Our Heaven Sent is in the 10%

Our sweet Margo is an absolute dream come true and the past three weeks of having her home have been fantastic! She is an incredibly good baby and has a very sweet, calm demeanor.

Watching football with daddy!

During her firt pediatrician appointment, she still had some jaundice, so we had to get an at-home light blanket to help. She hated it, poor thing, so I didn't put it on her as much as I was supposed to. Instead, I let her sunbathe which did the trick!

Under the blue light


Sunbathing in her bassinet

Margo's favorite time of the day has been her bath time. She just loves getting her hair washed and feeling the warm water pour over her. I swear, I have already seen a slight smile during her bath time. I am so glad she is a water baby!

Content baby after her bath!

Margo is progressing extremely well health wise. At her 2-week pediatrician appointment, she was in the 10th percentile across the board. Although that sounds small, it is very good for her being premature. She has gained a total of 1 lb. 2.5 oz. since leaving the hospital for a total of 5 lbs. 14.5 oz., which the MD was very impressed with. Without a doubt, our Miss Margo loves to eat!

She is our absolute delight and we could not be more in love. The more and more I adjust to being a new mommy, the more I love it! We are truly blessed!

Week 36 Brings a New Chick

Exactly at week 36, we went to see the specialist for my preeclampsia. In the doctor's office, my blood pressure was 156/102 resting and we were immediately sent to labor and delivery across the street. I thought I was doing pretty good and was completely unprepared to welcome our Margo into the world!

After getting my 24-hour urine test results that were very high and indicitive of the preeclampsia worsening, it was determined I would deliver the next day on September 10th at 10:00 am. My dad rushed into town from Pennsylvania, my sister made the long drive in from Midland and everyone prepared for our sweet girl's arrival the next day! I slept surprisingly well the night before her delivery and was excited and ready the next day!

The final belly shot at 36 weeks.

The delivery itself was a c-section because my MD felt it was too dangerous to try and deliver otherwise with my blood pressure complications. It was all very fast and easy. I thought the epidural was a piece of cake and did not hurt at all. On the other hand, I did not like being numb and not being able to move my legs and feet. I got a little panicked over it in the OR, but breathed through it and before I knew it, Cary was brought in and she was here in less than five minutes. Seeing our girl for the first time was a moment of pure joy and utter disbelief. I asked Cary, "Is that really our baby?" I just couldn't believe that after all of these years of hoping for a child she was finally here!

Cary a little shocked after meeting Margo for the first time.

Our first family photo!

Margo Faye Weaver, 5 lbs. 1 oz and 18 inches long

Margo was only in the NICU for 6 hours and I was so anxious to hold her I could hardly stand it. Although she is tiny, she is perfectly healthy despite a little jaundice. Our hospital stay was great overall and it is good to finally be home. We are so proud of our little beauty! It is so true how they say that you can't imagine the depth of love you have for your own child. There are truly no words to describe it. My heart bursts with unconditional love every time I lay my eyes on her and I am so grateful to the good Lord for bringing us the greatest possible gift on earth!

Car ride to home sweet home!

I was so Impressed, my Co-Workers are the Best!

The day that I found out I had to go on bed rest was also the day of my work shower and my MD was kind enough to let me attend. To say that they outdid themselves is an understatement! I am so glad I got the opportunity to at least have a baby shower since my friends/family shower was cancelled, and they put on an awesome party for me. There are no words to express just how grateful I am!

My co-workers had the conference room decorated so cute and I had a ton of attendees as you can see below. Not to mention, there was a whole other long table full of people!

I received over 30 generous gifts!! The embroidered diaper cover and bib above were one of my favorite gifts, from my amazing boss who has been so understanding through all of this! One good thing about the bed rest is that I have managed to get every thank you note written.

These are my two generous hostesses (above and below) who coordinated everything from the awesome food to cake to games and decorations. I am so incredibly blessed to work with such amazing people and am just sorry I have to leave them in the weeds with this unexpected bed rest.

My car was literally filled to the brim with gifts and I had such an amazing time at my work shower! I could never thank everyone enough for all of their kindness and generosity. The gifts and support I received are a HUGE help to Cary and I in the preparation for Margo!

Week 35 and Margo Still Thrives!

In week 35, I am still doing well despite the mild preeclampsia and Margo is thriving. I had three MD appointments this week and all of them were favorable. As long as I am laying down and off of my feet, I am able to maintain great blood pressure levels. This is a bit challenging for me because I think I am doing really well, get up and do something I probably shouldn't and then my BP spikes. My swelling is virtually gone, although as you can see in my week 35 photo, I am sporting a sexy pregnancy double chin!

