It's Raining Babies???

Baby Shower #1

I'm a little late posting this. We had our first baby shower for Hollyn a few of Saturdays ago. (May 7). I wanted to make this shower co-ed/family friendly so Jeff could be a part of one (And I think co-ed showers are becoming more popular). So we made it less girly by having it at a park and grilling hot dogs... manly food ;)

We had a great turn out and it was so wonderful to get to celebrate this amazing blessing with our friends.

The spread... mmmm!

A beautiful diaper cake made by Kelsey

Kelsey made these adorable blessing trees for people to right advice and words of encouragement.

Jeff's sweet grandma (Marti) lives close to the Jelly Belly factory in Cali so she ordered us tons of "It's a Girl!" jelly beans. So sweet!

The cake... "For this child I have prayed." 1 Sam 1:27

 

Yes, that is my best friend, Kelsey, who had her emergency c-section just 4 days prior and released from the hospital just the day before the shower... crazy girl! :)

Jeff getting some good practice.

Present time!

My awesome friend Trina made this for Hollyn...

and this...

and this! (As well as an adorable pillowcase dress!)

Ok, this is a play by play of me opening part of Kelsey's gift to Hollyn. Normally I wouldn't post pics of me making stupid faces but the truth is, baby stuff just brings the faces out!

Kelsey had special ordered some handmade items from one of our friends who has an Etsy shop. (Sweettulipsboutique)

There was also a burp cloth and travel wet wipe case with "Hollyn" embroidered on them.

Ain't that the truth! ;)

Our friends (and parents... and my sis)!

A very special thank you to all our friends and family for making this such a special day! We love you all!

7 Months!

I'm 7 months... wow.

31 weeks

Scale: has gone up a total of 22 lbs. (2 lbs this month)

Belly growth: Ok, so I had gained a total of 9 inches at 6 months and just measured to find a total of an 8 inch gain??? So somehow I lost an inch??? Maybe the new diet???

Jonesin' for: Since my diagnosis with Gestational Diabetes, this really doesn't matter. I eat a very strict diet so even if I do have cravings for good stuff I can't have it anyways. Boo.

Repulsed by: I'm really not having any unusual repulsions lately.

Symptoms:  Back pain and swelling have continued to increase. Wearing my wedding rings is no longer an option. I've had some pelvic pain throughout but nothing like it has been lately. It's mostly on my left side and it feels like a sports injury... like I pulled my groin or something. It makes it difficult to walk sometimes and it's frustrating because there's nothing I can really do about it. (They say it's your ligaments stretching out to prepare for birth). Also, my calves have gotten really tight and I've started getting charlie horses. I woke up at 3:00 in the morning the other day screaming and had to have Jeff stretch my leg for me! (You are welcome honey ;)

Clothes: I'm only wearing maternity bottoms or bottoms with elastic waists. And I wear a combo of maternity tops and regular tops that are just longer... but now the regular tops have to be MUCH longer to work. (I've started sleeping in Jeff's T-shirts because mine weren't cutting it).

Bedtime: The exhaustion is back and I prefer to be in bed no later than 9:00.

*Hollyn Faith* is: about 11.25 inches long head to rump and 18 inches in total length. She weighs about 3.5 lbs.

Fun Fact: Early in this month I was talking to my MIL about how I haven't noticed her having the hiccups yet (which so many people had told me I would start to feel). Literally seconds after saying that, I felt Hollyn have the hiccups for the first time. They feel a lot softer than a kick so I think she had probably already been having them and I just hadn't noticed. I notice them a lot now that I realize what they feel like.

Hollyn's Best Friend has Arrived!

Tuesday was a very special day... Hollyn's soon to be best friend joined the world!

Harper Grace Boyd was born at 8:19 AM on May 3rd, weighing 4lbs 15oz and 18in long.

I know I've mentioned that my best friend, Kelsey, was pregnant and 6 weeks ahead of me, but I don't think I really ever mentioned that there was a complication to her pregnancy. Kelsey was diagnosed with complete placenta previa which would mean more than likely, at some point, she would start bleeding and have to go straight to the hospital. From there, they would monitor and control her bleeding, but the next time she would bleed, they would take baby Harper via emergency c-section.

