The call...

Today, I received a phone call from Ms. Gaye at North Florida OB/Gyn. She wanted to let me know that the results were in from our first trimester screening. I had all expectations for her to say that everything looked normal and healthy and she would see us back in October. However, the conversation went slightly different. She was very soft and gentle and chose her words very carefully. She let me know that according to the baby’s measurements and the results of my blood test, the chances of the baby having Down’s syndrome were slightly higher than normal. As soon as she said this, my heart stopped. I was immediately hurting for my sweet baby and was letting my mind wander to think worse things that could be wrong and how my baby would hurt. It is absolutely amazing how protective you can be over someone you have never met, felt, or even seen. Well, I guess we have seen the baby and we have seen it moving around and looking like an actual baby and it just makes everything so much more real when you experience that.


So she went on to explain that the chances were still very low, but higher than normal. In a woman over 35, the chance is 1 in 220. For me, it’s 1 in 120. Still less than a percent and we know God is not a God of statistics. Anyhow, Ms. Gaye went on to tell me the next step in this process, and how we needed to schedule an ultrasound for around 16 weeks. At this point in the pregnancy, they should be able to better determine the possibility of this happening. However, if they still cannot confirm, they then suggest amniocentesis. Not sure how many of you know about this, but it increases your chances of miscarriage. I told her absolutely not. We will love this baby no matter what, and I am not putting my baby’s life at risk just to know whether or not he/she will have this genetic difference.


Since that conversation, we have been in prayer and have asked a few close friends for prayer as well. We don’t want prayer for things to change, but rather for us to keep the joy we have and also for nothing more serious to be wrong. I think I can speak for Brian and me both when I say that if God has chosen to bless us with a child with Down’s, then obviously He entrusts us with a huge responsibility and sees us fit to love and care for this child. That being said, we want to rejoice in this! We have not told our families, as we don’t want them worrying. If we do indeed get confirmation, we will share the news at that time. Until then, we will be in constant prayer for our sweet unborn baby and pray that he/she keeps growing and getting strong! We should find out in early November if it is a he or a she, but I am hoping that they can tell us at the 16 week ultrasound! It is scheduled for October 12th, which is so close!!! :)



I will leave you with a passage that we studied Wednesday night...how appropriate and amazing that God would give us this encouragement on the day we found out this news.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

-James 1:2-4

Praising the Lord for the 2nd trimester!!!

We had our 2nd ultrasound last week! Everything looked great and our baby showed off for us again. I just love being able to see what's going on inside of me!!! It's definitely reassuring to see our baby and to see it move all around while we watch. Baby was facing my back, so our pic shows the baby face down. However, you can definitely see a head and profile!!! We also got to see the little hands go up to the face again and again. At one point, the baby even stretched out for us! It was amazing :)

As for the screening, we will get results back in about 6 weeks. Dr. Long said everything looked healthy and the heart rate is about 160 bpm. According to the old wivestale, we may have a girl on our hands. But we will know for sure in about 7-8 weeks (if baby cooperates!!!). We have been throwing around several names but haven't made a final decision. A few girl names we like are Maelynn, Mylee, Karlie and Presley. For boys, we like Carson, Conner, Carter, and Marshall. I think once we know what it is we will have an easier time choosing!

Here is a 12 week belly bump pic...baby is growing!!!

Yesterday marked the first day of my 2nd trimester! I am so thankful that we are out of the critical 1st trimester. The chances for miscarriage now go way down, even though it's always a possibility. I should be able to feel the baby move in about 3 weeks, which I have so been looking forward to! I still sometimes find myself in awe that I am pregnant...it's weird when you cannot feel anything inside of you. The sickness did not leave with the first trimester, unfortunately. I am praying that it will fade in the next few days. I had a really bad day yesterday, when I attempted to go to an FSU game with Brian. I made it almost to the end of the 1st quarter then literally almost passed out. :( Today was a little better, but I still got sick twice. I pray that it passes soon so that I can make sure my baby is getting all the good stuff he/she needs.

My next appointment is in 4 weeks, where we will just do a check up and hear the heart beat again (which sounds like a miracle!!!). Until then, I will leave you all with a picture of Baby Stiles :)

Lately...

It's been 2 weeks since my last post...I have GOT to get better at this! Well, not much has changed with the pregnancy. The nausea is still hanging around, but I have not been actually throwing up as much. Good for the baby, still rough on me. I can deal though. :) I am now 11 weeks, and get to see my baby again on the 16th of this month! That's only one week away!!!

We went to my sister, Mandi's house this past weekend. She gave me all kinds of goodies! We got a glider and matching ottoman, high chair, play mat, and 3 big boxes of maternity clothes. And as if that were not enough, my sister surprised me by giving us a gift card to get our crib and changing table!!!!!!!!!!! I was so relieved, as that was a big purchase that we were going to have to make in a few months. After much hassle with Target and dealing with recalls and sold out items, we finally were able to order the crib today. I cannot wait to get it!!! Brian moved in all the baby stuff to our spare room, which is currently his music room. I think it finally hit him that we are going to have a baby! He had to move a lot of his stuff around and just stood there staring. However, he said our band is about to start forming with it's first member arriving in March ;) He thinks "he" will play the guitar, I say "she" will be a drummer. Haha! Guess we will see who is right in about 9 weeks! It can't come soon enough!

So that's about it right now! My baby bump is starting to bump! I can no longer even think about buttoning most of my work pants, but the rubber band trick is doing it's job for now. ;)

Catching up...

