As I am writing this post, I AM HUNGRY!! I am not going to lie, my dinner was not exactly filling and I need to go to sleep soon before the pantry is raided!

Dropping pregnancy weight is a pain. I’ve still got 14.4 pounds to go to reach my pre-baby weight, and I feel like it shouldn’t be taking this long. Oh well!! It is surprising just how out of shape you can become after giving birth.

Tonight I shocked myself and did something I don’t ever recall doing: opted against doing our Friday night ritual–ordering pizza from Papa Johns–and worked out instead. Yeah, I’m still feeling sticky and gross, but triumphant!

Are any of you trying to get back in shape? How is it going? Have you surprised yourself lately?!

© 2010, Amy. All rights reserved.

Miss Hannah Katherine!!

Yes! She arrived (early)! Since I am holding the most perfect little girl, I will condense the details into a list (i.e. I am so very tired!!).

1. I casually went in for one of my twice-weekly non-stress tests when the doctors discovered she didn’t have enough amniotic fluid. Recommendation from the high-risk doctor: go upstairs now to Labor and Delivery for induction.

2. I didn’t have family in town, so I coordinated Jackson’s care for the next couple of days as I went out to my car to get my “to go” bags.

3. Once upstairs I texted my husband that we were, in fact, going to have a baby that day.

4. My doula met me at the hospital, and before midnight I had a new child.

**Skipping very painful and INTENSE memories from my drug-free labor.**

5. She weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19 inches long. Perfectly healthy. Perfectly healthy!!

6. Juno (our yellow lab) was very curious about our new family member…

7. But Jackson could not have been LESS interested (in Hannah or me) because he was loving on Mandy.

8. The night after we returned from the hospital, my husband returned from deployment to be with us for several days.

9. The night after we returned from the hospital, my husband returned from deployment to be with us for several days!!!!!!!!

10. Aside from exhaustion, this is as good as it gets!

© 2010, Amy. All rights reserved.

A couple days ago I had an ultrasound with a high-risk doctor to see what we could determine about Hannah’s growth. Just to bring you up to speed–they have been monitoring her growth A LOT over the past couple months to make sure that she is developing properly.

I was so nervous about this appointment. When they took my blood pressure, it was higher than normal, and I explained to the nurse that I was very anxious about this visit. Before meeting with the doctor, tears welled up several times because my emotions really couldn’t be contained any longer. This was the appointment that had been in red on my calendar for two and a half weeks.

The doctor met with me and performed an ultrasound (even though the tech had done one 10 minutes prior), so I was even more concerned. The images revealed that her head and belly are still very small. Her head measurements were in the 2nd and 5th percentile, and her belly is in the 2nd. But get this–her legs are in the 80th??! As my friend Debbi says, “Well, maybe she’ll be a Rockette!!”

The doctor said they couldn’t get an accurate image because her head was so low. He insisted that he did not see any warning signs that something is wrong. Even though he didn’t expect a problem, he wants to induce next week. It is really exciting to know that we won’t have a new member of our family next week!!

No one has explained to me why her head and belly images are so tiny, or what it could mean if they are wrong and she really is that small. This is where I give up my attempt at controlling the situation and ask for God’s help. There really isn’t anything else I can do at this point. Please keep sweet Hannah in your prayers over the next week.

Since I would like for it to be a natural birth, I am faced with trying to get my body ready for labor without actually putting myself into labor. My midwife and doula both suggested Evening Primrose Oil, but I would love to hear your suggestions for preparing the body for labor (i.e. I don’t want to go from 0-10 in one day).

So how about sending some prayers and free child-birthing advice:)

© 2010, Amy. All rights reserved.

I AM ZONKED!!!

But I love you and can’t stay away from my site for too long!! The past two days have been spent, more or less, in the triage section of Labor and Delivery. The threat of induction has been thrown around several times in the past couple days, but right now she’s growing in my belly. And that’s where mama wants her to be for now.

This afternoon I had another ultrasound where we could see that she’s put on a little weight (YAY!), so her weight is not a huge deal. But her head and belly measurements are still very low. Next week I will begin a twice weekly routine of non-stress tests to monitor her heart rate.

Overall–good news and I expect more good news in the coming weeks.

Thank you so much for your kind comments and emails. You sure do know how to make a girl feel loved!

© 2010, Amy. All rights reserved.

Admittedly, the past couple of days have been a little hard for me. The more I tried to understand Hannah’s Intrauterine Growth Restriction, the more that sadness seeped in. I realized that I didn’t understand the doctor correctly when she called with that news.

But if you know me, you know I am a pretty strong optimist. There is no room for gloom and doom in my life at this time. So I got out a few good cries and concentrated on the sunshine that did not relent this weekend. Here are those bright spots.

Jackson recently learned how to hug. He likes to practice when I pull him out of the bath and he is cuddling closer for warm and dryness.

Then yesterday afternoon my Sunday School group threw a baby shower for me. I have loads of cute photos, but I can’t seem to get them from camera to my computer. (Tonight my husband received an email with this complaint saying I hoped he would like iPhone pics of Hannah when she’s first born!!) He will undoubtedly fix this problem and the pictures will be posted soon.

Then my dear friend, Tammy, and her husband came over this afternoon to build Hannah’s crib and dresser. Since I’ve never really built furniture, I didn’t know this would take several hours! I felt so badly having her husband slave over my nursery furniture (on Father’s Day, no less), but I was anxious to have the nursery complete that I didn’t stop him. After they left, I ironed and added her bedding. Here are a couple shots of the crib.

When the weekend began, I was definitely “poor in spirit,” but later decided to focus on the blessings.

What were you up to this weekend??

© 2010, Amy. All rights reserved.