30 weeks!

We are officially 3/4 of the way through this pregnancy and the excitement is beginning to mount!!
I can't believe we made it this far and only have 2 months left to go! WOW How our lives have alread changed and how much they will continue to change, it is mind boggling to think about!

I had another Dr appointment today to check my blood pressure. It is running elevated but because it is not spiking I am to just keep doing what I am doing. I've upped my water intake and Im resting a lot when Im at home. I am not to do anything physical that can get my heart rate up for the rest of the pregnancy, so Luke, my sweet dear husband, has been working his tail off having to do all the household chores and putting up the baby crib and everything. He hasnt even complained yet :)

Speaking of the baby crib here is a picture I took with my phone after we got it put together and I draped the bedding over it. We do not have a mattress in it yet but we will get that soon :)
I LOVE the bed! (Thank you Mom & Dad (Nana & Papa) ) It is navy blue and just simple and perfect!
We also love the bedding (Thank you Mama Terry)  it is just too perfect! :)

Anyway we are just busy trying to get ready for the big arrival. In the meantime, in two weeks my beautiful friends are hosting a baby shower for me and I couldnt be more excited about having all the wonderful women in my life together to celebrate Easton!! :) I can't wait for that day!

We are most anxiously awaiting my next High Risk Appointment next week (Feb 9). At that appointment we will get to see Easton in a sonogram and we will also meet with a fetal heart specialist and have a fetal echo done to get a good look at his heart and make sure that the bright spot we're seeing is not anything to worry about. Prayers are welcome, always!

Thank you, everyone, for all the support and love that you've given us, we are completely humbled by all of the love!

I will update after next weeks appointment!



Info on Clefting

For those of you who care to read more on what we may be dealing with when it comes to Eastons cleft lip/palate here are some websites that we have found helpful. Here you can read information, watch videos about emotional issues (for parents), feeding etc... also before & after pictures which have helped us tremendously and may help any of you who may be concerned about what he will look like. As far as we can tell he has a unilateral cleft (just on one side).

http://smilesforkids.missouri.edu/common_conditions/clp.php

http://www.cleftline.org/
http://www.cleftadvocate.org/gallerya.html

http://www.ameriface.org/

http://www.widesmiles2.org/

Pregnancy update and more!

Well another few weeks have gone by and yesterday (1/25/2012) I am 29 weeks! Time is flying by! I hope we can get everything ready!!
I had a Dr appointment yesterday with my regular OB and Luke came with me this time. We did not have an ultrasound but we did get to hear Eastons heartbeat and it was a perfect 148! He is an active little man and that makes us all happy!
On the down side my blood pressure was really high and they took it throughout the appointment and it never came down, so I am monitoring it from home, they ran a bunch of blood work and urine tests. I know what the cap for high BP is and when I should go in to L&D if I have to.
Today they called and the blood work is coming back just fine so far, so we are hoping that I have not started to develop Pre-Eclampsia and that the bp is going to come down.
Today it has been a little high, not at high as it was yesterday, but Im continuing to monitor it and have talked to the Dr numerous times today about it.  I am no on bedrest but I am restricted on what I am allowed to do. She says not to do anything that might getm y heart rate up; no housework (Vacuuming, standing in the kitchen long periods) no grocery shopping, no walking more than just leisurely restful walking, no taking the stairs...So Looks like Luke has a lot of housework and shopping to do ;)


So we're conituing to pray for good health for both me and baby Easton and I believe HE will get us through safely!
I will go back to her on Feb 1 for a blood pressure check, and we still have the appointment for Feb 9 with the high risk and the fetal heart specialist to have the Fetal Echo & Ultrasound done to look at Eastons heart, check his growth and look at his cleft. We're anxiously awaiting that appointment and hopefully we will be able to rest a little easier after that!
Other wise we have begun cleaning out Eastons room and trying to make room for all the stuff we're beginning to accumulate for him! Im hoping this weekend we can get the carpets shampooed  in there and get the crib put up! If not, I know we'll get SOME progress done, and Im excited to see things coming together!

