72 Hours

On the way up to the hospital last night Peter and I were discussing all of the difficult things we have gone through in these first 4 years of marriage. We have dealt with a husband in college, some health problems, a job layoff, an adoption process, and now this. We also discussed how thankful we were for the life experiences we have not had to endure - miscarriage, death of a child, huge medical issues with a child. Thankfully every difficult thing we have gone through has brought us closer together as a couple and this situation is no different.

Anyway, this is definitely up there in painful times. The only pain I can even try and compare this to is the pain I felt when we were having delays in the adoption process near the end when we were just dying to get Malachi home.

So anyway, on to what has taken place in these first 72 hours of Eli's life:

While I was in labor, we had gone through the possible scenario's of what would or could happen with delivering a baby at 36 weeks. The hospital I delivered at is not prepared to keep little ones who need some extra health attention after birth but with my water broke there was no option but to deliver and pray for the best. The hospital said that it really could go either way that he might do fine or he might have to go to a NICU. We also had the gestational diabetes to worry about as the lungs mature even slower in babies with gestational diabetes.

Right after Elias was born they whisked him away. It was so not the moment I was hoping for, but his health was all that mattered. The pediatrician and respiratory specialist worked with him for a good 20 minutes or so in the room before they decided to take him into another room because he was really struggling to breathe on his own. They said they would continue to assess him and try to get him breathing on his own for a few hours before making the call to transport him.

Peter went down the hall with Eli and so there I was kind of all alone, wondering about my baby. It was a very difficult situation for me to be in, but the nurses were all so great and understanding. Peter and the nurses with Eli did their best to keep me posted on what was happening. Unfortunately the reports were not that good. He was really struggling.

As soon as I could put a little weight on my wobbly legs they were able to wheel me down to see him. I only got to spend about 10 minutes with him and it was so hard for me to see him like that. He was supposed to be in my arms and we were supposed to be happy and celebrating but instead all I could do was hold his hand. At this point, we knew he would need transported. They were trying to figure out what hospital had room for him and get the transport team on the way. My nurse asked if they could take the oxygen off for a second so I could have a picture of his face but the respiratory specialist said they couldn't. I really was okay with that since all I cared about was his health but it was just so hard knowing he was going to have to leave.

I got settled back in my room. I was tired and they were really pushing me to eat something. I knew I needed to take care of myself but all I could think about was Eli. I was told that the transport team had arrived and it could take a few hours for them to stabilize him enough to leave. Peter didn't tell me this until later, but when they were working on him, he said blood squirted out and he had no idea what was going on - apparently Eli was working so hard trying to breathe that it was causing his lung to bleed. The transport team gave him some medication that it sounds like was really the turning point for Elias.

Before they left with him, they brought him by my room. His color was already so much better and he finally looked relaxed. Still, even though I knew he needed to go it was so hard to say goodbye to him.

I knew I would be discharged first thing in the morning and would be able to go be with him. So Peter and Eli were off to the big hospital while I stayed behind and worked on recovering. I did have a few visitors stop by to help take my mind off things and the nurses were really trying to occupy me and make me feel better. It was really great to see Malachi too, even if he wouldn't sit still :)

After a few hours Peter returned for the night. He said that Eli was doing better and that they were predicting a 5-14 day stay in the NICU. This is not what I wanted to here, but it was reality and I just wanted him to be okay. My doctor gave me a sleeping pill so I could rest through the night and I did okay knowing that Elias was where he needed to be and getting the help he needed.

Night one in the NICU on the breathing tube:

The next day we did all the things that needed to be done to be discharged. I got my lectures that I needed to take it easy - blah blah blah :) We went home and got cleaned up and were off to see our little boy. In the night they had taken him off the breathing tube and put him on a nasal one. They said he did not like the breathing tube down his throat. I don't know how you can prepare yourself to walk into a room and see your child hooked up like this, but after being around it for two days it really isn't as bad of a set up as it looks.

I was finally able to look at and touch my baby. 24 hours doesn't seem like a long time, but believe me it was long enough! Although, I still wasn't able to get a good look at his face. I was able to change his diaper and they inserted a feeding tube while we were there. Up to this point, he had just been on IV fluids. They also started him on what they call "oral care" which is basically a syringe full of milk in his mouth while they do the actual feed in the feeding tube. I was able to give him his first syringe full of food and boy did he like it!

