issues like we had with Keller, and is already giving us 5 hour stretches at night. Love her!

Keller loves her new sister!

My mom with our sleepy baby! 

Our chunky monkey : )

All 3 sisters!

Welcome to the World, Brielle!

Brielle Isabel arrived yesterday at 3:41pm weighing a whopping 9lbs 11oz and measuring 21 inches. She is beautiful and we are in love!

Update...

Well..... today has been very uneventful.  Brielle is just loving her cozy home and does not want to come out!!  The Cervadil didn't do much for my cervix last night.  It softened it more and moved me to 80% effaced, but my cervix was still not dilated any more than a fingertip as of this morning.  So, we then started Pitocin at a very low dose.  Their intention is just to nudge me into natural labor - not bring on the big guns or force labor.  The most Pitocin we used today was a level of 6.  To put this into context for you, most hospitals when they induce labor, start at like 6-10 and go up to 30+.  The contractions have all been very bearable and I haven't gotten into a regular pattern of labor yet.  So, we wait.  They will take me off the Pitocin in about an hour.  We will do another Cervadil tonight and then be a little more aggressive with the Pitocin tomorrow.  If nothing happens tomorrow and Brielle is still looking really good as she has been today, I will go home for a day and pray, pray, pray that labor starts on its own.  If not, then we will try again probably Monday with the same thing.  If nothing, then a cesarean. What a lesson in patience and letting go!!  The midwife is telling me that she isn't concerned at all about the size of the baby, but is more concerned about my age and letting me go too long.  However, Brielle looks fabulous and she feels totally comfortable with this game plan.  Did I mention this midwife is almost 70 years old?  She has 40+ years experience.  Talk about being in good hands!  She sat with me for about an hour today and told me her whole midwifery story.  She has been such a change agent in the midwifery field.

Prayers appreciated!!!  Hoping Brielle decides to come tomorrow!  October 12th would be a good day for her birthday : )

At the hospital!

We went in for another ultrasound on Wednesday morning and Brielle was measuring 10.5 lbs.  Oh my!  We really don't think she gained 2 lbs in a week and a half, but not sure exactly how big she really is!  So, it was determined that the best shot for a VBAC would be to try to induce me slowly.  My cervix was still posterior and closed on Wednesday.  Fortunately, my practice is so big on natural birthing that when they do have to induce, they do so incredibly slowly with a lot of patience and with a very low dose of pitocin.  They hope that they can wean me off the pitocin once my body kicks into labor.

I was admitted last night and given cervadil to ripen my cervix overnight.  The midwife on call last night was the one who started the midwifery practice we are with.  She has such an amazing reputation here in Atlanta with over 35 years of experience.  She is very "old school" and I really trust her explicitly.  She felt my abdomen and said that she didn't think she was a 10lb baby and then also checked out my pelvis and said that even if she was 10lbs, she didn't think I would have any issues pushing her out.  What encouragement!  They should be in soon to check what kind of progress was made last night.  I can say that I am having very regular contractions this morning, so I am hoping this is a good sign!  Brielle is slightly posterior, so we need to get her to move to a better birthing position and will be doing lunges and other positional exercises to encourage her to move today.

This morning I just enjoyed spending an extended time with the Lord reading His Word, listening to Watermark (love them!), and praying.  What a luxury when you have small kids up early in the morning.  I am loving my morning so far!  Getting my mind renewed and ready for the events of the day! : )

Still Waiting!

We had another u/s on Monday to make sure that baby Brielle was still doing well in my womb and that everything was going ok.  Afterwards, I met with a couple of midwives who gave me a bunch of options for Brielle's grand entrance.  They offered me another repeat c-section due to me being 44, overdue, and having a large baby.  They also said I could wait to see if I would go into labor naturally with some help with homeopathics and other labor inducing tricks.  We decided to go that route for this week while also going into get another u/s tomorrow to check on size and to (again) make sure she is doing well in my womb.

They checked me while I was there and while Brielle is SUPER low, my cervix was still posterior and only a fingertip dilated.  I was 50% effaced.  I was SO surprised to hear this when I have been having so many intense contractions.  I was 2cm and 100 effaced at 38 weeks with Keller without even feeling any contractions!  Crazy.  My practice doesn't really want to induce me since I am a VBAC, but we will be discussing all of that tomorrow once we get more information with the u/s.

