Copelyn Update/29 weeks

Only one more week in the twenties! Wowzers!! It seems like the end is near and the weeks keep going faster & faster. I find myself staring in the mirror a lot wondering how much bigger this stomach of mine could possibly get but other mothers assure me it will expand to no other these next few weeks. It is getting harder to get out of bed gracefully in the mornings. I kind of have to put my butt into it more and push with my lower back to get this big belly of mine up!

We had our glucose test this last week and a checkup. All I have to say is it took everything within me to keep that syrupy, sugary drink down. Ugh! and then the rest of the day I felt pretty bad. I felt like I had just consumed five pieces of chocolate cake and I was on a sugar high for the next 10 hours! Little Copelyn on the other hand is measuring quite ahead. She has a big belly, chunky legs, and a beautiful face. The only complaint we have is I have developed a pretty significant hernia. I have had it for about 4 weeks but just ignored it. This past week I finally asked the doctor about it because I thought it was a bulging vein. Sure enough, my diagnosis was wrong! It is pretty painful but there is not much you can do for a pregnant women with a hernia. So we just will wait until February to fix that!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year filled with great company & wonderful food. We spent it with the Urbizo family at their house. We pretty much ended up having every side dish you could think of. A family tradition the Urbizos have is to go around the table & to say what we are thankful for. This was so special and I pretty much cried for every persons little speech. We have so much to be thankful for this year. A healthy baby, a happy family, our health, and most importantly God's grace upon all of our lives. It was around this time last year that we found out we were pregnant with our Surprise baby!! So much has changed since then... We have suffered a great loss, experienced grief, been through marriage growing pains, waited patiently on the Lord, and in the end God always provided. I think back to when I first found out I was pregnant this time last year. Was I thankful? Honestly, probably not like I should have been. I was scared & uneasy because it wasn't part of our plan. But our unfailing God proved time and time again he has the best plan. Three months later when that baby was taken from me our world was shaken and I honestly did not know how to go on. Now looking back I am so thankful God took us through that season of life. It is funny when we are going through the storm we want to stomp our feet and wonder why God? But after we have walked through the valley and for a moment we are standing tall on a mountain we begin to understand God had his hand in all of it. I am so thankful for our Copelyn, I am thankful for our baby in heaven that I will one day meet again, I am thankful for a God who loves me even though I am so undeserving, and I am thankful for my wonderful husband and family! Praise Jesus!!

Well hello Third Trimester/28 weeks!!!

Wow I can't believe it is finally here! The final stretch to meeting our sweet Copelyn Reese!! I am feeling great. I really have no discomforts except for one bulging vein in my upper thigh that makes it hard to sit for long periods of time. Other than that though, this little girl has been mighty nice to me. I still am keeping up my exercise routine daily & hoping that can continue until the day I deliver. I joke with the folks at the gym that if my water breaks on the elliptical I will call that SUCCESS! Copelyn moves randomly. Her favorite thing to do is stretch her little booty into my stomach and push out. It makes for a very uncomfortable mommy but after a few pushes she will go back to normal. I just like to think she is dancing in my womb! Copelyn is getting so big!! She weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels.

This past weekend we headed home for our baby shower in Virginia. It was amazing! The shower itself was more than I could have ever imagined and we are so appreciative of everyone who came to celebrate with us. I know one thing is for sure...our Copelyn is very loved. She received so many nice things!! Let's see...a highchair, her first north face jacket, monogrammed outfits, a green little chair for her to sit in with her name on it, and so much more!! I just couldn't wait to get home to organize it all. The best part of the whole weekend was all the people we got to spend time with. It was so nice to be surrounded by so many wonderful people!