I also got to hold him for the first time! While he is on the C-pap machine, it is quite the ordeal to get him into a position to hold him. They have to call over a respiratory therapist and it takes them and a nurse to actually make the transport over. But it is so worth all the work. He slept for a couple hours while I held him! He was still struggling to breathe though. He was taking about 90 breathes a minute which means he was still working pretty hard at it. When he got over a 100 breathes per minute, it would set off an alarm. As you sit in the NICU you hear these alarms quite often from all the different babies. It is a sound I do not like to hear. But cuddling with him was pure joy!

We did eventually have to leave and it was and is still hard to leave him. It is just unnatural to leave your child behind.

We made two trips up to see him yesterday. During the night they tried to lower the pressure on the C-Pap but he didn't handle it well so they turned it back up. When we got there he was under the lights. It was no surprise that he was jaundice. Now he will be constantly under the lights when he is not being held by us.

We spent several hours in the morning with him. I held him for 3 hours. The nurses said he cries a lot which he did show off for us. It seemed anytime someone touched him or moved him, he cried. He is also really feisty with them and flails his arms and grabs on to the tubes. They think he is going to be a handful - bring it on :)

After being there for several hours, we drove home and I got some rest. I really am trying to follow orders and take it easy. In the evening we went and spent time with Malachi - man he looks like he has grown and he is so close to taking off walking!

We went back up to the NICU and got an update on him. He was doing really good. He was down to 40-50 breathes per minute which is normal and he was taking more food. Not only do we have to get those lungs working, but he also has to be eating and keeping food down before he can come home. He needs to be close to eating 2 ounces at a time and last night he was at a half ounce in the tube so we are slowly getting there.

It was a special treat tonight because they took him off all the tubes to weigh him (5 lbs 3 ounces) and clean him up and suction out his nose. He did not appreciate this time too much, but I sure did as I was finally able to see my precious little guys face!

After he got all put back together they let me hold him again! This time we tried him swaddled. They weren't sure how he would handle it but he did great and I got in another hour or so of snuggles. While I was holding him, they lowered the pressure on the C-Pap (they had tried the night before but he couldn't handle it). This time, he did great!!!

Then it was time to go home and get some rest.

This morning I got a call from the doctor. I was surprised to hear him say that they were going to try him off the C-Pap and see if he can handle it. He said they could have to put him back on it, so don't get my hopes too high, but they want to give him an opportunity to at least try it. They have been very aggressive with his treatment and are doing their best to get him home asap! The doctor said even if he has to back on C-PAP they will continue to try and lower the pressure today and would try him off of it again tomorrow morning - so we really are making progress! They are also increasing his feedings to 3/4 ounce so that is great news too.

This NICU stuff is not for the faint of heart. It is a constant battle of the emotions and full of highs and lows. We really can't wait to get him home and get Malachi back home and start our life as a family of 4!!!

I have to take a second to brag on Peter. He has been incredible through this whole thing. I have seriously lost my mind since Friday and am so tired that I just can't think straight. Peter's name means "rock" and he has definitely been that for me. He knows all the medical names for the treatments and understand exactly what they are doing to Eli. He knows what medications Eli is on, and he knows when I need my next dose of meds. He also reminds me that certain meds I need to eat food with (at 2 in the morning, I just am not paying attention) and gets me something. He is running on fumes too, but is still always willing to get me the things I need. He is also constantly thinking about Malachi and tries to spend every spare moment with him. Saturday night, I was so tired and in pain so he tucked me in and then headed over to my parents house to spend time with Malachi - he has been incredible through this whole thing

Elias Glen Keyser

It still feels totally shocking to be writing this and posting this, but our little mister decided to make an early entrance into this world.

Elias Glen Keyser

Born 12:36 PM Feb 4th

5 lbs 5 ounces

18" long

Here is as much as I can remember about the whirlwind of his birth!

I will spare everyone the details but when I woke up Thursday morning, there were some different things happening and some potential signs that labor could be coming soon. I really didn't want to think too much of it as of course labor is coming soon - I was only a week shy of that "full term" status. I did some brief research (I am a researcher) and everything I read said that it could mean labor is hours away or it could mean that labor could still be a few weeks ago. Since my "symptoms" went away after a few hours I just took it easy and figured we were good to go.

