Four Weeks Already?!

Tomorrow marks the 4-week birthday of my little Isabella. It's so hard to believe that's it been four weeks already. She really has become life as I know it. What life was like before her is a distant memory. She fills my days with more smiles and laughter than before. She fills her Daddy's day with joy and sunshine. She really brightens any day, no matter what is going on. She make all the fertility treatments so worth it. 

Speaking of fertility specialist, I still need to send her birth announcements out to most people. I can't wait to send one to the fertility specialist for the baby wall...the wall I despised when I was on the other side of the journey. All those times looking at the baby wall...they were torture! And now, I can add a picture to the baby wall. My perspective on the wall has changed. Instead of despising it, I have realized that it should give hope to those still in the process of fertility treatments. It's just so exciting to know that I can add a picture to that wall because my little Isabella is here. I have so much to be thankful for and I owe so much thanks and gratitude to Dr. V. He really is an amazing doctor who not only was able to figure out what was wrong with my body, but he was also able to find something to help me conceive. Little Isabella needs to meet him one day!

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'll post something more personal later to tell you all how Mommyhood is going and how Baby Isabella is doing. In the meantime, here are some pictures to enjoy.

What a Difference Three Years Makes!

Three years ago this month, Hubby and I decided we were ready to start a family. So we prayed long and hard about what God would have us do. When you give your life to serve the Lord, you never want to do something that you feel He would not have you do. So we prayed about it and waited on an answer before doing anything else. Hubby and I both felt strongly that God had answered our prayer by telling us it was time to start a family, so I went off my birth control pill, praying that my irregular cycles would be a thing of the past. We had no idea what the road ahead of us would offer, we just knew that God had promised us a child when we had prayed about starting a family.

Three years later, after a long battle with infertility and nine months of carrying around our precious cargo, our promised child has been here for three weeks. We are so blessed to have Isabella in our lives. She has brought so much change for us in so many good ways. Life is no longer about ourselves, it is about our daughter. It's still so strange to say those words, "our daughter." I waited so long to be able to say those words and yet, they still seem foreign. 

For those of you reading my blog who are in the midst of a difficult battle with infertility, take my word for it, the battle is worth it. I wouldn't trade my journey for an easier time. I think it helped me to appreciate even more the life that is in my arms. It made me appreciate the blessing of God's promise more than if it had just been an easy road for me. My journey took three years from beginning to new life. Sure, it's not as long as the journey is for some women, but it certainly wasn't a short journey. If you're still on the journey, hang in there. Keep your head held high. Be patient. wait on the Lord. Be encouraged. 

Life as a New Mom

So I know it's been two weeks since I posted, so I wanted to get caught up on here. Life is finally settling down from all the excitement that surrounds the arrival of a baby. Isabella is such a blessing and a joy. There are no words to describe how it feels being a mom at last. I have prayed for and waited for this day for years. God granted me my request and it's just amazing. 

I won't lie, it hasn't been the easiest two weeks. I'm still recovering from my c-section. Recovery hasn't been too bad, but there are still things I have problems doing, like bending over to pick something up. It's frustrating because I want to do all the things I haven't been able to do and there are still limitations. I can't drive for another two weeks and I can't carry anything heavier than Isabella for another two weeks. So I can carry her, but if we go out, Hubby has to carry her in her carrier. I am not allowed. Ugh...so frustrating!

I've somehow adjusted to the sleep pattern of a new mom. Isabella is not formula fed and she's gaining steady weight, so there's no need to supplement with the formula. She's solely breast fed, so my sleep schedule is so different from Hubby's. He's great, though, he does get up with me for most feedings. He keeps me awake. That's love right there. Last night, he gave her a bottle of pumped milk for one of her feedings because I had already been up for almost two hours with her doing cluster feeding and not wanting to sleep. 

I have no complaints. Honestly, I didn't think someone could enjoy changing poopy diapers and having a 24-hour milk machine, but it makes life more wonderful. Isabella gives life new meaning and purpose. She makes me realize that not only am I a woman, but now, I am a mom. I am someone she loves, needs, and depends on, even at only two weeks old. All the full night's sleep in the world couldn't be better than holding her and knowing that she is a gift from God for Hubby and me.  

