26 Weeks

This past Saturday, we turned 26 weeks! Every week is such a milestone and we are beating the odds! The baby is so active and is moving around everywhere! To get the baby to be still while they are monitoring me lately has been quite a challenge. Our little one does NOT like it at all! Baby Schumacher really likes to be seen and not heard...lol! On Sunday, while I was on the monitor I was having mild contractions and I had no clue because I was feeling absolutely nothing! The nurse turned me on my side and kept monitoring me and they went away. I thought well if this is what contractions feel like then Yippee!! I know when I really start having them that I probably won't be so lucky but I can dream. I was glad to know that the contractions really didn't amount to anything and my doctor said they could've been caused by anything like low pressure in the air or me laying on a fibroid and the list goes on. Matt and I were relieved that it was a false alarm. The baby's heartbeat still is doing wonderful everyday on the monitor and is accelerating like it should. THANK YOU GOD!!

I am very excited that one week from today that one of my very best friends from Texas, Tiffany (who was my matron of honor in our wedding) is flying up here for a few days to spend time with me. I can't wait till she is here so we can have girl time! I am also excited that she will be here for my next sonogram and will be able to see the baby. Hopefully the baby will reveal itself completely to Aunt Tiff! I am so glad that she is able to come spend time with me! I really miss all my best friends and not all of them can just fly up here! I wish all of them could be with me! I love you Tiff and we can't wait till you are here!

My doctor is so pleased with our progress and says that me and baby are just doing so well! We are continuously blessed with the progress that we are making everyday and just want to thank everyone for all of your continued thoughts and prayers! God's hand is so evident on our little angel!

25 Weeks

I know that this post is late but I have been suffering with horrible sinus stuff and migraines for a week! Me and baby made it to 25 weeks and just want to keep sailing along! Everything is going really well! During my 25th week, I had another sonogram and the baby is 1lb 10oz!! The little munchkin gained 8oz in 2 weeks and we are thrilled and everything about the baby is growing properly. We are just so happy and blessed! The only thing that was low on the sonogram was my amniotic fluid, it had decreased but my doctor and the specialist are not concerned because they said that I am going to fluctuate as the baby gets bigger and is more active.

We still don't know for sure if it's a girl but the examiner still is leaning highly towards a girl. Our little one was sitting indian style so the examiner couldn't get a really good view. Hopefully on the next sonogram, we can know for sure.

The nurses monitor me and baby everyday to check the baby's heartbeat and make sure that I am not having any contractions and the baby looks so good. My doctor is so pleased and so are we! I am not having any contractions so far which is such a relief.

More updates to come!

24 Weeks - A Huge Milestone

Yesterday kicked off 24 weeks, a huge milestone for me and the baby. That morning I got my first steroid shot for the baby's lungs and it was the happiest that I've ever been about getting a shot in my life. That day my Mom and Matt brought me balloons to decorate my room for the celebration. Today, I received my second and last steroid shot and this caused me to have a little allergic reaction which they gave me a benedryl shot and I'm getting better. The nurses are now monitoring me twice a day on the contraction monitor together with the heart monitor for the baby. This takes about 20 minutes and so far so good. No contractions and baby's heartbeat is still exceptional! I will say our sweet child is a little finicky about these monitors. It likes to hide and the nurses have to trap it...ha! It also kicks and punches me the whole time. It makes me laugh!

This past week, Matt and I had our second consult with a Neonatologist and it went very well. She was very positive about the baby's progress up to this point and told us that if I could get to 24 weeks then everything will be a lot better for the baby from this point on. The baby is definitely at an advantage because of the steroid shots so that made us feel so much better about everything. It made us feel a little more calm to know that if for some reason that I didn't make it to 34 weeks that depending on the baby they have seen so much success with even 23 weekers. She indicated it would be even better if I could make it to 25 or 26 weeks because those are big babies to them. We are definitely wanting to go the full 34 weeks but made us have a little more peace in the meantime. Matt and I were able to ask all of the questions that we had up to this point and get answers. She actually said that she was impressed because all of our questions were right on point and that we were one of the most mentally stable couples that she has talked to. She said that we were very realistic but very compassionate about our situation. I said well good because I thought I was a complete basket case :)! We will also be able to go and get a tour of the NICU whenever we want so it won't be so overwhelming later.