Many at the shower wanted to know all the details of the pregnancy thus far and of course they wanted to know my birth plan! Well, the plan is to go all natural. I have read my books and signed up for a class! I am ready to go. Thankfully, Scott is very supportive of this. He wants whatever I feel is best for us both. I have always been the type of person who loved setting extreme goals for myself & seeing them through. I think that is why I love running so much. I could always challenge myself to the next level. I realize there is no medal or award after giving birth to a sweet baby naturally but it is what I have always dreamed of doing and it is what I am going to stick to! So what is my birth plan? Well, the plan is all natural of course but other than that there is no plan. There really is only two things concrete in my birth plan...1. NO CYTOTEC!! and 2. No mention of an epidural. Other than that, God designed me able to do this! Of course I will prepare mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I have taken every bit of advice from my neighbor who has done it two times all natural and I will follow her techniques to get little Copelyn here safely.

Oh yall I am just so excited!! Only a few more weeks to go!! I just can't wait. I am so incredibly thankful to God for this precious miracle growing inside of me. It is such an amazing experience!!

Below are pictures from the beautiful shower....

God Always has a Plan!!

I woke up this morning at 3am and rolled over to check my phone. I never really do this but lately (like 3 different times) I have woke up feeling like I should check my phone.

Last week I woke up to find a text from a friend who had just gone to the hospital. She was 24 weeks pregnant and having some complications. I woke up feeling like I needed to be praying for someone. Sure enough as I checked my phone I realized the reason God had woken me up.

Last night when I woke up at 3 am I had a very sweet email from someone who I had crossed paths with a while back. I will share the email below. The significance of the email is that it is the 52 email I have gotten that my miscarriage story has helped someone in someway. 52!!!! That is just crazy to me. It isn't about the number at all because God prompted me to share my story in hope that one person could be helped by it. It just amazes me that he brought 52 people to my story.

Here is the email I got early this morning. I took out all people identifiers just to protect the person's privacy. I wish I could include all 52 emails because it is so neat to see the way God has used this.

Hey Lauren,

I don't know if you remember me. First off, I have followed your blog and facebook whenever I see it pop up and your words of love, life, faith, and loss really have spoken to me. When people say they are writing just to write and don't know who is reading, well I am and you have a way with your words.

It has been so fun reading about your new journey to becoming a mom. I think your experience with loss has made this journey for the two of you now even sweeter. Someone I know had a miscarriage three months ago and we were wracking our brains on something little we could do for her and ended up we wrote her a card and I included your blog url. A few weeks later she told me that it helped so much to read your posts. I wanted to let you know that.

Even though we are pregnant again with our sweet baby Copelyn, there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about our loss or the journey it took to get through that valley of our lives. There is no sugar coating it...it stunk! Yes, from the outside we appeared to have it together & yes, we tried to bring glory to God through our struggle BUT there were many days we failed. I never forget that some people who read our blog still might be struggling. That is why even through the HAPPY blogs of bragging about our Copelyn or celebrating the milestones we get to in this pregnancy I don't ever forget the hard times we had to endure.

Now that I have reached 27 weeks it doesn't mean it gets any easier. I still have the same worries and same fears but I have total faith in our God.

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1

Copelyn has still been quite the quiet little one. I just look forward to her little kicks and oh boy can this little girl kick! We don't really have any kind of cravings and I am really not any more hungry than usual. My hubby is trying to make me fat though!! He brings home cupcakes like they are going out of style! Her nursery is almost complete and every wall is covered! I just can't wait until February gets here so I can hold her.

Thanks God for that reality check....

As I strolled through Hobby Lobby looking through all the decorations I became frustrated and very overwhelmed. There was so much that I wanted so badly but knew our one income checking account couldn't afford it right now especially with a baby on the way. I still looked around for about an hour and the more I looked the more frustrated I became.

I had a whole house decorated for Christmas last year and it was beautiful. Why did I need more this year? Why wasn't I content with what I already had?

As I got in my car I felt very convicted to just pray. Then this verse came into my head:
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

See the truth of the matter is I can't take any of this here with me to heaven. If I put my "treasure" in decorating my house that is where my heart will be this holiday season. Instead I need to be putting my treasure in the people I love and God. They are far more important than any kind of stuff I could accumulate.

