Under 15 Weeks To Go, And Counting!

Well, we're already over 25 weeks along, and getting close to the end of the second trimester.  While in one hand it feels like she'll never get here, time also seems to be flying by.  As you can see from the photo, my belly is growing at a rapid pace.  And I'm still feeling fantastic.

Just in the last week and a half or so, I've started feeling her movements inside of me.  If you read my last blog, I was only feeling her with my hand on the outside just a short time ago.  Now, however, I can totally feel her moving around in there all the time.  I've also seen my belly move with my own eyes from the outside.  She's an active baby and I'm loving these amazing sensations. 

I'll be seeing my doctor every two weeks until 30 weeks, then begin going weekly until the baby comes.  We're still unsure if I'll feel contractions when they happen, so they'll be monitoring things closely to be safe.  At last week's visit, we were both healthy and developing right on schedule.  If she's anything like her Mama, this little girl will take her time and come when she's good and ready.

Last week we received a package from our friends at Colours Wheelchair.  Jacob is getting concerned that I won't be as sturdy in the coming weeks and that I'll have a hard time catching myself if I lose my balance in a wheelie.  So, despite my protests, we now have some wheelie bars (that prevent me from flipping over backwards) that we can put on if that time comes.  I haven't worn wheelie bars since I was like 11 years old.  They're kind of like training wheels for someone who's a professional cyclist.  I'm going to feel like a total rookie with them on, but whatever keeps the baby safe is what I'm going to do.

Jacob and I are headed to the stores today to finish up our baby registries.  We've done a lot online, but there's some stuff that we just need to check out in person.  A baby sure comes with a lot of stuff!  It's all so exciting!

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week and as always, feel free to send me an email if you have any personal or more private questions I can answer!  I'm happy to share!

She's Dancing in There!

When I first got pregnant, my sister-in-law told me about a really cool website - and I've discovered the iPhone app - called BabyCenter.com.  Every week, they send updates to my phone telling me what's happening with the baby, how she's developing and what changes are happening with my own body.  It's really interesting and we look forward to receiving the little notifications each week.  Today marked 23 weeks, and I was delighted by the first few sentences of our update this morning.  It read, "Turn on the radio and sway to the music.  With a sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance."  Wow.  Now, that's what I'm talking about.

All my resources say that our baby is now probably almost a foot long and over a pound in weight.  And it's obvious she's getting bigger and becoming more active because over the past week, both Jacob and I have felt her move on several occasions.  While I'm not clearly feeling the movements inside of me (as I did the flutters early on), I do get a feeling which makes me instinctively place my hand on a particular spot on my belly and suddenly, I feel her dancing underneath the palm of my hand.  I love it and I can't wait to feel her more as she grows. 

We had a great visit at the doctor this week.  My OBGYN agreed that I don't need to continue seeing the high-risk doctor, as my pregnancy is going so smoothly and the baby seems totally healthy.  She shared some exciting news in that at 24 weeks - just a week away - the baby will be "viable."  In other words, she would survive if she came anytime after that point.  It amazes me that we've already come this far.  Also, knowing that she would live, even if she came early, gives me this wonderful sense of peace that I can't quite explain.  From here on out, I'll see the doctor much more regularly to monitor the progress.

Even with this belly that is getting quite big, I'm still managing to climb up into our Trail Blazer and my Mom's SUV without any assistance; however, I can tell that my days are numbered.  I can barely touch my fingertips to the floor when I bend over.  Hills are getting increasingly difficult to push up.  Even dressing is becoming a little more of a challenge.  But, all of this was to be expected.  I know that I've got a while to go, and I haven't seen the toughest part yet.  I'll continue to be creative and learn new ways to maneuver.  Plus, like it or not, I'll have to accept the help of the people around me.  I'm accustomed to doing things on my own and proving my independence, however, my sister-in-law recently gave me some more great advice.  She said, "You need to ask for help because your pregnant, not because you're in a wheelchair."  Thanks, sis.  That makes sense. 

