T minus 2 months!

Well, there is not a lot to catch up on from my last post. I have been off work since March 10th and we have decided that I will stay home until this little one arrives. I was a little apprehensive at first about taking that much time off...but I am starting to get used to being at home and I kind of like it! I will go back to work 12 weeks after Ashlyn is born, if we can bear to drop her off at daycare :( We have been visiting a lot of places and have narrowed it down to 2. We are on the waiting list for both places.

Let's see...what else has happened this month? I passed my gestational glucose test that screens for gestational diabetes. You have to drink a really sugary drink and then have your blood checked after an hour. I was happy that I passed because the next step is a 3 hour test that I have heard is not fun. I also found out that I am anemic and started taking an iron supplement and was given strict orders to eat more steak! That is pretty normal at this stage of pregnancy. I am going to the doctor every 2 weeks. Our check-ups have been pretty painless. I get weighed, measured and we hear the heartbeat. I made up for the weight I lost when I was in the hospital...plus some! I am still measuring a little big, but it is normal to be + or - 2 weeks. I haven't had any more bouts of kidney pain which I am very thankful about! I don't have as much energy as I used to, but I think that is because I was in bed for 2 weeks and the anemia doesn't help I am sure. I do what I can and rest when I need to, so it is manageable!

We have started getting the nursery ready. This required a storage unit and a u-haul truck to clear out the guest room! Thank goodness for strong friends. The crib should be delivered any day now and is beautiful! Ashlyn's great-grandma Sally splurged on it! I can't wait to see it. Nenna (Chance's mom) is busy making the bedding and I know it will be perfect. She is very talented! Ashlyn's mimi (my mom) is going to make her a quilt so she will have lots of special handmade items.

Ashlyn enjoyed her first 2 concerts...Bon Jovi and Red Monroe and even got to go to a Maverick's playoff game. She is a very busy baby (especially when I am laying down) and gets the hiccups a lot! We are getting very excited to meet this little one! We did a 3D sonogram at 28 weeks, but weren't able to get a very good picture of her face. She is so low and her head was turned down. We have several showers coming up during the month of May that we are looking forward to! Everyone has been so gracious and generous. We feel very loved :)

We didn't take a lot of pictures this month. Here is my 7 month shot and a pic of the bare belly! Whoa!!! Belly button is still in though :) I guess that is all for now! Thanks again for all of the continued thoughts and prayers! We appreciate all of our family and friends!

Kidney stones during pregnancy should be illegal!

Well, the first 2 weeks of this month were uneventful. I was feeling good, we were getting stuff done for the nursery and I was busier than ever at work. I guess things were going too smoothly so we had to spice things up a little bit.

Tuesday night (3/9) around 10 pm I woke up with horrible right side pain. I tried to get comfortable, reposition, walk it off...but nothing was making it go away. I finally called my Dr. and she told me to go the ER. So we showed up at the ER around midnight and they took me up to labor and delivery (scary!). They did some lab work and everything was coming back normal. They gave me IV fluids and some Tylenol (I was still refusing pain medicine at this time). They kept me overnight and sent me down to my OB's office first thing in the morning for a sonogram. The sonogram showed hydronephrosis of my right kidney, which apparently can happen during pregnancy. They said it was just the position of my uterus constricting my ureter causing increased pressure and fluid in my kidney. They sent me home with pain meds and the hope that the baby would "move" in a couple of days or weeks! RIGHT! I tried to tough it out Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I was bedridden, only able to lay on my left side, taking minimal pain medicine because I didn't want to hurt the baby. I couldn't eat or drink and by Friday afternoon, I couldn't take it anymore! I called my doctor and told her I was going back to the hospital.

We got to the hospital around 4. They hooked me up to the monitors and saw that I was having contractions! I was starting to dilate and the baby was very low. The nurse so kindly told me "your baby is lower than the lady's next door that I am inducing". NOT what you want to hear at 26 weeks. I kindly told her "PUSH HER BACK UP THERE...IT'S TOO EARLY!" They gave me a shot to stop the contractions. I was severely dehydrated and in a lot of pain which was causing the contractions. The shot they gave me made my heart race and feel terrible! They did a renal ultrasound and confirmed the hydronephrosis. They finally gave me pain medicine (Demerol) to which I had an allergic reaction. My arm swelled up and I had hives and red lines running up my veins...very scary! My blood pressure was 80/40! Once they got me settled down a little bit they transferred me to antepartum. They put me on a morphine pump and gave me some medicine to help me sleep and continued to monitor for contractions and watch the baby.
Here is a picture of me Friday night. I didn't leave this position for over a week except to waddle to the bathroom.