26 weeks!

Well we are moving right along here and staying very busy! This past weekend I had my first baby shower with my school friends! Even though it was a bad weekend for everyone with rotations and all, we still had a blast with the people that could make it! I received so many nice things for Copelyn! I am so excited...now I just gotta figure out how to use this stuff!

Between this past Saturday and next Sunday I have to attend six different baby showers!! Babies Babies everywhere haha! I have so much fun attending these showers! It is so much fun to celebrate all these blessings!

Scott & I have been preparing for childbirth...well sort of. I got a book and I generally sit on our counter in the bathroom while he showers and read little tid bits to him. He has informed me as of last week that our insurance has changed & with our new insurance an epidural costs close to $1,000!!! That is craziness. So my sweet husband said, "Babe, you can tough it out!" Surely he was kidding! I am still planning to go all natural so my sweet husband may get his wish!

This past weekend we took our Christmas pictures! It is something we do every year! It amazed me this year how much Molly has grown and changed. She did so well. She loves the camera!! She is quite the little diva. Sometimes I have to remind her she is a DOG! I don't think she comprehends though! We used Lizzie Lemoine Photography this year! She was so wonderful & super affordable. I can't wait to get my Christmas Cards made!

Nothing really new with Mommy & Copelyn. She is growing for sure. She weighs about a pound & two thirds & is about 14 inches long! She is the size of an English hothouse cucumber. Only three more months to go and I get to meet my little one! She is already so loved by her Mommy & Daddy as well as all our friends & family!

Here is my belly at 26 weeks! I feel like I look like a giant hippo!

Like Mother...Like Daughter

As I sat in my bubble bath last night for the 8th night in a row...I found myself laughing out loud. Yes it has happened. I am my mother! Now, I am not saying this is a bad thing but I have to laugh at myself because as I get older everything I said as a young girl that I wouldn't do just like my mom I have found myself doing. It must be instilled in my being! And then I found myself wondering will Copelyn be just like me:)

I remember thinking when I was younger as I watched my mom every year dig out her boxes & boxes for each and every holiday, I will never spend money on holiday decorations! What a waste of money. Well...if you know me at all you know that I no longer feel this way! I am actually worse than my mom. I LOVE HOLIDAY DECORATIONS!!! Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Valentines Day, Memorial Day, Easter...you name it...I decorate for it!

Mom always had the house clean growing up. You could practically lick the floor it was so clean. Once again I remember thinking...I will never be like that!! Haha! Well, I clean my house at least twice a week. Like mother like daughter:)

Or how about how my mom cares so much for others and does for others before herself. I remember a number of times when my mom would take me shopping for a whole day & not buy herself one thing. I never really acted like I noticed but now that I am about to be a mom I really realize how much she gave up so I could have. Just the other day in Target I found Copelyn the cutest pair of boots. I want her sweet feet to stay warm this winter! Well, I wanted a pair of boots too! I knew I couldn't get both of them so I had to choose. And of course I chose my daughter. I am thankful my mom served and set as an example of what it is like to unconditionally love others. It isn't about buying the people we love THINGS...it is about putting the ones we love unselfishly before ourselves.

Then there is the time that my mom and I were involved in an apartment fire. It was 2am when the firefighters were banging on our door to evacuate us from the nearby burning building. Well, my mom couldn't dare leave the apartment without putting her face on!! So she quickly put her makeup on before we evacuated. haha Well, I have become like that too! I can't leave the house without putting a little mascara and powder on.

I love my mom so much. I am so thankful for the relationship we have. I love how we talk five times a day and I look forward to our hour long conversations every day! She is my very best friend. I pray that Copelyn and I can have a close relationship like this. One where she isn't afraid to tell me things, where she trusts my advice, and most importantly knows I will be praying for her each & every day. I am so lucky to have the mom that I have. I pray that Copelyn will look back 25 years from now and say the same about me.