It's a. . .

GIRL!!

Baby Update

Tomorrow I will already be 20 weeks along in this pregnancy!  And tomorrow we have an ultrasound!  So, what do you think: pink or blue?  My first hunch was boy, but Noah says girl.  (Yes, my two year old does have an opinion.  Every time I have asked he says, "girl baby."  I think he wants a girl like his little cousin. :)  I will be thrilled either way!  I love love love my boy and would gladly take another one and I think it would be fun for Noah to have a brother, but I'll admit that sometimes after talking about nothing but lawnmowers, cars, and buses all day long that I think how nice it would be to have a little girl. :) 
These past couple weeks I have finally started to feel better.  Hooray!  Amazing how much more you can get accomplished when you don't constantly feel like throwing up.  I was also having crazy hip pain already; I don't know if it was just how Baby was positioned or what, but that started to go away on its own and then I started going to the chiropractor and thankfully that is gone too.  Actually, between not feeling sick, getting my thyroid medication dose adjusted, and going to the chiropractor, I feel better than I have in a long time!
So far everything has been looking good for both me and Baby at doctor's appointments.  Even if I was to have preeclampsia again, nothing would show up this early, but I still feel that sense of relief each time I hear everything looks good.  Really the only thing different between this pregnancy and a "normal" one so far has been needing to get my TSH checked more often for my thyroid.  The change will come once we hit 25/26 weeks; then I will start going in for weekly appointments and ultrasounds.  That is the point when my blood pressure just barely started to go up last time.  (My blood pressure is usually really low so the numbers themselves weren't scary.  And then nothing else really happened until everything happened.  I guess when it comes to medical things I am quite dramatic.)  The only "prevention" they can do is to watch me closely, so that is the plan.  (I try not to think about the fact that isn't really that far away and everything could change at that point...)
Hoping and praying to see a big, healthy baby tomorrow and a glimpse at whether Noah will have a brother or a sister!!  (Noah was already measuring small at this point; at the time it was just considered that he was "on the small side" but now we know that it was because he was already growth restricted and not as healthy as he should have been.) 
Check back tomorrow for pink or blue! :)

March for Babies 2012

The March for Babies this year was another awesome day!  I just love how laid back the event in our area is and an "it is what you make of it" kind of thing.  (This year for me that meant that I felt the need to make shirts for everyone and put it off until the last minute and then caught a cold... oh well.)  For us it is a fun day together as a family, a way to give back, and something definitive to celebrate Noah.  (We celebrate him every day, but it is still fun to have an actual event once in a while.)
I know looking at Noah today it is easier to put to the side things like March of Dimes and all that "medical stuff" because there is just no way to tell by looking at him that those things were such a significant part of his early life.  But the truth is many stories don't go like Noah's has.  I was reminded and saddened by that at the march this year as I realized how many families walk in memory of a baby instead of in celebration of.  There is always an "ambassador family" at the March for Babies events and the family this year was one who had a preemie in the NICU, got to bring her home, and then lost her a few months later to SIDS.  And many of the babies started out bigger and healthier than Noah did.  He really is an amazing little guy and preemie success story and we are just so, so thankful.
And now for some pictures. :)

Team Noah!

 Display at the march of families' stories.

 

We had fun.

 

Noah LOVED the bouncy house.  Thankfully his cousin (well, technically cousin once removed, but that is just too much of a mouthful for a 2 year old!) Ruth was there to go with him.  She was the best bouncy house buddy ever!

You think he likes her just a little?

 

 Noah and Great-Grandpa, who he calls "Great Grandpa Tractor." (Tractors are one of Noah's very favorite things in case you didn't know.  He has quite the collection.)  He even got a new tractor this time. :)

 It was a super nice day so Noah had to show off his four wheeling skills. 

Those footprints on his shirt are a stencil of his actual footprints from when he was about a month old.  A little more perspective: I was curious and measured Noah's inseam.  It is 14 1/2 inches.  He was 13 long inches when he was born.  This is why we March.

March for Babies

We are excited to be participating the March of Dimes March for Babies event again this year. It is a fun time for our family and a way to try and contribute a little bit toward the fight to end prematurity.
The march is already this weekend and I haven't been nearly annoying enough with my fundraising attempts, so please consider helping out Team Noah! and donating with the easy process at this link:
http://www.marchforbabies.org/NoahsMommy1213
Thank you!

Happy Easter!

Christ is risen!
Or in the words of my very favorite 2 year old,
"Happy news! Jesus is alive!"

Happy Easter from our family!