23 Weeks!

We have had quite an exciting week… A little too exciting for me! Jason’s birthday was last Wednesday, and he decided to go out and ride 4-wheelers with his cousin Richard before we all went to out to dinner to celebrate. Richard and Jason were moving from one side of the property to the other, and had to pass through a ravine with a small creek at the bottom. Richard went up the hill first but Jason was unable to make it up the hill and flipped the 4-wheeler. Richard called me (obviously, in Captain emergency mode – calm, cool, and collected ---) to let me know that Jason had an accident on the 4-wheeler and he was calling an ambulance. I was a little freaked out but headed that way knowing that he was awake, knew he was, and could move everything. Once I got a little closer Richard called back and told me to wait before heading that way so I could just meet them at the hospital once the paramedics decided where to take him. A few minutes later a paramedic called my cell phone, and told me the airlifting him to The Med (which is the Regional Level 1 Trauma Center). That is when it got a little scary. By this point, I had met up with Richard’s fiancé, Becca, who is also a nurse. She offered to drive me to the hospital. We made it to the hospital in record time, and were waiting by the elevator doors when he came down from the helipad. After a LOT of drama and quite a nerve-racking night all of the tests were complete, and Jason was cleared: no head injury and no fractures! Praise the Lord! He was discharged from the hospital with two nasty lacerations on his head, sleep deprived, starving, and very sore. At home we spent the next several days monitoring him, resting, and dressing his lacerations. We are so thankful that he was so lucky! (I think his guardian angels need a raise! :) )

Here is Jason leaving the hospital... They let him walk out!

Close-Up of the Battle Wound

On the baby front, Baby Craig is growing and becoming more active every day! I am still so excited every time I feel him moving, and think it has got to be one of the sweetest gifts from God. It is really amazing that I can already feel so much love for this little thing, and I haven’t even seen his face yet! I can’t wait! It is hard to believe I will be able to see his sweet face in less than 4 months! WOW!

Belly Picture from today... Also, The text color is about the color I am looking at using for the bedding and accents in the baby's room! 

I had my 5 month visit today, and the doctor was pleased with my progress! We got to hear is heart beat again; It was154 beats per minute. My blood pressure is still doing great (118/74) … This still amazes me! So far, I have gained a total of 8 pounds according to the doctor’s scale and 10 pounds according to my scale at home. The doctor was pleased with my weight gain, and said everything looked great. She also let me know I will have the standard glucose challenge test next month to test for gestational diabetes. I have heard this test really stinks…

Jason’s mom flew out to Memphis when Jason had his accident, and was able to spend a couple extra days in town to help me plan and pick some stuff out for the nursery. I have started a very primitive “Wish List” at Target and Walmart to start saving some ideas of things I would like to have. (There is a line of stuff at Target that is color that I am wanting to use in the nursery... I love it! It is not really blue or green but kind of a pale aqua color-- LOVE IT!) We are still waiting to get some details worked out on getting the furniture that I want, but I am hoping to get that ordered soon (they say expect 12 weeks for delivery)! I had planned on getting an upholstered rocker at Walmart, but as we were shopping around fabric stores in Memphis we found a local company that will custom build a swivel, rocker with your choice of fabrics. I thought the cost would be outrageous, but I was shocked that it was only slightly more that the Walmart chair! Upon shopping around for fabrics, the fabric I choose had been discontinued (go figure! It also has the same color as a very subtle stripe mixed in the houndstooth.). They had 17 yards of the fabric left … enough to make the chair and ottoman with a few yards to spare. It was now or never, and I am in LOVE with this chair… So, I ordered it! So excited! It will be finished in about 6 weeks, and will be the first piece of furniture for the room! I cannot wait to see it in there!

Cell Phone Picture of the Rocker

Another Angle of the Rocker

Baby Craig’s Development This Week

Much of his development this week focuses on preparing for her first real breath once he is born. Here's what else is happening:

• He weighs slightly more than a pound now, and he's about the length of an ear of corn.

• His lungs develop rapidly this week as they prepare for birth.

• He actually looks like a baby. He still has little body fat and still is trying to fill out his wrinkly skin.

• The body is proportioned like a newborn, minus the body fat.

• The bones of the middle ear are hardening. Male voices are more easily heard by baby than female.

• If born now, the baby has a 15% chance of survival.

• Lanugo, the fine body hair, has darkened.

• The organs are still visible through the skin.

With another week behind us, I can’t help but reflect on how great God is! He brought us through another day, and kept everyone out of harms way … Baby Craig is growing and developing and Jason escaped any major injuries! I was talking with some friends at the hospital about how God’s plan for our lives doesn’t always lead the way we think it should at the time. Jason and I both have a “planning personality”, and always like to know what is coming next…It is so hard for me to trust in His plan rather than my plan. But, yet when I look back at the twist and turns of our lives, I am comforted to know His plan is always better than ours! Although, there are many things that I want to try to plan out (his job, the business, baby stuff, the list goes on and on) … I am trying to rest in His plan…