Updates 1/5/12

Yesterday I had a regular appointment with my OB and everything looks fine. My Blood pressure was really good, I passed the Glucose tolerance test and my iron levels are good. She told me to just take it easy, not do anything too physical, because we are still watching my blood pressure, and the watch my salt intake but otherwise everything is good.
Today I got a call from the Geneticist at the Perinatologists office and she has scheduled us to go meet with the Craniofacial team at Cooks Childrens Hospital in Fort Worth on March 2. Im so glad that is a friday! Hopefully they can help relieve a little bit of anxiety I've been feeling and we can set up a game plan. She was going to fax them all the info they need and they will mail me a bunch of paperwork to fill out before we go.
Meanwhile things are definitely getting more real. We registered last weekend, we will get the spare room mostly cleaned out this weekend, and Friday I am going to pre-register at the hospital! Time is flying by! I sure hope we can get everything done! With added Dr appointments and trips to FW now it seems even further from our reach, but we'll get it!

New Year and Easton news

I can't believe this year is already over! What a whirlwind it has been! This time last year I was engaged, less than 3 months from our wedding and in a total wedding planning frenzy. IN the next 6 weeks I would have a couple of wedding showers thrown for me, make a bunch of quick trips to San Angelo for Pictures, dress fittings, last minute details at the wedding location. It was fun but I was stressed. In March we were married, in a beautiful wedding ceremony, surrounded by the most important people in our lives, then whisked away to a lovely week in the mountains to do nothing but unwind. Now 9 months later I am 25 weeks pregnant with our first child, and instead of being totally overwhelmed with wedding planning, we are totally overwhelmed with baby and family planning! I never thought we'd be here now, but we are and we are so incredibly blessed!

Speaking of baby, we have decided on a name and he will be Easton Landry Ellis. We just fell in love with the name, a good strong name that flows well. It doesnt necessarily mean anything but we love the flow of it. And it doesn't hurt that we believe this makes total sense, you know, since he will more than likely be the starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers some day ;)

Things are going well with the pregnancy. We have had a couple of hiccups, but now that we're getting used to a few things I feel like I can tell the world. Our precious boy has a cleft lip/palate that has been confirmed in three ultrasounds. We are seeing a perinatologist and a genetic counselor who are helping us set up appointments at Cooks Childrens hospital in Fort Worth  as well as offering support and advising us on what steps to take. For those who do not know, a cleft lip/palate is not something that is that uncommon. 1/700 babies will have it in the US and there is no clear reason as to why. Its "multi-factoral" and is a mixture of genetic predisposition and environment among other things. We may never know what caused it, but we know it is there and we are receiving very good care, advice and support from our medical teams and our families. It is so common that the genetic counselor told us at any given time they are treating at least 2-3 mothers with a cleft babies at a time and had just seen one earlier the morning of our first appt with her. It helps to know that we're not alone.
Easton also has a bright spot on his heart we are keeping a watch on. Our Doctors do not seem overly concerned with this since there are no other signs or symptoms of any sort of syndrome, but we are having a fetal echo done by a fetal heart specialist early February just to get a better look. This is also something that we have found is not terribly uncommon and could end up being nothing to worry about at all. But we are definitely being very cautious and praying hard about this as well. Structurally his heart is perfect and his heart beat is always perfect.
Our medical team seems to think the cleft lip/palate is an isolated event and there should be no other issues. It also appears as though the cleft is just on one side, which can make feeding and correcting less complicated.
Easton is growing right on track with where he should be, actually he always seems to measure a few days ahead of where we are, he is a big boy and he is VERY active. I can feel him kicking and moving quite frequently now, and lets just say he loves his icecream (just like his Daddy). The best thing about the cleft is we get to see him more often with more ultra sounds, and it is always reassuring to watch him wiggling and squirming, even if I can feel him, seeing his sweet little hands and feet and face always warm my heart.

Luke and I are doing well. We were surprised in the beginning and I'd be lying if I didnt tell you I cried a few times about it. We know that things will come a little harder for a while, feeding and such. I hate the fact that Easton will have to have surgery so early in his life. But we are confident in the teams we are going with to help us out medically and emotionally, we know that we are strong and can be strong for our little miracle and most importantly we have more love for Easton than I ever dreamed it was possible. We have a wonderful support system and no matter what is thrown our way, God is watching and listening.
We talked and decided it would help us out to document our journey, and some day we can show Easton how loved he was and is, and tell him all about his journey!

