38 weeks OR One week to go!

I have been getting text messages all day wondering if Baby Copelyn is on her way yet! haha! I hope people know something that I don't know! Tomorrow I am getting my membranes stripped! I am so excited! haha Never thought I would be excited to feel pain! This little girl and I are fighting each other for space AND at some points I think she may just push right through my stomach! We are ready to have her in our arms. I have tried everything to induce my labor! The only thing I haven't tried is castor oil and I refuse to result to that one. I walk daily, eat pineapple daily, drink red raspberry leaf tea daily, and a few other things & NOTHING is working! I guess sweet little girl will come when she wants to BUT if she doesn't come by February 7 we will be induced!! I feel like I have been saying the same thing OVER and OVER again! Sorry for that!

On the other hand I want to brag on my husband a bit! He is so wonderful to me & I feel so blessed to have him in my life. I think this daily but last night in particular as he crawled into bed with me at 7:30pm (he is a night owl & yes I was ready to go to sleep at 7:30) after cooking me dinner and cleaning all the dishes I thought to myself & then told him later how grateful I was for his love. Then as I got back from the gym this morning I had breakfast (I am talking eggs and toast) waiting for me on the stairs and he made the bed! He does little things like this a lot and I always say thank you but sometimes I wonder if he really knows how much I appreciate his love. So it got me thinking today....do you tell the one you love how much you appreciate him/her enough? Just a simple thank you or I love you will do the trick.

Copelyn Update!

Well, I had myself so pumped up for our doctor's appointment today. I was for sure we had made some progression considering all the exercise and walking I have been doing. Sure enough I was still 1 cm dilated and had progressed a little to 75% effaced! Ugh! Her head is lower and my doctor said I "could" go at anytime. I hope this little girl comes on her own! Next Wednesday I go back and my doctor will strip my membranes. Hopefully that will get Copelyn going. If not the plan is still to induce me on February 7. Please pray this little girl comes naturally!

Never Once

Philippians 4:6-7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Now that I have reached the 37 week mark of pregnancy I have become very anxious. I am so ready to meet my little girl. I know she will come when she is good & ready AND I already know God knows when that day will be. Sometimes it is so hard just to remember that God has EVERY SINGLE day of my life in his plan for me and that he knows best. I have been guilty though of trying all different methods to make me dilate more. I have been walking and exercising like a maniac! I know...crazy right!? Well, I love to exercise and I can't really explain to you where I get the energy from but for some reason I get out of bed every morning & make my way to the gym. Maybe my body is just on auto-pilot but hopefully this will help when it comes to the duration of my labor and maybe help me dilate. I have been drinking red raspberry leaf tea daily which is supposed to help strengthen my uterus according to all the Natural Birth books I have read. My question is how in the world did they ever find this out!? But I don't really care at this point...if it helped someone else in my mind it will help me! I have been eating pineapple like it is going out of style! For whatever reason this is supposed to bring on labor. And lastly I went to get a pedicure the other day...they say a foot massage could stimulate contractions. Who knows!? haha

I would like for Copelyn to stay in me until at least 38 weeks but hey that is only a week away! I guess part of me (the human side) just wants her here in my arms to know she will be okay. I realize though this is Satan feeding me negative thoughts. I chose ten years ago that I was going to give my life to Jesus and with that comes trusting him with my life every single day. As I near the date we miscarried last year I get more and more anxious and nervous. The truth is I have no control though over my life or Copelyn's life. God is in total control. Every single bad thought that may enter my head I have to stand strong & pray it out of me because I TRUST God with ALL MY HEART & SOUL. He is protecting Copelyn & me. Now that is something to CELEBRATE! As I listen to the song I posted it rings so true to my life. The chorus says: God never once did I ever walk alone, never once did you leave us on our own, You are faithful, God you are faithful!

4 more weeks!

