Day 38 of bed rest... 20 weeks 5 days pregnant

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Same ole bed rest day for this gal :)

Thankful for my all blessings!

Day 37 of bed rest... 20 weeks 4 days pregnant

Had the windows open all day today and I love that it was still light outside at 5:40pm :) Is it going to storm tonight?

Kathy and Shirley brought me lunch today :) Jimmy Johns! Always nice to have good company and conversation.

I watched The Help again today. I think that's about the 4th time I've seen that movie. I love it every time. It's also a terrific book!

Another day in the life of this gal on bed rest! Thank you all for your support! If you'd like to join me for a visit or lunch, please email me at hollykappa@gmail.com.

Day 36 of bed rest...20 weeks 3 days pregnant

I can't believe I'm half way through my pregnancy! WOW!! Windows open today- enjoying the sunshine so much!!!

The weekend was great! Relaxed and got to spend some time with Jacob. Saturday night our friends, Katy and Josh, came over for pizza & cards. We played a little gin rummy and euchre. :) Good fun with friends!!

My friend, Megan, came over this morning. She was on bed rest during her pregnancy with triplets and it was so great to talk to someone who knows what I'm going through! Thank you so much, Megan! Loved my sweet tea too :)

We went to the doctor today. Our Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor, Dr. Turnquest. It was a good appointment. Baby boy is doing great! He weighs 13 ounces :) No change in the size of the clot, but it does seem to be flattening. Keep praying for my body to absorb it!! Continuing bed rest.

Rita and Brandi came this afternoon to help us with laundry and cleaning! Those gals are life savers!! Thank you!

Luke (our dog) has a new friend named Laurel. She's coming 3 times a week after school to walk him! Luke has some winter weight to lose and he loves Laurel so it's perfect! Thank you Carla and Laurel for your help!

We are surrounded by such amazing people helping us! I can't tell you enough how much it all means!! Thank you!!

Day 33 of bed rest... 19 weeks 7 days pregnant

My hubby is planning a dinner out for us tonight!! It will be my first dinner out in about 3 weeks! I can't wait! Better figure out what to wear :)

I'm half way through this pregnancy tomorrow!!

Have a great weekend! Jacob's mom can't visit this weekend. She's under the weather. If anyone wants to come visit, let me know :)

Thank you everyone!

Day 32 of bed rest...19 weeks 6 days pregnant

I've had to the windows open all day! I welcome spring for sure! I'm almost half way through this pregnancy! Jacob sent me the beautiful flowers in the picture :)

Got in a nap this morning... I love taking a nap in the morning :) Jacob poured me by bowl of cereal before he left for work... I ate it... then nap. Showered with excitement today knowing I was heading to the doctor this afternoon!

We got a new couch today for our family room in the basement. If only we had a bathroom down there, I could spend my day in our family room. I try not to do the steps too many times everyday. I need to ask Jacob to get on that bathroom :) Hopefully, I will be off bed rest before he could get it done. Maybe if I give him that challenge he will move faster :)

Doctor appointment went well. Just a check with our OB, Dr. Reisinger. She is a terrific doctor! Got to hear baby boy's heartbeat again. He likes my left side.

Stacey is coming over to visit tonight! I might get to see a few of my bunco friends too. Jacob's mom is coming back this weekend.

Love our family and friends helping us out! We couldn't do it without you! Thank you!

Day 31 of bed rest... 19 weeks 5 days pregnant

Well, I couldn't get ashes today for Ash Wednesday because of bed rest. Heard from some friends that maybe I could have had them brought to me, but couldn't get ahold of anyone on a moments notice. Should have planned better. Having a delicious dinner with beef made by my friend, Andrea. It looks soooo good. Her son says that rules don't apply to pregnant people and I agree with him :) Gotta get my iron for this baby boy :)

I got a nap in this morning :) Katy brought me lunch today. Had fun catching up with her. Been watching movies this afternoon.

Gotta keep it short, I'm starving! Gotta call Jacob and get him home to heat up this yummy dinner!!

Thank you everyone for your support!

Day 30 of bed rest... 19 weeks 4 days pregnant

Busy day again here for this gal on bed rest. Had to get up early because our handyman, Kenny, was here fixing doors in our basement. Rita came and cleaned the house, always so wonderful when she comes! And the Insight guy came to put a digital box in our bedroom. Look out, now I have all the movie channels I could want and DVR :)

Jacob and I rented a doppler heart rate monitor so we can hear the baby's heart beat. We heard it this morning. So wonderful to hear that fluttering! This baby boy is a mover... I know I'll be feeling all that moving very soon. Jacob's mom said he never stopped moving when she was pregnant... guess I'm in for the same :)

We head to the doctor again on Thursday. This week it's our OB, Dr. Reisinger. Then next week we go to our high risk doctor, Dr. Turnquest. I do like that I get to get out of the house to go to these appointments. And any opportunity to hear his heartbeat or see him on an ultrasound melts my heart!

Tomorrow my friend Katy is coming for lunch! Can't wait to see her! I'm so thankful for all my friends and everyone helping us out! Thank you everyone!

Happy FAT TUESDAY! Still haven't decided what to give up or do for Lent... any ideas?

Day 29 of bed rest...19 weeks 3 days pregnant

Video Blog today :) Correction to the video... it's day 29 of bed rest! Hard to keep track :)

Video Blog 2/20/12

Quick shout out to my friend and hairdresser, Ray! He came by yesterday and helped me out by fixing my hair. Thank you so much, you are the BEST!!

Day 26 of bed rest...18 weeks 7 days pregnant

Didn't sleep well last night... that nap yesterday probably didn't help. From now on I'm going to try to take my naps in the morning so I can sleep at night.