We are so thankful for modern medicine and technology that is allowing us to begin to prepare for what is to come. We have heard from a lot of people "I never had sonograms" and "I think they do too many ultrasounds these days". Well, we have them for a reason, and one of those reasons is so that we can find issues before he is born and we can prepare for them. Because of these ultrasounds we can have a prenatal consultation with the craniofacial/pediatric team who will work on Easton in Fort Worth. Because of these tests we will be able to not only medically and financiall prepare but also emotionally prepare for some of the trials that will come. We can set up meetings with people who can help us with feeding, help us get the resources we may need, and just offer support. I thank God for the inventions of Medical technology.

So looks like 2012 has a lot in store for us, and I say bring it on! :) We are ready and with support of family and friends and GOD we can handle anything!
Besides how can we not be optimistic when we got a Thumbs Up from Easton just last week!

Christmas season Blessings

Christmas is upon us and I’ve been stressing about money and how will we be able to buy this present or that….and suddenly this week I feel like God shook me and told me to get a grip, stop feeling sorry for yourself and look at your life!

WOW! He is right. I am far more blessed than I deserve. Sometimes I think we have to come down to reality and take a good long hard look at our lives. What I call a bad month money wise would be a dream for so many. When I think I have nothing to wear, I have WAY more clothes than SO many and when I think we have nothing to eat in the house, well how spoiled am I to say that? I have a pantry full of food while so many go hungry.

Who cares if we can’t spend the amount of $ we think we should be able to? Is that REALLY what we should be concerned about? NO! Why do we worry about this? Because someone might be disappointed that their Christmas gift didn’t cost much? Well I’ve learned some lessons in the last few weeks, there are a LOT More important things going on in my world to be concerned about how much I spend on that gift or how much you spent on mine. How incredibly selfish and awful are we to really care? What happened to “it’s the thought that counts”? If I put effort into thinking about something to give you as a gift, that represents the love I have for you, the respect I have for you, a Christmas gift symbolizing the gifts received by THE KING from the wisemen. Why does money value matter? It shouldn’t.

This Christmas I am so incredibly happy and blessed. My life is wonderful. There are so many things to Thank God for, so many things I tend to forget or look past and then I become selfish and think I deserve more, when in reality I don’t deserve what I have!

I have an amazing husband, who loves me unconditionally, who stands by me and works hard, and whom I love more than I ever thought possible.

I have a miracle growing inside of me. I am MAKING a human life. Part me, part Luke, all God and all Love. He will be our pride and joy and Nothing makes me happier than to envision our future.

I was raised by the most wonderful parents. They love and support me unconditionally. They continue to always be my rock and my sounding board. They are the reason I am who I am.

I have a brother and sister whom I feel are my best friends, they can make me laugh and love and protect me unlike any other.

I have extended family that is so wonderful, who I know and am able to communicate with.

We have a roof over our head, with heat and a/c. A kitchen to make meals, a comfortable warm bed to sleep in at night, a closet full of clothes and shoes, a washing machine so that I do not hav eto wear those clothes dirty, a kitchen full of food and clean water to drink.

I have a job that helps provide for my family, and health insurance that ensures I get the best health care.

We have our sweet Alli, our fur baby, who loves us and is ALWAYS happy to see us, no matter how long we’ve been gone or how much she thinks she’s mistreated.

We are blessed to have vehicles to get us where we need to go safely.

I am surrounded by wonderful people, angels, that I call friends. People who are honest with me, love me, listen to me, support me and make me smile. People I can cry with and laugh with. A few people in this massive world who actually understand me and what I go through. And who I hope I am as good to, as they are to me.

I live in a country where I am allowed to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, vote, live how I wish.

This just scratches the surface….but after the last few weeks that we have had, I needed to write them down. I am so blessed. These things are gifts from God and how dare I be so selfish to think that I am worthy of even more than this?

Thank you God for all of these things and the millions of  other blessings I haven’t mentioned.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Count your blessings and remember the TRUE reason we celebrate!

Our precious little miracel! Easton Landry

Counting my blessings 2011 day 2

Today I am counting 5 more blessings in my life.

