Hospital Take Three

I had relatively high blood pressures for the majority of this past weekend, so when I went in for my doctor's visit yesterday, she sent me back to the hospital for an over night stay. She was once again talking about keeping me until Alexis arrives. But, once we go got there the protein in my urine had actually gone down even though the BPs were still pretty high. The specialist recommended me stay in the hospital, but now that the BPs and the protein aren't exactly matching up, she increased my medicine and said there was no justification to keep me right now since the BPs went down over night. I do need to stay off my feet and she said it's a good thing that we decided to take me out of work when we did.

We did another ultrasound and she is still looking good. She is weighing at least 3 pounds and could possibly be as much as 4 pounds. I am going back to the specialist on Thursday after we get our 4D ultrasound, so I will feel better when he gives me a weight. I tend to trust him with a more accurate measurement. Bottom line, she has not stopped growing, so that is good. However she still scored a 6 out of 8 on her breathing, which has not shown improvement over the last 2 weeks. No need for major alarm since she is still only 30 weeks, but we do need to be prepared for her early arrival.

Right now, I'm on limited activity and having to constantly watch my BPs. If it goes up, I need to call and not wait, if it doesn't go back down with in 20 minutes. I am playing it day by day. My brother is getting married this weekend and I pray that I can make it, but right now, we will see how it goes. I would hate to miss it, but I know I need to do what's best for Alexis and myself. I would also hate to be in Conroe if I needed to go to the hospital.

On another note, this weekend we celebrated Deanna and Ryder. Ryder is going to be Alexis's BFF! Deanna and I have been BFFs since elementary school, so we couldn't be more excited to be pregnant together. She got tons of goodies and the shower was so much fun.

Alexis is going to have the best aunts! They were taking care of me all weekend while Daddy was fishing. We are a unique group of girls who have known each other for what seems like our whole lives. None of us have sisters, so really we aren't friends, we are more like sisters. These aunts are so excited to meet Alexis but they are definitely the bed rest police!! Aunt Michelle wouldn't leave me alone until Aunt Tracy got home and Aunt Tracy wouldn't let me do a thing! Michelle was stuffing pillows under me and no one would let me get up. I've even been warned to leave messages when I go somewhere. Heaven forbid I don't answer my phone. You will find out soon enough how close we are and how much love your aunts have for you. Once again, we can't wait to love on you, but really want you to stay cooking!

T Minus 24 Hours till Maternity Leave

I went for my weekly ultrasound today and all looks great. I of course, couldn't tell what I was looking at, but Brian was for sure he saw a face. There was another trace of protein in my urine but the BP was good this time. I am going to have to do another 24 hour urine on Sunday and go back in every Monday and Thursday until Alexis makes her arrival.

BUT starting tomorrow afternoon, I'm on maternity leave! With all the scares we have been having and the high BP, I decided to go on bed rest. Work is getting crazier and crazier, so I spent all week preparing to make this my last. I have mixed feelings because I had only planned on taking 6 weeks, I had 5 saved up. Now, I will be taking ten and be docked from my pay check. But, when I'm holding my precious baby girl and she is all safe and sound, I won't even care.

Last Saturday was my first shower at my aunt's Tea House and I must say, everyone out did theirselves. We were blessed to get both of our strollers, one of our car seats, pack and play, swing, our video monitor and tons of goodies! I was overwhelmed with how lucky this little girl is! Yesterday I had my second shower at school and it was awesome! The girls fixed Mexican food and mock margaritas in honor of Cinco De Mayo. I had enough margaritas to get sugar drunk and the food was great! Everyone was so genorous! I must say between these last two showers, Alexis is going to be one spiffy little girl. I can't wait to play dress up with Alexis. Thank you to everyone who has made this so special for Brian, Alexis and myself. We couldn't be more thankful to have ya'll in our lives! We can't wait for our last shower that our friends are throwing. It's either going to be a baby shower or a meet Alexis party! Either way, it is going to be a blast!