Please pray for us!  I would so love to avoid another c-section.  I hate thinking of the recovery period.  Ugh.  But, overall, we want a healthy baby for sure!!

On another note... We got to meet Jennifer and Brielle's genetic siblings yesterday too!!  It was so great to meet them face to face.  It was only for a very short time because my appointment at the midwives took 3 1/2 hours (don't even ask!!!) and I was running super super late, but I was so glad that Jennifer persevered and came by anyway.  They gave Brielle the BEST gift too!  Seriously, a God thing for me.  They bought her an Angel Dear lovey with her name on it.  Keller has an Angel Dear lovey with her name on it and I just hadn't gotten around to buying one for Brielle yet.  It was literally the last thing on my list!  Check!!  I slept with it last night - I needed a lovey after hearing all of the bad news over at Intown Midwifery.  : )  The sad news is that we totally forgot to take a picture with the kids and Jenn!  Where is my head??!  I also had a really small shower with friends for Brielle several weeks ago and we forgot to take pictures there too!!  I am starting to worry about myself.  Ha.  Here is a picture of Keller's VERY worn out lovey along with the new bunny lovey from Jenn and the kids.  Thanks again, Jennifer!!  We love it.

Thanks for the prayers!

Past Our Due Date...

Well, here we are at 40 + 1 day with no baby in sight yet : (  This fact really wouldn't discourage me so much if I wasn't so uncomfortable and if I hadn't just found out on Monday that our sweet baby girl is measuring around 8 1/2 lbs!!  No wonder I am so huge in comparison to Keller!!!  My goodness!!

At 39 weeks our practice wants us to get an u/s and NST (non-stress test) done every week until the baby comes.  We hadn't had an u/s done since around week 24, hence the reason for my surprise.  I had no idea she was so big!  I think I assumed that she was in the 30th percentile because her genetic siblings with Jennifer and Aaron are in the 30th percentile.  Clearly, not so!!  Brielle did fabulously on the NST and I had a TON of amniotic fluid, so they were happy with how she was doing so far.

I did try to get checked on Monday to see if there was any progress at all, but my cervix has been pushed posterior and the midwife couldn't get to it around the head.  I am told that when labor starts, the cervix will move into an anterior position, but I can't help thinking that maybe this is why we haven't gone into labor yet.  Her head isn't directly on the cervix right now.  She did say it was ripe, but couldn't measure any dilation or effacement.

I am still having contractions left and right and thought I was going into labor again last Sunday night only to have the contractions slowly taper off Monday mid-morning.

So... we wait.  It is definitely testing my trust and faith in God with any outcome.  I have to continually remind myself and renew my mind to the truth that God is in control and will allow His plan to unfold in the way He desires.  Our practice doesn't typically induce women, unless the baby or mom isn't doing well, until right at 42 weeks.  They really don't like to induce VBAC patients because the risk for a cesarean goes up and the very small risk for uterine rupture goes up (but it is still only around 1%).  So, I guess I am just a bit nervous that Brielle is so big already and I am trying to birth this baby unmedicated.  She keeps gaining more the longer she is in there!  Being that this would be my first delivery, I am feeling a bit afraid.  However, I am trying to place my trust in God that He clearly knows what He is doing : ).  I'm just along for the ride!

Please pray for us that we will meet our sweet Brielle soon!!!  We are appreciative!

A Little Comparison...

So, I decided to look up my belly shot from right before I delivered Keller and oh my goodness!!!  What a difference!  This shot was taken 3 days before Keller was born... (at 39 weeks)

Tiny, right?  No wonder I was feeling pretty good throughout my pregnancy with her!  Just so you know that I didn't quite luck out the second go around like I did with the first ....

Ummmm. Yyyeah.  A. Little. Bit. Bigger.  HA!  You'd think by the comparison that I had triplets in there or something!  : )

No more major contractions for today.  All has been fairly quiet.  Ready, ready, ready for baby Brielle to come though!!