I should have known better. The day before all this, I was in a serious cleaning mood. Like mopping the floor on my hands and knees cleaning mood.

So when Peter came home from work, we did our typical Thursday night thing. We grabbed Mal and headed out on our little "family date night". I kind of joked with Peter that this could be our last meal and that Malachi was going to be a big brother. But again, I really didn't believe anything was going to happen.

On the way home I told Peter I wanted some chocolate (yeah, I know a gestational diabetes no-no). So we stopped at the store and I tried to find some chocolate. Looking back now, I was really uncomfortable and just quickly grabbed something and said lets go home. Eli had dropped awhile ago but Peter even made a comment when he came home that it looked like the baby had dropped some more and I was very uncomfortable walking. All signs now that I look back.

We came home and then I started having those same symptoms I had in the morning. I decided I just needed to take it easy and I would call my doctor in the morning. I love my doctor and I know she is always busy and being interrupted and I really did not want to bother her as I really thought I would be fine until morning. At this point though, I decided that just in case I needed to pack my hospital bag - so I packed.

So I was laying on the couch, watching tv and chatting with my mom online. I was telling her about the earlier symptoms of my day as she has been asking almost daily how I am doing. She was never convinced I would make it to March. She told me to call her if I needed her and she would come get Malachi. I told her I really didn't think anything would happen overnight. Around that time, I felt like I had to go to the bathroom (normal thing these days) and as soon as I stood up, I felt a huge gush of fluids. I looked at Peter and said "my water just broke" and he stood there not really knowing what to think and said "really?!?"

I ran to the bathroom and yelled at him to go find me towels as I was still gushing really bad. I kind of went into a panic at this point and couldn't believe what was happening. The fluid just did not stop. I grabbed my phone, told him to start gathering things - the camera's, finish packing our bags, get Malachi's stuff together. I called the doctor and told my mom my water broke and she was on her way over to get Malachi.

My doctor told us to come meet her at the hospital as she was already there getting ready to deliver someone. She was not to thrilled that at this point as at-9:45 PM I was 35 wks, 6 days.

We rushed around and my mom came and got Malachi and off we went. They put me in the triage room and quickly discovered that my water had indeed broke. They would not have kept me and would have had me transferred if I was not going to be 36 weeks at midnight. I am still glad this did not happen, as I really trusted my doctor and wanted her to be the one making decisions over my care and delivery. At this point, there were no beds available so I had to wait in triage while they moved a mom into a different room and cleaned the room. At this point I was not having any contractions but I was 1cm, 80% effaced, and the baby's head was pretty low. We did have the discussion at this point about all of the what-ifs of delivering a baby at 36 weeks and that the baby may need to be transported.

After another hour or so, they moved me into a room. By this time I was having mild contractions about every 2 minutes. My doctor was going to let me sleep until 5AM and then start me on pitocin. We got settled in our room and Peter went home to take the dogs to his parents house. My contractions stayed steady about every 2 minutes, but they were not too strong and were not lasting long enough. At about 2 in the morning, my doctor had delivered the baby and was getting ready to go rest. She checked me again and I was 2cm, 100% effaced and the baby's head was "very low". She gave me some medication to help me try and get some sleep and before I knew it the room was spinning.

I did get a few hours of sleep but just between contractions that were staying steady at every 2 minutes. The contractions were getting stronger, but I was still able to sleep pretty well. By 5 they were just getting to the point that I was having to breathe through them. Then came the lovely pitocin. I was not too happy that the pitocin had to be started before I got an epidural, but I trusted the hospital staff :) They turned that stuff up every half hour and the contractions started to hurt. There was no more resting. They were coming strong about every 2 minutes still and were starting to last the length of time that they wanted to see.

Around 7:30 my doctor came back in and checked me. I was at 3 cm, still slowly making progress. She okayed the epidural at this point (which I thanked her profusely for) and wanted me to get tucked back in afterwards and get more rest. By 8:00 I had the marvelous epidural and labor was amazing from here :) They gave me more of the sleepy, dizzy meds and I tried to sleep between nurse checks. With the pitocin they had to check my vitals more often plus they were keeping a close eye on my blood sugars because of the gestational diabetes. The baby started acting a little weird on the monitor so they were also in quite a bit changing my position.