Things are really getting exciting.  At 5 1/2 months, we're spending free time working on the nursery, planning guest lists for baby showers and registering for all the necessary baby supplies.  We're having so much fun and learning a lot.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to get in touch if you have any specific questions.  I'm really enjoying sharing our journey with others and educating people on the extraordinary potential of the human body.  Until next time...

Half-Way There!

This week I dreamed of our baby girl for the very first time.  I’m not sure if it was spending time with my little cousins over the past two weeks, or if it’s simply the fact that we’re half way through this pregnancy, but it was awesome.  I remember being surrounded by family and friends and looking down into sparkling baby blue eyes.  I woke up with the warmest feeling.

It’s hard to believe that I’m already 5 months – or 21 weeks – along. At last week’s appointment, the baby’s heartbeat was strong and steady, as were my vitals.  As we move forward – just growing the baby, as they put it – they’ll want to see me a little more frequently to make sure nothing's going on that I can't feel.  We got to meet the new midwife at my doctor’s office and we really liked her.  She’s positive, happy and excited to be a part of a pregnancy that’s pretty unique.  I love educating people, so I’m glad to have another person involved that’s eager to learn.

I continue to be amazed at how much more in love I am with Jacob as each day passes.  He’s such a good man and I can’t begin to imagine doing this without him.  With my growing belly, I’m finding moments where I’m less confident transferring into and out of my wheelchair or unable to reach something that I could manage before, and he’s always there to offer assistance – without  making me feel “unable.”  Plus, while my body’s changing and I’m experiencing random little side effects of being pregnant, he never stops making me feel beautiful.  I’ve got to be the luckiest girl in the world.

We’re having a blast preparing the baby’s room.  We’re still nailing down a theme – but knowing us, it will probably be something beachy.  It’s exciting just sitting in the room and dreaming of creative ways to make things as accessible as possible for me.  So many people are asking me questions that begin with “What are you going to do when…” or “How are you gonna…” and my answer is usually the same: We’re not sure, but we’re really excited to find out.

We’re loving every second of this and can’t wait for what’s to come.  I hope that my experience can inspire other women to do what some think is impossible.  Life is a miracle and the possibilities are endless with the right attitude.

A Precious Baby Girl

Yesterday will go down in the books as one of my favorite days. We had a great appointment with the high-risk doctor and found out that we will be having a precious baby girl. The moment the nurse told us, it felt like my heart skipped a beat. It was surreal looking into my husband’s eyes and coming to the realization that we will soon have a daughter.

On top of the wonderful news of our baby girl, we also found out that both the baby and I are right on track and very healthy.  Every time the nurse took a measurement during the ultrasound – of the brain, the spine, the heart and various bones – she would say, “perfect.” It was music to my ears.  The high-risk doctor even indicated that he doesn’t feel like he needs to see me anymore.  He feels that the baby and I are so healthy, that we don’t really need to be considered high-risk.  That’s pretty amazing.

I’m still feeling really great, too.  Aside from a rapidly growing belly, a little more back pain than usual, and more acne than I ever had going through puberty – I pretty much feel like my old self.  I even got out to the lake this weekend and spent some time on the water and in the sunshine with some great people.  Jacob and I have been super motivated – keeping ourselves busy cleaning out, organizing and building things around the house to prepare for our sweet baby.

In the coming weeks, I’ll have to become more and more creative as I hang on tight to my independence and try not to fully rely on everyone around me to help with small tasks, such as picking stuff up off the floor.  Even transferring into and out of my wheelchair is beginning to become a bit more challenging.  I know I can handle it, though. Between my dogs (who are both a big help to me), the awesome people around me and my drive to overcome challenges, I know this will be just another fantastic learning experience that makes me appreciate the abilities that I do have.

