The Last 24 hours….

I just wanted to give everyone an update about the last 24 hours. Sorry if I’m too brief, I’m just really exhausted.

We went to the hopsital around 9 o’clock last night because I was “leaking fluid” (sorry tmi)

We were pretty terrified, I cried the whole way up there. It was so scary because I lost my other girls at 18 wks, then at 19 wks… and that’s exactly where I’m at now.

When I got there, they hooked me up to the contraction monitor and started checking to see what exactly was going on.

Thank the Lord, it turned out that it was NOT my water breaking!!! I have never been so happy to be wrong in my whole life! (Although now I’m kinda freaked out, cuz I have no clue what that was) lol

But I had been having some cramps throughout the day… not as bad as my usual ones, but still painful. The monitor picked them up, which caused some concern, so they checked me for dialtion.

They said it felt like I was about 1 cm, so I needed to stay the night and have a cervical ultrasound check in the morning to make sure that I was still closed on the inside at least.

Walter & Nathan were sad to leave me up ther by myself, but I promised to call if anything changed.

I stopped having the contractions around 2:30 am, and was finally able to fall asleep. My dr. came in around 8am and checked and said I had gone down to a “fingertip dilated”, but he said I don’t need to be dilating or contracting AT ALL at this point. I was kinda surprised that they were so concerned about the contractions, because they weren’t as bad as some that I have had recently and tried to ignore. So now I feel kinda guilty for not going before now.

Anyways, the ultrasound said my cervix is long and closed, which is good. My dr. is going to tlak to a perinatologist about putting me on progesterone injections to stop the contractions from occuring again.

I’m so glad he’s finally taking it seriously, I had told him a couple weeks ago that the contrax were bothering me, but he kinda blew it off as “braxton hicks”.

All in all, Emily looks great, and it looks like now I will be able to try something new to help keep her in for a while longer.

Goign to that hospital is always really hard on me… some of the best and worst memories of my life have happened there. Luckily, I was able to get the same nurse who went through all of the insanity with us when I was pregnant with Nathan. She is really awesome and knows our history… it helps so much when you have someone who understands.

I’m really sore and really exhausted, but VERY relieved and thankful to be home. I will be taking it easy for awhile. If I don’t, Walter will seriously chew me out! lol

~Amber

18 Weeks Pregnant!

It’s so hard to believe that I am 18 weeks pregnant. This past week has been amazing. Now that we have seen our beautiul little girl, it gives us the sense that we know her so much better now. It’s been so much fun shopping for little dresses and tiny little shoes for her, she is going to be the best dresses baby ever! lol

I’m so in love with her. It’s such a different experience, carrying another little girl. Nathan always seemed so “tough”, even throughout his pregnancy. Emily seems so dainty, even comparing their ultrasounds is remarkable! Her features are much more petite than his. I know everyone says that your baby’s will get bigger each time you are pregnant, but I seriously do not see her weighing as much as he did at birth. I was kinda worried that I wasn’t gaining enough with her. Don’t get me wrong, it would be awesome to not gain as much as with Nathan… I had to bust my butt to lose it all. But I actually weigh less now than I did when this whole thing started. I lost so much weight in my first trimester, but at my last dr. appt I had put on 3 lbs. She seems to be growing right on schedule, and her kicks are getting stronger every day, so I guess she is getting what she needs. I have been alot hungrier this week… like ridiculously hungry. So maybe she’s trying to give me a hint !

Well, for those of you who did not know, we had a scare two days ago. I was in the kitchen and stepped on a slick piece of paper, and my feet slid out from under me. I landed on my butt REALLY HARD. I cried and cried, I was just sure that I had hurt her. I got out my doppler and her heart rate was crazy fast, in the 190’s. I think it scared her as bad as it scared me. My dr. told me to take it easy, and I did. I had some contractions, but they were not consistent and got better after lying on my left side for a long time. So it shook things up a little, but all is well. It was terrifying though. I guess our little girl is tougher than we think she is.

Keep the prayers coming our way! ~Amber

IT’S A…!!!!!!!!

…….GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s right, “Tiny Thomas” is now officially Emily Alexandria Thomas!

 

I have been teary eyed ever since we found out… my heart literally felt like it was going to beat out of my chest! Our little girl is such a lady, she kept her tiny legs crossed for most of the ultrasound. But the second she uncrossed them, I knew she was a girl. Walter knew too, he squeezed my hand so tight! It was one of the most amazing moments of my life!

