Counting our Blessings

Friends and Family,

It's great to be writing to you all from HOME! Many of you know what kind of week we've had, but in case you don't- here's a quick recap: Last weekend, after spending an amazing 3 days with our dear friends Sara and Adam Jonas at our house, Ben and I decided to get some exercise and go for our normal walk with the dogs around flag pole hill and back. Sounds pretty innocent, right? Well, we are 3/4s the way home on Lanshire when I feel myself miss my step and promptly trip on the sidewalk- allowing no time to even think about catching myself. I land flat on my stomach, and experience the most sickening, deep pain I've ever felt. We were terrified for our baby. Praise God and His incredible timing, a sweet young couple happened to be driving right by us and witnessed the fall; they stopped and loaded all of us in their car and drove us back to our house. We immediately left for the hospital (Baylor Labor and Delivery) where they proceeded to give me a sonogram, listen to the baby's heartbeat and take a few blood tests for precaution. I cannot describe the joy we felt when we first saw our baby's heart pumping speedily and legs kicking away on the sonogram machine. Praise God! The doctors seemed to be relieved as well, and told us we could probably go home as soon as they got the blood tests back. That was when they discovered the abruption- the blood tests revealed that there was, in fact, a small amount of fetal cells mixed in with my blood, which can only be explained by an abruption of the uterine wall. This can be dangerous because whatever blood the baby is missing could cause him to become anemic and therefore demand an emergency delivery. In addition, the doctors had to tell me that I was having contractions (I didn't even feel them at first!) which was also a sign of an aggravated uterus. To make a LONG story shorter, we resided at Baylor hospital for the next 3 days, taking numerous blood tests, hoping to show signs of healing and recovery. But the Lord is faithful, and He is healing me everyday so that I can soon again have a safe haven for our baby. We've been home (on bed rest) since Wednesday, and BOY does it feel good to be out of that darn hospital gown! What a humbling experience child birth will be .... I can already tell from that little sneak preview. :) I am so very grateful to have such supportive family and friends who are willing to drop everything and surround me during this tough time. Sweet Ben barely left my side the entire time, and also took it upon himself to be my personal "secretary", contacting friends to keep them informed of our situation. My parents and Ben's parents also certainly learned the in's and out's of Baylor Labor and Delivery- great practice for when our little baby is actually born! Thank you to everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement, it truly did give me peace to hear again and again "God is in control".  Please continue to pray for our baby- that he will make himself comfortable and continue to develop in there for a few more weeks. But most of all, give PRAISES to Him for protecting us this week from a potential early delivery! His timing is so perfect, and we are trusting in Him one day at a time. The pictures are a few "highlights" from the hospital. (Hey- you have to be pretty creative to entertain yourself on bed rest!) My two favorite things about Baylor: their compassionate and attentive doctors and nurses, and... their bottomless CRUSHED ICE. That's right- they bring you Sonic-type ice all day long, all you can eat. It's glorious. 

One more exciting piece of news... the nursery is well on it's way to being complete! Our crib and changing table arrived yesterday, so Grandma Kathi came to the rescue and set all the bedding up and got things ready to go. Stay tuned- pictures will be posted soon! 

Love to you all. 

34 Weeks

8 weeks to go! This is very quickly becoming a reality to me. Life will soon change... FOREVER. Ready or not, here he comes. He is over 17 inches long these days, and weighing in just over 4 lbs. I've heard from MANY mothers that I am "showing" way more than most first time mamas are at this point. Isn't that nuts- basically, just to give all of you who haven't actually seen me yet, I've been told that I look like I could be due any day. ANY DAY! My favorite comment: "So, did your doctor tell you that you are have an extra large baby or anything like that?" Luckily, I've learned to have a sense of humor about this watermelon in my body. Ben has had his share of chuckles watching his pregnant wife awkwardly adjust into her new size- whether it be trying to squeeze past an area I used to not think twice about walking through, or rolling myself off the couch and waddling to the restroom for my 18th potty break of the afternoon. I am happy to be his temporary source of entertainment, as I will soon be replaced by a much cuter (and smaller!) little boy. Sleeping has become quite a pickle lately, but I have finally learned to just get up and read my "Baby Wise" book at 3 or 4 am instead of tossing and turning in bed as the baby tosses and turns in my belly. I think that's about all the exciting news I've got for you for now. I'll post pictures of the nursery as soon as our CRIB and dresser arrive! We are going with a western/ cowboy theme, and I am so excited to get it set up and ready for him. I'll keep you all posted as it progresses. 

26 Weeks... I think?

Well hello again! It's been so long since I've written an entry, I am having trouble remembering how to make all of this seem entertaining for you all. Hopefully the the concept alone of this miracle child developing inside my womb is enough to keep you all on board for this one. :) I am pretty sure that we are nearing 26 weeks now- which means baby Ratliff is very close to weighing 2 lbs. and measuring 14 inches in length. He is a very active little munchkin, which is becoming more and more evident as his infant limbs grow longer and stronger- the better to punch and kick with, right?! I love it, though. It's fun to watch people's faces when they can actually see a swift kick through my shirt from across the room. According to all the baby websites, this week is when I need to sign up for birthing classes for Ben and me. Let's all take a moment and picture Ben at a birthing class... touching isn't it? :) It will take some convincing, but I know he'll be come along because he is just a sweet husband like that. Speaking of my sweet husband, he has had quite a week! Aside from finding out that his beloved Longhorns will not be going to the National Championship (he could write an entire blog entry on why that is so ridiculous...), he also accomplished the task of MOVING US into our new house! That's right, the Ratliff's have officially moved on to our first family home, and we absolutely LOVE it! The timing of it was just a bit unfortunate because while I had the fun job of pointing and directing everyone (as I am 6 months pregnant and not allowed to lift anything), my poor husband, dad, and father in law had the grueling task of doing all of the lifting for the whole move. It was the most helpless I've felt during my entire pregnancy, and Ben and I agree on one thing: we will forever avoid making another move while I'm pregnant! :) But the great news is that I can finally begin NESTING in our new house and preparing the nursery for sweet baby boy!! This has definitely been a week full of thanksgiving for us- we hope you all had equally as blessed weeks. Happy December everybody!