Late on April 13th, (at 31 weeks pregnant) what we were dreading happened. Kelsey started bleeding and had to get to the hospital immediately. They hooked her up to monitors and pumped her full of magnesium sulfate to slow her contractions. Her doctor informed her that she was basically a ticking time bomb. Her next bleed could occur at anytime... from within the hour, to a couple of weeks. He highly doubted there was any chance she would make it past 2 weeks.

Thanks to a lot of prayers and a holy God, Harper stayed put for 3 weeks. Tuesday Kelsey had her second bleed and Harper was here within the hour. Baby Harper truly is a little miracle.

Isn't she beautiful!?!?!

Because she was so early, she will have to remain in the NICU for a while.

So I'm asking for prayers for this precious little girl and her family. She is currently breathing on her own but the preemie development process is full of steps forward and steps back. This causes a roller-coaster of emotions. Please pray for her health and development (especially her little lungs), for her mom's recovery, and for comfort and peace for her family as they wait to be able to hold their baby girl... and even more so for the day they get to bring her home.

 Welcome Harper Grace! Aunt Katie loves you!

Ugh... Part 2

So after waiting to get my results back from the glucose test, I finally decided to call my doctor's office on Tuesday. My fear was that I would have to take the dreaded 3 hour glucose test. I don't have to. Apparently, my sugar was so high (270) that they diagnosed me with gestational diabetes without having to go back for another test. Ugh.

I'm relieved that I didn't have to take the 3 hour test (especially if it was going to tell them the same thing) but part of me feels like maybe if I would have taken it, my results would have been better since my first test wasn't a fasting test (wishful thinking???).

I'll be honest, after getting the news I had a complete emotional breakdown. We've had a lot go on during this pregnancy that's made it tough to fully enjoy. And I REALLY want to FULLY enjoy this pregnancy... the thing I've wanted for so long.

One of my initial emotions was guilt. Maybe if I had eaten better or exercised more I could have prevented this (later disproved by the learned fact that gestational diabetes just happens to some pregnant women and is caused by hormones). After researching my treatment (a VERY strict diet) my emotions went straight to anger. I had myself a pitty party thinking of how unfair it is that I can't be like other pregnant women and occasionally indulge in delicious treats. (After starting Metformin last March, I had lost my appetite almost completely... not to mention being very sick for the first few months. Then I was still on the meds through my first trimester which helped suppress my appetite... along with the pregnancy nausea. But when my second trimester hit, it was like I was discovering food for the first time! Only to have it taken away.)

After processing the diagnosis for a couple of days, I started to deal with it better. Part of me is glad that I'm forced to follow such a strict and healthy diet because I don't always do the best at eating healthy and this gives me no choice. And really, when I'm at home, it's pretty easy. It's when we're out and we want to grab a quick bite or around other people indulging in delicious foods. I know it is just food. But for some reason, food has always been almost a source of entertainment for me. I LOVE going out to eat and look forward to it. So it's been kind of a rollercoaster of emotions... from appreciative for my new healthy eating habits to pouty because I can't have dessert... or chips... or sweet tea...

But more than anything, I'm thankful for this baby girl and I will do what it takes to keep her healthy. I know she is worth the sacrifice. The good news is, Jeff and I will be taking a 4 hour class next week which should explain everything. I know once I have more information I will feel better.

6 Months!

I'm 6 months along now so that means I'm entering my third trimester. (Scary!)

27 weeks

Scale: has gone up a total of 20 lbs. (6 lbs this month)

Belly growth: Gained 9 inches total (1 inch this month)

Jonesin' for: I don't think I'm having any strong consistent cravings. It's more like whatever sounds good at the moment.

Repulsed by: I'm really not having any unusual repulsions lately.

Symptoms:  My back pain has gotten a lot worse... it makes it hard to get comfortable. I've started to notice a little swelling. It's really not noticeable by looking at my hands or feet but my wedding rings are tight some days to the point where it's pretty tough to get them off.

