Our Baby Girl

Adelaide, 33 Weeks

Here is our little girl. She is growing and growing! The last couple of months have been hard on me, but Adelaide is certainly doing well! For those of you who have been wondering, here's the scoop on all things baby.

I had an ultrasound and OB appointment last week. The first question the ultrasound technician asked once she started the exam was, "How big was your son when he was born?" We told her that he was 9 1/2 pounds. Her next question was, "Are you diabetic?" I said that I am not. At this point Will asks, "Just how big is this child?!"

The weight estimate was 5 lbs 10 oz, which is fairly big since I was just over 32 weeks. Adelaide has been putting on more than 1/2 a pound a week! The night before the ultrasound I was lying in bed feeling my tummy and trying to guess how big Adelaide was. I told Will, "It feels like she's about 5 1/2 pounds." Later on I thought, "No way. She can't be that big yet. I'm only 32 weeks along." But, sure enough, the ultrasound said the same thing!

I praise the Lord that Adelaide is growing so well. I have had more trouble than normal with my gastroparesis lately. It has been hard to eat enough food because my stomach cannot digest as much food as I need. There have been many days that I have been on a liquid/soft foods diet. Despite not always being able to consume enough calories at this point in pregnancy, God is growing a very strong and healthy baby inside of me.

Adelaide is growing even faster than William did, and he was well over 9 pounds. The only "complication" now is that Adelaide may come early. My doctor said that because she is getting so big so fast my uterus may reach a certain size and then think it is time for labor. I am supposed to pay close attention to contractions and not just assume that I'm having Braxton Hicks.

I am feeling crunched for time and energy knowing that Adelaide could come so soon. My due date is still 6 weeks away, but I want to be prepared early just in case. I think we do finally have everything we have to have for her arrival. We just got formula and baby wipes this week, and those were the last "must have before she comes" items on the list. I found a pediatrician for Adelaide, and we have finally figured out insurance for her. Now I just need to pack my bag for the hospital, and we'll be all set.

There are a lot of things I still want to do, or that would be helpful to have done, before Adelaide comes. Maybe I'll get my to-do list done, maybe not. If my energy holds out, if Will has time between studies to help me, and if Adelaide waits another 3 or 4 weeks, I think I can get it all done. :)

Today I'm going to see an anesthesiologist at the hospital to get a plan together for labor and delivery. With someone like me, you don't want to show up at the hospital already in labor and freak out every nurse and anesthesiologist on the floor. It's best to talk to them ahead of time so that they know what problems may arise, and to let them know not to worry when my blood pressure goes from 80/50 to 120/80 in a matter of seconds.

I will be starting weekly ultrasounds and weekly doctors appointments just to make sure that both Adelaide and I are doing well. Lord willing, in a month or so we'll have a happy, healthy baby to bring home.

A Rough Several Weeks

Hello Friends!

I know that many of you have been wondering how I've been doing. As you have probably figured (due to my lack of blogging lately), I haven't been doing very well. We've had a rough 6 weeks or so here.

At first I was having constant headaches and migraines. These lasted for about three weeks. I always had a headache, and it sometimes developed into a migraine. Because I'm pregnant, the only pain medicine I could take was Tylenol, which does very little for headaches and migraines. Eventually, with the help of my POTS doctor, I discovered that a large dose of a magnesium supplement helps me. It hasn't completely gotten rid of the headaches, but it has helped to prevent the headaches from turning into migraines. I'm very glad to have relief from the migraines and constant headaches.

As soon as the migraines were under control we made a trip to Georgia for a weekend. It was wonderful to see friends and family while we were there. The ladies from my church also gave me a baby shower while we were down there! It was so fun, and I appreciated all of the help in getting things ready for Adelaide's arrival. If I have energy later, I'll share some pictures from the shower. The trip to Georgia was great, but it was also exhausting. I never quite recovered from it before more debilitating symptoms flared up.

Brain fog flared up badly a couple of weeks ago. The bad kind. The kind where my body is so absolutely worn out that my brain just starts to shut down on me. The fatigue became extreme and I had great difficulty simply answering yes or no questions. If I was alone, I would forget to eat and drink. It just never crossed my mind that I needed to do that. Thankfully, Will's professors were understanding when he needed to skip class and stay home to take care of me.

We made it through the bad days of brain fog. By spending a LOT of time sleeping and resting, and by taking Cerefolin (a specially formulated prescription vitamin made for Alzheimers patients), I was able to pull out of the bad brain fog. A few days later I stopped the Cerefolin, but the severe brain fog came right back. Usually I can just take Cerefolin for a few days and then stop it and be "normal" again. That didn't happen this time, so I went back on the Cerefolin. I'm currently taking Cerefolin daily, and will probably continue to do so for at least the next five months. It's completely safe to take long term for me and for the baby; it's just expensive, which is why in the past I have only taken it for a few days at a time.

Even with the Cerefolin I'm still having more difficulty than normal with brain fog on some days. It is hard to carry on a conversation. It is usually too hard to write emails, blog posts, and thank you notes. It is sometimes hard to follow tv shows and movies. I need to take more breaks from mental tasks, and I have to rest even more than normal, but I'm making it. The Cerefolin definitely helps, and I'm so thankful to have this med that is helpful and safe during pregnancy.

That is the basic update. Life is hard, and it only seems to get harder, but God is gracious and always sees us through these tough times. Will has been a huge help to me, as always. He is such a wonderful husband and friend. William remains my little buddy. Even when I'm sick in bed, he loves to be with me.

Now that I finally have you all caught up on the boring stuff, hopefully I'll have some good days where I can share about some fun stuff! Like my baby shower, Adelaide, pregnancy, Cubbies, and William's octopus costume if I ever get it made.

Thank you so much to everyone who reads my blog and keeps checking in on me even when I'm so quiet for so long. I'm still here. Just been a little foggy lately. :)

My Strength

"My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:26, NIV