More Tests

I had to go back to the hospital today for some extra tests. I have crossed into the mild preeclampsia stage. On Sunday I started a 24 hour urine check for protein and we got the results today. My protein levels were at 460 mgs and mild preeclampsia starts at 300. However, severe preeclampsia is 5 grams, so we are quite far from that. The only problem is that severe preeclampsia can strike tomorrow, next week or next month. There is no way of knowing. If it comes at all. So, she gave me the steroid shot to help develop Alexis's lungs. I go back tomorrow for the second shot and another ultrasound to see how she is reacting to the steroids. I am off for the next two days and going to try to go back to work on Monday. My doctor doesn't believe that bed rest will help, so she says it isn't necessary. For me, this is all confusing. Preeclampsia causes high blood pressure, not the other way around. So, if I cross over to severe preeclampsia, my blood pressure will increase and I will most likely get a severe headache. So, I still need to watch for those signs. As for now, we are closely monitoring and hoping we make it to the next week. I was prepared for her to maybe come at 34 or 36 weeks, but not prepared for 30 or 32 weeks. So, I'm a little freaked out and praying she stays in there longer so we don't have to visit her in the NICU. For now, I guess I need to pack a bag and be prepared to go to the hospital at any time.

As for right now, I'm looking forward to my first baby shower this weekend. It is at my Aunt's Tea House in Montgomery and I can't wait! I'm just really glad I can make it and hoping we can make it to our shower that our friends are throwing us in June. Hopefully it won't be a meet Alexis party!!

Alexis's Room

After weeks of bedding searches and painting, Alexis's room is 95% complete. I still want to get something with her name on it and maybe hang a little more things on the wall, but I'm pretty impressed with the progress we've made. The only thing missing is our little angel and we are even more anxious for her to get here.

Grandma Barak (we are still thinking of names) and Grandpa Mannion don't think their angel will need the time out chair, but Mommy and Daddy know differently!! I found it at Home Goods and thought it was perfect for her room.

Our crib and changing table came from Pottery Barn. As soon as I saw it in the magazine, I knew I had to have it. Last week we changed out the white knobs for some pink ones. A little personal touch to make it unique. I'm thinking I want a sign with her name hanging above the changing table. We can't wait to fill up the drawers with clothes and the book ends with books to read to her nightly. The "I know I'm somebody 'cause God don't make junk" sign was given to me when I was a baby by my Great Aunt Billy, so I had to pass it on. And NO, I'm not passing on Raggedy Ann and Andy!!

I just LOVE her bedding. I looked for weeks for this bedding in purple and green, but it doesn't exist, so I found it in pink and green and I couldn't be more excited about it!!

I found this frame and saying in a shop and just had to have it. And a special THANKS goes out to Aunt Debbie for finding our chandelier. We looked all over the Internet and she found it at Hobby Lobby!!

While Daddy was checking out at the book store one Sunday at church, he found this cross and surprised me with it! I was so excited when I opened it. It matches the room perfectly and Mommy just loves crosses!!

I Passed My Test

On Tuesday, I had to take my glucose test for gestational diabetes! I was FREAKED out! I was so worried that I was going to have it because I took the test at the end of the day. Everyone else told me that I needed to reschedule because I was supposed to do it in the morning after fasting, which totally makes sense! My appointment was at 3:00 and I just had an awful hour and a half with my last class, so needless to say, between worrying about this test and dealing with unruly 7th graders, my BP was through the roof! I drank the not so great fruit punch and then went into to see the doctor. It is safe to say that Alexis will have a limited amount of sugar as a she grows up, she gave us a brief insight to the life I'm about to start with her! She is already giving us trouble! It took the nurse about 15 minutes to find a steady heartbeat because she was kicking and moving and rolling around! The nurse even broke a sweat! It was quite funny, actually. We knew she was OK because I could feel her and she kept kicking at the nurse, so the nurse could even see her. We finally got a steady read at 160. She is typically in the 140s and low 150s. So, we now know how Alexis will react to sugar. In the end I passed my test but my iron was low. Now, I've added more pills to the list of pills I am currently taking, but it is better than having gestational diabetes!



