Update March 25

Our sweet Addi is still fighting...another week closer to holding her in our arms. Her heartbeat was still low this week around 120. We wish that it would pick up a little speed, but we are thrilled that it is still beating!
My blood pressure was really good today, and my blood work came back showing no signs of pre-eclampsia. This was very good news for both me and Addi! I am beginning to add a nap to my daily routine, and trying to take it easy.
A new prayer for Addi is for her to begin to turn her body into the correct positioning for birth. We are a few weeks away from her due date, and she will need to begin turning soon. If she does not turn on her own, then the doctors will have to manually move her or I would have to have a c-section. We prefer for neither of these two things to occur...so please add this to your prayer list!

Laminin...what holds us together

My mom told me about this tonight...Louie Giglio spoke during the Chris Tomlin "How Great is Our God" tour about Laminin. You must watch this youtube video!
Kenny and I may not know why our little Addi will be taken from us so soon...but He does. We are heart broken that our little girl will not be able to spend much time here on Earth, but we are excited to see God's plan unfold. We know He has a reason and a plan much greater than we can imagine.

Update March 18

We had a little bit of an unsettled week...but all is o.k. My blood pressure jumped up abnormally high for me this week and my hands have been swelling a little too much for comfort. Sunday morning I woke up to a hand that looked like it belonged to the Michellin Man! It took about 2 hours to return to a normal size and feeling. Monday is when we discovered that my blood pressure was rising. Pre-eclampsia is what the doctors have worried about since we discovered that Addi has triploidy. My blood pressure has always been so low that we didn't fear it...BUT we were wrong. Yesterday, we went to the doctor for my weekly appointment, and they ran some labs to check for pre-eclampsia. So far, they are not overly worried...but are keeping a close eye on me. We have strict instructions for what to look for and how to know when it is taking a turn for something more serious. As of right now, my doctor gave me permission to continue with work...but I am suppose to drink lots of water and get lots of rest. My on-the-go lifestyle will have to take a detour...at least until Addi arrives. We want to give her every fighting chance available, and that means me taking it easy.
Addi seems to be growing...or at least my belly still is! Her heartbeat was low this week at 127, but the doctor said not to be too concerned. We are here in the last couple weeks and I am sure that the anxiety we are feeling has something to do with my blood pressure rising. I am hoping that I can get some good rest over the next few days and get back to feeling a little better. Keep praying for Addi and her precious life!

Blessed

I feel so blessed to work in such a loving environment. I look forward to going to work everyday knowing that I am supported and loved. The love that the teachers and faculty at my school have bestowed upon me is tremendous. I will never be able to show the amount of gratitude and thanks I have for all they have done. Yesterday, I was completely taken by suprise when the school threw a celebration for Addi and me. I know that I am a little in my own world sometimes...but gosh, for that many people to know about it! How in the world did I not have a clue?!? Kenny and I requested that we did not want to have showers and we decided that if a miracle happens, then we will throw the biggest celebration that Gainesville has ever seen! My friends at school so tastefully planned a little celebration to let me know that they care. It was very touching and thoughtful. The pink cherry tree is beautiful and will constantly remind us of Addi and her beautiful spirit. All the gifts were wonderful and will be so useful in the months to come. Kenny and I have experienced a pain like we have never felt before...but amongst the pain and heartache, we have also learned and experienced much about love. Our hearts have grown bigger than we thought possible! We are constantly amazed and humbled by how many people have made great efforts to shower us with love and support. We thank each of you so very very much. We will never be able to thank everyone enough and we might not even know where some of the support comes from...please know that we appreciate everything. We will strive to be as giving as the people that have been so supportive of us.

Update March 11

Three or four weeks until Addi will make her grand debut! The doctors do not know exactly when she will come or exactly how many weeks I am...but we do know it will be soon. Her heartbeat was 137 today, and slightly softer sounding than it has been being. She must have changed her positioning. My uterus has begun to tighten periodically throughout the day. The doctors said that it is nothing to worry about, just one of those preparation things that happens to your body! We are beginning to become more anxious knowing that her arrival might mean saying goodbye to her earthly presense...but we are so excited to meet our beautiful baby and hold her in our arms.

Update March 3

We are sooooo proud of our little sweetheart! She gained approx. 9 oz. this past month! She now weighs approx. 1lb 14oz. Addi is almost at the 2lb. mark! We really wanted her to reach at least 2lbs. before she was born and it looks like she is going to make it! Our ultra-sound was also much better than the last one. We were able to see her face a little better and we saw one leg and one arm. Her heart was just beating away in the 130's. The technician held the wand still on my stomach and let us watch her move for a few minutes as well. That was precious time because we do not get to feel her very much. She is still very very low and still very small. She should weigh around 4 pounds at this gestation. Her abdomen is around 8-10 weeks behind in growth. She is just an amazingly precious baby, and we love her soooo much! Something must be going right in there, because she is still lighting up our lives daily!

Frantic Friday!

Friday was quite interesting...if you wanna call it that. It was a normal, uneventful, typical Friday, until around 10:00 am (recess time) at school. Kenny had just stopped by to get something from me and decided to hang around and visit with my students for a little while. We went outside for recess, and the kids were wild! The weather has kept us indoors for days now! Kids were running from one end of the playground to the next! I was enjoying my morning snack when a little girl walked up to tell me that one of my students needed help getting off one of the pieces of equipment. I walked over and guided her sefely down to the ground. When I turned away from her...BAM! Before I could even process what was happenening, a little boy bulldozed into my stomach. I did not have time to block him or move out of his way. He was running so fast that he could not stop as I turned. He hit so hard that he flew backwards and I doubled over in pain. The poor child jumped up and began apologizing as fast as he could. It was a complete accident...I knew he did not mean to run into me. Well, he ran off to get back to his playing as I am still doubled over. About 5 seconds after I was hit, tears began flowing because I realized where the impact had hit. I finally stood up and tried to dry my tears...luckily, it was time to go inside. I thought I had myself under control, but I was wrong. I went to the bathroom to gather myself and make sure I was ok....but I began to panic. All I could think about was how hard the hit was right to the spot that Addi lays her precious body. She has fought so hard for sooooo many weeks now, this could not be happening! Luckily, Kenny was there, and my para-pro and another para-pro immediately told me to leave. They began to take over my class so that I would leave. It did not take too much convincing though...I realized that I was not going to be able to gather myself. Kenny and I left and headed straight for the doctor. After waiting for what seemed like hours, we were called back and got to listen to Addi's heart. It was perfectly beating away. I felt my whole body relax and the knots in my stomach released. They said that as long as I didn't have any cramping or other noticable side effects, Addi and I should be fine. We were sooooo relieved! What a way to end a week!! For now on, I think I will be sitting on the bench during recess!