A Hurricane, Baby Shower, Growth Scan, & Day of Remembrance

Despite our fears of Hurricane Matthew ruining our baby shower, all turned out perfectly! We were so blessed to have just been missed (literally by about 30 miles) from the storm making landfall here in South Florida. Compared to Haiti, Northern Florida, & the Carolinas, we were spared majorly.  I think everyone here woke up feeling a sense of gratitude the day after the storm. 

This isnt to say Matthew didnt bring plenty of stress last week leading up to his arrival…we ended up having to board up our house with hurricane shutters, family and friends had to reschedule their flights in for the shower, gifts being delivered were delayed, doctor appointments, along with beauty ones all cancelled. I was quite emotional to say the least. I was most worried about keeping the baby safe, as I have never been in the direct path of a category 4 storm, only a 2 and a 3. Those were bad enough! Needless to say, lots of tears were shed. 

Hubby, the dogs, & I decided to ride out the storm at my moms house who was also all shuttered up. I wanted to be around as much family as possible God forbid something happen. I ended up staying up all night as the winds were just way too loud for any rest. Its a hard noise to describe if you havent been through a storm of magnitude before. Its definitely no ordinary thunderstorm! We were able to maintain power all night (thank God!) and had no damage to our area when we went out in the morning to assess the damage. Nothing like the storms that hit us back in 2004 that left so much damage and power outages for weeks. 

The location of our baby shower also kept power and thus, the shower was still on! And what a beautiful day it turned out to be, thanks to my mom, aunt, and cousin and all their hard work setting up. The cake was to die for (so hard to cut such an adorable dessert into pieces!) and the flowers just as I imagined. The food was delicious too! Guests had a choice between 3 entrees, all which we sampled prior. We ended up just shy of 30 people and were so spoiled by all the gifts! We got everything we wanted, even more importantly that we needed. Carseat, stroller, bathtub, changing pad, MamaRoo swing, pack and play, rock and play, Bumbo seat, play mat, monitor, diaper bag, Ergo 360 carrier, clothes, diapers, bottles, blankets, toys, books…need I go on?!? Im still in awe of how generous everyone was to us. Seriously. 

We also had our 30 week growth scan at the MFM this week and Miracle is almost 3 1/2 pounds! So exciting to hear. If he continues to grow at this rate, they say he will likely be about 7 lbs at birth. Perfect! My cervix is long (over 3.75) and closed. I was really (happily) surprised by this…I figured it would have shortened some by now but it hasnt. Baby boy is currently butt down, but has time to move into proper position still. I head back to my OB next week for routine stuff, but not back to the MFM for another ultrasound until Im 34 weeks. 

I dreamed of the day where our pregnancy would enter in the “30” week range. It brings a sense of comfort to me although there are still obstacles ahead. So far, we have made all of our goals since we found out we were pregnant-

1. Increasing betas
2. Heartbeat on ultrasound
3. Get past the furthest we ever made it in a previous pregnancy (10 wks)
4. Get through the first trimester
5. Feel the baby kick 
6. Have a good anatomy scan at 20 wks
7. Make it to first viability milestone at 24 wks
8. Make it to second viability milestone at 28 wks 

Focusing on these things helps me stay positive. We are about to approach one of our last goals of viability, 32 weeks. I thank God everyday for this blessing. I also pray everyday for everyone still struggling, especially this month as pregnancy and infant loss awareness is remembered and honored. 

Last year on October 15th, we lit 7 candles for all the babies we lost over the years. This year on October 15th, we will light 8 candles, one added for Isaac’s twin that we lost with my tube back in May. Will have to post more then…in the meantime sending love to all.