Saturday morning I started peeing sand and gravel...NICE! I still had NO appetite but was getting IV fluids. Chance and my mom were the best nurses ever assisting me with my constant bathroom trips and repositioning. And the "real" nurses on that unit were phenomenal. Caryl, my favorite nurse, hand quilts baby booties. They are so cute. I got to do some shopping while I was in the hospital...never miss an opportunity!
Here is a picture of me and Caryl. She was so compassionate especially when I was in pain.


I saw the Urologist that morning and we agreed to "watch it" over night and see how I was feeling the next day. I had some visitors Saturday, my dad, Karen and Sarah, Jessi and Ryan and two girls from work stopped by. I wasn't very good company, but enjoyed the visits nonetheless! Saturday night I started having contractions again so they gave me another shot to stop them.

Sunday morning the Urologist came back and told me he wanted to do an IVP "an x-ray procedure" to see what was going on with my kidneys. We were very reluctant because we didn't want any radiation to the baby. EVERYONE reassured me (even Pat who called her friend who is a retired OB/GYN) that it was very low radiation and wouldn't hurt the baby. I did the IVP (with contrast) and they got a good shot of my kidneys.
L.A. was my radiology tech and he was wonderful. Here is a picture with him.


The Urologist said he wasn't in a hurry to rush in and put a stent. There were no signs of blockage or obstruction, but there was a "kink" in my right ureter. Again, we were just going to "watch it" and see how I did. Sunday and Monday were spent trying to get my bowels back in order! Pain medicine and bed rest can really do a number on you! I had some more visitors on Monday, my dad, a couple friends from work and Kourtny. My mom went home after we saw the doctors and decided we weren't going to do anything for the time being.

Tuesday was better. I was starting to eat a little more and was able to spend some time out of bed walking and sitting up. I hadn't used the morphine since Sunday night and my pain was somewhat controlled with oral medicine. They took me off the IV fluids with strict orders to "push the fluids". Chance made sure of that! I hadn't had any contractions since Saturday night so we decided to venture home on Wednesday. Happy St. Patty's Day ! My dad, Karen and Sarah stopped by to see me off!
Here is a pic of me with my favorite nurse before I went home!


Each day since I have been home have been a little better. The pain comes less often and is less severe. I am eating a lot better and able to move around a little. Karen and Sarah kept me company Thursday afternoon while Chance went back to work. I went back to my doctor on Friday. She told me the radiology report did show a "calcification in my right kidney". I haven't seen the evidence of a stone yet, so I am hoping to pass it soon. I am going to see another Urologist early next week. I am taking minimal pain medicine and getting a little more sleep so things are looking up. Our neighbors brought us dinner last night and I actually had an appetite!

Ashlyn was a fighter through all of this! Every time they would hook her up to the monitor she would go nuts and move around like crazy. The nurse said that is a sign of a very healthy baby! Her heart rate was consistent between 130 and 150 and she was very active. She is still very low and I keep inviting her to move on up or "go play on the other side of the playground" as my dad said!

Thanks to everyone for all of the prayers, calls, cards, texts, visits and thoughts! We appreciate all of you and couldn't have made it through this scary and trying time without our family and friends! We love you very much! Hopefully next month won't be such a long post!

Here is my 6 month picture. Ashlyn is still growing and measuring a week ahead of schedule despite me losing 4 pounds! This was my first outing in almost 2 weeks (except to the hospital and doctor's office)!

Another month closer!

Well, this month seems to have flown by! 23 weeks down. Some of the highlights were 5 days with no electricity (we traveled between Arlington and Abilene to stay warm), our 22 week check up and an out of pocket sonogram at Stork Vision. We got over a foot of snow and lost power. It was below 50 in our house! We spent the weekend catching up with family...the dogs were troopers. Here are a couple of pictures of the dogs enjoying the snow.



Our doctor's visit this month was as a prenatal check up should be. Quick and painless. We heard the baby's heartbeat, I got measured and weighed. The doctor said I must have been eating to stay warm. I gained 6 pounds...oops. She wasn't too upset because my total weight gain is still average. My belly is measuring 24 cm which is good. The baby is growing. I get to look forward to my gestational glucose test next month. Our sono tech wasn't in on the day of our appointment so we didn't get to do a quick confirmation scan to make sure she is still a girl!

She has been very busy this month...moving all over the place. Chance finally got to feel her kick. That was so neat watching his expression. I am carrying her very low and I am having some back pain, but I am hanging in there. Other than that, I feel great!

We decided to go to Stork Vision and pay for a 2D sonogram to confirm the gender. We couldn't wait 4 more weeks...we need to get busy! The sonogram was really neat and we got a DVD and lots of pictures. She was moving all over the place during the sonogram. She is breech, but has plenty of time to turn. Here are a couple pictures from that sonogram. Yep...it's still a GIRL! Let the pink begin!