I decided from this point on I would count down the weeks rather than count up to 40. Single digit numbers just seem to go by a little faster. At my doctor's appointment yesterday we had lots of eventful conversations take place. Scott goes with me to every single appointment and I just love that. He is so supportive and never misses anything when it comes to me & his little girl. We are both so ready for her to get here. Of course we would like for her to cook until 37 weeks but after that she can come any time she wants to. At my appointment we discovered I was 1 cm dilated and Copelyn's head was in place. So that is very exciting news. I plan to walk more these next few weeks and drink my red raspberry leaf tea to maybe get this show on the road!! I really need your prayers about the other topic of conversation we had yesterday. As you know I have to go back to my last rotation on March 19th. My doctor is willing to induce me as early as February 7. I really DON'T WANT to be induced because I know if this happens my chances of going natural are slim. But on the other hand if I could stay home an extra week with my little girl I think that would be more beneficial. After talking with Scott & my doctor we decided to pencil in February 7 as the day I will be induced if Copelyn doesn't come by then. Thankfully, my doctor told me she could induce me with other options other than Pitocin which would be wonderful. It is so important to me to do this naturally but on the other hand I want to be able to get a full five weeks off with my baby girl. So I am sort of stuck! If you could pray specifically that Copelyn decides to come naturally before February 7 that would be great! I know I am doing everything I can on my end to get this process going!

We are feeling pretty good & very tired! Twice this past week I got home and went straight to bed for the rest of the night. I think one night I slept 12 hours! My back is killing me from standing for 8 hours a day but it is all worth it! Little girl finally has her days and nights straight! She moves during the day now and sleeps at night! yay!

On the other hand, one of my best friends got engaged to her prince charming last night!!!!! I got the text of her hand with a stunning ring on it at about 8:00pm and I just couldn't contain myself with the excitement I felt for her. They are so perfect for each other! I am thinking she will probably go with a fall wedding because she can't stand to sweat or be hot! I am so excited to help her plan and throw her a wonderful bridal shower!!! Oh how I love weddings!

Woah Nelly!! Is that my belly!?

We have reached 35 weeks! 5 more weeks to go and I have a belly to show for it for sure. Copelyn and I are fighting each other for space it seems and she seems to be winning because I can't get comfortable. I am so ready! I have been continuing to exercise which I am hoping will help with labor and recovery. Some days are harder than others but I make myself get up anyways because I know it will make me feel better later. The best part of going to the gym is the comments and looks I get; especially lately. I love it when people say, "You look like you might just pop!" I just smile and laugh but on the inside I am thinking...Really!? That is not really what a pregnant lady wants to hear. Makes me laugh though!

Scott has been an angel. I still have continued to be my OCD self and clean daily but he helps out by cooking dinners, doing the laundry, and pretty much anything handy around the house. He supports fully my going to bed at 8:30 habit! LOL. He just doesn't always partake in the habit with me. Last night, I decided I would try on all my bikinis to see if they still fit. I knew what I was getting myself in to but just for kicks I wanted to see since I will be bringing one to the hospital if I decide to get into the tub. Well much to my surprise...THEY ALL STILL FIT ME! I ran out of the bedroom to show Scott. He was shocked and then he added the comment, "Babe, every part of your body looks the same except your huge belly and well...your butt just looks a tiny bit bigger but that is probably just because your hips have gotten wider." Oh...boy...he wishes he would have never said that! haha. We don't ever really argue but I paid him back this morning at the gym while I made him wait on me to do 100 squats:):)

Tiredness has pretty much consumed me. I feel like a walking zombie most days. But she has been worth every pain, ounce of tired feeling, and uncomfortableness! I just can't wait to kiss her cheeks!

I am starting to get a bit nervous about labor but I assume this is normal. Thankfully, no matter what my doctor is going to deliver me. They don't normally do this but since we have become close through everything the past year she elected to deliver us. So one thing that calms my nerves a bit is that I will have her familiar face in the room with me and she knows how I wish my labor would go & she believes in me. She is very supportive of everything I want to do and she has been so honest with me the whole time. Like I have said before, God really blessed us with her. I will never forget after the miscarriage I thought I wanted to switch practices because of the constant reminders of the miscarriage in their office. I started researching and no one else seemed to be able to work in an appointment with my schedule. Thankfully, Scott said to me that maybe I should stick with the practice that we had grown to love so much even though it was hard for me. He told me to just pray that God would heal those feelings of uneasiness when I entered the office and sure enough God did just that. I am so thankful for my doctor and her support. She is amazing! The best part is she is 7 weeks behind me in pregnancy and I have gotten to see her belly grow alongside mine the whole time! God is good!