1. Im so blessed to always have HIM, my God, to talk to and comfort me
2. Im blessed to have good, caring friendships
3. We are blessed to have even a LITTLE rain this morning
4. Im so blessed to have a sweater to keep me warm
5. Im so blessed to have the ability to work

counting my blessings

So amongst all the craziness going on around us, we tend to forget just how incredibly blessed we are. Thinking about this today made me think I should really count my blessings! So I have decided to share 5 blessings every day! Maybe you can share too and we can all open each others eyes to all the blessings around us every day and focus more on the positive, all the Wonderful things God hass given us, instead of the negativity.

Sometimes I think we need to help each other out when it comes to counting the countless blessings...I might realize a blessing you havent thought of! SO 5 every day I will share :)

1. My husband, Luke.



2. This tiny miracle growing in my belly.



3. My amazing parents, and all they taught and continue to teach me.



4. Alli, our furbaby.



5. The fact that we're employed.



Have you counted your blessings today?



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Mi Vida Loca

Life is CrAzY right now! I confess, I haven’t been the best friend, daughter or sister lately….I’m completely absorbed in what is going on right here in my little cubicle of the world!

I found Out I am pregnant just before I started this new job, and I didn’t even get to my first Dr appointment until a few weeks after I started my new job, so I was panicked about insurance for a while. We have SO much going on, even if it looks like we do nothing. We live in this little apartment that we’re going to have to do a total and complete overhaul on to make room for baby. Which means I’m probably going to have a lot of things for sale soon. Not to mention I’m pretty much a hormonal nightmare part of the time and absolutely exhausted all of the time. Neither of us have slept very good lately so that has added to the moodiness.

When I get home at night we eat dinner and go to bed pretty much, I don’t even take my phone out of my purse half the time.

SO to those I’ve neglected, I’m sorry…hopefully this ridiculous exhaustion is on its way out! People keep saying around 13-14 weeks the energy comes back! Im banking on that!

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not complaining! J Just explaining!

I go back to the doctor next week for a NT scan and check up. We’re hoping my blood pressure stays low, I have been monitoring it at home and work and it has been right at what it should be. So that is good news!

Also in pregnancy updates I am hungry ALL THE TIME and seriously think I’m going to pass out if I don’t eat every 2-3 hours…it’s a bit ridiculous! BUT whatever baby needs, right? So I have all kinds of dried fruits & trail mix at work to munch on to try and keep the hunger at bay. Haha other than that I’ve not had any morning sickness, and besides being exhausted I’ve felt pretty good! I’m almost out of that first trimester! I’ll update after next week’s appointment.

These days it’s pretty hard for me to cook, Lukes cooked a few times and we’ve eaten a lot of subway & McAlisters! J The thought of touching raw meat these days gags me….and heating up the house is a huge turn off too…but Im in the process of making a menu that doesn’t require a lot of meat, or things that Luke can maybe handle the meat for me, so hopefully our eating will get back on track soon!

In other news the new job is going well. It’s pretty slow moving, this is a whole new department in this organization and so the transition has been pretty slow but I have a feeling it will be picking up pretty soon, then it will be pretty busy and days will fly by! I told them about the pregnancy and received nothing but positive responses so we’re definitely relieved about that!

These days we’re just so thankful for everything we’ve been blessed with! Patient family & friends and each other. We really are very very lucky, I realize how much worse things could be, and makes me truly appreciate every little blessing! God has definitely been good to us!

We would appreciate your prayers for a healthy pregnancy!

Big Update

Well we have BIG news to share on this update.

WE'RE PREGNANT! That's right! found out for sure on July 31, 2011 that we're expecting a baby!
Last week on Sept 9, 2011 we went to our first OB appointment and got to see our perfect little angel for the first time! I am almost 10 weeks now, due April 11, 2012....Baby's heartbeat is good and strong, he/she was moving around and we could see its little arm buds waving around! I had no idea they moved that much this early!
My blood pressure is high, so we're slightly concerned about that. We're going to monitor it, and hopefully get it under control. I am going to try and cut my salt and caffeine intake down and walk more often and maybe that will help. We're praying for a very healthy pregnancy.
I've had a ton of blood work done and some more was done this morning. I go in for an EKG soon just to check and make sure my heart is functioning properly and there is nothing going on that we're unaware of. More of a precaution than anything else.

Otherwise we're very very excited and just thrilled to be sharing the news with the world! Its going to be a crazy next few months but we're excited for it!