 

Our daughter is sooo beautiful! She is so petite and dainty. Her eyes look a lot like Nathan’s, but she has my chin and nose! She also has my ears lol!

 

It was so serele when they said it was a girl, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it if she was. Of course, we knew that we would be soooo thrilled, but it was very bittersweet after losing three girls. Even more so because she looks exactly like one of our twin daughters, Racheal. And I mean EXACTLY. But when they said it, all the sudden everything just felt right. Yes, I am scared, but I have to believe that I will get to bring this baby home.

 

After the ultrasound, we went with Walter’s family to shop for baby clothes. We got the most adorable little dresses and tiny shoes! It was so amazing buying those little girl clothes for the first time!

 

It was really neat, because we were able to have both sets of our parents there for the ultrasound. Nathan sat in between them all like a good little boy. He is such a proud big brother. He even started clapping during the ultrasound!

 

I am so thankful to God for blessing us with another daughter. I am so happy, it all feels like a dream!

 

~Amber

17 Weeks Pregnant ~ The Night Before The BIG Ultrasound!

 Well, tonight is the last night that I will fall asleep not knowing whether I am having a son or a daughter. I am so anxious to see that baby’s beautiful little face tomorrow. I already love it so much, I can’t wait to have a name to go with this little baby. I was going through Nathan’s itty bitty baby clothes, and I got teary eyed thinking of putting those same little clothes on another little boy. At the same time, I can’t imagine the emotions I will feel if this is a little girl. It would be very bittersweet for us, after having lost our daughters.

I am just so happy that I am one step closer to KNOWING this baby! I love it’s little quirks, the way it kicks so much more than Nathan, the way it jumps when Nathan squeals too loud… and the way it follows it’s daddy’s voice. I got to feel the baby have the hiccups for the first time last week! It was so sweet! I remember how Nathan used to have the the hiccups ALL the time when he was in my belly! I felt so bad for him, because he would have them for sooo long lol!

 I will let everyone know as soon as we find out! I know there are alot of people anxious to hear! ~Amber

15 weeks & 3 days Pregnant!

I feel bad for not updating more often. Things have been really calm around here, which is a good thing.

We will find out if Tiny is a boy or a girl is 12 days! I am having such a hard time being patient, I’m dying to get in the nursery and get to work! I’m also really excited because it’s going to be a 4D ultrasound, and they are so awesome! When I was pregnant with Nathan, we got some absolutely amazing pictures and video of him when we had his gender ultrasound. Here’s one of my favorites.

I can’t believe he was ever that tiny. It’s funny because I look at them now and I’m like, “yep, that’s definitly my little man”. He still has the exact same features…. nose, forhead, chin, EVERYTHING! It will be so neat seeing what this baby looks like. I can already tell from our last ultrasound that it’s nose looks alot more like mine. Poor baby lol!

 Well, I have finally picked out the themes for the baby’s nursery. I’ve had my girl nursery theme picked out for like 5 years lol, but I was undecided about what to do if it is a boy. We had thought about putting him in Nathan’s nursery and making nathan a “big boy” room… but nathan REALLY likes his room and I don’t want to make him feel pushed to the side, ya know?

So even if it’s a boy we will be doing another nursery. This is what I picked out if it’s  boy…..

 And this is what I’ve chosen if it’s a girl……….

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love decorating, but it’s even better when it’s for a new baby!

Well, on another note, I have been suffering with some really aweful lower back pain. It really freaked me out at first, because it felt alot like “dilation pain”. But everything looks ok, I guess I’m just sore from everything shifting around in there.

My belly has gotten HUGE in the past couple of weeks! I still haven’t gained any weight, but at least I’m not losing it like I was. I was kinda worried, but I guess it’s just less for me to lose once the baby gets here. It is measuring correctly on all it’s ultrasounds, so I guess it’s getting what it needs.

It AMAZES me how much more active this baby is than Nathan! Walter couldn’t feel nathan’s kicks until 18 weeks, but he has been able to feel this baby since last week! It’s funny because the books all say it’s too early to feel it, and at my last dr. appt, even HE could feel it when he was doing the ultrasound! So much for science lol!

I’ll try to write more often…

~Amber