Thursday was a bad day for me. I vomited about 5 times total the whole day, and each time it was just water. Water. No matter what I ate or drank, my body was rejecting water. Well, of course this means dehydration. So you know where I ended up Friday morning. Laying on a table at NF Ob/Gyn as they hooked me up to an IV and pumped some fluids into this dehydrated body! I had lost 4 lbs in 2 days, and the doctor was not happy. Of course, he knew it was out of my control, but also wanted to fix it as soon as possible. We got there around 9 and did not leave until at least 2:30. I am not sure of the exact time, as I was very drugged by the time we left. He put some Phenergen in the IV, which knocks me out almost instantly. I had every intention on going to work after my IV, until he snuck that part in. Brian and I even drove separate, but ended up leaving my car until later that night when he and his step dad came back for it.

Needless to say, I slept the whole day Friday, and most of Saturday. I was starting to feel a little better, then woke with a cold yesterday morning. Does it ever end?! Although I must admit, I would fight a cold every day for the rest of the pregnancy if this nausea would just leave me alone!!! I kept everything down for the most part all weekend, until last night. We went to a friend's house to celebrate his birthday, and his grandpa had made homemade icecream for the special occasion. Yep. Home. Made. Icecream. It was simply amazing and the coldness felt wonderful going down. We left shortly after eating, and as soon as we walked in the house, I had to make a run for the bathroom. There went all my homemade icecream. :(

I am trying to remain positive and know that I will be able to enjoy this soon. I pray that it passes quickly! I am still thinking this baby may be an only child though... ;)

First Appearance!

Well, we finally got to see baby today!!! It was as amazing as I anticipated. Such a true gift from God to see that little heartbeat going to town on the screen!!! Brian and I both shed some tears, and had a special moment as we saw our little jelly bean. The ultrasound tech, Candy, was oh so awesome and sweet. She was talking to our baby, trying to get him/her to move. Sure enough, after staring at it for 20 seconds, we saw a little wiggle! That's when the tears came...to see our baby move was an answer from God that all is well and our baby is alive!!! We go back September 16th for another ultrasound and the genetic screening.

I am happy to say the sickness has been better today. Whether or not this will be the case tomorrow, we will just have to wait and see! I am attaching a pic, but it is kind of blurry bc I had to take it with my phone. Regardless, it is our little sweet baby and I want to introduce you all! :)

I'm also including a belly pic...8 weeks!!!

Making Progress!

I am happy to say that I am feeling good today! I have pretty much been fighting nausea for the past 2 weeks, and it has not been fun. I am so grateful when I think of what the outcome will be, but as Brian was holding back my hair the other day as I unvoluntary gave up my dinner, I let him know that this may be his only child. :) Of course, my decision is a little different today, but only because I am feeling better! I pray that I will continue to feel better so that I can enjoy every second left of my pregnancy.

We go to the dr. on Wednesday and will get to see our little baby for the first time! This is going to be such an emotional moment, and I am tearing up just thinking about it. I can't wait to see the miracle God has blessed us with! I pray that all is healthy and normal, and I ask that you all also pray for us and our baby.

Brian and I also made an important decision last night. At our first appointment, the dr. let us know that there are tests done to detect genetic diseases, and they are now optional. She said, "some people choose not to do the test, because it won't change their decision about the baby either way." Well, of course this automatically made me get defensive and decide that there was nothing that would make me change my mind about having my baby so no, I did not want the tests either. She told me that she wanted to give us until the next visit to decide and bring the paperwork back signed or unsigned. So I told Brian after we left and he immediately thought it was a good idea, that way we could be prepared if something was wrong. I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to know if anything was wrong and that was my decision. He asked if we could just pray about it and talk later. So I agreed.

Well, last night, I told him that we would soon have to make our decision. He asked if I had swayed my decision at all and I said not a bit. Well, he then began to express his concern about if something was wrong and the baby may need immediate attention early in the pregnancy, or even right after birth. What if something was wrong and we could help it early on, but didn't because we chose not to find out? This and the fact that he was so sincere about his point, made my heart melt (in a good way). Needless to say, after talking a bit more about it, we decided that we would go through with the tests, just to be cautious. No, nothing will change our decision about welcoming our baby boy or girl in March, but at least we will be able to take precautionaries if needed.

So that's that! I can't wait to update after our Wednesday appointment! :) Thank you in advance for your prayers...

And so it begins!

You would think I would have learned by now. You know how you have those things you brag about that have not happened to you and then all of a sudden you find it happening?? Let me give you an example. About a year ago, I was bragging to myself (yes, I talk to myself as I am driving to work. Not audibly, but in my head, nonetheless :) ) about never being pulled over by a cop before in all my 5 years of driving. Of course, that very afternoon, my foot was a bit heavy on the pedal and all of a sudden I saw those red and blue lights from none other than a state trooper. ::GASP!:: Everyone knows the reputation state troopers have; you are not getting off the hook. Well, God had favor on me and that nice man told me to "get on home and don't you speed now." Bless you, sir.

So the past few days I have been bragging about how I have not been a bit sick in my pregnancy, although everything I read says I should have started a week ago with the nausea. So yesterday I woke up and brushed my teeth as I do every morning. Oh but when I got to the tongue brushing, it was all downhill from there. I do not usually have a bad gag reflex when brushing my teeth but this time, I could barely finish brushing! Ever since then, the nausea has been on and off. I am thankful, because I know it is a good sign! And it will all be worth it in the end. But right now, saltines and sprite are my best friend :)