Almost there!

Because of my Advanced Maternal Age (AMA), the specialist and my Dr. would like me to deliver the baby between 39 and 40 weeks.  Today at my Dr. visit, I was put on the hospital's induction list for next Monday night (August 8th) to get things started with a hopefully smooth delivery on Tuesday the 9th of August.  My Mother and Father in law will be coming into town on Sunday to help Chaz and I with all the upcoming excitement.  Unbelievable... we'll be having a baby in 5 days (or sooner if nature takes over before then)!  I'll let everyone know if anything changes :-)

Professional Photos

I decided to hire the best Photographer I could find to photograph our baby's first year.  Jean Shifrin Photography is who we chose and so far I couldn't be happier with her work.  We signed up for a package that includes maternity photos, newborn, 3 months, 6 months, and one year.   Here are a couple of our favorite maternity photographs that were taken at 30 weeks:

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36 weeks... less than one month to go!

I've been seeing my Ob/Gyn Dr. and the Perinatologist now three days a week.  baby I's been passing his Non Stress Tests (NST's) with flying colors!

Yesterday, I had an exam and was checked for any signs of progress.  Report:  No dilation yet, but I am 50 % effaced (my cervix is starting to thin out now).  Let me tell you, that is one of THE MOST uncomfortable exams I've ever had.... yes, there will be an epidural during delivery!  Since I'm so old, Dr. Tackitt doesn't want me to go over my due date.  SO... we checked his call schedule and I'm on the books for an induction on August 10th (if he doesn't decided to try and come out on his own earlier)!  I started crying in the office... pretty surreal moment knowing the exact date of when I'll be a Mom :-)

I can't believe I'm posting this, but here's what "Baby I" and I look like at 36 weeks.
Chaz says this is the most impressive belly he's ever seen!  

This morning, Chaz and I saw the Perinatologist for another full body ultrasound to check the baby's growth.  She said he "looks perfect."  We saw more hair, fat around his short chubby legs (hee hee) and at 36 weeks...he is now 6 lbs. 14 oz!  We could see him "practice breathing" and she said that's a very good sign.  I still have plenty of amniotic fluid for the baby to swim in.  He's a happy healthy boy!!!

The final stretch!

I've made it to 34 weeks this first week of July.  Because of my age, my Dr.'s are requiring two Non-Stress-Tests (NST) and one Obstetrical visit each week until I deliver

I have the NST's done at my Perinatologists office on Tuesday and Fridays.  They hook two monitors up to my belly: one is to hear and record the baby's heart rate and the other one is to capture any contractions.  When the baby moves, I click a button.  They're looking for they baby's heart beat to increase with fetal activity.  This lets them know that he still has room to move around and isn't "stressed."

The OB visit each week is continued checking on me.  They will continue to monitor my weight, blood pressure, urine culture.  At some point, they will check my cervix to see if it's thinning (effacing) and/or dilating in preparation for birth!

Baby Showers

We were blessed with FOUR baby showers!  The first was given by my Mom and Sister up in NY.  I was overwhelmed with the first gifts to our baby boy and grateful for all the friends who came to see and support me.

The second one was given by my friend and neighbor Marti Yarber.  Several of our neighbors came bearing gifts for their newest neighbor.  Also in attendance was my Mother-in-law who drove in from Florida, my Sister-in-law flew in from Chicago and Chaz's Aunt Sue and Cousin Susie flew in from Maryland.  We had a great time and again, blessed with so many wonderful gifts for our baby.

The third shower was given to me from my wonderful co-workers.  We met at the Olive Garden near our work; about 12 people from my work place came.  It was so nice to sit and visit with my co-workers while enjoying a great meal, opening presents for the baby and enjoying a delicious Publix cake for dessert!  Baby I. was given books, clothes, a bumbo seat, bibs, etc.  All the the nurses in the OR went in together and gave Chaz and I a baby monitor.  I have the nicest co-workers :-) 

Our fourth shower was given to us by my family on Saturday, June 25th during our annual Dotson Reunion in Tennessee.  My cousin's Christine and Rhonda were the hosts of this very special event.  The majority of my Aunts, Uncles, Cousin's, my Mom, Dad, little sister and nephew were there.  Ginny, one of my cousins, presented a very sentimental gift to us:  It was the lighting of a candle with blessings to Chaz and I for the upcoming birth of our son.  My Aunt Margaret painted dragonfly's on votive candles and each family member took one, lighted it and said a blessing to us.  I couldn't find enough Kleenex!  Everyone's words to us were so special.  When I go into labor, we will send an e-mail to my family and they will again light their candles and say a prayer for us.  I know this will get me through labor!  I have the most loving family in the world!  Thank you all for being there, for the wonderful gifts and the powerful words.  I love you all!