As we count the days to bringing our little girl into this family, I continue to thank my lucky stars for the love and partnership Jacob and I share.  Furthermore, I am overwhelmed by and so grateful for the love and support we are receiving from our family and friends.  There couldn't be a better environment to bring a child into. 

Thanks so much for following our journey. If you know of anyone who would benefit from hearing our story, please feel free to pass this along - or you can email me here.  Happy Summer!

Happy Father's Day!

Today I'm celebrating what a great, hard-working Dad I have, and I'm also busy imagining what an amazing Dad my husband will be.  He's already so involved with the pregnancy and supportive and excited about all that's ahead of us, I have no doubt in my mind that he'll pour an equal amount of energy into being a Daddy.  Picturing him with our baby in his arms literally brings tears to my eyes.

I am now 15 weeks along and still feeling great.  My symptoms are few and definitely things I can handle.  I've had a few very dull headaches that seem to be a result of not getting enough fluids.  Since I was dehydrated at my first doctor's visit, making sure I take in sufficient liquids is something I really have to stay on top of.  I also notice that I get tired easier and prefer to go to bed earlier, but I'm happy to have much more energy than I did in the first trimester.  An occasional sleepless night is something that I'm sure I can attribute to changing hormones.  My occasional back pain and muscle spasms in my legs come and go, as normal, but don't seem to be any worse due to the pregnancy.  Also, I'm definitely experiencing the "swelling" that I've heard so much about, and since it occurs mostly in my feet and ankles - where I can't feel, I just make sure to pay attention.

It's interesting and exciting to observe the changes that are happening within me.  Some things are visible, including my growing belly, but others are more subtle.  For example, my taste buds are different.  I'm not quite craving anything out of the ordinary, but there are things that I used to love that just don't sound good anymore.  Once in a while, it's even challenging picking something that does appeal to my appetite.  Also, I can't help but laugh at how often I cry.  Anything that touches me emotionally brings tears to my eyes. 

I'm so happy and thankful to be spending the weekend with my husband.  He's been working almost non-stop for the past two and a half weeks, even spending some time out of town.  While I never like being without him, this time felt unusually tough.  He's my rock and when he's not around, I feel like part of me is missing, especially now.  When we were able to see each other, we'd steal some quite moments and lay on our backs and dream.  There's so much to imagine and it's so fun sharing what each other are thinking of. 

We can't wait for the next appointment with our perinatal doctor on July 6th, when there's a really good chance we will found out the sex of the baby.  It seems like baby names are constantly running through my head in all sorts of combinations, and it will be nice to be able to narrow them down a bit.  Also, I believe I've entered what people are calling the "nesting phase" because I'm so eager to start preparing the baby's room. 

We patiently await the arrival of our sweet little baby and continue to be appreciative of all the people that are sending love, blessings and happy thoughts.  Happy Father's Day to all the great Dads and Grandpas out there!

Happy and Healthy

I’m having the time of my life. I am nearing 14 weeks into my pregnancy; just beginning the second trimester. Now, I’m not saying there aren’t moments that are a little challenging or times that I don’t feel my best, but for the most part, I feel fantastic. Many of the symptoms I experienced in the first trimester are just about gone. I have much more energy, almost no morning sickness and a decent appetite. I’m also more in love with my husband than I’ve ever been. I really can’t complain.

One of the reasons I know I’m feeling great is that we have been doing a lot to improve our health and lifestyle over the past two years. I’ve been seeing a naturopath/dietician, a personal trainer, and an acupuncturist/Chinese medicine practitioner. Along with my OBGYN, these wonderful people make up my wellness team, and I’m so thankful for them. I’ve learned so much about the benefits of natural and holistic approaches to health and in turn, have been able to make better lifestyle and nutritional choices for Jacob and I, as well as our dogs. Everybody’s feeling good!

