The joy of pregnancy ;)

Well, I had my first of what is probably not my last scares with little Finley today. I have been having some symptoms for the last few days that I will spare you from, but as I was driving back to my office with a friend, I casually began to talk to her about some of the "joys" I was experiencing. To make a long story short, she had me calling my doctor by the end of the conversation with the never-failing "better safe than sorry" attitude. WELL, I got a call not too long after saying the doctor wanted me to go ahead and come in.......umm......now I'm scared. I should know that with our history, he is just being safe, but any rational thought that I once had was thrown out the window at that moment. I called Kelly and we decided to meet at the doctors office. It was the longest wait of my life...and I'm sure Kelly's as well! My doctor immediately did an internal exam and **thank God!!** found that my cervix is completely closed and everything looks great! He got the doppler out to listen to Finn's heartbeat and as our doctor said, "it sounds beautiful." As he said that, Finn kicked the doppler, which for those of you who have heard the stories know that this is totally his character...doctor or not, he demands his space ;) On a not-so-fun note, one of two things has occurred. Either I pulled a muscle swimming (which I've never done but is not impossible) OR Finn found a comfy spot on one of my nerves. Dr. Ruiz thinks the latter, but time will tell. The back of my left leg is the victim, but I'll take this any day over any issues with Finn! Hopefully, he can find somewhere else that is equally as comfortable but not quite as painful for mommy...so as always, continue to pray for our little guy (and maybe for a new spot in his fin-bin).

21 weeks!

Hello all! It feels strange to have now passed the half-way point, but here we are! Finley continues to get stronger. I had my first "is this normal?" kick the other night. I was making cupcakes for a friend's baby shower and (**confession) I had some of the icing and I had a cookie (Kelly was 'craving' cookies). Well, sure enough, Finn started moving all around-I felt like he was doing cartwheels in there. OK...so normal so far. Well, then I leaned over (not bent over...just leaned) and got quite a surprise. He kicked me so hard, and he managed to hit a nerve, and my whole right arm went completely numb! Somewhat like when you hit your funny bone, but worse! I think he felt bad because the next day his flutters were a little less pronounced...

Overall, everything is going great. His heartbeat continues to sit at about 147 (it was probably much higher on cupcake night). At 21 weeks, he's about 10 1/2 inches long and 3 quarters of a pound..and he even has eyebrows :)

Half-Way!!

Today is the half-way point of our journey together (though God willing maybe Finley can come like 2 weeks early or so...that would be ok)!! It seems like it crawled for a little while, though I think I can blame that mostly on sickness, but now we're movin'!

It's really funny to me how either our babies in the womb really do start to show their little personalities OR we just want to know them so badly, that we start assigning personalities based on their little actions. Either way, I think Finley is claustrophobic. Now, as long as he has his large little sac to float around in, he's just happy as a clam. But, he put a stop to my tummy sleeping this week :( I went to lie down as I always do on my tummy, really looking forward to a nice night's sleep, when I felt "whack!" My eyes jolted open and I thought..."hmm...maybe he's just saying 'goodnight." It was rationalization at its best. Then, "WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK!!!" OK-Finley wins his first battle with mom. The next day, I chose to wear a pair of maternity pants that had a rather large elastic band around the waste. As any mother who has worn these can confirm, they are slightly constricting, but really it's only to keep your pants up! Well, sure enough, he kicked and kicked right where the band was! Now, I'm starting to think that the reason his kicks are so strong for being such a little guy is because he's been trying to get me off of sleeping on him for weeks! Poor poor child!

As for me, I am continuing to feel well and I'm just trying to survive this heat like the next person! I have a bet going with Kelly that is regarding our gym, so I've maintained a relatively high level of activity (approved by doctor) and I think that is helping with my energy. Overall, we're doing very well and feeling blessed for each day with Finn. We're just praying that he stays in his little finn-bin as long as needed to make him a healthy little boy!

But wait! There's more!

You all know that Kelly has been not-so-patiently keeping his hand on my belly relatively often hoping that Finley might realize daddy is there and kick for him. Well, since Saturday Kelly has been waiting...I informed him that his kicks that were that strong were few and far between so it might be a few weeks. Naturally for Kelly, that didn't fly. So tonight, while sitting at a presentation for a friend, Finley starts his little kicking party so I quietly put Kelly's hand on my belly and sure enough...Kelly got to feel his little "tap tap tap!" His face lit up and all he could do was smile :) Finley made daddy's evening...

Whew! Momma can breathe!

HOORAY! Finn had his anatomy scan today, where they examine all of his vital organs, and everything looks great! As I type this he's kicking away as if to reiterate, "Yes mom, I'm fine...quit worrying!" I truly had no reason to believe otherwise, but Kelly and I were so relieved to learn that everything looks "great." That's another word that we're just not accustomed to, but we really love. He weighs 8oz so he is right on track and just busy being a growing boy! Thanks for the prayers and support and Kelly has promised to set up our scanner so that we can show you our adorable little man! Love & Faith!

UP...Finn either loved it or hated it!

So my friend Christelle and I went to see the movie "UP" this afternoon. To be honest, I really didn't know what the movie was about but after watching it, I am recommending it to all of you! It is the cutest movie with such a sweet plot! You will cry...most of you, but you will walk out of the theatre with a smile :)

Well, about half way through the movie, I was resting my hand on my belly when I felt Finn start shuffling around. I've felt him move a few times in the past few weeks, but this was the first "WHACK!" I actually felt him move my hand a little bit! Point being, our little guy is getting strong!

I came home and Kelly rested his hand there for about 1/2 an hour just hoping he might feel the need to do it again, but that wasn't the case. I suppose we'll just have to go back to see the movie again!

I have been informed that I do not update you all enough, but it is really due to a lack of creativity in between appointments. So, with this in mind, I thought I would inform you that I am officially entering my fifth month! Also, you would be interested to know that at this time, Finley is approximately the size of a bell pepper...5 1/2 inches long and about 7 ounces (though he was measuring ahead 1/2 an oz. at the last appt). His ears are now in their final position, though they (Babycenter.com) say that they are sticking out a little bit...how cute!

On another note I have some fun new pictures to add so enjoy!!

Much love and thanks for your continued prayers!