Nursery

Here are some updates for what I will be doing for the nursery! Hopefully here in the next week or so we can get paint on the walls, furniture in, and then let the fun of decorating begin! I will be posting pics as we progress in the process!

Here is the bedding we are going to be going with! I am kind of obsessed with gray right now and just love how simple and chic this bedding is! It is a very light gray damask print with tan ties.

Here are some pieces I have ordered from Etsy.com. I absolutely love this website and love how it's everyday people creating these items with their own hands. Prices are great and items are unique! If you have not checked it out, I highly recommend!

These name blocks were custom made for Avery for a GREAT price. I got the set of blocks plus shipping for under $30, a STEAL!

I just love this pillow, it is so fun and whimsical! I am accenting with the color coral and thought this pillow would be a great addition to the chair in her room!

I was not very impressed with any of the baby books out there, they just seemed so babyish. So, I found this seller and loved her stuff! The outside is covered in fabric and will feature an 'A' with Avery on it. Can't wait to get this in and get started on filling in the information!

Also, here are a few fun items I have picked up from a local store, The French Cowgirl!

It's a.....

GIRL!!! Yes, we found out on Monday that we will welcoming Miss Avery Ann into the world in August! We are beyond thrilled. I had a feeling from the beginning that we were having a girl, I guess it's that mother's instinct. Now let all the fun nursery planning begin! I thought this would be an easy task, but there is just SO much out there to choose from. It's hard because I am not a big pink fan, but I am sure that will all change soon!

Also, Monday's appointment was with our high-risk doctor and Avery looks great, praise God. She is quite the girl on the move though. The doc had a hard time getting any good pictures of her because she was all over the place, kind of like her momma!

Oh, and here is the 20 week belly, I promise it just seems like it's growing everyday...which is a good thing and an answer to prayer! As I have been saying, beggars can't be choosers!

What's Been Happening!

If you haven't already heard...we are pregnant. I am about 14 weeks along and everything is going great! We have our last appointment with the specialist this Friday and then our next appointment will be February 17th and this will be our first one with my regular OB. Here is the most recent ultrasound of our bundle of joy! This picture was right at 13 weeks. We should be getting a more recent picture this Friday, so I will make sure to post that as well! Due date is set for August 15th!

Oh and here is the belly pic that so many have been asking about! Not too much to show, but there is definately a "bump"! This is at 13 weeks!

Also, we have had quite a few snow storms lately. We are actually both home today due to the weather. Andrew only had school on Monday last week and then he is off today and most likely tomorrow. It's nice, but I think we are both getting a little cabin fever. I must say that this is a pregnant person's dream though! It's been nice to get some mid-week breaks to just lay around and be lazy! We have been some what productive, we cleaned and organized the study. This will be the nursery. On that note, does anyone need a full size mattress? We will be getting rid of it! The pictures below are from the snow storm last week, we got about 12 inches. Today we ended up probably with around 6 inches. All I can say is that I am SOO ready for Spring!

Good News!

The last 3 months have seemed like the longest months ever. We FINALLY met with the specialist on Thursday for our consult to go over ALL the tests they have ran on me and Andrew and to go over, as the doc put it, "what we found and what we didn't find". We ended up leaving the doc feeling very relieved and gracious. They could not find anything wrong or abnormal with any of my blood work except for my prolatin (hormone) level being high. For those of you who follow the blog, you know that they informed me about 2 months ago about this level being high and since then I have been treating it with some medication. This was also why I had to have the MRI to make sure there was not a tumor that could be causing the high level (prolactin is produced by the pituitary gland in the brain). Good news, no pituitary gland tumor and the mediation is working and is keeping my prolatin levels where they should be! So, from ALL the blood work, that is the only thing that came back 'wrong'. In regards to all the other testing: chromosomal, auto-immune disorder, structural (making sure the uterus is in good shape), and a few others; everything came back normal. Praise God! Obviously we left the appointment with a lot of hope and optimism.
So I am sure you all are wondering, "now what?". Well they basically told us we could start trying again right away and that they will also start treating me with progesterone since the high prolactin was causing low progesterone and low blood flow to the uterus. So, we will keep you all posted and in the meantime, please continue to keep us in your prayers. Also, out of respect, we would greatly appreciate it if people would not ask us every month how it's going. We will defiantly keep our family and close friends updated as we see fit.
We are excited and grateful for the good news and look forward to see how God will continue to bless us.


