Prego update

Scott and I went for my doctor's appointment this morning. I am so thankful that he felt up to going b/c they did a surprise ultrasound, and we got to see the baby up close and personal. I can finally say, with 100% assurance, that I am super excited that we have another baby on the way. I still get overwhelemed thinking how tough the first 6 months will be, but I know that we'll make it!

It's hard to believe that in the last month I have only gained 1 pound. Yes, 1. I am having a really tough time finding things to wear each day b/c my shirts all cling to the pooch and my pants are getting uncomfortably snug. I swear that I thought I had gained about 8 pounds b/c I can really tell that my body has changed. I guess things are just "shifting" as they say. With Ella Beth I gained 11 pounds in the first trimester, so it really was a shock this morning to find I had gained so little.

Anyway...my due date has been moved up (yeah!) to March 15th, which makes me 12 weeks prego. Can you believe that means my first timester is almost over??? Crazy! The ultrasound tech also told us that she thinks the baby is a ......, but can't give us a guarantee for a few more weeks. Of course, now I'm all hyped up, but could get totally different news in a few weeks. Scott won't let me say what the tech thinks the baby is, but feel free to guess! Oh, and the heartbeat was 159 beats/minute.

Okay, that's all for now. Scott is better, but not great. He feels worse today than yesterday, but still better than a few days ago. I guess that's good. We go to the specialist on Sept. 11 - which seems like forever away, but the doctor assured us that is "very soon" for this specialist. Again, the waiting game continues. Thanks again for your prayers!

Update

Well, miraculously the doctor called today. We were told that the results wouldn't be in until Tuesday (due to the holiday weekend), but our doctor ROCKS! Okay...Scott has an infection in his small intestine. It's not a "good" thing to have, but it's obviously much better than some of the things that were going through our minds. Our doctor has sent Scott's CAT scan to an intestinal expert (I wonder who wakes up one day and says, "Gee I think I want to be an intestine expert"? I digress...). We are now waiting on those results to come back to see what the next step is. Scott is still in pain, is still weak and now having dizzy spells, but swears to me that he feels better. His white blood cell count is increasing, which is a huge blessing. I promise to keep you updated, but as with most medical things it's a bit of a waiting game.

Anyway, thank you to all of you for your prayers and calls and offers to do anything and everything to help us. We would still appreciate your prayers until we get word that Scott is officially well and will be back to normal soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to report that soon. Love to you all.

Just so much...

So life's been busier and more hectic than usual. Last week was interesting. Scott got sick last Sunday. We thought he had a virus of some sort, but when he was still sick on Wednesday he decided to go to the doctor. Well, the doctor sent him for x-rays, blood work, and an ultra sound. His blood work came back very disconcerning. His white blood cell count is extremely low. Hmmm. He went back to the doctor today to have his blood drawn again, but we won't get those results until tomorrow. Scott is, however, scheduled for a CT scan on Wednesday at 1:00 PM, so if you think of him, say a prayer. The doctor hasn't been really specific as to what could be wrong. That only leaves my mind to wander and worry. Is it leukemia? Aplastic anemia? Some other blood or bone disease? We are praying that it's nothing as serious, but right now we just don't know. It's hard b/c Scott can't describe exactly what's wrong other than being "sore and not feeling right." Again, only leaving my mind to worry.

It's been extra hard on me being prego. Thankfully, the good Lord has decided that my all-day-sickness can subside some now. I'm still battling nausea when I don't have enough on my stomach, but it's not all-day every day any more. That has shortened my sickness by two weeks in comparison to my first pregnancy. I must say that it has been a blessing. I reckon God just knew that it was more than I could take. Thank goodness for His promises! However, with Scott being down-n-out, it's left me with a lot of the work load with Ella Beth in the evening and around the house. I thought I was coming down with something last Thursday, and Scott even took Ella Beth to his mom's b/c I just felt awful when I woke up Friday morning. Turns out I had just run myself ragged and needed a little time to rest. I am so thankful to have Kathy, my mom-in-law, close by b/c she sure does make things easier. She'll be keeping Ella Beth on Wednesday while Scott and I go to the hospital for his CT scan.

Anyway, that's all for right now. I'll keep you posted with the latest. Hopefully, there will be nothing considerate to report. Thanks for your prayers.

I told myself so...

Last night was our last small group meeting, and it was our turn to take dinner. I had bought the stuff to make enchilladas (sp?) two weeks ago. That was before my aversion to Mexican food hit. I knew better than to eat any of what I had made; I was even getting sick just smelling it while it was cooking. I took a peanut butter sandwich with me to group. But did I eat it??? Of course not. I ate one enchillada, and I've been paying the price all morning. I may never eat Mexican food again...ever. It's so hard being very sick with a tiny one year old pulling at your leg while you're heaving over saying, "Up please. Up please." Bless her.

So far this pregnancy has been identical to the pregnancy that I had with Ella Beth. I could not eat Mexican food while I was prego with her, and it took about 5 months after she was born for me to dare to try it. I am also sick all day long, and very tired around 1:30 each afternoon. Thankfully, Ella Beth usually naps from 2:30 'til 4'ish. It has become my nap time too. Sometimes I feel lazy, but I'm worthless if I try to get anything done. Oh well. At least I know that "this, too, shall pass." I'm counting down the weeks. If it's the same as with Ella Beth, I have about 5 weeks to go.

