18 Weeks Pregnant!

How far along: 18 weeks pregnant! Due September 3rd!

Gender: Officially a baby BOY!!

Total weight gain: Up 8 lb.

Exercise: Unfortunately, my exercise plans for this pregnancy look very different. Between the subchorionic hemorrhage and now the complete placenta previa, I have been limited to just walking from about 12 weeks on. I have been walking 4-6 miles a day (usually split into two walks), in an attempt to maintain decent shape. Hopefully the previa resolves (prayer request!!), and I can be back to legit workouts!

Maternity clothes: I still haven't really ventured into maternity clothes. With Mckenna I never wore them, and I'm still trying to make my wardrobe work without them this pregnancy. Although I will say feeling anything digging into my stomach this pregnancy has made me feel a little sick, so that plan may not work out.

Miss anything: I definitely am missing my normal workouts. Working out hard is how I maintain my sanity and feel strong!

Movement: Some! I've been feeling this baby move for several weeks now, but finally the movements are become bigger and more than just flutters.

Have you started to show: This one is debatable. I think I look massive. Friends, family, and acquaintances (even people at the gym) definitely comment on how much my belly is growing. But I don't think strangers have any clue! It really doesn't help that I'm toting a 4 month old along, as it kind of looks like I just still have some baby belly to lose.

Stretch marks: This is a tricky one. I never got stretch marks on my belly with Mckenna. But ever since puberty I've had stretch marks on my thighs, tush, and hips. They are very fine and you only really see them when the light hits them right. So there's a good chance that I got more with Mckenna, I just have no idea. My guess is I may be getting more as we speak, I just can't see them in comparison to what is already there!

Belly button in or out: It's in...and looks like a massive goiter in tight shirts.

Wedding rings on or off: On, when I actually wear them! I take them off for walks, showers, and sleeping...and with my baby brain and pregnancy brain, I often forget to put them back on!

Sleep: I sleep like any mom with a 3.5 year old and a 4.5 month old. I sleep great when they are sleeping! I find I have a bit of trouble falling back to sleep, but only because my minds starts going.

Labor signs: None. I'm hoping none for a very, very long time. With complete placenta previa is can be really dangerous for me and baby both if I go into labor. So I'm extra hopeful that there is no early labor!! But I am already having noticeable Braxton Hicks contractions.

Best moment of this week: Finding out that this baby is for sure a little boy, and seeing Mckenna's joy at the thought of having a brother! It was also amazing to hear that the subchorionic hemorrhage is gone! Praise God!!

Thankful Thursday: Pregnancy & Sleep Training

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I’m thankful for this pregnancy!! I have wanted to post this as part of our Thankful Thursdays for the last 18 weeks, and WAHOO, the cat is out of the bag, so I can today! I am so thankful that we have made it to 18 weeks. God is so good.

I’m thankful for Easter. Bigger than providing us with a pregnancy and a baby boy so far, God has given us an even greater gift, salvation, which we celebrate on Easter. I’m so thankful that He sent His only son, Jesus, to die on the cross for me, so that I may be forgiven of my sins!!

I’m thankful for "spa nights". The last couple nights Mckenna and I slept at my parent’s house while Ronnie stayed with N to sleep train her. My dad was out of town, so it was just us girls, and we had a blast having what we called a “spa night". We did a bubble bath in our bathing suits, “facials”, and nails. Mckenna thought it was the coolest thing EVER…and we all has fun being girly together.

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for sleep training. I've been sleep training Baby N the last couple of nights and it's already paying off. She's starting to self-soothe much faster and has been pretty consistent with how long she cries and when she wakes up. She's even more content during the day for me as well.

I'm thankful for a crazy, do-it-all wife. Or is that crazy do-it-all wife? Do-it-all crazy wife? Anyway, she's the best. I recognize that she's way out of my league in every aspect and I am incredibly lucky to have her. She's been taking on most of the time with the girls allowing me to work more as it's been a bit nuts. She still has to work and has been using her usual free-time to get her stuff done. She's awesome and selfless.

