Family

15 weeks

Sep92014

Hey hey hey there!

It’s been a bit of a slow morning and I had some time to pick up my computer. But I’ve had some technical difficulties with logging into my blog lately, and whenever I actually decide to write a post, it takes me about 20 minutes just to log in. Perhaps it’s a sign?

I wanted to share a bit about this pregnancy so far as I’m now 15 weeks and starting to feel like myself again.

Todd and I had talked about having a third baby, but we wanted to wait until we were settled into our home and we wanted to wait for Hayes to turn three. Not because it’s a magic age (far from it!), but I just wanted to move a little farther past the baby stage.

Toward the end of June, I realized that I was late. Another week went by and I was close to two weeks late. At a regular grocery store trip, I picked up a pregnancy test, but just put it under the sink in the bathroom. In my heart, I knew that I was pregnant, but I guess I was just scared to confirm it. Even though it was what we wanted, something about a third baby just had me wondering if we could handle it.

On a Saturday afternoon when Todd was home, I decided to take the test, and it only took about 30 seconds for the plus sign to show up confirming our suspicions. We were going to have another baby! I cried and told Todd, and he just laughed and hugged me. We were so excited… and nervous.

I waited a few days to share the news with my parents and told our closest friends as we saw them. I set up an appointment with my doctor, and went in at 8 weeks.

Around six weeks, I had been feeling pretty lucky that I’d managed to avoid any symptoms or sickness. We were having this fun, carefree summer. I had horrible all day sickness until 24 weeks with both boys, so I was so relieved. But then it hit me with full force around six weeks this time. All day, every day. I’d find myself dozing off on the couch while watching cartoons with the boys. And it took me an hour to get out of bed every morning. And the evenings were actually the worst! I couldn’t eat at night and going to sleep was the only way to feel better.

But the sickness was so reassuring because I knew that my body was doing what it needed to do to support our little baby. And the 8 week appointment went perfectly.

I had to back out of going on a mission trip with our church this summer. It was a trip I had really looked forward to, but with the way I’d been feeling, I knew I couldn’t go without really disrupting the trip. It ended up being the best decision.

We had our last appointment at the end of August and the baby was wiggling all over the place with a really high heart rate of 173. And then, miraculously, I started feeling better. I still have little moments where it hits me, but I feel like I can go and do what I need to do and not worry about getting stuck somewhere and getting sick. I am so thankful to have turned a corner!

I’m 15 weeks now, and definitely starting to show. I’ve been wearing maternity pants for a couple of weeks now, and have been able to wear my normal long tunics and tops to cover up that super awesome belly panel!

We talked about not finding out the sex of this baby. We know it’s our last baby, and I would really love to have that big surprise moment in the delivery room. But, to my complete surprise, Todd really wants to find out.

He told me he’d be fine to find out and not tell me, but I know that would drive me crazy and I’d have to know if he knew.

I’m not a big lover of surprises normally, but for the third baby we have everything we need. We have gowns and onesies and sleepers and a crib and sheets and a room. I think it would be so much fun!

We went ahead and scheduled an appointment to find out the sex in two weeks. I’ll be around 17 weeks then. We can always cancel it if Todd changes his mind. But it looks like we’ll be finding out then!

We’ve talked about names some, but I’m thinking that Todd is like every other man in the world and the baby name conversation isn’t his favorite one to have. I, on the other hand, have been naming babies in my head my whole life.

We really, really are just praying for a super healthy baby. I was lying on the couch late last night watching Shark Tank Week (yes! Shark Tank Week!) and I got really still. My stomach started feeling really full and bubbly and I just had a feeling that if I laid there long enough I’d feel something. And there were some tiny flutters, and all of a sudden I felt one very distinct kick on my hand. And that was just the reassurance I needed.

I get so nervous between appointments in the beginning and I just want to know that everything is okay. I know that all I can do is pray. And the most comforting thing in the world is that God knows this baby. He created this baby. He knew this baby before he was even formed. But those first tiny kicks are so so sweet.

I hope you’re all having a great week so far, and hopefully enjoying slightly cooler temps that give you the promise of fall!

If you’ve read up to this point, thank you! xo

number three

Filed Under: Baby, Every Day, Family

Aug262014

We’ve all been keeping a little secret since the middle of June, and now we can finally let the cat out of the bag!

We are all so excited to share that little baby Carroll #3 will join our family in March of 2015!

The boys are absolutely thrilled, and Todd and I are just overwhelmed with gratitude. I’m 13 weeks pregnant and pumped for that magical 14 week to get here!

And I just love this sweet photo that Courtney Dox took of our family. It’s one of our last photos of Fiona, and it was taken a couple of days after we found out the great news.

So that’s the big thing that’s been going on around here this summer! I will share more very soon.