On a different note, I thought I should record the things that I've been craving with this pregnancy. I think it is funny since I'm such a picky eater and prior to this pregnancy, I hardly ever ate meat other than fish and an occasional juicy piece of chicken. Now I can't get enough BEEF! Still not a fan of the pork products, but I've had steak several times and am even enjoying BEEF fajitas! Since we got pregnant I've definitely had my fair share of cheese burgers, but lately, I want a grilled chicken sandwhich from every restaurant that we go to. I'm also loving me some Mc Donald's chicken nuggets. Now, I'm not going to lie, yesterday after leaving work, I did stop and get a blizzard! I've been really good with my sweet tooth lately because I go to bed so early that I don't have time for it to kick in. But, I figured since my test was over, I deserved a treat! As for now, I'm not into the pickles, but I also love pizza. Last night I was even craving some chicken Parmesan??? That is definitely a first for me. Brian enjoyed it because he got to go to the Italian restaurant around the corner and he typically never gets to eat Italian food with me. I think I've covered all my cravings!

Stay tuned for Alexis's finished room!!

Alexis's First Photo Shoot

Alexis had her first photo shoot last Wednesday at 20 weeks. You can see her eyes, nose, mouth and even her hand.

I had to leave work again on Monday because of extremely high blood pressure. When I first got there they were talking preeclampsia and bed rest IN the hospital for the duration of my pregnancy. I was beyond scared! All I could think about was Aunt Kim and my two younger cousins being born at 26 weeks. But, the have ruled out preeclampsia for now and have diagnosed me with Chronic Blood Pressure, hopefully caused by the pregnancy. This is also scary since I've never had BP problems before, but it is better than the extreme. I am now on BP medicine and on bed rest for the rest of the week. We are praying that this does not turn into preeclampsia and now I'm going to both the specialist and my regular OB every two and four weeks.

Please, Alexis, keep cooking. There are tons of people who can't wait to meet you, but we aren't ready yet.

Thanks for all the prayers and please keep them coming!!

Aunt Missy and Uncle Mike Get Married

This past weekend was a fairy tale wedding for Aunt Missy. She looked beautiful, just like a princess and I know she had the time of her life. We started off the weekend at Aunt Missy and Uncle Mike's new home for a bridal luncheon. Aunt Missy did an amazing job and the food was great! Then Daddy, Mommy and Uncle Kirb (that is what he requested to be called) made our way down to the Omni to get ready for dinner at Smith and Wollensky's. The rehearsal dinner was so much fun and the Cathy's out did their selves as we overlooked Westheimer eating dinner, watching a video and listening to great speeches about this amazing couple. Saturday turned out to be the most beautiful day we have had in months, picture perfect for the wedding day. We enjoyed lunch at Woodrow's then went back to the hotel to see the girls getting ready. They were having a great time getting pampered, listening to music and drinking wine to relax. They looked gorgeous in anticipation of the big night. Then the night began with a beauitiful ceremony at West Minister Methodist Church followed by a night of dinner and dancing at the Houstonian. Words can't express how beautiful this wedding was and I know Aunt Missy and Uncle Mike had the best time surrounded by family and friends. Here are a few pictures from the night

First time as Mr. and Mrs. Cathey

Aunt Missy and Uncle Mike's First Dance

Grandpa and Aunt Missy's Father Daughter Dance

Grandma after Uncle Jeff caught the garter

Uncle Mike had to get on the broom too

Uncle Jeff had to dance with a broom because his little sister got married before him!!

This is Aunt Missy's bridal portrait. I had to get a picture of it because she just looked so gorgeous!!

Uncle Kirb and Mommy at the Rehearsal Dinner

Uncle Mike's Cake

Aunty Missy's Wedding Cake

Aunt Missy, Uncle Mike, Mommy and Daddy