God has a Plan!

And His plan is best for us! So Jonathan and I went and saw Dr. Galloway Monday at 4, bags packed and ready to head over to the hospital. Well things were slammed and he did tell us to wait one more day. So he called the hospital and told them to schedule my induction for Tuesday morning so that we could get this little one here! Main reason being my blood pressure had gone up a little bit. Other than that no need for concern and all else looked great. So a little disappointed we returned home but I had a bit of a feeling we would be anyway. So Tuesday came and again we prepared to go to the hospital without question. So about we went him to town and walked the mall for a bit and then headed to borders to kill the rest of the time before we met some friends for dinner. At about 5:00 Jonathan gets a missed call that he did not recognize (my phone had died) and we decided to call it back. Sure enough it was the birthing center. I first spoke to a nurse on the floor who explained that 3 people had walked in in labor and they had absolutely no room for me and wanted me to experience the best care possible and asked me to come in the next evening. Then the supervisor of the hospital (who knows my mom) also wanted to speak to me and explain the situation and reassure me that they only wanted me to have the best care and they could not do that in a teeny tiny triage room. My main concern was had they spoken with Dr. Galloway because he had a bit of concern about my blood pressure. They said they had and then we hung up. Well of course right in the middle of borders the river starts flowing (not my bag of water;), I started bawling. Of course Jonathan immediately got very upset with the whole situation (our main concern being our daughters health). Which she is just fine, but it did not help that I quoted off a statistic I heard on a Baby Story the morning before about a high number of unexplained fetal deaths in overdue babies. So of course he immediately is on the defense. So he wanted me to personally call Dr. Galloway (I was in NO shape to do so, nor was I about to call my doctor crying about not getting to go to the hospital that night) and communicate to him I had heard from the hospital. I was uneasy doing that so I came up with a plan to check my blood pressure since that was the main concern. The last thing I wanted us to do was turn around and go home and worry that here goes another day that my BP could be going up and her health might decline. So we head over to Target not sure if they still had their machine or not. However, a sweet friend is one of the pharmacist over there and we asked her if she could take my blood pressure. In the office the other day it was around 130/80 and when she checked it was 147/99. So I called my mom (who actually got the call about the hospital situation before we had because my phone had died) and told her. She immediately called Dr. Galloway who said he wanted me to go in right away for some testing. So we headed to the hospital and visited the one and only triage room available and began the hour long process of blood drawing, blood pressure taking and heart and contraction monitoring. Praise the Lord all turned out just fine. My BP had gone down (now I know how to make it sky rocket, just hysterically cry) and my labs turned out fine. The nurse was so sweet and we talked with her about checking the schedule for tomorrow so that we don't end up in the same situation. However I have to say it was very interesting watching the hosptial/doctor dynamics. They are definitely two separately functioning entities. So the nurse calls Dr. galloway back letting him know all was fine, but he tells her he wants me in first thing in the morning (of course all beds would still be full). She proceeds to tell him how that would not be a good idea as they only have the triage bed that I would be in all day until another bed opened etc. They go back and forth and finally Dr. Galloway says, please ask the patient what she would like to do and go from there. So nurse comes back and tells me all this and adds in she has birthed 3 children and having to labor in that bed would be miserable but it was up to me. So we asked what the chances of us being bumped again were and she ensured we with no doubt would be coming in tonight at 8:00 to stay. I asked her how long they keep bumping until they have to start and induction and she said 41 weeks and we are there baby! So as a formality we are calling this afternoon to make sure all is still good and God willing, because he has surly shown us His will this week (which we have peace about and know is best) we will head in tonight. Main reason we did not opt to go this morning is because the idea is to sleep through the cervidil and labor during the day. I would hate laboring through the night (which may still happen, but at least not by our own doing). So that is where we are, just waiting on God to bring this sweet little girl into our lives. We just can't wait to meet her.

The Plan

Well by the time you are reading this it will be Monday. I will have started my first day of maternity leave today and will be visiting Dr. Galloway around 4:00 for my scheduled weekly appointment with him. He should be sending me on my way to the hospital from the appointment seeing that they are not over booked. I was originally supposed to go Sunday evening, but he had 2 inductions already booked and called me back to push it back to Monday evening. That being said if all is well we will check in tonight to start cervidil and get hopefully a descent nights rest and then begin an induction Tuesday morning. I will keep you updated via the blog so keep checking back!

Still no sign of labor anywhere around...