Around 9:00 I had made it to 4cm. Slowly, but surely we were getting there. I was trying to just stay positive and hopeful that this baby was going to make an appearance, I just had to stay patient.

Around 11:15, the baby was doing some interesting things on the monitor, which the nurse thought meant I was probably making some good progress. I was thrilled to find out that I was 6cm! Around 12:00 they were back in the room because the baby was having some heart decels. They wanted to put me on some oxygen to see if that would help. They also decided to check me and see if there was a reason that his heart was acting that way and they were shocked to find I was complete and they said the head was right there! I was kind of in disbelief that it was all almost over. Since I got my epidural, everything had been so peaceful and easy.

The room was a buzz with commotion. They called my doctor and they called a pediatrician. I knew there would be a lot more staff in the room than they normally have. They also called in a respiratory therapist to be there for the birth in case he needed some help breathing. The room definitely filled up quickly.

I started pushing and that experience was so not what I thought it would be. Having a doctor who had no sleep the night before, she was hilarious. Truly, she had us all laughing so hard while I was pushing. Pushing went pretty quick and at 12:36 we met our little baby BOY!!!

He was whisked off pretty quick so I didn't really get a chance to look at him or see him. The experience was so much different than what I was prepared for or expected. Parts were much easier than I had anticipated and the ending was definitely not what I anticipated or hoped for. We will end his little birth story here for now and the next update will explain everything else that has gone on.

Baby Update

Yesterday I went in for another OB appointment. Things are still pretty routine and boring, which for at least this next week until we arrive at "full term" we are okay with. My gestational diabetes is getting harder to monitor and control, but still overall the doctor said my numbers aren't awful so no need for concern right now. She always comments on how good the baby's heart rate is. She also confirmed with me that the head is down really low in my pelvis, which I had assumed, but it was nice to get confirmation.

Other than that, we are waiting until my appointment next week where we will see if things are starting to progress and we will also at that point in time hopefully be able to make a decision on whether a c-section would be best do to my back problems. I am just ready to know either way so that I can start mentally preparing for it. I trust my doctor completely and have no reservations about doing what she feels is best.

As we keep inching closer and closer to the big day I am feeling more eager to get the house clean. Today I got a lot of cleaning done and hopefully will continue in this pattern so that I can come home to a nice and clean house after the baby comes! It is getting more and more difficult to do normal household tasks and do things like change Mal's diaper and put my socks on.

Overall though, in some ways I will miss this pregnancy. This very well could be the only time I get this experience and I am so thankful and grateful that God has given us this little life. There have been some difficult times (20 weeks of morning sickness was so not cool) but overall it hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it would be based on all the stories I have heard about pregnancy. I think I have had what is considered an "easy" pregnancy and I am very grateful for that!

So while I am a little sad to see this pregnancy coming to an end, I am so excited to meet my little baby and find out if it is a boy or a girl and cuddle and hold this little one!

Totally Random

There is so much going on as we approach the end of this pregnancy. I can't believe in just a few short weeks we will have another member in our family, but I also can't wait! I have been having contractions since around 20 weeks of pregnancy (they would go away with rest), but just here in the last week they have increased significantly in number and intensity which has made me feel like I really need to get everything ready just in case this little one wants to come early.

So this weekend we got the crib all set up in our room. As you can see it is missing a side :) This is our version of "co-sleeping". The baby will be right by me in bed so that I can check on him/her neurotically and when the baby is ready to eat, I won't even have to get out of bed, just pick them up and put them in bed with me! The baby will also be nice and safe. When we co-slept with Malachi it was hard to sleep because I was always afraid of rolling into him or I was worried that Peter (the heavy sleeper) would elbow him since I have been the recipient of an elbow on more than one occasion :) This set up should work well for the first few months until baby starts to roll over and hopefully by then, Malachi will be in his new big boy room and we will be able to shift this little one into the nursery.

Another thing I noticed after setting this up is that if we have a girl, we will need to do some serious pink shopping :) We really didn't want to spend anymore money on bedding or receiving blankets so for now we are using what we have - hey, we have a 50/50 chance that blue is the right color!