PS: This picture is of my full body so that my dear friend Cameron can see my "pregnancy glow". Sorry for those of you who were hoping for a giant belly shot... :)

23 Weeks

Hey Friends! Hope everyone is doing well on this gorgeous Sunday evening. I am LOVING the weather lately, and I know Margy and Lily are too. They love hanging their heads out our living room window (since we've been able to leave them open lately) and spying on all the Glenco Park drama. Cuties. Anyway, I know you all did not visit our blog to get the latest Margy and Lily updates, so I'll cut right to the chase; Baby Ratliff is about 11 inches long now, but shockingly he is just now reaching 1 pound! Skinny little thing. I am now understanding why everyone tells me if I think I am growing fast now, wait until the last month... if he's only 1 pound now, he's got about 6 more to go and we are more than halfway through the pregnancy! Fun fact of the week: since he is beginning to get used to common sounds that he hears on a regular basis, I read that those sounds will not phase him after he is born. For example, he's been priveledged to hear our dogs bark more than enough, and he also has his share of vacuuming experience (thanks to his Mama!). So it's great to find out that when he's an infant he won't be absolutely terrified when I whip out the vacuum for a quick fix... which happens to throw Margy and Lily into a complete barking frenzy every time. Perfect. 

21 Weeks

Hey hey, hope everyone is doing well! We're in full throttle over here in the Ratliff household. Ben is beginning to think about preparing for his exams.... notice I said "beginning to THINK about". This is just the preliminary stage of stress for him. It gets worse as we near the holidays. So we've got that going for us. :) I'm sure he'll do SUPERIOR as he always does. I've been feeling very pregnant lately, especially after stepping on the scale at my monthly doc. appt. last week. I can honestly say that I've never gained 10 pounds in one month... until now. WOW. I just love stepping on those scales. Really though, it's a great feeling knowing that it's just a sign of a healthy baby boy growing rapidly inside me. By the way, he's now at least 8 inches long, and one of my books compared him to the length of a SQUIRREL! As Ben says, "babe, no wonder your belly is so big! It's like you've got an entire squirrel surrounded by a water balloon in there!" :) Nice point- that does explain so much. The biggest milestone I've noticed this week is the fact that my belly button is SO very close to popping out (to be an "outtie") it could happen any day now. I am curious as to after it "pops"... will it ever go back in?? Any mommies have an answer for that one? 

We're back...

Sorry once again for the delay... I wanted to start giving belly updates every other week for a while, but I just get so tickled when I get phone calls and emails "demanding" an update! So here you go... a big fat belly picture just to appease all you skinny minis out there. I bet you just like looking at them because it makes you feel better about your own belly! :)  Kidding. I am about 20 weeks now and feeling great. Whatever I said last week about not having a big appetite is absolutely NOT true anymore.... I am eating anything and everything this week! And I can tell the baby is going through a growth spirt because I am having "growing pains" more than ever in my abdomen. Baby boy is the length of a banana now, and throwing kicks and punches whenever he pleases. He's most active at night when I lay still and am trying to go to sleep... of course that's when he decides to come out and play. Speaking of sleep, I've had the hardest time adjusting to the new sleep positions I've had to take on. I've always slept on my tummy, but that is no long an option, as I feel like I am going to smoosh his face whenever I try! But laying on my back is no good either- apparently it causes pregnant women all kinds of back problems. That's been my challenge of the week- figuring out how to go to sleep on my side with a baby performing what feels like an acrobatic routine in my abdomen. Trust me- it's harder than it sounds! 

18.5 Weeks

Hello friends! First of all, I must say that it was quite funny receiving two phone calls from dear friends yesterday REQUESTING an update on the blog (you know who you are!) and reminding me that I was already a day late on the usual update routine. I loved it though, because it made all of my blog writing hours - okay minutes- well worth the effort, just knowing how "into it" some of you get! :) So yay- here's your weekly update, and MY APOLOGIES for the 24 hour delay. Never again. This week, baby Ratliff is the length of a mango, which I enjoy telling people much more than last week's comparison. His 5 senses are heightening at a great speed these days, which means he can finally hear his mama talk ALL DAY LONG to her students. I told Ben and he immediately lowered his head to my belly and began talking to him in a deep burly voice probably about something important like football or beef. My appetite has kind of slowed down lately, which seems strange since baby is growing so FAST. I'm sure it will all even out in the end. Here's a few pictures from the week. Ben's working hard to start the UT brainwashing early. I've GOT to find some TCU stuff for this baby to have a chance. Y'all have a great week and eat some pickles and ice cream for me.