It's A...

Yikes! I can't believe I made y'all wait this long to hear what we're having. That definitely wasn't my intention. I can't stand when someone teases a post and then takes for-e-ver to actually post it so I apologize for doing that!

Without making you wait any longer, we're having a boy!!! A sweet, cuddly, sometimes stinky little boy. And I could not be more excited. We would have loved having a little girl to spoil rotten but for some reason, I've always kind of assumed that I would have a boy first (if not all boys), so it just makes sense that this one's a boy. (How many times can I say "boy" in one post?)

I was surprised by how many people (more so in real life than the blog world) guessed that we were having a boy. It was an overwhelming landslide when I asked people what they thought the baby was. A lot of them said they could just "see" me with a little boy. And they were right!

I would show y'all the ultrasound picture that clearly shows "boy" (because I think it's hilarious) but JD gets embarrassed when I show people and he says the baby would be embarrassed too if he knew I was showing everyone. How funny!

We were worried that the baby would hide his "stuff" during the ultrasound or not be in a good position for us to see but we didn't need to worry at all. We asked the tech if there was any possibility that it was actually a girl and she said it was 100% for sure a boy (my sister was told my nephew was a girl from her ultrasound so I was worried about that happening to me too).

We are so excited that we can actually start buying boy stuff but I've had a little damper put on my shopping dreams with the placenta previa. Oh well, I'll make do somehow. There's always online shopping if I get desperate!

Placenta Previa

So, how many of you know anything about placenta previa? I'd heard of it but didn't know much until I was diagnosed with complete placenta previa at my regular prenatal visit yesterday. The ultrasound tech found it during my routine scan. My doctor was in a delivery and wasn't able to do my visit so I had to see a nurse practitioner, whom we had never met.

She explained that in most pregnancies, the baby and placenta are implanted in the upper wall of the uterus but in my case, the placenta was implanted in the lower wall of the uterus and the placenta is now completely covering my cervix. Here's a picture to help you envision it (the red part is the placenta).

{via}

There is a small chance that as my uterus grows during the pregnancy, it will pull the placenta up into the position it needs to be in, though this is much more likely to happen in cases of marginal placenta previa than in complete placenta previa.

That's the best case scenario, and the one we're praying and believing for. The worst case scenario, I don't even like to think or talk about.

If the placenta stays where it is, it would obviously eliminate the possibility of a normal birth, as the placenta would either block the baby from getting out or the placenta would come out first, which could cause life-threatening bleeding for the baby and me. So if it stays where it is or only moves slightly, I will most likely need to have a c-section, which is an option I can come to terms with. As long as the baby's ok, I'll do whatever needs to be done.

Another possible complication would be the risk of bleeding before the baby's ready to be born, and this is what we're trying to avoid, as that could lead to bedrest and/or hospitalization for the remainder of the pregnancy. For now, I've been put on serious restrictions regarding what I can and can't do. The nurse practitioner told me I'm basically allowed to get to work, do my work, and then get myself back home. She said no exercise, no housework or cooking beyond the most basic tasks, no grocery shopping (or any shopping, really), and when I'm home I have to stay off of my feet as much as possible.

As you can imagine, this is about the worst time of year for me to be told to sit on my butt. I have SO much to do before Christmas! JD is going to have to do a lot of what I would normally do, and I'm so thankful that he's enthusiastically started to help already. He's making me stay in the bed or on the couch all day today while he runs around and does both of our to-do lists.

I go back in four weeks for a follow-up ultrasound and visit to see if there's any change in the position of the placenta so let's all pray that we'll see some movement!

Yesterday was so bittersweet. The diagnosis and related restrictions were not easy to hear but we believe in a God who is more than able to protect this baby and me throughout the pregnancy and delivery! We are so blessed that the baby is doing great and I'm blessed to have a husband who is so willing to do what needs to be done for me and the baby to be taken care of.

I've been saying that I wanted a relaxing break when I didn't have to do anything and although this is not at all how I would've wanted it to happen, I'm going to try to enjoy it as much as possible and not stress about possible outcomes.

It was so good to see the lovebug jumping and moving around yesterday. The tech kept saying how fast the baby was- I can see us running around after him/her in a couple of years, just trying to keep up!

We tell our families tomorrow if the baby is a boy or girl so I'll be back as soon as I can after that to share the news with y'all.

Isn't that just the most beautiful little head you ever did see?? Ok, I realize I'm a little biased so don't feel bad if it just looks like a normal blurry baby head to you :-)

Look at those sweet little feet! I'm so in love.

I apologize for the rather heavy (and long) post during the holidays! I wanted to update y'all but also want you to know that we're doing fine and believing for a wonderful outcome.

I hope y'all are all enjoying whatever break you get and making precious memories with family and friends. I'll be back soon with the gender reveal!

Brother's Wedding Weekend

This past weekend was everything I'd hoped and prayed that my meeting with my brother would be! (Check here if you missed the story.) First some pictures, then a quick recap.