On Friday, I got the results from my 24-hour urine test and unfortunately, my protein levels have increased from 328 to 500. They are still within a relatively safe range, but if they continue to increase, it will mean imminent delivery. My doctor had originally said we would deliver at 37 weeks, but given my protein levels, he may consider 36 1/2. It is all basically a day-by-day assessment of my BP, fetal activity, monitoring other symptoms, etc... Next week, I have special testing on Tuesday at Texas Women's Hospital, an appointment with the specialist on Thursday and an appointment with my OB on Friday. I feel like all I do is go to the MD, but I am so bored on bed rest, I actually don't mind just getting out fo the house--ha. As long as I make it to Friday without incident, I think we will set a delivery date.

Probably the only perk of all of this is I get a 4D ultrasound at the specialists office, which was super cool because we did not want to pay extra for one during my pregnancy. The pictures did not come out great and Margo clearly did not want her photo taken, but it was so fun to see a little part of her face. I am not convinced she will really look like this, but we will know soon enough. I definitely think she has my chin and it looks like she is smooshing her nose down, but I think she may have Cary's nose. I love that she has her sweet little hand over her eyes and seeing this makes me even more excited to meet her soon. I can barely stand the waiting, especially because bed rest is so hard, but I want her to keep on cooking and growing. As of Friday, she had gained almost a pound since my hospital stay the previous week and is 5 lbs. 3 oz. --Yaay!

So... please continue to keep all of us in your prayers as we get closer to Margo's arrival. Pray for my patience and for both Margo and I's good health. Pray for Cary too, as he is stressed trying to juggle so many things at once and he has been a model husband and father already!

Minor Complication=Frustration

It has been so long since I have blogged because I had been very busy and not feeling so good. As it turns out, I had lots of reason to not feel so good and had been pushing myself way too much. Last week at my regular MD appointment, he was concerned with the severe swelling in my body, as well as a very slight increase in my BP, so I was sent home for bed rest through the weekend. Unfortunately, I did not make it through the weekend after experiencing a headache all night on Thursday. I woke up Friday and went to Walgreens to check my BP. It was really high, so I drove to another Walgreens (ha ha) just to make sure and checked it again. My BP was skyrocketing, although I am sure I was a bit nervous which didn't help. By the time I got to the MD, it was reading 173/100.

After laying on my left side, it went down, but was still borderline high, so I was sent for an overnight stay in the hospital for observation. The worst part of all of this for me was that my sister had just flown into town and my long anticipated baby shower was the next day. To say that I was devestated was an understatement, but I did my best to mask my emotions and keep Margo and myself safe and calm.

The hospital stay was uneventful. I saw a specialist and had an ultrasound that showed Margo was only 4 lbs. 5 oz. which was small for 34 weeks. This was all the more reason I had to keep this situation under control, so she could keep on cooking. After a fun 24-hour urine collection test that had just slightly elevated amounts of protein, I was deemed to have borderline preeclampsia, which could be stabilized by strict bed rest and laying on my left side.

So here I am... my shower has passed me by and I am so sad that not only I missed it, but that all the effort that was put into it was wasted. I am done with work until Margo gets here other than an hour of catch-up online a day. If I stay on my feet for more than a few minutes my BP spikes, which is so frustrating! I have to keep convicing myself this is real. I look and feel so much better from the bed rest and when I am laying down, my BP is near perfect. It makes me question myself and my symptoms. I know this condition could change or worsen at any given time, so I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing this for the safety of myself and Margo.

I have three total doctor appointments this week and I know poor Cary is stressed to the max between juggling me, work, domestic household duties, trying to get last minute things done for Margo, etc... He has been a real trooper and an amazing husband through this and I feel so lucky to have him. My family has been amazing as well! My house is filled with gorgeous flowers that were supposed to be for the shower, my sister provided a fridge full of awesome food and washed baby clothes, the Weavers came to install car seats and my mom has been a big help in getting things organized. I don't know what I would do without them all and I feel so incredibly blessed!

So... I lay on my left side and wait and pray. I pray mostly for the health of our sweet little one and the hope that she will keep growing and flourishing. If all continues to be status quo, she will be delivered via c-section around 37 weeks in mid-September. Please keep up in your prayers as we face this bump in the road and ask for God to grace us with patience and understanding.