I'm in Contractionville

I have been having off and on contractions for the past 24 hours.  They are the worst when I am up and walking about.  I didn't have these pre-labor contractions with my pregnancy with Keller, so they are kinda throwing me for a loop!  I don't know how I will know when I am truly in labor.  I'm sure it will be when they keep getting stronger and more consistent, but still!!  It is hard to plan!  I'm afraid I will be like, "Oh, this is just my pre-labor contractions again." and then not take them too seriously so I don't alert my parents to come in time, etc...  It will take my parents 2 hours to get here, so it is hard to know when to call them.  Anyway, at least my body is gearing up!!  I am ready any time now.  Seriously!  Come now, little one! : )

I finished all of my "to dos" in relation to the baby coming, so am feeling really happy about that!  Here are a couple of pixs showing the girls room now that they have moved in together.  Soooo happy that we found the extra furniture from the same line as Sadie's.  Even if we did have to travel 2 1/2 hours to get it!  I think they really like it.

Aren't they just the cutest?  I love it when they are in a lovey mood with each other.
Sister love is the best!

37 Weeks... Full Term!

Baby Scholen became full term on Friday.  Woo hoo!  The crazy thing is that we started thinking I was going into labor on Thursday night.  I started having some serious contractions and then they became crampy and I couldn't get them to stop no matter what I did.  I tried to rest on my left side and they became worse!  I was in contact with my doula who told me to get into the tub to see if they would slow down then and, sure enough, they slowed down and then stopped.  I can see why everyone raves about getting into the birthing tub when delivering naturally.  It really does slow things down and relaxes you.  I haven't had any intense contractions like that since, but I am definitely having lighter ones here and there.  My body is getting geared up!

On a symptom note... I woke up a couple of weeks ago in the middle of a dream and shot out of bed so fast because I was choking and gagging and couldn't breathe!  I had no idea what it was, but scared my poor hubby out of his mind.  It really freaked me out since I was so dead asleep a second beforehand.  Anyway, I looked it up on Dr. Google and found out that I had just experienced reflux/heartburn to the point that it came up past my throat, giving me the gagging feeling.  I have never had heartburn or reflux before, so this is a new thing for me.  I haven't had anymore of those episodes, thankfully, but I have been experiencing some heartburn in the evenings occasionally.

I am also experiencing a lot of low pelvic pressure and pain in my lower back and rear end.  It cracks me up when I can literally feel baby girl squirming or kicking or something in my bottom!  So happy she is head down!  Dig in, little girl!!

I was so thrilled that we weren't going into labor yet last Thursday because I really wanted the weekend to get some of the last things on my list done.  Jeff drove up to Greenville, SC to pick up some furniture I wanted to add to the girls' room.  I had found Sadie's furniture on Craigslist last year and wanted to match it for Keller since she was now in the room with Sadie.  I have been scouring CL for months and could not find all the pieces I wanted here in Atlanta.  So, I finally found everything I wanted in South Carolina.  Hated that we had to drive 2 1/2 hours to get the stuff, but HEY!, you do what you gotta do!!    And I LOVE this furniture line!!  It is solid wood and is a cream colored, antiqued and distressed.  We had a trundle, long dresser, and nightstand for Sadie and just added a headboard, nightstand, and tall dresser for Keller.  So thrilled I got this done before the baby came!  Pictures to follow once I get Keller's letters painted for her name on the wall (almost there!).

I finally finished Baby girl's room last week!  And, since I promised pictures, I guess I will have to let you in on her name now.... Brielle!  Here are the pictures of her room.

Still need to add the changing pad, but will do that after she comes.  Keller is still using it some!

A friend of mine's sister painted this for us when Keller was born.  I added some pink to it to make it a little more girly!

I had a pillow made, but made the drapes myself.

I painted the letters and then added the wall decals.  I love how it turned out.

We can't wait to meet baby Brielle!!!

34 weeks and approaching 35 fast!