Isabella Joy

Hi, everyone! Sorry I haven't been on here to post, but life with a newborn at the hospital (with lots of visitors during the day) sure keeps you from doing those things!

Isabella Joy arrived Wednesday afternoon at 1:35. I was scheduled for a c-section at 1pm that day because she was breech. They did an ultrasound an hour before surgery to check her position and she somehow had wiggled herself head down. But when the obstetrician made the incision in so he could reach her head, she had moved again. She was in a diagonal position and dodged his attempts to pull her out. She's a pistol!! He had to make an extra cut into my uterus in order to get her to come out. All that means is that my next child will HAVE to be a c-section baby because of possible rupture to the uterus if I went into natural labor. The doctor said when she first came out of the womb, she looked around with a disgusted look on her face because she didn't know where she was. Then, when she realized she wasn't going back into the womb, she cried. It's the most beautiful sound there could ever be in the entire world. I couldn't see her, since I was on the other side of the surgery sheet. But that noise...beautiful. I cried. Seriously. And then, after she was cleaned, I got to see her. I didn't hold her until I was in the recovery room. It has been an amazing experience. Surgery itself hasn't been fun, I'll admit that. But having my precious Isabella is wonderful. I'll write more later about the surgery itself and the recovery process here at the hospital. Right now, I'm just waiting to be discharged. Here are a few pictures to enjoy of my beautiful blessing.

 

Last Update/Quiz Before Isabella's Arrival

Symptoms: *Heartburn (yes, it's still here. I sleep with two pillows so that my head is propped up), *frequent potty trips (I guess my bladder is preparing me for feedings every three hours), *stretch marks, *tiredness (I ♥ my naps), *lots of baby movement, *random nausea

Total weight gain: 30 lbs as of my last OB appointment. No more appointments left until after my c-section...

Maternity clothes: I'm just bumming it when I'm at home. I wear comfy crops with a tank top. But I can still get away with wearing non-maternity shirts and dresses!

Stretch marks: They are seriously not my friends. They look like fire on my belly. Hubby calls them "Diablo."

Sleep: Sleep hasn't been the best thing. It takes so much effort to toss and turn. I'm up every few hours for a potty break. Last night, I had horrible knee pain in the middle of the night. So sleep isn't too great. I guess it's preparing me for life with a child.
 

Best moment this week: Being able to count down the days until Isabella's birth on one hand.

Movement: Tons. It's like an alien living in my belly. 

Food cravings: Chocolate. Weird, I know, since I haven't craved it at all throughout the entire pregnancy. But I've been wanting chocolate for the last week.

Belly Button in or out: It's a halfy. It's half in and it's half out. If I do something like blow my nose, it sticks out a little more.

What I miss: Being able to walk up a flight of stairs without losing my breath or feeling like my knees are my arch enemies.

What I am looking forward to: Isabella's arrival on Wednesday.

 

Milestones: Having my last prenatal checkup with the obstetrician. It really makes it real that Isabella is arriving this week! 

 

How is daddy? He's really excited, but he's also very nervous. He's like a little kid going on an exciting trip. he doesn't sleep well at night. He hasn't had a big appetite. He's excited but super nervous.

How are the grandparents? They are SOOOO excited. There are no words to describe their amount of excitement.

Here's the last of my belly pictures...next picture I post should be of Isabella!

Only a Week to Go!

It's so hard to believe that there is only one week to go before I meet my sweet Isabella Joy. In anticipation of her arrival soon, Hubby write her a beautiful letter that I added to my other blog, Letters to My Unborn Daughter. I cried when I read it. It's beautiful. I wrote her another letter, too, as I wait so anxiously for this next week to pass. It is still so surreal that I am finally in the place where I am waiting for my child's arrival instead of waiting for an egg to grow or an egg to ovulate. It's been quite a journey getting here! But I have come to the realization that I am so thankful for every ounce of strife on that journey. All my tears? They were worth the joy of waiting for this child. All my fears? They were worth working through to get to this point. I'm thankful for the blessing of the long journey. It's through my journey that I can encourage others who are walking on a similar road. I had the same encouragement along my journey and I will never forget how powerful it is to have someone walk with you who has been in similar shoes. 