Here is a clip from the DVD (the actually video is 15 minutes long). Her head is to the left of the screen and her arm is up by her head. Her legs are towards the right. You can see her spine in the end of the video. So cool!


We registered last weekend. That was a little overwhelming. That place was huge with floor to ceiling baby stuff. Whoa! Thank goodness we have lots of family and friends with great baby advice (and hand-me downs)! We also picked out fabric for the bedding and quilt. Here is a picture of the fabric swatches. The nursery is going to be so cute.


We have decided on a first name and are quite certain we have a middle name...Ashlyn Mae Wimberly! We can't wait to meet her. Here is my 5 month picture. Hello belly!

Bringing us up-to-date!

We found out I was pregnant Monday, October 12th at 6 o'clock in the morning. I took a pregnancy test, like I always did around this time of the month expecting it to be negative as it usually was. Well, this time it said "Pregnant"! I went and flipped on the bedroom light and woke Chance up and said "does this say what I think it says?" The look on his face was priceless. A combination of shock, startle from the light and excitement...I'll never forget it! I called my doctor that morning and went in for blood work that afternoon to confirm I was pregnant. YEP! I went back in a couple more times that week to monitor my blood levels. Everything was looking good. I started having some problems the following week and my doctor put me on "light duty". RIGHT! There is no such thing as light duty as a Physical Therapist (in my setting anyway). So I took a short leave from work to let my body rest! I was on light duty for a month, but was able to do some computer work so I didn't have to use all of my time off. I had several visits to my doctor during that month and we heard the heartbeat at 5 weeks when I had my first sonogram! That was exciting. I had several ultrasounds during that month. Here are a couple of pictures!

We told all of our immediate family and some close friends and of course everyone at work that I was pregnant. When I was 9 weeks pregnant, my doctor thought things were progressing and it was safe for me to go back to regular duty. We wanted to wait for our 12 week visit before letting the cat out of the bag. At my 12 week appointment my doctor saw a "band" on my ultrasound that she was a little worried about. She referred us to a Perinatologist for a second opinion. That was a restless night! We had an appointment with the specialist at 8 am the following morning. He did another ultrasound and was certain it was NOT an amniotic band (An amniotic band is a fibrous band of tissue that runs through the amniotic sac and can cause many complications...scary)! He thought the "band" we were seeing was most likely scar tissue and would not cause any problems at all! It would be pushed out of the way as the baby grew. He also thought the "fibroid tumor" I was told I had wasn't a fibroid at all! Great news all around. The baby looked perfect, although would not cooperate so we could determine the sex! Must be a boy! Here is a picture from the Perinatologist visit.
We decided to share our news on our Christmas card. Here is the picture we used.
We went on vacation over Christmas for The Doyle Reunion in Tucson. We got to share our exciting news with everyone there in person. Here is a short video of me telling Mimi and Papa the news!


Here is a picture at 3 months. My "baby bump" popped out literally over night!

On New Year's eve morning, I was lying in bed after a trip to the bathroom at 4 am. I felt the first "flutter"! Needless to say, I didn't go back to sleep. I woke Chance up to tell him, but he feel right back to sleep! We spent New Year's in Abilene. Kristin (Chance's sister) convinced me to take an "Intelligender" urine test to determine the sex of the baby. That was our New Year's Day excitement! We all guessed what it was going to be. Everyone picked boy except Kristin, Scott and Kellan. I took that test (at night...you are supposed to take it first thing in the morning...but I couldn't wait) and it said BOY! Chance was very excited. Kristin and Scott were still convinced it was a girl! I had my 16 week check up on January 7th. I gained 6 pounds in one month!!! Everything was good. Heartbeat was strong...I was growing...no sonogram for me. I wore my first maternity outfit on January 9th (thanks for all of the hand me downs, Kristin!) because my clothes were starting to get a little snug!


On January 17th, my mom and I went maternity clothes shopping...I was definitely growing out of my regular clothes quickly. That evening, after a long day of shopping, I felt the baby move...not just flutter...but MOVE! 4 times! I had an unexpected visit to my doctor on January 21st. I gained 3 more pounds. The heartbeat sounded good and I was growing, but she wanted to do a sonogram just to check on everything. This was the big "anatomy exam" where they look at all of the organs. It is usually done at 20 weeks, but my doctor wanted to do it early. Everything was perfect! The brain, heart, stomach, kidneys, bladder, long bongs...everything was perfect! And no more "band"! And..we found out IT'S A GIRL! Much to our surprise. Chance kept saying "are you sure it's a girl?" We were both excited and very surprised! Back to the drawing board for names and nursery ideas. Here is a picture. (She had her legs crossed like a perfect lady!)
Here is a picture of my belly at 4 months. Getting bigger!

Well, I think that brings us up-to-date!