My goal this week is to get most of the hospital bag packed. I have a good list and just need to gather all the things together to put in it, make sure all the camera's are charged and ready to go. I also need to get a bag packed for Malachi to have at Grandma's house and I need to make Peter pack a few things and snacks for himself.

In Malachi randomness. I had a horrible dream about him the other night. I was dreaming that for some reason we had to take him back to Ethiopia and leave him there, but someday we would be able to come back for him. It was the worst dream ever and I woke up in an almost panic attack and my heart was racing and I was breathing really heavy but I was so thankful it was just a dream.

After that dream, I took it as a special treat yesterday when he cuddled up with me for a nap. These times are becoming infrequent as he is getting more mobile and independent. Every once and awhile he will fall asleep while eating a bottle, but he really does fall asleep best in his crib. Yesterday I laid down on the couch with him and fed him and he fell right to sleep and we cuddled and slept for a good 30 minutes - it was one of those perfect moments! After the 30 minutes he started moving around a little bit so I figured he would finish his nap best in his crib. Getting off the couch from a lying down position, being almost 9 months pregnant with a 9 month old in my arms proved to be quite the challenge, but I made it up, all by myself :)

Malachi is also entering this new phase where he whines all the time. If he wants picked up, he whines (I am trying to teach him "up"). Instead of saying numnums like he was saying when he wanted to eat, now he whines. His "all done" sign at meals is now accompanied with whines. When he sees a toy across the room he wants, instead of crawling over to it he has to whine WHILE crawling over to it. I know this is just a new phase with him and is totally normal, but it can get really old when you have to listen to it all day.

What else? Today is the end of January and so we are officially one month into the new year and our renewed focus on our finances. We are following Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. It also shouldn't be a coincidence that our focus in church over the month of January was on finances. It definitely helped make me feel like we are on the right track with our thinking.

I cannot even say how blessed we have been in this area. It blows me AWAY and I cannot even explain how we are surviving. While we were in the adoption process, we knew that the ultimate goal was for me to be able to stay at home with our children. While trying to fund the adoption, we were also putting away money to make that dream a reality. We knew that for at least one year, we would be unable to make it just on Peter's income and would have to take money out of savings every month to survive. Well, here we are and somehow in this new year of new focus on our finances - we are somehow not living in the red anymore! I say all this just to show how much God really does provide for all of our needs - even when it doesn't make sense that we are somehow surviving! It is mind blowing to me!

So our main two goals for this year on the Dave Ramsey Plan were to: #1 - Pay off the Jeep #2 -- Start to get 6 months of income in savings

For our Goal #1 - We were able to pay a significant amount towards this goal in January. We are to the point that we are just going to pay the normal monthly payment for what looks like 2 more months and then the car payment will be GONE! So happy about this!!! I can't wait to be debt free!!!

Goal #2 - It appears that the IRS is really going to bless us on this one and we should be able to accomplish this goal (or be very close) in the next few months. MEETING this goal was never even on our radar this year as it typically takes about 2 years to accomplish this goal. Another awesome thing about this one is that 6 months income is pretty darn close to 3/4 of what we would need for another adoption and we would never hesitate to empty our savings when God says it is time to bring home another child!

In our wildest dreams, I don't think we considered that we could be in this place right now where by the middle of this year we could be working on paying off our last debt (a school loan). But it would be amazing and it is looking like it could be a reality!

Hmm, so what else in randomness? I am just in a total nesting mode. I want to get everything cleaned and put away and organized, but I know there is just not enough time left to get all my projects done so I am hoping to just be able to get things cleaned and mostly organized and possibly be working on some projects by the time this little one is done baking. I guess it just depends on how much longer this baby is going to keep cooking........

The Ones Left Behind

There is a part of our time in Ethiopia that I haven't really spoken all that much about. A point in the blog writing that it just became too painful for me to continue on with the rest of our journey and time in Ethiopia. I couldn't think up the right words and so I just moved on and talked about the unicorns and rainbows in our life.