I also had another sonogram this past Friday and it went very well! My amniotic fluid was up from 3.3 to 4.5 and we were ecstatic! The doctor said that I should be over the critical stage at this point even though the fluid is still low. The baby weighed 1 lb and 2 oz from the 15 oz that it was 2 weeks ago. It is growing just like it should and we couldn't be happier! We tried to find out the sex but the baby's legs were tucked and has the umbilical cord between it's legs BUT they had some good indications and are leaning towards a GIRL! They can't be 100% sure but if the umbilical cord wasn't there they probably could've told us for sure. I hope we can know for sure really soon because honestly the suspense is killing me! Mom and I started looking at baby bedding anyways for both a girl and boy and we found some great options for both! So exciting!

We had another great week and looking forward to many more weeks to come. Thank you for everyone's continued prayers and support. Keep them coming our way!

23 Weeks!!

I turned 23 weeks 2 days ago and we are so happy and thankful to have reached this milestone without any problems. Now the baby is viable from this point forward which puts us both a little more at ease but we still have a ways to go. We have a consult with one of the Neonatologist's sometime this week to discuss what's going on with the baby at this point and to answer any questions that we may have at this point. The ultimate goal is for me to make it until 34 weeks but we set a small goal of 30 weeks. I have a dry erase board in my room which Matt subtracts the days that I have to get to 30 weeks everyday. Right now I have 47 more days to go! We are hoping to go above and beyond. I have a sonogram sometime this week to see how the baby is doing and to measure my fluid. We really pray the fluid has increased! We are also keeping our fingers crossed that our little child will have legs uncrossed so we can see what it is :)

I do have a new contraption on my legs now. I have to wear compression boots 24/7 until I deliver which helps with circulation in my legs so I won't develop blood clots due to the bed rest. I am thankful that they are keeping on top of all of this but I will say it's taken a little bit to get used to. I can unplug them when I need to get out bed. They look like braces on my legs! It looks like that I have two broken legs...lol! Oh well, it's all for the greater cause!

I am very excited this week because my Mom a/k/a Grandmom is coming into town on Thursday for over a week!! It's always wonderful to have my wonderful Mom here with me in my room all of that time! We laugh a lot of course and just have a lot of mother/daughter time which I need right now! It also gives Matt a little bit of a break too since he is juggling about a thousand balls in the air right now.

Thanks for everyone's continued prayers and support, we really appreciate it! We feel all of the prayers that are coming our way daily and it's so encouraging! Love to all!

Why is Rachelle and Baby in the hospital?

For those that don't know what exactly is going on with me and the baby. We wanted to give you the story and then we will just give you updates every week. Over a month ago during one of our sonograms, we found out that most of my amniotic fluid had disappeared. I went to my doctor immediately that next day to check and see if I had a ruptured membrane. At that time, the answer was no so my doctor wanted me to take it easy and hydrate constantly. I did that for a few weeks and then my water broke on Valentine's Day and was rushed to the E.R. It was determined that in fact in the E.R. that my water did break which they also call a Ruptured Membrane. They admitted me immediately and started me on antibiotics for 7-10 days to try and prevent infection to me and the baby. We will be in the hosptial until I deliver and I am on complete bed rest. It is Day 19 and so far everything is going perfect! I haven't gone into labor which is a miracle in itself and this sweet little baby is doing so good. We have had a couple of sonograms since I have been here and the baby is growing exactly where it needs to be at this justation and the blood flow is normal. About a centimeter of amniotic fluid has come back which was good news to us because that means that I am not losing anymore. The goal right now is to make it to 30 weeks but we would really like to make it to 34 weeks. I will deliver at 34 weeks no matter what because at that point the baby is safer outside the womb rather than inside.

I will be 23 weeks on Saturday, March 6 and we are so thrilled because the baby will be viable from this point forward. At 24 weeks, my doctor will start giving me steroid shots for the baby's lungs and we are looking forward to that day. Everyday is a milestone and we are so thankful. It has been such an emotional roller coaster for us but we feel all of the prayers and support of all of our family and friends plus God has given us such a special peace and understanding. It is totally in His Hands and we know He is working on our behalf. We are so lucky to have been given the gift of this sweet baby and that it is such a fighter.

Everyday that me and the baby get through without any contractions is a miracle. The baby is moving all around and let's mommy and daddy know that it's there. It is so refreshing to feel my baby moving, punching and kicking. Mommy and Daddy talk to it everyday and say a special prayer every night. It is so sweet because we both lay our hands on my belly and when Daddy prays, it moves all around. Mommy also sings to baby a lot and will start reading to the baby soon.

We hope this gives everyone a little background on what's going on with our little family right now. Again, we appreciate the prayers and support of our family and friends and so many others! We are so blessed!