Mom's crocheting a baby blanket.  It has teddy bears on it!

 Dragonfly Decorations and treat bags for the kids.

There were Dragonfly decorations everywhere!  I'm actually making a crib mobile with this one.

One of the food stations.  This one had fruit and the best tasting cheese quiche I've ever had!  I had three pieces - and two more for breakfast the next morning :-)

This cake was delicious and had Dragonfly's all over it.  So cute.

Christine and Rhonda made "Thank You" baskets for each guest that contained homemade dragonfly cookies by Christine (YUM), candy, kleenex (we needed it) and bath salts.

Another food station.  This one was a hash brown bar.  We took a martini glass, filled it  with hash brown potatoes and then added toppings like cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, onions, salsa.  Steve was out on the deck making belgian waffles to order - Yum!!

The gift table.  Some of the most awesome gifts yet - many of my family members gave us DIAPERS!!!!  Chaz was very happy :-)  Notice the adorable dragonfly balloon.

This is the view from Rhonda and Steve's Deck.  It's breathtaking!

Me and my Cousin Christine! 

We've made it safely to 32 weeks!

Chaz and I visited Dr. Nathan this morning for a "wellness" ultrasound.  The baby looks great and his weight is 4 lbs. 4 oz.  Dr. Nathan says he's normal size and still on target for an August arrival.  I will start seeing my Dr.'s twice a week starting July 3rd for fetal heart monitoring (non-stress testing) due to my age :-)  Here is a cute picture of his little hand.  You should see his thumb and fingers, palm facing us.

Daddy and Mommy hear the heartbeat!

The Nursery

I painted the nursery and bathroom last week! We're not a fan of pastel colors or anything that looks too "babyish."  We wanted to create a room that our little boy can grow into.  We chose a neutral color for the walls and the fabric has a mix of colors (gold, green, brick red, chocolate brown).  My cousin Christine and I went to a fabric warehouse last month and found some great patterns of fabric that really work together.  Chaz's co-worker is making the baby's curtains from the stripes, crib skirt in the polka dot and the dragonfly/plaid combo will be used in his bathroom as a shower curtain valence.  I'll use the remaining fabric to make other odds and ends.

There isn't a real "theme" but I'm using dragonflys as decorations.  I just love them and they're a sign of good luck, prosperity, strength, peace, harmony and purity and CHANGE (and boy are we going to have a change around here!).  They are a reminder to live life in the moment and to the fullest.

We're using my old dresser as a changing table/dresser combination since it has so many drawers in it for storage.  We found the crib to match and just love it!  We've ordered a beautiful glider and it should be in at the end of May.  The closet is pretty spacious, so I'm organizing that with baskets, shelves and cubicles that will hold all the the things that won't fit in the dresser.  The nursery is a work in progress!

6/20//2011:  Today, Chaz's friend Marguerite gave us the best gift yet... She MADE us our curtains, shower valence, bedskirt, pillows for the recliner and basket liner... THEY ARE BEAUTILFUL!  See for yourself :-) Now the final decorating can begin.  My cousin Christine is an awesome decorator and has helped me with the nursery to date.  Now that the curtains and other staples are up, the final touches will finish the job!

The changing table.  Red squares to the right will have his name on them once we decide on one and reveal it!

Isn't that a lovely mobile?  I made it myself :-) 

21 weeks...Belly Pictures!

Several people have asked for "belly pictures."  I came down the stairs ready for bed last night and Chaz just had to take some pictures of the big belly :-)

It's a BOY!!!!

Chaz and I had an appointment this morning at Atlanta Perinatal consultants.  Dr. Nelson said everything looks great and there was no mistaking it.... It's a Boy and we're thrilled!!!

12 weeks!

Went to see Dr. Nelson today with the Atlanta Perinatal Consultants.  They took a good look at Baby I and said it looks great!

First OB/Gyn Appointment (Pregnancy Confirmation)

On Friday, January 7th, I had my first appointment with my new OB Doctor, Dr. Bobby Tackitt.  The technician did a "confirmation" ultrasound to make sure that the pregnancy was still viable before I saw Dr. Tackitt.  It was too bad that Chaz couldn't come to this appointment with me.  This was the first ultrasound where I saw so much detail of the baby.  I just stared at the screen still in disbelief.  But when the baby started bouncing around, oh my gosh... I lost it!  The technician handed me several tissues to wipe the tears.  As she said, it was the first time I had let go of the biology of this and became a patient.  I was watching my baby on the screen!  The baby still looks great and has a healthy heart rate of 162 beats per minute.  The top left of the picture shows the yolk sac (this is what nourishes the baby until it's circulatory system takes over).  It will eventually disappear as the baby grows.  The top right of the picture is the back of the baby's head and if you follow it down, you'll see the leg buds protruding out!