Hubby is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his little princess, too. He's more worried about me post baby's arrival, since we are scheduled for a c-section. Here's the latest on my wiggle worm. She is breech. My amniotic fluid levels are now within the normal range instead of being so high. Although that is GREAT news, it means she has less room to move around. That means she has less of a chance to get into a head-down position at this point. I'm okay with that. God has been good to me through the past month. I did another pre-eclampsia test (24-hour urine collection) and my results totally rocked! They were spectacular. I am still shocked by the great news. I had settled myself with the fact that I most likely had failed and would be having a c-section this week. But that was not God's plan for us. So next Wednesday, the 28th, Isabella will arrive into this world unless she has a time line nobody knows about and chooses to show up earlier. 

There's not much else going on. I'm still on bed rest, so there's no nesting going on. I'm a bit bummed about this, but Hubby has been doing all the nesting. He's been a great partner and best friend through all of this. He's my encouragement on the days where I feel so useless. He cleans, he cooks, he set up the nursery. Me? I sit on the couch or a lay down. That's all I'm allowed to do. It gets frustrating, as I feel like I am not tending to the needs of him through all of this. But he's always so encouraging and reminds me that it's because of strictly limiting my activities that Isabella has been doing so well and is staying in as long as possible. He reminds me that keeping the baby in the womb longer is far from useless. He's such a great husband. I am so blessed to have him. 

I'm going to go for now. I've got a case of the munchies, so I'm going to eat some grapes and maybe one of my cheapie freezer pops. 

36 Weeks 6 Days Update

How far along: 36 weeks 6 days

 

Symptoms: *Heartburn (ugh...I thought it was getting better, but in the past week, it has made an appearance in the middle of the night, so sleeping is not the BEST thing ever right now), *frequent potty trips (I'm back to getting up in the middle of the night again), *stretch marks, *tiredness (I ♥ my naps), *lots of baby movement, *random nausea

Total weight gain: 25 lbs as of my last OB appointment. Next appointment is Thursday.

Maternity clothes: I'm still loving my dresses. But since I've been in basic bed rest, I don't wear them unless I'm going on. I just sit around in a nursing sleep bra, tank top, and maternity workout capris. I'm comfy, so I can't complain. But when I go out, I do make myself look much cuter.

Stretch marks: Oddly enough, they run a circle around my belly button. They are nowhere else other than the center of my belly. And they itch like crazy!

Sleep: Sleep hasn't been the best thing ever as of late. It is quite a task to roll over in the middle of the night. Whenever Isabella is breech, my back hurts, even in the middle of the night. I've been up to pee at least once, usually twice in the middle of the night. And my heartburn is out of control, so I have to sleep with my head propped up a bit, which is not comfortable. Not much longer, though...
 

Best moment this week: Knowing that tomorrow will be the 37-week mark, which makes Isabella "full term!" Nothing is better than that, especially with all the adventures in the past few weeks. Of course, still not having pre-eclampsia (when all the doctors swore I would end up with it) definitely helped me reach that milestone.

Movement: Tons. The problem is that she is still a bit small and I have a lot of amniotic fluid. So she has PLENTY of space to move around. She was head down on Friday (which she should be by now!) and now she's head UP. Yep. She kicks me a lot and punches me, too. And as she gets bigger, I can't say that it's always enjoyable.

Food cravings: Salads, fruit, and cereal. Oh, and oddly enough, mozzarella sticks with yummy marinara sauce. Yum! Still nothing sweet, I have no sweet tooth. It randomly died when I got pregnant.

Belly Button in or out: It's still mostly an inny, but it changes whenever Izzy repositions herself. It was starting to pop out when she was head down for the weekend and then she flipped. So now it's back to trying to pop out. Hubby still thinks that it will pop just in time for the baby to come.

What I miss: Being able to do things around the apartment like clean, cook, and play with the dog. Since I'm on bed rest, I'm not allowed to do any of that. It can get very frustrating.

What I am looking forward to: Isabella's arrival sometime within the next few weeks.

Milestones: Reaching the 37-week mark tomorrow.

How is daddy?He's really excited, but he's also very nervous.These past few weeks have proven that you just never know what is going to happen. This child has a mind of her own and she brings the drama. But somehow, he stays calm through all the stressful moments.

How are the grandparents? They are SOOOO excited. There's not much longer left until they get to hold her, so they are thrilled.

Here are my latest pictures for you to enjoy. These are from 36 weeks 4 days.