Hopeful Thoughts

After much fighting with technology (and waiting patiently on my husband’s CRAZY schedule), I FINALLY have pictures to post of our future bundle!

I went for a very early sonogram just after we found out because I wasn’t quite sure how far along we were. So, when we first saw the little darling at only 7 weeks, baby looked like this:

At only 7 mm long, this creature hardly looks like a human child. Not to mention, half of the little blob you see is actually something called the “yolk sack.”

It was hard to believe that merely 9 weeks later, we saw this:

Now, I’m one of those people who can’t see features in these things to save my life, but I can see my baby’s face, hands, shoulder, little legs … what a cutie all curled up with his head in his hands!!! My little darling! I saw the little feet kicking, and the little hands waving, and even the little body squirming away from the pressure of the sonogram thingy. (Sorry, I don’t know what the probe is actually called!) It’s so hard to believe that the little marshmallow from week 7 is now an actual baby shape! In fact, the only thing I didn’t see was the little bottom end that would tell us whether baby is a he or a she. That information was sealed up in an envelope, if you recall from my last post.

Our little darling even has a brain! (Although this is not my favorite shot of baby’s face!)

Mommy is changing, too. We tried last week to get a picture while I was all dressed up, but the lighting was bad and we ran out of time. So, I snapped this shot just to give you an idea. I need my husband to look photogenic, so no face in this one!! This is actually the end of Week 17.

Oh, and if you are dying to know what we found in the envelope, here’s the result:

If you haven’t heard the news, Ryan and I are expecting out first baby in August.

If you already knew that, then you’ve probably also heard about my “antibodies”. Back when they did the blood work at my first pre-natal visit, my midwife discovered an antibody in my blood. After poking me a second time, it was identified as “Anti m”. This was about a month ago. I was told to make an appointment with a specialist in Ft. Worth, but couldn’t get in to see him for another month.

In the meantime, my mother, my PA friend from high school, and I were all online looking for information about this thing that might threaten our unborn baby. There wasn’t really a great deal of information to be found. The best that we could tell was that, as long as the levels were low, it would most likely be no problem. However, there were cases noted where the baby had to have a blood transfusion at delivery.

Today I finally had my appointment with the specialist. After a lengthy sonogram, I know a bit more about what is going on. The levels of antibody were so low that it’s not even active at normal body temperature. In addition, it’s a large antibody that rarely is able to cross the placenta anyway. Not to mention, our little baby has above average blood circulation, which is another great sign!

So, for all of you who were praying, thanks so much! I will have to get blood drawn twice more to check the levels to make sure they are staying down, so we can keep praying for that, but Dr. T doesn’t expect to ever have to see me again! WOOHOO!

Now, if only I can resist the temptation to open the stapled envelope in my purse that holds the answer to yet another question?????

Today I went to a business networking meeting.

I was invited by a friend of mine, who I trust totally. However, I was still quite a bit wary of showing up to a meeting at 8:00 in the morning with a bunch of strangers. Quite honestly, I might have never agreed if we weren’t meeting at one of my favorite breakfast spots!

Now, I’m sold.

It was a bunch of people just like me who are simply trying to get their name out to make a business work. There were people there who need what I can do, and there are people there who can do what I need done. Not to mention, all those people know other people who might need me, too! Those 25 strangers open doors to hundreds of people I would never meet on my own. It’s such a simple concept, but how many of us are willing to sit down with a group of strangers and find out what they do?

I also have new motivation. They collected business cards from everyone at the meeting. Well, I didn’t have any business cards. I had to write my information down on the back of my friend’s old cards! How embarrassing! So, I sat down this afternoon and ordered some. When I go back in two weeks, Hope 4 Math will have a more professional look. I don’t know why it’s taken me 9 months to get that easy task done!

So, if you’re trying to get more business contacts and haven’t tried a networking group before, jump in! I’m so glad I did!

Well, I can’t really say that I’ve been “busy”. I can’t even really say that I have been lazy. It’s probably best to say that I’ve been too preoccupied to blog in recent weeks.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we discovered this:

As you can imagine, this has taken up a great deal of my thoughts and attention. We weren’t exactly surprised. We’ve been married over 6 years and were anticipating the possibility. We just figured it would take a little longer to happen. As I am posting this, I am in my 14th week, and Baby is due to arrive in early August.

Speaking of babies, right after Christmas, I boarded a plane for Michigan to go meet this little guy.

This is my new little nephew who was born December 17th. My intentions were to get there before he popped out on his December 28th due date, but obviously he had other plans!

I spent three weeks with little Jeremiah, his two big sisters, and his momma and daddy. I also was able to see my Mom, Dad, and the dog. It was a relaxing visit, which was nice since I was several weeks pregnant and smack in the middle of the sleepy phase. We celebrated Christmas together. All the boys got hats and the girls got hats with scarves.

Sweet Abigail!

Imaginative Jocelyn

Abby models the hat I made for Mom.

I’ve been home since January 16th. I can’t really say that I’ve done much since. I’m trying to work towards being more productive as opposed to sitting on the couch feeling tired and pregnant. I keep thinking my energy is supposed to come back. I thought that was a benefit of second trimester, but mine has been slow to return. Perhaps one day soon. Until then, I will try to be better about catching up.