My next appointment with Dr. Tackitt will be on February 3 and I will be about 12.5 weeks along; into my second trimester!

First Ultrasound with Dr. Robin Fogle

I was still on vacation from work, but went in on Thursday, December 30th to have an ultrasound with Robin.  She looked at the baby, it's yolk sac and my uterine lining.  Everything looked perfect!  My mom was with me too and together we saw the heart beating at 182 beats per minutes!  This will slow down over the  next week or so, but so far so good!

Telling Granny and Pappa Dotson

Mom and Dad Dotson came to visit us in GA on December 27th.  As their Christmas gift, I made a picture calendar using Snapfish.com and uploaded all kinds of pictures of our family for each month.  On the Month of August, I taped in a picture of my ultrasound.  My parents have 4 children, 5 Grandchildren and 2 Great-Grandchildren.  They were so happy with the calendar and took their time looking through it.  I impatiently waited until they got to the month of August.  Chaz had the camera ready.  You can see in the first picture the look on Mom's face when she saw the ultrasound.  "Is this you?"  she asked.   The second picture is her emotions after I told her "yes, Chaz and I are having a baby."  It wasn't 5 minutes before she called all my surrogate Mother's on the phone!

How we told Judy and Charlie (Grandma and Grandpa) Ingram

I found a cute frame with the title "Grandkids" on it and spaces for three pictures.  Judy and Charlie have two Grandson's (Ryan and Brayden) from their son Michael and his wife Naomi who live in Alaska.  I put a picture of Ryan in one spot, Brayden in another spot, and put the ultrasound photo our our baby in the third spot.  We wrapped it up and gave it to them after dinner on Wednesday, December 22.  Mom opened the gift and loved the pictures.  She said "Oh look, this must be a sonogram of Brayden."  We said "no" and she exclaimed, "Is this your baby!?"  The tears started to fall :-)

First Image

It was almost Christmas time and we decided that even though our baby was only 6 weeks old, we wanted to share our news with the Grandparents and Aunts that would be visiting.  I wanted to see the heartbeat before we released the news.  Mirrin (our nurse practitioner at ACRM) did the ultrasound and we saw the little flutter of a heart beating.  It had probably only been beating for 2 or 3 days at this point!  Everything looked great at this point, so I felt better about making the announcement.  The baby is only half a centimeter in length!

How I told Chaz

I learned of my early pregnancy while at work on Monday, December 6th.  Chaz too was at work and I didn't want to call him and tell him the news over the phone.  So, I made a plan.  My boss gave me a baby t-shirt that has our work logo on it (ACRM) since technically our baby was conceived at ACRM.    I took it home and wrapped it in Christmas paper.  I hung three Christmas stockings on our fireplace:  mine, Chaz's and I had an extra small stocking that I put in the middle of ours.   I put the wrapped present in Chaz's stocking and waited impatiently until he got home. When he arrived, I told him I received an early Christmas present that day and wanted him to open it.  We sat together on the fireplace hearth and he opened his gift.  When he pulled out the baby outfit, he stared at it, then at me.  "What's this?" he asked me.  I just smiled and he knew.  "It worked, and I'm home" he said.

We're Pregnant? How did that happen?

Chaz took me out for a beautiful Valentine's Day dinner in 2008.  At the table, he handed me a beautiful card and told me that he was ready to start the next phase of our life; to bring a child into our lives.  It was our engagement proposal all over again.... I couldn't stop the tears.  What a great gift.  As most of you know, Chaz and I were never sure we wanted to have kids.  But after a while, we got the urge.  I went home and threw my pills away :-)  Being almost 39 years old already, I believed that if it was "meant to be, it would be."

We tried the "old fashioned way" for several months with no success.  In January, 2010 when Chaz moved to MD, not only was this time challenging for us emotionally, but it seemed impossible that we could get pregnant.  I'm extremely fortunate that my career in embryology has allowed me to work for so many excellent doctors.  Up until this point, we had not told anyone that were trying to have a baby.  I decided to confide in my boss and was fortunate to have his blessing and was given access to a great team of friends and co-workers that provided their expertise to us.  What does that mean?  Well, without going into details, we were able to continue trying to make a baby even though we weren't physically together... what a great story over a cocktail one night!

Chaz came home in October, 2010.  Although all the efforts were good, we still weren't pregnant.  My friends back in Richmond offered to do an  IVF cycle for us.  We were going to take them up on their offer in November, but I just couldn't move forward.  Chaz had just come home, and emotionally and financially, we just couldn't do this.  I still believed that if it was meant to be, it would be.  Well.... on the evening of November 20th, with the help of my friend and co-worker, Dr. Robin Fogle, a little miracle started (another story reserved for cocktails one day).  On December 6th, Robin drew my blood and came to me with the news... I was pregnant!