But try as I might to ignore, or at least push aside these feeling and thoughts, my mind will not let me forget. The images are still present in my mind and my brain is constantly thinking about the one's left behind. I feel like I am in a completely helpless place right now. I am pregnant therefore we can't adopt again. We have very limited funds so I can't give as much as I would like to. So what is left of me? For now, I try to remember the words that Almaz, the director of Hannah's Hope gave to us. "You are not here to save Ethiopia. At this time, you are here for your child and to take him or her home and love them." But it just doesn't feel like enough.

When we arrived in Ethiopia, we spent the first several days at Hannah's Hope - the transition home that Malachi spent 3 months at. It was a very clean place, the special mother's were incredible, and the babies had every little need met. You hardly heard a baby cry because the second they let out a whimper, a special mother was there to meet that need.

At some point in our trip, we went on a little trip to an orphanage. Specifically the orphanage that all of our little one's spent some time at before going to Hannah's Hope. Since we were in Ethiopia over the rainy season, we had to park in the middle of like a freeway and walk up the hill to the orphanage.

We were amused to see these boys playing soccer with a water bottle. Soccer is such a big deal and it was very common to see kids kicking some sort of object around.

We walked up this muddy road and I remember trying to make sure I didn't slip and fall as I had Malachi in my arms.

As we entered the gates of the orphanage, it was very apparent that this place just did not have the funds that Hannah's Hope had.

We got a brief tour of the facilities. It is also very apparent that this place does not have the staffing that Hannah's Hope has, but they are truly doing the best with what they are given. I still remember distinctly the smells of this place. They were trying to keep the facilities clean, and had even minutes before we arrived mopped some of the floors but there was still a very strong odor. They were preparing lunch for the kids while we were there. Here they are making Injera.

Then it was time to meet the kids. Now we have all seen images of orphans, and we all know they are out there in this world, but having them physically right in front of you wanting you to just touch them. To have them look you in the eyes where it seems like they are wondering if you came for them - I don't know how put the words together to even say how hard it was.

We walked into the room where all of the toddlers were and they just came swarming our travel group. They had their arms up and open and were begging to be picked up. I had Malachi in my arms so I couldn't hold them, beyond just touching their hands. I hated that I couldn't do more. I will never forget the little girl who latched on to Peter's pant legs, like she was claiming him. How I wish we could have scooped her up (and a few more) and brought them home with us.

The biggest difference between this place and Hannah's Hope though, was that the majority of the children at Hannah's Hope had family coming for them. At the orphanage, all the children were waiting. They had no families coming for them.

Then it was time to eat. All the kids sat down and when the food came they were ravenous!

This little one melted my heart. He or she ate so much food, like they would never get to eat another meal again. That always makes you wonder about their story. This kid ate like 3 full bowls of food and then was finishing off other kids food. It was so good to see that they didn't cut him/her off though. They kept refilling the bowl until this little one decided they had enough. The children are taken care of to the best of the orphanages ability!

But it was still hard to look into the faces of the waiting and know that there is nothing that you can do in that moment to get them into families.

I just cannot forget about the millions upon millions who are waiting.

And in reality, I don't want to forget.

It is so hard to know that not every child will get a family. That outside of Ethiopia there are millions more all around the world, even in my hometown that are also waiting.

There is not much we can do right now for these kids, but we do what we can. You can't forget the faces of the waiting, it is impossible. I have found what my heart beats for and what my passion and obsession is - Doing something - advocating, praying, giving, going, adopting those that wait.

These are just a few of the faces. The number of orphans in this world is truly beyond comprehension. As I kiss and snuggle Malachi and see him smile at me, I still think of the ones who don't know what it feels like to be adored by a mom and dad.

If you have ever considered adoption, I challenge you to read "Adopted for Life" by Russell D Moore and pray about being mom and dad to a child who is waiting. In adoption, at first we thought we were making a difference by being a mom and a dad and providing a home to a child that needed it. But in reality, we are the ones that are completely changed. We were the ones that received the biggest blessing of our lives.

35 Weeks

Seriously!!! 35 weeks - our new little addition will be here before we know it!!!