Getting ready to meet baby girl Scholen soon!  I still feel like I have a ton of preparing to do, but don't feel as much pressure to do it all as I did with my first two.  Keller and Sadie are sleeping together in one room now and things are going great.  However, Keller is still in her crib/converted toddler bed and we need to move it into the baby room eventually.  The problem is that we don't yet have a twin bed for her.  I have a furniture set that we purchased for Sadie on Craigslist and I want matching pieces for Keller now since they are sharing a room.  So, I have been scouring Craigslist for months waiting for a bed to become available like Sadie's.  So far, no huge luck.  I am talking with a woman up in Greenville who is selling some of the line, but she is asking a bit too much right now.  Hoping she will come down, but still not thrilled about having to drive 2 hours to get it either!

At my last appointment baby girl was in the oblique position.  She has been there for weeks now, but I THINK she may have turned head down this week.  I have been using the spinning babies website and doing a few of their exercises this past week that are supposed to help spin babies in the correct position.  I think it may be working (or baby girl just decided to move on her own!).  I am beginning to feel a lot of pressure in my pelvic bone area, like I am carrying a bowling ball or something.  lol!

Sadie started school today.  She is in Pre-K and is going 4 days a week.  For me, 4 days is A LOT!  We have only done 2 days for the past 2 years, but 4 is now the minimum they will allow for her age.  AND, she gets dropped off through a carpool line!  Oh my goodness, she looked so old this morning getting out of the car and walking on her own carrying her bag to where she needed to go.  I started welling up!  Here is a picture of her before we left the house.  And of course, Keller wanted to get in on the action too!  In fact, when the teacher got Sadie out of the car in the carpool line, Keller started saying loudly, "Me too!!  Me too!!"  She really wanted to go into the school with Sadie and be like her big sis.  

Not much else to report today.  Just praying that baby girl's head is down and stays down this time.  My OB actually does deliver babies breech and so we have that option, but not oblique or transverse.  That would be a bit challenging!  Our OB is very old school and delivers breech babies all the time.  His reputation is amazing and people come from all around - Tennessee, Alabama, etc... just to have him deliver their babies.  Glad he is right here in Atlanta!  At least I know that if I have to have a C-section, there was literally no other way.

More pictures of room transformations to follow once I get said rooms ready!
: )

32 Weeks!

So, I am officially 32 weeks tomorrow!  Woo hoo!  We don't have to wait much longer.  I am feeling pretty good, but definitely pregnant.  I have been doing water aerobics, which is wonderful.  It always feels good to be more weightless in the pool.  I have also been getting regular pre-natal massages.  They really help with weary muscles. : )  We hired a doula for the birth, so I am excited to begin getting to know her better.  She is coming over to meet Jeff next week.  She is a doula who is also a trained massage therapist.  Grateful that I can use her skills during what will hopefully be a natural birth in the water.

I have gotten into major nesting mode.  Seriously.  It is like the list of home projects that I want to accomplish before this little one comes keeps growing!  We moved Sadie and Keller into a room together a couple of weeks ago after repainting and decorating their room one Saturday.  They have been doing surprisingly well in the transition.  Grateful.  I also repainted the baby room and have been busy at the fabric store getting a crib sheet and pillow made for her room.  Pictures to come!  We also took home my old family kitchen table and hutch from my parent's house.  They hadn't used the table in years and somehow Jeff and I decided it would be great for us because 1) it is solid maple and 2) it can seat up to 12 people when all of the leaves are put into it.  We often entertain large crowds (like his family) and so needed a larger table.  Anyway, the table and hutch need to be updated a bit to work with our decor.  So, Jeff worked on stripping and restaining the table top last weekend.  We plan on painting the hutch and table legs/chairs black.  I will show you the pictures once it is all done.  The top looks awesome though.  So excited that we have a piece of my family history at our house.  I remember many family meals at this table in Cincinnati.

We are also trying to add crown molding into our master bedroom and we also added some nicer door/closet trim into each of the bedrooms.  So, I have a bit more painting to do!  And we only have 8 more weeks (if that!) to go!  Trying not to panic.

I am getting really excited about meeting baby girl, but also feeling a bit of nervousness knowing how difficult the newborn phase can be.  Keller was SO hard.  So. So. Hard.  I just pray that this last one will be easier.  Please, Lord.  No reflux or allergy issues!  : )  I have picked up some contracting work training leaders of small groups out in California.  I worked as a Groups Director at the church we attend here in Atlanta for 6 years and am now working with one of our strategic partner churches.  I only make 1-2 phone calls a week for about an hour each, but am wondering how all of that will work after the baby comes.  Wondering if I am crazy thinking that I can schedule all of these calls around the baby and Jeff's schedule.  Hoping I haven't bit off more than I can chew.  