This was my first time dressing up since being pregnant and it wasn't as traumatic as I thought it would be! I already had the black dress and found the pink one easily. I'm not expecting it to be this easy the whole time, though! Here are the outfits for the rehearsal dinner and wedding. You can't really see my wedding outfit shoes but they're leopard and I love them.

Here's my brother, my bump and me! This picture makes me tear up because I really wasn't sure I'd ever have one like it. I mean, me pregnant and with my big brother? It's really almost too good to be true.

The two of us with our loves.

The wedding night with my two guys.

This is my sister on my dad's side (another family member I haven't seen in years).

And last but not least, here I'm with my two old siblings and my new one (whom I adore).



There were definitely a couple of awkward moments, not with Chase or Katie (his fiancee), but with their friends and her family. I think some of them were just confused by the fact that he has another sister they had never met (and some probably didn't even know about), which is completely understandable. To be honest, I've been confused by the whole situation at times! But it was completely worth sitting through any awkward moments for the memories and connections we made.


Chase made a point to ask me to stay after the ceremony so I could be in the pictures with his side of the family. I was honored that he wanted me in his wedding pictures, since I haven't been a big part of his life over the years. I could tell that us being there meant a lot to both him and Katie, and of course it meant the world to me! With the bride and groom being in such high demand on their weekend, we weren't able to sit down and have long conversations but it was more than a start and I know we'll see each other again soon.


The wedding was in Fort Worth (8 hours away) and our trip was pretty much there and back so I'm exhuasted today but it's definitely a good tired :-) This is one Christmas season I won't forget!


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P.S. For those who like to know, I posted a pregnancy update today.

P.P.S. If you haven't voted yet on my last post, please do! :-)

Pink Or Blue?

Next Wednesday afternoon JD and I will be taking a peek at our little lovebug to try to figure out if (s)he is a girl or boy! Time has flown and I can't believe (though I'm so happy) that it's almost time for us to know. And a week and a half after that, I'll be halfway through the pregnancy! Craziness. Complete craziness.

I have to do the usual poll and ask what y'all think the baby is. Everyone please vote because I'm dying to hear your opinions!

For those who don't read my updates, the first heartbeat was 130, the second was 156 and the third was 152. I can't tell how I'm carrying the baby yet (high, low, front and center, whatever it is people use to guess the gender) and I've had split dreams-- two boy dreams and two girl dreams. So from that not at all helpful information, it could be either! Imagine that :-)

Go ahead and vote, vote, vote! Pink or blue?

{via google images}

Mi Hermano

I wrote this post when my blog was about 4 months old and I had maybe 4 followers so it's way past time for an update. You can go back and read that one if you're interested in more details but the short version of the story is that I have a half-brother on my dad's side whom I didn't have contact with for about 12 years. I think I was 14 the last time I saw him and even before that, our relationship wasn't the greatest. Not because we didn't enjoy each other but because he's 6 years older than I am, and I think it was just hard for us to relate to one another at that age, not living together (or even in the same city) or being able to spend much time together.

We got back in contact (thanks to facebook, of all things) in February of 2009 and have been messaging off and on since then. We still haven't even talked on the phone but he and his fiancee have invited me and JD to their wedding this weekend. I could not be more excited to see him. As I mentioned in the previous post, I've always felt like there was a little piece of my heart missing by not having him in my life. I have four half-sisters but he's my only brother and I think there's a part of any little sister that longs for validation... or something... from her big brother. I just needed him in my life. Just messaging him has been so wonderful and I cannot wait to see him and hug his neck.

His fiancee and I have been messaging too and she is wonderful. I'm so happy they've found each other and are including us in the celebration. They even invited us to the rehearsal dinner, which came as a complete surprise (a very pleasant surprise!).

This is how I mostly remember him:

And this is how I'll see him:

Have I mentioned that I'm ridiculously excited? :-)

Friendship Bracelet Project

As soon as I read the name of this project on Nicole's blog, I knew I wanted in. I have fabulous memories of making friendship bracelets as a child and then again as a teenager when I was a camp counselor one sweet summer that I will never forget. Of course I've forgotten how to make them since that time but I've been given the perfect excuse to learn how to again.

{via}

Nicole's friend Hannah traveled to Uganda, Africa this past summer to work with orphans and while she was there, she discovered that one thing that means a LOT to these kids is homemade friendship bracelets. Hannah said that many of these kids have never felt true love from another human (especially adults) and that they've never had anything that was theirs, since many items are passed down or shared due to financial situations.

Talk about tug at a person's heartstrings! Making a friendship bracelet (or five or ten or however many you'd like) is something so simple and doable that will bring happiness to a deserving child. I plan to make mine while watching TV... easy!

Nicole has offered to pass along any bracelets that are made to Hannah, who will then get them into the precious little hands that will cherish them. The supplies are easy to find at a craft store and Nicole has put together a list of tutorials for how to make them if, like me, you've forgotten (or never knew) how. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, leave me a comment with your email (or email me at Ber611 at aol dot com) and I'll pass along Nicole's handy dandy list of necessary supplies, tutorials, and her address.

I am SO excited about this lovely little project and can't wait to get started!

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P.S. For those who are interested, I posted a new pregnancy update under the link at the top.