Happy Birthday Husband

Today has been a very special day. 29 Years ago at 8:05 am my precious husband entered this world at 7 lbs 12oz and 21 in long. To think even then God knew we would be joined in marriage and on this day be expecting the arrival of our first child. We got up this morning as we usually do on Saturday's and Jonathan had a gift from Emersyn waiting on him (he got the new iphone a couple weeks ago from "me"). We had a yummy IHOP breakfast and then off to relax until the family came over to celebrate his B-day with a cookout, Ginny's yummy cake and ice cream. We will be ending our day meeting some very dear friends for coffee this evening. I wanted today to be very special for Jonathan since Emersyn will be here soon. Today was her offical due date, but she must of wanted her daddy to have all the glory today because she is showing no signs of leaving my womb with a vacancy! Although it would have been such a neat birthday present and Jonathan would have loved it, I'm not sure how much fun it would have been for him to be a nervous wreck in a delivery room his entire birthday. Not to mention that we know God will put her in our arms when he is ready. But back to Jonathan, we could not be more blessed to have such a wondeful man in our lives. Every day he wakes up he works so hard for our family and seeks God's direction when it comes to his leadership over our family. He is so much fun to be around and keeps me laughing especially when I don't feel like it. I love his gentle spirit and pray that our daughter inherits that from her daddy. Every day my love grows deeper for the man that God has put in my life and look forward to sharing many more of his birthdays with him!

We love you Jonathan! Love, Anne Marie and Emersyn

Troll Feet

So these are my troll feet! After a long day of work I come home to feet/legs like this. They are so swollen my skin is stretched to its limits. From my toes to my knees my legs are rock hard full of water. About a month ago I could get them to go down some with my anti embolism socks and water aerobics. But when school started back 3 weeks ago water aerobics went out the window and I was up on my feet a lot and not even the socks worked any more. I have been drinking water like it is going out of style since I started work b aAlso before you worry about how swollen they are my doctor has kept a very close eye on me and my blood pressure checks out PERFECTLY every time I go to see him. I just retain water like a well! Even before I was pregnant I easily bloated so I am sure this is just my usual bloating times 10 due to the current tenant I am carrying around.

And yes, it is pretty uncomfortable and imboilizing...I had to have Jonathan help me put my pants on this morning because I can hardly bend my legs :(

Letting Go, But gaining so much!

So for most of you that know me you know I stay insanely busy. I mean so busy that from January to May of the past 5 years my husband and I don't even eat dinner at home. I have been the head coach of the girls soccer program technically for the past 3 years. It has been wonderful and rewarding with as much success as we have had with the program as well as a lot of fun. But every year it takes a huge toll on our family as far as time is concerned. So this summer Jonathan and I started talking about what was going to be best for our family concerning soccer and our sweet new addition. In the past year I have been coaching both high school soccer as well as academy soccer. High school goes day and night from January through May. Academy is only 2 nights a week plus a game on the weekend. Put those two together and a pregnancy on top of it, it will make anyone consider their priorites. So we sat down and weighed out the pros and cons of all this soccer business and we decided that it would be best that I let go of high school soccer for now. I have never felt so relieved to just focus on our family. Yes, it will require me to become more diciplined in my spending as well as with my time (since I love filling it). One of the biggest things that really helped us make the decision is that while I would be coaching soccer Emersyn would be sitting up, crawling, and possibly walking if she walks when her daddy did at 9 months. Most of the high school season is in freezing weather, so it would not be ideal to have her out at the games for the majority of the season. I feel like the moral of the story is when you follow God's call to devote yourself to your family the way he designed a mother and wife to, making decisions like this one was pretty simple. I will miss it I am sure, but not being the head coach does not mean that I can't support the team and get to view the game from the bleachers and enjoy it for once from a much less stressful perspective. Every one has been incredibly supportive from our athletic director to other administrators. All were so encouraging about our decision which helped make things a lot easier. I have really enjoyed being the head coach and I know that regardless of who gets the privlidge of that position that if God wants me to return to it one day he will work it all out! But there is a small part of me that also wants to sit back and enjoy Emersyn getting to play sports/dance or whatever God has in store for her.

38 1/2 Weeks

Today I had a visit with Dr. Galloway and here are our stats:

• Still 1 cm
• Emersyn's head is at a -2 station (he said was great) and of course head down
• Heartbeat was strong
• Other measurements were great!