Clothes: I'm only wearing maternity bottoms or bottoms with elastic waists. And I wear a combo of maternity tops and regular tops that are just longer... but now the regular tops have to be MUCH longer to work.

Bedtime: I can stay up later but I still prefer to be in bed early.

*Hollyn Faith* is: about 9 2/3 inches long head to rump and 15 1/4 inches in total length. She weighs just over 2 lbs.

Fun Fact: This past month Jeff preached his first sermon in the jr high and high school services at our church. While Jeff was rehearsing, we quickly learned that Hollyn loves to hear her daddy preach. Here's a video of Hollyn listening to the recording of his sermon.

Ugh...

It's not something that I really like to admit. I wish I could just walk around confidently in my own skin. But the truth is, I have a horrible self body image. I've always been very self conscious. Of course I could go on and on about experiences in my own life as well as just our society in general which has shaped my unhealthy view of myself, but I won't.

I always knew this was an issue for me but it hit me hard when I started serving as a leader for high school girls in our church and even harder when I found out I was having a daughter. I would never want my high school girls to feel so insecure about themselves and I certainly don't want my daughter to feel this way.

It's something I'm working on. But lets face it, being a hormonal prego, rapidly gaining weight and breaking out in acne is not making this easy.

Yesterday I had a complete breakdown. I had my 26 week doctor's appointment. My blood pressure was good and Hollyn's little heartbeat sounded great. But when the doctor came in, he was very concerned about the amount of sugar in my urine. He asked when and what I had eaten for lunch. (It was 2:00 and I had eaten a PBJ on whole wheat toast (organic PB and J so less sugar), chips and a glass of milk at 12:00). He immediately asked if I could go down stairs and take my blood glucose test right away. Then he mentioned that I had gained a lot of weight. (20lbs at 26 weeks... in range in my pregnancy books). He commented on how I had gained 8 of those pounds in four weeks and inquired if I was eating healthy. Then he told me to stay away from too many carbs and fatty foods. (REALLY??? Just what I needed. My doctor telling me I'm FAT!) And that was that. No time for questions. Just straight to get my test done.

I don't think he realized the damage of his comments. His words left me feeling extremely depressed and scrutinizing every bite I take. I've been trying to convince myself that he's just extra concerned about my weight because of its correlation with gestational diabetes (which I'm at a higher risk for). But I'm not easily convinced.

And to make matters worse, now I'm left waiting for test results which could tell me I have gestational diabetes... ugh.

Please pray for Hollyn's health... and mine.

The Name

So many people have been asking me how Jeff and I came up with the name Hollyn so I thought I would share how we found this sweet name.

I would say Jeff and I are both very picky when it comes to baby names. We both like original names. I can't speak for Jeff (although his name is common) but for me it stems from having such a common name for my generation. (I probably graduated with like 10 Katies!) I wanted my son or daughter to have an original name... but of course not something as wild as Apple! (No offense if your kid's name is Apple :)

Shortly after we found out we were pregnant, we started our baby name list. Of course, our selectiveness combined with difficulty agreeing on things was making it pretty tough to come to a decision. Surprisingly, we were able to agree on a few names that we both liked, mostly girl names. But honestly, there really weren't any sure winners.

We had both liked the name Holly but, for me, it was too short. One thing I've learned while talking with different people about baby names is that people either love or hate nicknames. I personally love nicknames! I find them endearing. (Sure, I'm probably a little biased considering my name is Kathryn and I go by Katie or Kate... and my sister's name is Kristen and she goes by Kristy or Kris). But I like the idea of having a proper "grown up" name (not that I hardly ever go by Kathryn) and nicknames. I guess I like having options. So needless to say, I just wasn't completely sold on Holly.

One day Kelsey told me she had found a name she thought I would like on a blog... Hollyn! I fell in love with it! Original, plus Holly would work as a nickname! The best part was that Jeff loved it too.

The middle name was surprisingly easy. We've always liked Grace for a middle name but I was pretty sure Hollyn's best friend was going to be Harper Grace. So Jeff threw the name Faith out there and we both loved it!

So that was that. Hollyn Faith Norman.