First Day of School

Filed Under: Every Day, Family, Uncategorized

Aug252014

Today was the first day of school for Hudson and Hayes. We were one of the last schools to start in our area and we were all ready.

Last night when we got home from church, I tucked Hudson in and prayed with him about his first day of kindergarten. He told me that he might be a little bit shy and was going to miss his teacher from last year. But I promised him that he would love his new teachers and that they’d have a great year.

We laid out all the paperwork we had to take with us and set out their clothes, so we could have as smooth a morning as possible. I set my alarm for 6:30, but I was wide awake at 6:15. I think I was nervous, too!

I didn’t want him to be late and I didn’t want to rush. I made breakfast and got myself ready and then Hudson and Hayes got up and came downstairs. It was such a smooth morning.

Both boys even agreed to let me take their picture!

Hudson’s school starts an hour before Hayes’s does, so Todd and Hayes stayed at home while I took Hudson to school. He held my hand walking down the hall, and was eager to meet his teachers and check out what was going on in the classroom. I kissed him on the head and walked out. Once he saw his buddies, he was just thrilled to be there.

I ran home and got Hayes, took his picture, and then went back to school for him to start. He walked right in, used the potty (yay!), and washed his hands. And then he found his place in the room.

It’s going to be a great year for both boys, and I know they’re both going to grow and change so much this year. Hayes will gain more independence and Hudson is just going to learn so much and change so much.

Hudson even got a head start on his homework today while I put Hayes down for his nap. He’s going to love school!

Fiona

Filed Under: Family

Aug112014

We said goodbye to our sweet Fiona on Saturday.

About a month ago, she stopped eating for almost a week. We thought maybe she was just tired of her food. But when we took her to see a veterinary specialist, they did an ultrasound and told us that Fiona had severe liver failure and her liver was shrinking. And they told us that she had 2-4 weeks to live.

We were devastated. They gave us some meds to help her regain her appetite so they could then try to treat the liver to give her some more time.

After a few more weeks, she became weaker and weaker. Her body worked so hard to breathe and it was hard for her to get around. We rarely saw her wag her tail. She no longer barked at the UPS guy. And I often just found her looking at me as if she wanted to say, “help me.”

The vet had told us that even though her situation was severe, she wouldn’t die on her own, which also devastated us. How would we know when it was time? How could we tell?

And then last week, she stopped sleeping. We’d wake up in the night just to see her standing up. She was so restless and always seemed worried like she just didn’t know what to do to help herself. On Friday morning, Todd and I held her when we woke up. There were lots of tears. We knew that she was so tired and she just didn’t feel well. Our vet had given us her cell phone number and told us to call if we wanted to talk about it or make an appointment to bring her in. She also encouraged us to give Fiona whatever she wanted.

On Friday night, we drove through Cookout and got her some chicken nuggets. Then gave her some cookies with pink icing for dessert. We’ve never seen her eat so fast in her life!

On Saturday morning, we arranged for Todd’s parents to take the boys to the zoo and to lunch. And Todd and I spent the morning with Fiona. We got her some Munchkins from Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and just loved on her. We held her and cried some more.

At noon, we drove to the vet’s office, where they were waiting for us. They had set up a little room for us with a comfy bed for Fiona. But I just held her in my lap the whole time. We held her some more and thanked her for loving us so well. All she ever wanted was to be loved and to love us. She just wanted to be with us. And she did that so very well.

She was 8 years old and was my constant companion. There wasn’t a moment of the day when I was at home that she wasn’t on my heels just wanting to stay as close to me as possible.

She terrorized the mailman at our old house. Every day, the mail came shooting through the slot in our front door, and she shredded at least one piece of it every day.

When Hudson was born, she followed me around and sat as close to Hudson as she could- just making sure I was doing everything correctly. She followed me to his room in the middle of the night and made herself comfy as I fed him.

She found herself in Todd’s lap every night when he watched TV. And when we moved to Nana’s house, she found her way into our bed to snuggle with Todd every night.

Fiona came to live with us about two months after we got married. She was my cousin John’s dog, and we tragically lost him in a motorcycle accident. Having his sweet little dog come to live with us was an honor and was always a way of keeping him with us in way. She was with us for 6.5 years and she brought so much life to our house.

As I held her on Saturday, wrapped in a towel, we hugged her and told her we loved her. And then she went to sleep and was gone. And we miss her so much. It was a sad, sad weekend at our house even though we know it was what was best for our sweet, broken little body.

When trying to explain to Hudson where Fiona was and what happens when you die, he said that sweetest thing that I just wanted to write down and remember:

“God sent Jesus down, and he died on the cross, and he lives in our hearts. Now Fiona lives in our hearts, too.”

She was just a dog to some, but she was a part of our family in a huge way. And we’re so thankful for the years that we could love her.

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