That being said again he did tell me it could still be a week or two or she could deliver tonight :) So she is keeping mommy and daddy in suspense which for now is ok with us. I was so thankful I was not discouraged by the news, I know it can get discouraging for people this late in the game. Or maybe I was ok with it all since I had a little break down yesterday about how I can't bend over any more, can't reach my feet, can barely get up from a sitting position etc. But I know there is light at the end of the tunnel and boy are we going to be so excited when she gets here!

I am still working and planning on working right up until she gets here so that I get to cherish every moment off of work with her. Work could not be going better. I am co-teaching all 3 periods and absolutely LOVE my co-teacher and we REALLY like our students!

So we will keep you posted!

Coming Home Outfit, Build A Bear, and a Nursing Cover

Coming Home Outfit

I wanted to bring Emersyn home in something sweet and feminin, but something that fit her too. It's vain, but I can't stand when a babies clothes hang off them. So I found this little number at Dillards on clearance for $12. I also found the booties there, but not on clearance :( but they were not very expensive. The beautiful monogramed bracelet came from Katie and she will wear it home too!

Build A Bear

Introducing Kitty Bear! Jonathan and I were given a gift card to make Emersyn a "Build A Bear" from my sweet U9 Academy Soccer girls. They gave us a recording device, hearts with all the girls names and soccer #'s, her outfit and the gift card to pick the actual bear. So we went last weekend and made Kitty Bear for Emersyn. We recorded a cute saying from both me and Jonathan, "Mommy and Daddy Love You"! It was kinda cheesy but at least it was done with love :) Then comes the part where you have to pick a name. You should have heard our conversation...it went something like this:

Jonathan: Lets name her fluffy.
Me: No that's like a dogs name. How about naming her Lola.

Jonathan: Are you out of your mind, that won't work.

Me and Jonathan: uuummmmmm.

Then we decided we would call her Kitty like Boo from Monsters Inc. called Sully. We added Bear so that she does not completely get her animals mixed up :) LOL!

Nursing Cover

I decided to get crafty rather than spend a ton of $$$ purchasing a nursing cover. I thought just how bad could it be. I did however consider buying a pattern from Etsy for $6 but again decided that sewing a square was not worth $6 to have someone else say here is how you sew a square. So I bought this fabric a while back ago and new I wanted to use it for something...a nursing cover. It was quite simple to sew and I kinda like it a little more than what I have seen in stores. So whala, a cute cover that I plan to make a burp cloth to go along with )

1st Day Back

So Yesterday my last day of real summer break was pretty well spent. It started with a visit to Dr. Galloway who informed me after a very uncomfortable exam that I was 1cm dilated with a softened cervix, but that I could easily go another 2 weeks. At this point I would love to meet our sweet baby soon, but I know in my heart that God's timing for her is best... so Im choosing to find joy in my suffering. Ok its not really suffering it's just His way of getting me ready to birth this baby:) My flesh calls it suffering. I will see Dr. Galloway again next Monday and hope to see some progress because school is officially in (more on that in a minute). After my appointment I met one of my truest and best friends Katie for lunch at our long time favorite...Hudsons! It was yum. Then we drove out to my house so she could see the nursery. It was a great last day of summer!

So today marks our first day back and to say the least it was not bad at all. The number one thing I dreaded were all the gualking (sp?) faces and comments to follow like... "you haven't had that baby yet", "you look like your gonna drop that baby", and "are you sure there is only one in there". Yes all these comments and more were made today. Mostly I gave very direct answers and kept convo to a minimum. I didn't want to go all pregnant on someone who for the most part (in their minds) is making an innocent comment. So I stayed in my room for the most part of the day which was nice. I'll be doing that until I go into labor.

Speaking of funny comments here is a silly story to end with, people just cant resist speaking their minds to pregnant women. It really cracks me sometime when Im in the mood. So Jonathan and I ran to the mall tonight to get some shirts for him to wear to work and we were in belk and this woman from behind us (who we never made eye contact with in the first place to even engage in a conversation) says "you don't have much longer do you?" I responded no. She asked what we were having and I told her a girl. She said "oh you guys are in big trouble, I still can't get my 24 year old son out of the house" she goes on to tell us how his friends even asked him to move in to an apt. with them and he said no because why would he leave home where there is not rent, bills and the food is free. Now at this point you can imagine what is running through our minds. She followed us all the way in belk and down the escalator and her parting words were "yall take care of that baby now." I wish you could of seen Jonathan's face. It was priceless.

Well that is it for now. Prayers for a smooth transition back into the "real" world would be so appreciated, especially as time for our Emersyn draws near :)