So, my belly pic...  Let me just tell you that my belly button never turned inside out with Keller's pregnancy.  I think you can see it in this picture!  I am SO much bigger than I was with Keller.  I delivered Keller when I was 10 pounds lighter than I am right now.  And I still have 8 more weeks!  Yikes!  This is the first time I have surpassed my husband in the weight category.  So scary.  Ha!

Hope you all have had a good week!  Love reading all of your updates!

Hi Everyone!

Well, I haven't posted in awhile and felt like I was missing you guys : )  So, here goes some random catch ups!

I am 28 weeks preggo today.  Can hardly believe it.  This pregnancy has been much harder than my pregnancy with Keller.  The hernia is really painful most days, especially at the end of the day.  Fortunately, I found something called a Belly Band that really helps ease the pain.  I wear it a lot, but at times it can get super HOT.  So, I try to wait until I can't bear the pain anymore.  I am hoping that it will not interfere with delivery and that it will go away once I deliver.  I would be so grateful!

I started having the usual "wake up in the middle of the night" horrible leg cramps, but started taking my Natural Calm Mag/Calcium supplement and voila! the cramps have disappeared!  Love that stuff!

I am having back issues and my fatigue just came back like a hammer to the head, BUT you know what??  I am SO very thrilled to be having all of these minor inconveniences to be having our third daughter!!  Our sweet baby girl is kicking me right now as she usually does when I am lying in my bed resting.  It is my favorite part of pregnancy.  I just love the closeness I feel having her right inside of me.

We are working on getting our house ready for Baby girl to arrive.  We have to move Sadie into Keller's room and redecorate.  Not looking forward to all of that, but I'm sure it will all work out.  We had planned on moving into a new house this summer, but decided to wait on selling because in Atlanta it is really hard to find a house these days!  Houses are selling in a matter of days and then you get into multiple offer wars trying to get a new one!  We were so afraid that we wouldn't find something in time and that we would end up somewhere temporary and not have my mom be able to visit and stay with us (she is in a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury) when the baby comes.  So, we decided to stay put for now.

Hubby and I went on a glorious baby moon last weekend.  My parents live on a lake in Georgia called Lake Oconee and the Ritz Carlton has a fabulous resort there.  In fact, Carrie Underwood got married there!  It is so beautiful.  Anyway, we dropped the kids off at my parents house and took the 10 minute drive over to the Ritz for the weekend.  It was wonderful and oh so hard to leave on Sunday.  It will be the last time we get away together for awhile, I am sure.  I miss my man sometimes and all of the fun traveling we used to do.  All worth it for having kids, but still something I really miss.

I have my first appointment at a new practice that I am transferring into.  It is a midwifery practice and they are the only ones who offer water births for VBAC candidates.  A few other hospitals offer water births, but not for VBACs.  So, I am going to transfer there even though the hospital is like 45 minutes from our house.  Supposedly, people come from all over to this practice - Alabama, Tennessee, etc... so, I guess my trip downtown isn't so bad.  Just hope I'm not stuck in traffic during a super fast labor or something.  Ha!

Have a great weekend!
Tracey

Adoption Lifebooks

I have been wanting to write this post for awhile, but didn't have the book ready to show you all yet.  I finally finished it!  A lifebook is a book for your child that explains some of the ins and outs of their life and adoption.  It is meant to create a "starting place" for you to be able to have open conversations with your child about their beginnings.  Sadie, our eldest daughter, has a pretty complicated birth family and so this book is meant to introduce some of these difficulties in a child-friendly language.

The book that helped me IMMENSELY with this process and terminology can be found here.  The book reviews lots of different scenarios such as children adopted through the foster system, international, and domestic adoptions.  The thing I appreciated about it the most is the examples of language used to explain really difficult situations about the birth mother and family.  It also gives a few full lifebook examples for each of the adoption situations above.  I plan on creating one of these books for Keller as well, but coming up with my own language for embryo donation/adoption.