On a side note. I wanted to share something that God has laid on my heart and I want to share it in case someone else needs His encouragement.

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'." -Jeremiah 29:11

I have read this verse MANY times and I am in Bible Study and was reading today and it referenced to look up Jeremiah 29:11. Well, let me back up to about a month or so ago. I was going through a rough spot and my Dad and I were talking about giving our worries and concerns over to God. In to which I answered that I felt like I had and that I felt that I was constantly giving these worries to God. But through our wonderful human nature I was always taking these back and not relying completely on God. My Dad gave me the idea of actually writing these worries and concernes on a sheet of paper and to put that in the middle of my Bible and each time I start to let those worries creep back into my mind/heart, that I should go to His Word and acknowledge that I have already given those worries to God and that He is in control of them. So, today when I went to look up Jeremiah 29:11, guess what I found tucked in my Bible where Jeremiah 1 starts? Yep, my piece of paper of my worries and concerns. When I placed this in my Bible months ago, I just opened up my Bible and just put it in there, not regarding to where in the Bible I was placing it. I know that today God wanted to remind me of that commitment I made to Him and those worries and concerns that I have already given to him. I just had to stop in the midst of my Bible study lesson and just praise God for being so good and so loving and so caring. I hope that if any of you are struggling and going through rough times, to just let God be in control. I will be the first to tell you that that is not an easy task for us humans to do and at times it feels like you are all alone and that all these "bad things" are happening only to you and at all the same time. But, luckly we have a gracious Father who forgives us and gently reminds us that He is there for us and He has plans for us and that His plans are not to harm you but to give you hope and a future. Believe it and cling to it! I KNOW that God has a greater vision for my future than I can see or imagine. I KNOW that God will use all my worries, concerns, and hardships to make me stronger use these things for good!

Love you all and enjoy the gorgeous Fall weather!

Update

Okay, so I have not fallen off the face of the earth. Just been busy and truthfully, just really not ready to give an update.

So, we met with the specialist and the initial appointment went fine. Basically the doc just explained all the reasons why miscarriages happen. Not like I hadn't researched all these millions of times. However, we really liked her and the nurses. The doc set me up for some extensive blood work. Basically, they check EVERYTHING and then look into it all and then go from there. So, a couple days later I went to do lab work. I gave about 25 vials of blood, yes, 25. It was crazy. They said all the blood work could take about a month to get back, so we would just schedule another appointment to discuss everything in about 6 weeks.

Well, about a week ago, the doc called and explained that one of my hormones, prolactin, came back on the high end, and it should not be high right now. They wanted me to get a MRI to
"rule out some stuff". Prolactin is produced by your brain, hence the MRI. High prolactin is a cause of either 1) your body just produces too much or 2) there is a tumor or excess skin on the pituitary gland. So, of course I panicked. They can't get me in for a MRI till August 23rd. So, needless to say, these next 2 weeks are going to be LONG. They are re-running my prolactin level to make sure it wasn't just a "fluck". We should get those results back tomorrow. Also, I have been in to the doc the 3 times this week giving blood on my progesterone.

It has been a long road and at times I just want to throw in the towel and let God be God and just go back to the "natural" way of getting pregnant. I guess we will just have to find our "normal". God is good and He has a plan, now it's just being patient and waiting on Him to reveal His plan. I know He will bless us with a family, so we will just have to wait and see! Please continue to pray for us, we truly appreciate it! I will keep you all posted!