I'm thankful for my my future son and His past and present Son. God has blessed us beyond measure by allowing us to be pregnant with our second child. It has certainly been a journey to get to this point, but He has comforted us every step of the way. I also reflect on what His Son did for us nearly 2000 years ago when He covered my sins on the cross and rose from the grave as He said He would. 

Have a blessed Easter everyone! 

What are you thankful for today?  

Baby Boy Sharpe Due September 3rd!

We are beyond thrilled to announce that we are pregnant! For those of you who are quick at math, or pregnancy geniuses, since we are due Sept. 3, we are 18 weeks pregnant as of tomorrow!

Can you believe it? 18 stinkin' baby-filled weeks?! We have waited a bit longer than normal to share publicly about this pregnancy for a few reasons, so we will bring you up to speed now!

We had our Day 5 embryo transfer of two embryos back in the middle of December and found out on Christmas eve that we were pregnant after an initial blood test. We were thrilled but cautious, as usually our first test is positive and second negative. Well our second blood draw was still positive, but the HCG didn't double like they like. In fact, it doubled in about twice the time they like (they like 2-3 days, our doubled in 5!), so they told us we weren't looking great, but to hang in there. They did another blood test three days later, and it doubled like they like to see. Two days more, and again, doubled. We were feeling cautiously optimistic at this point. We went for our 6 week ultrasound, and praise Jesus, there was a heart beat! At this point they said that we likely had started out with two implanted and one didn't make it past the first few days, hence the higher numbers that grew slowly (essentially when one stops developing, the numbers can take a bit of a dive). Ultrasound after ultrasound looked great. When we hit 12 weeks we thought we had reached the comfort zone. We were getting excited to announce at 13 weeks or so (we had to wait til 13 weeks because of a clinical trial Ronnie was on...he will write a whole separate blog about that), when at 12 weeks and 5 days in the middle of the night after feeding Baby N, I went to the bathroom and was gushing blood. I wish that was an exaggeration. It was like I was urinating straight, bright red blood. It kind of looked like a murder scene. I called Ronnie into the bathroom, panicked. We had been at the midwife that morning and heard baby's heartbeat, so we were hopeful I wasn't miscarriaging, but it was a lot of blood, so that left us very concerned as to what was going on. Off to the ER I went. The baby looked fine, but I was diagnosed with a very large Subchorionic Hemorrhage - essentially a bleed between the uterine lining and the uterine wall. It can be nothing, but it can also lead to miscarriage, premature labor, etc. We were told all we could do was wait (some things say it increases miscarriage rates by 50%, others say just 2-3%...not very helpful!). So wait we have! We have had ultrasounds every two weeks and as of today, we are happy to say that the bleed is TOTALLY gone!! Praise God! Our God is so good!! So we decided it was time to let the world know about our little love - growing like a champ and looking perfect at a day shy of 18 weeks.

In addition to the bleed, I also have been diagnosed with a placenta previa - my placenta is covering my cervix. This isn't a huge deal, I will just need to be monitored to see if it will resolve itself, and if it doesn't I will be required to have a c-section. I am maybe one of the only humans on earth that actually truly enjoys labor and delivery (like I love it. I'd have a baby once a week if I could), so the thought of a c-section majorly breaks my heart, but we have decided to just pray for its resolution as the weeks go on. If it doesn't resolve, we will joyfully enter an OR and meet baby boy via c-section. After 2+ years of struggling to get pregnant and 5 miscarriages, I care less about how they have to get him out, and just want to hold him in my arms and stare into his sweet, sweet face! But please join us in prayer for everything to shift and for and uncomplicated pregnancy from here on out and a natural delivery!

We feel so incredibly blessed. This little boy has kept us on our toes since day one. This whole process has taught us so much. If there's one thing we have clung to it's that we serve a God that is always good; a God that always has our best interest at heart. His plan for our family was for this little boy. This little boy that would not have been created had we gotten pregnant in one of our many earlier attempts. I will write another blog (soon) regarding why I think this one worked, when we lost so many before. I'm on so many different meds. Things were different. But (future blog spoiler alert) it all ultimately comes down to God's Will for our family. THIS is His plan, and THIS is our son! We cannot wait to meet this little boy that God wanted us to wait for!