If it will help you get an idea of what I am talking about, you can view Sadie's lifebook here.  I created it using Snapfish, so if you don't already have an account with them, you will need to create one.

Hope this helps someone!

Ok.  So, I just posted this blog entry and minutes later found another book using a Christian perspective to create a lifebook for your child.  It wasn't out when I first started this project a YEAR ago (things can take me forever sometimes)! You can look at it here.  I am wigging out because this is the part that I always felt was missing from the book I just created, but didn't know how to put into words.  I am going to have to buy this book now too and probably do some editing to my already created book : ).  Grateful to have found this new resource!

Houston, we have a problem!

That problem is spelled h.e.r.n.i.a. Ugh! About a week ago, I noticed that the muscles right at my thigh and groin were kinda achy. I just chalked it up to round ligament pain and didn't think much about it....until last Friday when I needed to lie down before dinner because it hurt so badly. Yet, I still got up and went out on a date with my hubby that night. When we got home, it was hurting pretty badly again and finally noticed a lump where it hurt. When I looked in the mirror, I about freaked because it was a HUGE lump and I had no idea what it was. My husband was the first to think and suggest it was a hernia and, sure enough, he was right.

I went to the doctor who told me that they just take a wait and see approach, since I am pregnant. The risk is something called strangulation where the intestine's blood supply can get cut off and cause the need for emergency surgery. I have an appointment with my OB on Monday to talk with them about it and then plan on visiting a general surgeon to see what they say. It is pretty uncomfortable at times, mostly when standing up. When I am lying down, it feels fine and the lump disappears. I think the danger occurs when the lump is no longer going away when lying down.

I'm not sure how all of this will affect my birthing plan. Some have said that they were still able to have a natural birth with the hernia and others have said that they had a c-section with the hernia repair all at the same time. Hoping we get some clarity with all of this as we visit with various doctors and hear their opinions. I am learning how to trust God in the circumstance and let go of expectations. A lesson which had already begun to form from my last birthing experience. : )

Other than that, all things are great here! I love feeling baby girl kick and move. I'm so grateful for another chance to experience pregnancy. We think we have named our little girl, but are waiting this time to announce.

Ill get back with you all once we hear from the doctors. We'd appreciate your prayers, as always!

National Doughnut Day!

Go get your free doughnut today at Dunkin or Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Yum!

22 weeks

I am such the slacker! I haven't taken a belly shot in awhile now, so thought I'd better get on it! I'm doing well and feeling pretty good. I take a nap pretty much everyday in the afternoon which allows me to be a functioning part of society, but other than that I feel great!

We have been busy kicking names around. This last girl has been harder to name for us! We may actually wait until she is born to announce her name. We are also trying to figure out the when and how of moving Sadie and Keller into a room together. We really aren't looking forward to it. Keller usually wakes up earlier than Sadie and they will probably keep each other up at night, but I'm sure it will workout somehow! Plus, I had just decorated Sadie's room last November and LOVE it. Unfortunately, we will have to take this room for the baby though because it is much smaller than Keller's.

I am planning on switching OB practices after my next appointment. I am only doing this because the new practice offers water births for women attempting a vbac. Otherwise, I would stay put where I am. The new practice is like a 45 minute haul for me. Not looking forward to that! But, I really think it is where I need to be.

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Keller's Birthday

Keller's birthday was on Sunday and we had such an awesome day celebrating her!  We started the day with her getting her biggest present upon walking into the family room in the morning.  It was a Step 2 big toy house for her to play in.  She LOVES it!  She must have pushed the doorbell a thousand times : ). After breakfast and present opening, we went to the zoo.  Keller hadn't been there since she was 6 months old, so she was very entertained by some of the animals.  But, to be honest, I think her favorite part was riding the merry-go-round carousel (another first) in the kid's zone.  We rode it twice and she wanted to ride it a third time, but we needed to get home.  She pitched a fit getting off that ride!!  After naps (Mama included!), we had some of our best friends over for dinner and Elmo cake to celebrate.  All of the kids had a blast in the jumpy house and new playhouse out back.  It was perfect weather and so much fun!  Keller was looking forward to her Elmo cake all week.  It was so funny!  Anytime we mentioned that her birthday was coming up, the first thing out of her mouth was "Elmo cake!" with full enthusiasm.  The incredibly sad part is that Jeff recorded her big moment of blowing out her 2 candles on the Elmo cake, but later realized that for some reason the camera didn't record it.  I was so bummed. I still haven't gotten over not having that moment recorded!  I don't even have a picture of the cake that she loved so much!  Ok.  Can't talk about it anymore.  I'm getting worked up.  : )

Anyway, a few things about our sweet girl and then some pictures of our day....