Well, here is my first belly shot. I can't believe that I'm already showing, but I am. I just have a pooch that can't be sucked in. Whatever. I'm trying not to let it eat at me, but it's kinda annoying. Looking back at pictures with Ella Beth, I look the same now as I did at about 14 weeks. Sigh. (The picture quality isn't great. Scott was using my new camera, and he's not familiar with it. Also, don't mind the wet hair. I should probably take a new picture...but between prego brain and mommy brain, I'm sure I'll never remember to do it.)

Where does time go?

This last year has been the best year of my life. Ella Beth has been such a wonderful addition to our tiny family, and I love her more than I ever thought possible. I love watching Scott be her daddy. I love watching Ella Beth learn and do new things. I love hearing her say, "Up please"; it's honestly the cutest thing in the whole wide world! I love every little thing about Ella Beth, and watching her grow this past year has been the most amazing experience of my life.

Ella Beth's first birthday went off tremendously well. She had such a good time!

This picture shows how much Ella Beth liked her cake. Ummm...she wasn't too sure about it. In fact, this picture shows the extent of how messy she got. She didn't like the icing on her hands at all. I tried giving her a bite of cake, but she just spat it right back out. That's my girl! All of the healthy eating habits we've tried to encourage are paying off! She did like her daddy's homemade strawberry ice cream though. :)

Well, now that I've survived the birthday bash, my website should be "live" tomorrow. (It should have actually been live on Wednesday, but my hosting site is a little behind. That's okay...) Anyway, make sure you check out www.ambercastleberryphotography.com when you get a chance. Any business you can send my way will be appreciated! Oh, and make sure you check out my "ABOUT" page for some fun information. Don't worry...you won't have to read far to find out. :)

It's been a while...

While I don't have any pictures to share, I'll just catch up. Goodness, life has been busy lately. My photography website is almost complete and will be "live" within the week - I hope! I have talked to a few people already who are interested in setting up some sessions, so hopefully my business will take off soon. Other than that, what's been going on? Well, Ella Beth is walking EVERYWHERE. There is just no keeping her in one place (or one room, for that matter) for more than about 3.6 seconds. She's always been active, but now that she's completely mobile, she is gone like the wind! That's one of the reasons I haven't been able to post lately. Used to, I could occupy her with some toys for a few minutes while I posted. Not any more! Now I have to post during naps or at night...however, I have so many things to do during those times that it's just whatever's first on the list.

Ella Beth also had her first stomach bug last week. It only lasted 24 hours, but it was not fun. The poor thing ruined two outfits within 3 hours by throwing up carrots and blueberries all over herself. There is no amount of Spray-n-wash or Shout that could remove the damage! After she threw up all of her lunch, she had 6 saltine crackers and went to bed. We just knew that she would wake up around 11 or 12 starving, but she slept well. She was a bit fussy the next day, but she didn't get sick.

I have also been planning Ella Beth's 1st birthday party. I ordered her cake from Publix. We are having about 35 people attend, so I needed a cake big enough to serve everyone. Not to mention, Publix's cakes are delicious! Hopefully I described the design of the cake well enough to the bakery lady. I'm a little nervous about that, but it will just be cut up and eaten anyway - so I know it doesn't really matter. I am getting more excited about her birthday. About a week ago I was just upset and not excited at all. But I really do see that I am enjoying each stage more and more (as everyone said that I would), so I am learning to just appreciate that she's getting older and more fun to play with. I do miss the cuddling stage, but she's so cute walking all over the place that it makes up for it. Each night before bath we have a "naked baby alert" where we let her walk around the house completely naked. It's my favorite part of each day. She has the skinniest legs you've ever seen, so she looks absolutely precious walking around! She loves it, too, because we make such a big deal about it. Just some more video footage that we'll have to embarrass her with later on - like on prom night!

Well, other than that nothing's been going on. Ha! As if I have time for "nothing" to go on. Life is busy, but it's nice. I'd much rather be doing things than bored. That's why I am thankful that my photography business is about to be up and running - and hopefully successful! Anyway, that's the long and short of it.

Oh, I guess I can share a couple of pics from a volunteer session. I didn't think of that before! Here is Noah Walter's debut:

Where oh where has it all gone???

Well, it's official...I have pumped the last milk that I can pump. After 11 months, 1 week, and 6 days - my milk supply is very limited so Ella Beth will be getting what's left directly from the source. Should make things interesting when my mother-in-law keeps Ella Beth and needs to give her a cup of milk before she goes to bed. She refuses all formula, even the "next step" that is half formula half powdered milk. It's not quite time to start whole milk. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I took this picture as a momento of the last year feeding my daughter. These are the last 7 precious ounces of milk that I will pump for Ella Beth. I am going to print this photo and keep it somewhere with Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." When I think that I can't do something, I will have proof that OH, YES I CAN!!!

It has been the most amazing experience. I have loved every second of nursing Ella Beth. Sure, it would have been nice if she would have taken a bottle when needed, but I wouldn't trade the last year for anything. I feel so amazed that I provided nurishment for my little girl; the best nurishment that she could have ever had. God made women incredible beings! Even women who are only able or only choose to nurse 1 day or 1 week - they are still incredible that they could even do that. Girls rule!!!