How far along: 35 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 23 lbs
Maternity clothes: For sure!
Sleep: Well, I am now up to 4, sometimes 5 pillows. I toss and turn a lot and wake up with horrible heartburn in the middle of the night. I also get calf cramps and restless legs and have more frequent bathroom trips. So, I am getting less and less sleep every night.
Food cravings/aversions: The cravings are increasing in severity and are really random. Recently I have craved Sonic Ice a lot. I have also craved cupcakes, cereal, cheeseburgers, Mt Dew, cookies and cream kisses, ice cream sundaes - pretty much anything and everything that I am not supposed to be eating right now.
Gender: Maybe a little more to the boy side than the girl side, but it is getting harder to guess the closer we get!
Movement: Baby has been head down for awhile now so the kicks are all coming in my ribs. But recently I think the baby has dropped so the rib kicks have gone away for the most part and kicks in general are becoming less frequent. For the most part I feel rolls and pokes and jitter movements and full body flips (which can hurt!).
Best moment: Really getting close to the big day and getting to prep for it. Getting the house ready for the baby, ordering the crib, organizing and washing baby clothes, visiting the hospital. It all helps make it real!
What I miss: Everyday I have a new ache and pain. Moving around is getting more difficult. Even sitting on the floor and changing Malachi's diaper can be a challenge. I also have a lot of new pains in my tailbone and pelvis as it seems like baby has dropped.
I am looking forward to: The big day! We are so close and I can't wait to meet my little boy or girl!
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy it, because it goes so so fast. I am trying to soak up every kick and movement because I may never get to feel this again.

Milestones: 87.5% of the way there, but really in 2 weeks they would allow me to deliver if I go into labor. I have no idea if I will see my due date but I am guessing not as most doctors do not want you to go that far with gestational diabetes.

In other baby news. We had our hospital tour this weekend and I left very happy with all my questions answered and just getting to see what is going to happen and where I will be was great! I had ideas in my head of the ideal situation and after seeing the hospital and hearing what they are about I really feel so good as it lines up almost completely with what I want!

Okay so one final picture of dear sweet Malachi. I won't lie though - this morning was NOT all sugar and spice. The kid got up really early and was really whiny and I was going nuts as I really value my sleep right now :) I took care of him, but then he wanted to be really clingy when I was trying to take care of myself and so I put him in his jumper (Thank you God that he still fits and loves that thing!) so that I could get something to eat. So he was happily playing in it as we really don't put him in there all that often anymore. Pretty soon, I noticed his head bobbing and his eyes closed.

So the poor boy was still tired and was out cold in the Jumper. The funniest thing though and I wish I would have grabbed the video camera instead of the still camera because as soon as he heard the camera click he popped his head up, opened his eyes, and started jumping really hard! It was very funny and cute! Hopefully the day will go smoother after he gets up from his nap!

Appointments

Today both Malachi and I had doctor's appointments.

We started our morning off with Malachi going in for his 9 month check-up. He continues to follow the upper trend on the charts. He is now 30 1/4" long which leaves him way up in the 97% for height. He is also 23 lbs 12 oz which puts him in the 90% for weight. He is in perfect proportion and the doctor agrees that he is probably going to be a tall one!

Otherwise it was pretty uneventful. He is doing great developmentally and is right on target and even a little ahead in some areas! They don't typically do shots at the 9 month visit but we had to get a few to get him caught up. Now he is right where he should be with vaccines and we will be on the "normal" chart from here on. He was not a fan of getting looked at by the doctor so I had to hold him for most of it. He got upset when she looked in his ears and really did not like it when I had to lay him on the table for part of it. He definitely wanted mommy and yet again, it was no fun for baby or me to have to deal with the shot part.

I had my appointment this afternoon. Things are still going perfectly. I am doing a great job of controlling the gestational diabetes. The baby is measuring a little small at 32 weeks instead of 34 but I guess that isn't of concern since those measurements can be off. The heartbeat was in the 140's and baby is head down and may have even dropped. So everything seems to be progressing just as it should!

The baby is totally up in my ribs and it HURTS. We are definitely running out of room and I am starting to get really uncomfortable. When I sit I can't breathe and it pushes him/her farther up into my ribs and causes more pain. Being reclined or standing seems to be the most comfortable. I love this kid dearly, but I really would appreciate if s/he would move down a little more. But I am sure that the baby is just as uncomfortable as I am.

So there is our update on how our appointments went. I think we both passed with flying colors ;)