Keller is ALL girl!  She loves to dress up in princess clothes, crowns, jewels, you name it.  Just this morning I went into their playroom and she had about 7 necklaces on.  She also LOVES baby dolls.  Anywhere we go, she will find a baby doll to hold.  She has an American Girl Little Itty Bitty baby with outfits, diaper bag, feeding chair and she has a couple of other dolls that she also loves to baby.  Even her lovey, she calls "BaBa"- short for baby.  She feeds them, changes their diapers, burps them, etc...  It is really cute to watch.  Sadie was never much into dolls, so this is a new thing for me.

Keller is a total snuggle bunny.  She has THE sweetest smile that lights up a room and an infectious laugh that really does brighten your mood.  She loves hugs and kisses and snuggling on the couch.

Keller loves her big sister.  She and Sadie have a great time playing (in between all of their sibling squabbles).  They play princess together, tea party, house, and hide and go seek.  It is SO cute to watch Keller try to count to 10 (Onnnee, twoooo-ooo, fourrrrrrr, siiiiiiiix, teeeeeenn!) - it doesn't give you a whole lot of time to hide!  But she sure does love that game.  She and Sadie hide from Daddy pretty much every day when he gets home from work.  The funniest is going to find Keller and seeing half of her body hanging out from under the bed with only her head actually hiding.  Too cute!  When she and Sadie do get into squabbles and she needs to apologize, Keller leans her head into Sadie's chest and says, "Sawweeyy" and gives her a kiss.  Precious.

Keller loves to read books.  Of course, anything related to Elmo or babies is best, but she also really likes Eric Carlisle's (I think that is how you spell his name) The Hungry Caterpillar and Cricket books.  Her favorite book about babies is one that I picked up from a Homeschooling conference.  It is a collection of Eloise Wilkin's stories and published through Little Golden Books.  It is so cute.  Seriously.  They made some really great books back in the 50s, 60s!  The illustrations in these stories are amazing.

Talking about being all girl, Keller also loves to be massaged.  Ok.  So, this is kinda funny, but it all started when Keller had some really dry skin on her behind.  We started rubbing her back and bottom with lotion every night to relieve the dryness.  Well, it has created a monster!  She now somewhat demands that we rub her back and bottom every night (and morning if we let her get crazy).  And she is very particular about it.  One morning the lotion was out and so I decided to try to just give her a little rub without the lotion.  Well, obviously it wasn't going well because she got off of her belly (massage position), sat up and handed me the lotion and said "GA!" (her word for "Here!!").  It totally cracked me up.

She is also very particular in general.  I hardly ever have to cut her fingernails because she takes care of them herself.  Seriously!  She will have a little snag and will work at it until it is off.  If she has trouble, she will find me to tell me about it and demand that I help her get the snag to be smooth.  She also can tend to get frustrated if she can't get a toy to work the way she wants it to or fit a puzzle piece in the right hole.  She closes drawers that are open and generally likes things tidy.  She will be the one organized one in our family.  Thanks be to God!!  I am going to love having her skills in our home! : )

Lastly, Keller has begun to sing a little bit.  It is so cute to listen to her try to sing "Jesus Loves Me" when I sing it to her every night.  She also sings the "B-I-B-L-E.  Yes, that's the book for me!" song when it plays in our van.  She also loves to pray for her sister, Sadie, and the baby in mommy's tummy.

Now that I have written a novel, here are some pictures of the weekend...

A new booster chair for her American Girl baby

In her new house.  So sad that this pix was a bit blurry.  Her smile is so cute here!

Opening presents

On the merry-go-round

Sadie was not wanting to be very cooperative for pictures!

At the zoo!

Eating her Elmo cake

Picnic fun with her favorite boys and Sadie