In the last week, several people have noticed and commented on my “baby bump”. I can definitely tell my belly is growing and actually, I’m surprised it took this long, with my lack of stomach muscles. While I don’t mind starting to show - in fact, I feel very natural - I am very aware that soon, I’ll start needing to change the way I do things to maintain my independence. Luckily, I’m pretty creative in figuring out how to get things accomplished because I’ve had a lifetime of practice. Plus, Jacob is excellent at thinking outside the box and taking the best care of me.

One of the coolest and most recent developments is the fact that I’m feeling some definite “flutters” inside me. I know it’s early, but after poking around on some of my favorite baby and pregnancy websites, I’ve found that I’m not alone in the sensations I’ve been having. Other women report feeling these tiny movements or little jolts of energy from within their belly - even this early. I’ve noticed this a few times over the past week when I’m lying very still. I wasn’t quite sure I’d feel movement, do to my lack of feeling in the abdomen. So, the fact that I can already feel something is awe-inspiring, and so very exciting.

I’m still elated after meeting with the high-risk doctor. It was such a relief hearing from a doctor that obviously knows about spinal cord injuries and is very comfortable talking about my specific situation. He was so optimistic - expecting no complications throughout the pregnancy. I was so excited to hear that he also believed that the possibility for a normal delivery was really good. He explained that my muscles are active and strong and while I don’t have control, contractions would happen regardless. The power and resilience of the human body never fails to amaze me.

Keep an eye out for more updates, as well as some video we've been shooting. Thanks for reading and please feel free to send me an email if you have any specific, or maybe more personal questions. I’m grateful for this opportunity to share this experience with others.

We're Expecting...

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that about six weeks ago, my husband, Jacob, and I found out that we are expecting our first baby. At this point in the pregnancy, I am just over 12 weeks along, and feeling really good.

For those of you who don't know, Jacob and I have known each other since we were ten years old, have been best friends for well over ten years, and are getting ready to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. He is the best friend and partner that I could ever imagine. We have the kind of love and relationship that I used to dream about. I am so lucky to have him in my life and I couldn't imagine embarking on this journey with anyone else in the world.

I always knew I wanted to have kids and as far as I can remember, the doctors always seemed to be optimistic about the possibility. And even with the unknowns, I really believed I could. At least, I believed in the potential. I have to admit, though, now that it's real and I've heard the rapid little heartbeat and seen an amazing little baby dancing in my womb... It's pretty unbelievable and astonishing. But, maybe every woman feels like this.

I realize now that I did have tiny doubts hidden deep within me - also probably very common for many women. Over the past year and half, I started to even get a little anxious about it. Was something wrong with me that I couldn't feel? In fact, at the last visit before I found out that I was pregnant, the doctor suggested I begin getting some tests done to make sure everything was okay. I remember coming home and deciding to let go. It would happen if and when it was supposed to happen. I was not going to count days anymore. I was not going to do those tests. At least, not now. Not saying that I never would... just that things never work very well when you force them. Especially for me. I'm a go with the flow kind of girl and I knew I needed to reconnect with that. It was about six weeks later I took a positive pregnancy test.

I don't think I've ever been so shocked in my life. I couldn't stop looking at the test. I happened to be home alone, so I had to call Jacob (I couldn't bare to wait a single moment). And I'm pretty sure I scared him half to death with my sobbing until I could manage to get the words out. Watching his joy, pride and excitement in this has been one of the most magical parts.

While there are women out there with spinal cord injuries that have had babies, it sure isn't common. My specific injury makes the situation a little more unique. I am paralyzed completely below T-5 - or a little bit below my sternum, down. This means that I can not voluntarily move, control or feel anything below that point.

I'm very excited to share this journey. While my doctors have little concerns and I'm in really good health, there will be unknowns. From unexpected surprises in the pregnancy, to learning how to live in a wheelchair with a pregnant belly, to figuring out when I'm in labor... this is going to be the most amazing and exciting experience of our lives. The most important thing is that we're surrounded by good doctors, wonderful alternative health practitioners, and the best family, friends and colleagues we could ask for.

Please stay tuned to follow our story of bringing Baby Rhoades into this world.