Mother's Day 2012

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.  We went to a Naturals baseball game with my Mom and family.  It was an interesting game.  Four times it started pouring rain and we had to run for cover.  We finally left after the last rain delay.  It was definitely memorable though!  We came home and had dinner with Mike's mom.  I spent some of the day just thinking about how blessed I am to be a Mom to all my boys.  I thought about each of them and how special they are to our family.  I can't believe our newest little guy will be here in a few months!  We recently found out that my mom is having some serious health problems, so the day was a little emotional for me.  I know she is strong and will be ok, but I hate what she is facing.  I have never taken my mom for granted, but it is hard not to see her through a different set of eyes now.  I worry about her constantly and just want a perfect outcome for this situation.  We won't know for a few more days what her treatment will be so the waiting is hard.   I know that she is strong and will do great with whatever option she chooses.  I am beyond blessed to have a mom as great as she is!

Josey is 4 years old!

              Josey with his cute litte cookie from almost-Uncle Tommy :)

 Mommy and Josey went to Walmart on his bday.  Of course he had to wear the crown and wanted to buy 1000 cheeseballs.  Who could say no to this guy?!

                                          Cars birthday cake

He loved his party at Chuck E Cheese's!!

Josey is now 4 years old!  How did that happen?  He is such a smart, funny, and loving little guy.  He loves going to school and hanging out with Nana and Pawpaw.  He is really into playing soccer in the backyard, so he got a soccer goal for his birthday from us.  We celebrated his actual birthday with family at our house.  He requested bratwurst and hotdogs for dinner.  Weird kid, too much like his Daddy!  We had a great time playing outside on a nice evening.  Then on Sunday we celebrated with his school friends and his cousins at Chuck E Cheese's.  It was great and we were all exhausted afterwards!  He won over 700 tickets.  He was a real good sport letting everyone fuss over him and going along with everything Chuck E wanted him to do.  There is nothing that makes my heart happier than seeing him having a blast.  Love my big boy so much!

24 Weeks!

It feels awesome to be 24 weeks along today!  I can't believe it has already been 12 weeks since the cerclage.  I'm feeling pretty good, except for having some pretty bad headaches the last few weeks.  My energy is pretty good, just have to fight the urge to "overdo it."  I think I'm fine and then end up feeling uncomfortable and aching after doing too much.  Just thankful to be able to do most "normal" things.  Mike got to feel the baby kick last week, and tonight Josey felt his baby brother.  This little guy is so much more active than Josey ever was.  I think God knew I needed a constant reminder that he is strong and healthy in there!  Sometimes it is really distracting, and has even made me feel nauseous a few times.  I love it though...nothing better.  I'm thinking we may have a more "active" little boy on our hands this time.  Josey has always been calm and laid back.  May be time for payback :)  No really great ideas for names at this point.  We've been thinking and thinking but nothing has just jumped out at us yet.  I don't think we will be naming him until he is in our arms, so we've got some time.

A Little Brother!

We are so excited to announce that we are having another sweet baby BOY! Yes, if you have been counting that would be baby boy Smith number 5! After Josey, and our three angel boys, we were pretty sure going into the ultrasound that we would be welcoming another boy. We took Josey with us to see the baby. We chose to keep the gender a secret from him, so we could surprise our family on my birthday. He was excited to see the baby moving on the screen. The baby was so active it was hard to get a good picture of him! The one above is my favorite because it just looks like he is so content snuggling up with his Mommy :)

Yesterday I baked cupcakes with blue filling in the middle. At my birthday party we passed out the cupcakes and surprised our family with the news. It was a lot of fun! I feel so incredibly blessed and thankful for this healthy little man that will be joining our family this summer!

19 week update

I started feeling the baby move right at 15 weeks! Now I can really tell
when it kicks. I cannot even put into words how amazing it is to be experiencing
that again. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster since the surgery at 12 weeks.
My cervix is still not in the right place, so the stitches can cause a lot of
pain. It makes it pretty uncomfortable to walk or stand very much at all.
However, I do have a device that helps to keep the cervix in place during the
day so I can keep working. I am taking really easy, and sitting more that I
normally would while teaching. I am so happy just to be able to keep working.
The doctor believes that around 24-28 weeks the weight of the pregnancy will
pull my cervix up into the right place. Can't wait for that to happen. My blood
pressure seems to be under control with the medicine, so that is a relief. We
will be finding out what we are having soon. I am so ready to start making
things and decorating a nursery! There are only about eight weeks of school
left, so I will be able to slow down and enjoy the last part of the pregnancy
after that. Josey is getting really excited about the baby! He will ask
questions and talk about the baby every now and then. He usually says it is a
sister but the other day he said maybe it's a brother :) I think we will all be
happy either way! Josey will turn 4 next month, unbelievable! I have no idea
where the time goes. This week we are enjoying Spring Break. He is pretty much
busy all the time. I am enjoying our Mommy and Josey time so much. He is so
funny and so smart! Most of the time I am either amazed at what he is talking
about or cracking up at his funny sense of humor. Love my little man so
much!

Surgery Update

I had my cerclage procedure on Wednesday. I was a little out of it from the medicine they gave me, but I thought I heard the doctor say they needed to keep me overnight for observation. By the time I got to the recovery room I thought I had just dreamed that up. But no, the doctor came and told me that my cervix was in worse shape than he thought, so I needed to stay. Apparently I have a prolapsed cervix as well as one that is damaged and in non-working condition. It basically just means that my cervix is not in the right place, but is lower than normal. So here I was thinking that the baby would be all sewn up with no chance of coming out early, and the doctor is telling me that my entire cervix could basically come out. Geez! After being diagnosed with high blood pressure the day before surgery...I'm convinced my body can't do anything right! So for now I'm flat on my back waiting for another exam on Monday. I wasn't planning on missing work Monday but I'm hoping I can get back on Tuesday. Of course it happens to be conference week of all weeks. I will just have to see what the doctor says but is sounds like IF he lets me go back to work it will be with restrictions and orders to come straight home to lay flat every evening. The doctor said that the cervix will get worse after being on my feet all day, so if flat on my back is the best place for me to be at the end of the day then that's where you will find me. I just hope that I will be able to work. Until Monday, I'm on bedrest and just waiting to hear the good news that everything looks better and I can be kinda "normal." Almost 13 weeks along with this precious miracle!

A big milestone...12 week surgery

Ever since I lost the babies I have been focused on a big milestone. Getting to 12 weeks with another pregnancy. My doctor told me after our loss that I would absolutely have to have a cerclage at 12 weeks with any future pregnancies because my cervix is incompetent and now has scar tissue as well. So here we are...12 weeks tomorrow and surgery scheduled for this Wednesday, February 1st. With tons of help from Mike I have been able to take it extremely easy for the first trimester. I am often afraid to do even the littlest things, so I look forward to that fear easing a little. Once the stitches are in place my doctor is hopeful we will return to a "normal" pregnancy. Of course I will have to be cautious, but I will have peace of mind knowing that what happened with Johnny cannot happen this time. I keep telling myself that this time everything is so different. Going into the surgery last time I had already lost one baby, the placenta hadn't delivered, and I was still carrying two babies. It was our best shot at saving the other two boys but in the end the infection was just too great. I am healthy this time, and so is the baby. I am scared that the stitiches could rip out like last time if the baby wants to be born early, but I am choosing to put that out of my mind. I will have to miss a few days of work, but hope to be back on my feet quickly. Please pray for a successful procedure, quick healing, and calming of our worries.