On another note, Scott and I have made our new years resolutions. He made his a little later than mine but nonetheless it has been made! We both decided to read our Bibles in a year. At first I was just going to read the New Testament but my husband talked me into the whole bible and so far it has been awesome! I love it!

We are so excited for our little girl to get here! Maybe she will come in three weeks!? Maybe five weeks!? I just can't wait to meet her!

Happy New Year!!

Well we have reached 34 weeks and in the final homestretch from what I hear. I feel like 6 weeks is a long time but other mommy's assure me it goes by fast! Last night Scott and I were a boring, old, married, pregnant couple! haha We went to dinner downtown with my dad and then came home. I fell asleep by 11:15 to only wake up at 11:59 give Scott a New Year's kiss and then pass out again by 12:05. I am so glad 2012 is finally here!

2012 is already full of planned events...Our little Copelyn arriving in February....I graduate from pharmacy school in May (yay! it has been a 7 year LONG journey)....then in May I will start my new career with a job opportunity that God has so graciously given to me.

On the other hand reflecting back on 2011 I would describe it as the best/worst year I have ever had. I know that sounds a bit extreme but it is the truth! I have never been on such a roller coaster ride as this year has been. But at the end of it all we are so incredibly thankful. I am so thankful for all the blessings, opportunities, and pits God provided throughout the year. Even on the days where I did not know if I could take on the day, God was there pushing me along the way. He knew it would be okay! God is always at work for his glory and our good. God intended all the events in my life this year but God intended it for GOOD. In February 2011, it was awful...life stunk. But the whole time God was working and he took the worst situation and turned it around for his glory. He gave me the ability to put my thought and feelings into words & he allowed my story to help/encourage other people going through similar circumstances. This picture below is the way I feel about 2011. Yes I am jumping high off the ground and yes I am 34 weeks pregnant BUT I felt like I needed to do something to celebrate making it through this year! It means to me....WE DID IT!

Now for 2012! I have no idea what this year will bring. I know we have many exciting events planned so far BUT I know life doesn't always go as planned. My prayer is that God will use me for his greater glory and that no matter where I am I will bring glory to his name. We are so excited about meeting Copelyn! We even sit in her room and pretend sometimes she is here! haha Scott likes to talk to her in my belly! He says the craziest things but oh well she likes it because she is always kicking when her daddy is talking. I am so excited about graduating!! I have worked so hard and I am so glad I can finally start my career. I am so grateful, excited, and blessed with my future job! As you may know I am a firm believer GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN. This job was totally a god thing and I can not wait to use all the knowledge I have gained the past 7 years. I am a little nervous but it has been my prayer ever since I signed my name on a contract that God uses me in this job daily. I know for sure God has the ultimate plan and there is 365 days in 2012 that he can use to do awesome things in our life.

This past weekend Scott and I headed to the park to take some maternity pictures. We had pictures schedule with an awesome photographer but "life happened" and we had to cancel. So we had to do some one our own. I think Scott did a great job with what we had to work with! Below are just a few!!

Lastly, Copelyn and I are doing well! We are very large but feeling well. Tomorrow starts my next rotation. Our prayer is that Copelyn will wait at least 4 1/2 weeks to make her arrival so I can make it through this rotation and have a full 5 weeks with her!! She has her nights and days mixed up! She sleeps most of the day and then around 9 pm she kicks ALL NIGHT LONG it seems. I am definitely in the nesting phase. I clean everything!!! All I want to do is organize, clean, reorganize, and clean again! It is a crazy cycle and Scott just thinks it is funny! I guess we will have a spotless house to bring our baby home to! Well, happy new year folks! See you next week!