You can't be serious!

Hi and Welcome to my personal blog. I figured this would be a good way to keep people updated about the pregnancy and my family life and would be able to keep my Jewelry Blog about the arts.

On Wednesday, June 16, I went in for some testing. I have been experiencing symptoms of hypothyroidism and even early menopause. I went to the doctor the week before and they decided to send me in for some testing on the uterus to make certain it was looking okay. After talking with my husband about that a bit more, what they were really doing is checking for things like tumors, cysts and cancer. I was actually prepared to have them tell me it was one of the three.

As the tech was performing the exam she asked if they had run a pregnancy test. A little surprised by the question, I asked, "Why, is there a baby in there?" She said it kind of looked like there might be a very early pregnancy. She thought she could see a sac. Upon a more in-depth exam, she confirmed that there was indeed a sac. She couldn't see a baby or heartbeat yet, so it was VERY early. Only 5 weeks 4 days. She did tel me that it could, of course, be nothing more than a cyst, but she didn't think so.

My head was just spinning. I met up with my husband for lunch and told him the news. Of course as I was telling him, it started to hit what another pregnancy really meant. This is my 4th pregnancy. My first, a daughter that is now 10 years old, went pretty well until about 37 weeks when I developed Preeclampsia. I recovered nicely from that and didn't really think about things related to pregnancy complications again.

My second child was also a surprise baby. Again, I had gone in for some unrelated testing. I had actually taken a pregnancy test two days prior to that appointment and it was negative. Well, it was positive at the doctors office. Come to find out, I was only about 12 days post gestation. Nothing like finding out right at the very beginning. :) HA! Well, that pregnancy was nothing like my first. It was riddled with complications. At 16 weeks we got the first glimpse of something not quite right. My blood work came back abnormal and there was blood in the amniotic fluid. My blood pressure went up and by 23 weeks I was diagnosed with Severe Preeclampsia. My sweet little baby was born at 24 weeks weighing only 13 oz and measuring only 8 1/2" long. She was the sweetest little thing you have ever seen....even if she did look like a little alien baby. :) She was born on December 30, 2004 and passed away in my hands on January 1, 2005.

My Third pregnancy was probably my easiest physical pregnancy but by far the hardest of the three mentally. She will be 4 next month and was born at 36 weeks via c-section because of pre-term labor that couldn't be stopped.

So that brings us to the 4th pregnancy. I am excited and scared to death all at the same time. Since the birth of my 3rd child I have become a metalsmith and I teach these techniques. I am waiting to get some of my blood work back now to see if the doctor will allow me to continue work in this field, but my hopes aren't high. There are too many dangerous chemicals and elements that I work with. So I may be changing my focus for the next few months.

Things I am excited about:
*baby toes and fingers*
*little coos*
*seeing my girls with a new baby*
*the smell of a baby right after they get out of the bath*
*discovering the world all over again*
*the 2nd trimester* :) Can we just be there already?

Things I am nervous about:
*The underlying conditions and list of complications*
*Not being with the doctors I love and trust from before*
*Being so far away from my friends and support system in VA - Those people were there for me every step of the way from Kelsi's death to the birth of my 3rd.*

Well, at any rate, we are on the train now and here we go. :)