I'm definitely looking more pregnant. Since I wear sweatpants everyday I'm always comfortable. If these are the only pregnant clothes I'm going to be wearing, I could get by without buying anything. I promise to post a pregnant picture soon, Wade :)

TV watching day again today. Got to visit with my friend, Kelly, and her kids Sarah & Ryan today.

One food I'm definitely craving is Velveeta Shells and Cheese. I could eat them everyday. That was for lunch today and a turkey sandwich. I try to drink about 10 glasses of water a day. It's not the easiest thing to do. Today I'm on track though. I'm also craving fruit. Not the most in season thing in the middle of winter! No crazy cravings though.

Gotta get back to House Hunter's International! Thank you everyone!

Day 25 of bed rest... 18 weeks 6 days pregnant

Today was a much more normal day for me. I watched a lot of HGTV and TLC. Ate a turkey sandwich for lunch. That's about as exciting as it got. Oh, I did take a nap this afternoon.

My cousins (Susie, Kristin, & Ashley) are coming over tonight to bring me dinner and play a little Yahtzee. I love that game :) They are also going to take Luke (our dog) on a quick walk... which he so greatly needs. Poor thing has been cooped up most days with me.

So, there you go. An exciting day in the life of Holly! Still very much appreciating all of you.

Day 24 of bed rest... 18 Weeks 5 Days Pregnant

Wow! What a very enjoyable and busy day I've had for a gal on bed rest! My good friend and realtor, Mary Mac, brought me Chinese for lunch :) We got to chat through lunch. Then my friend, Laura, came to hang out and catch up. Laura and I have been friends since grade school. It was so much fun to talk about what everyone is doing now and our lives. Thank you, Ladies!!

I think one of the things I miss the most is a quick lunch with friends or running into a friend at the store. I miss interacting with people. Facebook helps keep me in loop, which I love, but it's not the same as a face to face chat. I've never been much of phone person. I'm an in person kinda girl! I really do appreciate seeing people! :)

I'm feeling pretty good which makes it hard to stay in bed. But I am. I'm taking care of me and baby just like the doctors have told me! We heard on Monday at the doctor that there are no changes. Hematoma is still the same size. I just wish it would go away already!

I got a great care package from my friend, Sara, over the weekend. Candy, books, and nail polish! All fun stuff. Thanks, Sara!!

If anyone has any ideas of things I can do while on bed rest, let me know! Note: I am not the least bit crafty. I have started knitting several scarfs and never finished any of them. I can cross stitch but haven't done that since grade school. I think I'll work on a few photo books. I take a ton of pictures and they don't get much further than Facebook. Maybe I'll try a little online scrapbooking because I for sure can't create a real scrapbook!

I've gotten into a few TV shows. During the day it's a toss up between TLC and HGTV. I'm a Bachelor viewer again, Thanks to Stacey! Parenthood and Modern Family are pretty good. Raising Hope was pretty funny last night. Glee, Southland, The Voice are in there too. Know of a good show, let me know!

Thank you again to everyone for your support, prayers, and help! I can't say it enough how wonderful you all are so I'll just tell you everyday! :)

Day 23 of bed rest... 18 weeks 4 days pregnant

On January 23, 2012, I was rushed to the doctor and admitted to the hospital. At 15 weeks pregnant, I was diagnosed with a subchorionic hematoma. I spent 2 days in the hospital and came home to complete bed rest. Not sure how long it will last. It's looking like it could be quite a while. Hence, my blog is started :)

Jacob and I have been trying to start our family for about 5 1/2 years. We have been married for 6 years and started "trying" about 2 months after we were married. "Trying" didn't work for about 6 months so we talked with my OBGYN, Dr. Reisinger, and asked her about options. She recommended laparoscopic surgery to correct my endometriosis. We did the surgery and 3 months later still no pregnancy so we decided to go with a fertility doctor. Fast forward, 2 fertility doctors, many attempts at IUI and IVF, a 10 day stay in the hospital because of a botched IVF retrieval and abdominal abscess....still no pregnancy. Needless to say, it has been a very trying and expensive 5 1/2 years.

We decided adoption was the best way to start our family. It's hard though once you make this decision, the paperwork and waiting that then occurs can be so tough! We waited a painful 15 months on a domestic adoption waiting list. About 10 months into this wait, we decided to look at surrogacy as an option because the wait was so difficult. The surrogacy process led us to an amazing fertility doctor in St. Louis, Dr. Sherman Silber.

After meeting Dr. Silber and discussing our history, he was optimistic that we could be pregnant. So we made the difficult decision to try IVF one more time! We didn't have much hope that it could work. IT DID WORK! Here I sit 18 weeks and 4 days pregnant, still in shock!

It couldn't be easy though. We got through the first trimester great. I worked out everyday and felt terrific. Then at the beginning of 15 weeks, complications. And here we get back to my bed rest. I could possibly be on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy. I'm due July 14th with our baby boy.

So far, bed rest has been boring but tolerable. So many friends have signed up to bring us dinner every night. I've had friends join me for lunch which helps with the loneliness of the day. My mom and Jacob's mom have helped with house cleaning, laundry, and dishes. But my mom is now back in Florida and Jacob's mom left today to go back to Kentucky. Might need more help with household chores. We couldn't do this without all the love and support! Jacob has been amazing. I know this is hard on him too.

We aren't out of the woods. Complications haven't changed and risk is high for something to go wrong. We are praying everyday for our baby boy. Please join us with your prayers!

If you want to help or visit me, please email me at hollykappa@gmail.com. You can sign up to bring us dinner on Meal Train. Thank you everyone!! Happy Valentine's Day!