A Night at the Hospital...

God truly is good.

I have had some serious nausea the past four days (including throwing up Thanksgiving morning...yum!). I was worried that I may be getting Third Trimester morning sickness. But, when I woke up yesterday morning after sleeping 13 hours and still feeling like I couldn't get out of bed, I had a fever, and I was throwing up again...I knew it was something else. My lower abdomen was cramping like it hasn't cramped since before I was pregnant and some of the discomfort wrapped around to my lower back. I thought I just had some tummy troubles. My friend Jamie recommended I call my OB to make sure it wasn't something else.
I called Dr. Levin's answering service last night and literally within a minute, I was on the phone with her! (Reassuring!) She had me describe what was going on and she advised me to go ahead and go to Labor and Delivery at my hospital to make sure I wasn't having contractions. Hearing the words "Labor and Delivery" is NOT something that a 30-week pregnant woman wants to hear! After a slight freak-out moment (what did I do wrong? what's going on? what if...?) I called Steve who turned his car around immediately and took me to the hospital. (I spoiled his Spurs vs. Rockets evening...sorry, love!)
We got to the hospital and in no time they had me hooked up to monitors--one to monitor Malachi's heart rate and one to monitor contractions. It turns out that I was in fact having contractions but I wasn't in labor. Praise God!! My doctor said that I must have a stomach virus and was dehydrated from that. Sometimes with a stomach virus and all the things that go on from that inside your stomach, your body responds by having contractions. I wasn't in labor or anything, praise the Lord, but at least now I know what contractions feel like (for when it really is time). They were going to keep me overnight for observation but because Malachi was so active (he wouldn't stop showing off for them), they said he was unaffected by my virus and the contractons. Yay, Malachi! She sent me home to rest, drink gallons upon gallons of Gatorade, and keep watching my little man move and groove. I see her for my 30-week appointment on Monday so I will keep you posted from there.
I must say that my wonderful husband was amazing yet again and didn't complain once about how we had to spend our Saturday night. He was supportive and encouraging the entire time and made me feel like nothing was going to go wrong. Thank you, Steve. I love you more than you realize.

Diabetes...or no Diabetes...that is the question!

Well, all of the results are in from my Gestational Diabetes test and everything looks great! Anything over 180 would be questionable for little Malachi, but my blood came back in at a nice 72. No worries here...bring on the pie at Thanksgiving!!

This time last year, I was working on losing 40 pounds so Thanksgiving didn't have as exciting a ring to it. When I realized I would be pregnant at Thanksgiving, I got really excited. Finally...I can completely gorge myself and have a great excuse to!! Unfortunately, my plan has not played out as I had envisioned it. As Mr. Malachi continues to take up more and more room in my body, that leaves less and less room for me to fill it up with food. So, this year I will simply eat until he's full...and lucky for me, he is hungry again in a few hours!! :)

I hope you all have an extremely fantastic Thanksgiving and find more in your life to be thankful for this year than last. I know the easy answer for me is "Malachi!", but I think above that, I am thankful for and completely astounded by God's faithfulness over the past year (and that, of course, includes my little Malachi). So enjoy the turkey, dressing, and ungodly amounts of pie!

rockets and tattoos

I (dad) thought it was important to show you Malachi's sweet threads. This first one is what he's going to rock coming home for the hospital. Except we got him some baby J's to go w/it instead of the Rockets shoes.

I also found a picture of what Malachi is projected to look like as a baby, although he'll be much darker. Don't hate.

Good times. I'll probably get in trouble for the tattoo picture. haha!

28 Weeks and Getting Closer...

Today was our 28 week (and three days) check-up. Today was the Gestational Diabetes Test. Everything seems to be right in order with my little Malachi. His heart was beating strong and after the glucose water I had to drink, he was a busy little baby all day long! I get the results from the test in a few days so I will let you know what the outcome is. The only drawback I am having from the test today is a crazy headache that won't go away with good ol' Tylenol (practically the only medicine you can take while you're pregnant). As soon as we got home from the doctor, Steve and I got in bed and took ourselves a little nap. Well, Steve's nap was little...he had to get to work. My nap, however, had me black out for about two hours! :)

I still have my headache, but I guess it's a small price to pay to make sure my baby is ok. I wanted to post my preggo pictures so you all can have a little fun watching the belly grow! So, for your viewing and comparing pleasure...here they are...

20 weeks

24 weeks

and now, 28 weeks!

Today also marked the point where I begin seeing the doctor every other week (WHICH IS EXCITING!!). It's as if I'm ACTUALLY having a baby soon....haha. Thanks again for wanting to ride along side of us during this process! We hope that this blog makes you feel a part!

Unworthy,
Molly

We're getting closer...

Well, according to all the books I'm currently reading, Malachi entered his third and final trimester last week and weighs around 2 1/2 pounds. As of today (Saturday), I am 28 weeks along!! I can't believe it's been 28 weeks already! The first trimester was sickly and a tad miserable at times so it went by incredibly slow. The second trimester just passed me by! If this is how fast the third goes, he will be here before the paint in his room is dry!

We go back to Dr. Levin Monday morning for the infamous Gestational Diabetes Test. Yay! I get to drink the lovely concoction of sugar my doctor has prepared for me! :) (Can you sense the sarcasm?!) Joking aside, I am very glad that they have the tests they do now so that possible complications can be avoided. I will update the blog as soon as we get the test results back from the doctor. Oh, I will also be posting the comparison photos (20 weeks, 24 weeks, 28 weeks...)

I must say that I honestly don't know how people go through pregnancy and don't believe in God. The sheer fact that all of these intricate details MUST fall into place in order for this beautiful baby to even exist is proof enough for me. Also, the faith it takes to trust that "The Lord will fulfill His purpose" for the life inside of me has been truly humbling. Seeing the beauty of such a loving God fleshed out in such a tangible way is truly amazing and my honor to (literally) carry it. I pray with confidence now like never before and I honestly feel that it is due to Malachi. He has taught me so much about my relationship with God that I can't even begin to describe it. I pray that this is God's purpose for the rest of his life--and He will fulfill it!

Unworthy,
Molly