Introducing...

Our precious miracle son!

God has blessed this 43 year old mom with a wonderful, laid back, non fussy baby...thank the Lord!

Of course, I am still adjusting to the newness of being a mom to a newborn again (after seven years, it's amazing how you forget how hard it is/was...LOL!)

My high blood pressure pregnancy issues sent me back to the hospital a week ago, but everything seems to be leveling out.

As I sit here looking at my baby and the rest of my beautiful family around me, I am reminded of the beginning of this 3 year "road trip" and long highway (with the Lord as my GPS) that has brought me to this wonderful trying to conceive journey's end.

Now, onto the next destination as a family of four...ALL ABOARD!

The Baby Is Here!

Well, the baby (actually my last minute pregnancy induced hypertension) forced his arrival (by c-section) about two weeks earlier than the planned c-section and four weeks earlier than my due date.

We had little Colton Lee on Saturday, June 5th at 6:41 a.m. He weighed 5lbs. 15 oz. and is 18 inches long.

Due to him not being "term" when he was born, he had some breathing and jaundice issues that required a brief stay in the NICU while I was in the hospital, but we are home now and getting adjusted to this wonderful new addition to our family. God has blessed us beyond any expectation!

Leave it to unexpected pregnancy symptoms to throw this total Type A mom into a frenzy...LOL!

All worth it though!

36 Week Belly Shot

Well my friends, here you go...my 36 week belly shot!

Can you say, "Look, there's a whale ashore?!!" (LOL!)

If you look to the left of this blog, you'll see my belly progression beginning at 12 weeks and continuing every 6 weeks thereafter until now.

It's amazing to see the difference as time has gone on.

What's even more amazing it that in just about 2 weeks, I will be holding the precious miracle babe that has been making this belly grow!

Even though I am at the "can't get comfortable" stage of my pregnancy, I am thankful to the Lord for bringing me to this point and I know HE will be with me every single step of the way from here on out as well.

And, oh, what a journey this has been thus far.

I am so glad that you all have been sharing it with me.

Have a great day!

God Bless!

EDIT: What I did not know at the time I posted this entry is that my sweet son would in fact be born 3 days later. After going in for a routine "weekly" check-up, I was diagnosed with classic preeclampsia symptoms. My blood pressure readings were 140/98 and 148/103 and it was also discovered that I had protein in my urine. The doctor said, "Tracey, the only way to alleviate these symptoms is to admit and deliver." So, what was I going to do, argue with the man??? LOL!

21 Days To Go!

Can you believe it?!!!

I almost can't.

21 days to go (that's when my c-section is scheduled...June 18th).

Yep, in just 3 more weeks, I will be holding my precious son!

YAHOO!!!

I had my biophysical profile test done today and everything checked out great!

I am now down to once a week appointments too.

It's so amazing what a difference a year can make.

Last year at this time we were wondering if we would ever be given the chance to have a biological child again and look at where we are today...praise God!

I will keep you all posted as to how these next few weeks go.

In the meantime, I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Baby Shower

Let me just say, I am so very fortunate to have a wonderful family and wonderful friends.

The Lord has surely blessed me abundantly by surrounding me with such caring and loving people.

My baby shower could not have been any more beautiful.

Everything was wonderful from the decorations to the food, from the fellowship to the gifts, and whoa! did I ever get some gifts!

This babe is not going to be lacking for anything!

So, as promised, here are some pictures from that day.

The Invite


The Hostesses


Big Preggo Me!


Clothesline Decorations


Ballpoint Pen Party Favor


Handmade (By My Mom) Tissue Flowers


Auburn Tiger Diaper Cake


Gifts


More Gifts!


And, Even More Gifts!


Diaper Messages For Colton


Here's A Sample


Gorgeous Monogrammed Handmade Linen Outfit


He'll Have Fun With This For Sure!


Love The Smocked Outfit...Even Has A Sports Theme!


Personally Painted By My Co-worker Friend


Handmade Crocheted Blanket By Another Friend


Some Of The Attendees...There Were Almost 50 In Total!


All The Loot Displayed Once I Got It Home


And again I say...Blessed I am!

Presenting...The Nursery!

First things first...my big baby shower was this past Saturday and it was great!

Not sure if it was the excitement or the stress of having a party, but I also wound up having some pretty strong Braxton Hicks contractions that night as well. It was a little scary, but all is well.

Anyway, back to the shower...I got so many wonderful things and I am still overwhelmed by the love of my family and friends.

I cannot wait to post pics from the festivities, but you all will have to wait a bit longer on those.

A friend of mine was nice enough to take pictures for me, but I haven't gotten them yet.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share the nursery pictures with you.

It's finally all done.

I still have some last minute putting stuff in drawers and such, but for all intents and purposes, this sweet little man's room is just missing one thing...HIM!

We are really pleased with the way it came out. For those wondering, the theme is Sports Fan by Cocalo Kids.

The name letters I got on eBay and same for the switch and outlet covers. I really lucked out with those items as they go perfectly.

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy just to see this nursery all set up and waiting for our precious son!

Cankles

Yep, it's official, I've got 'em.

C-A-N-K-L-E-S !

You know, it's where your calf merges with your foot and all ankle resemblance is totally gone.

See...

So, until further notice, you can just call me Puff Mama or P. Mama for short.

I'm sure the name change won't garner me as much notoriety as it did for Sean Combs a.k.a. Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy, but it will certainly get the point across nonetheless.

I mean, c'mon now, even my darn toes are swollen!

Actually, I think the proper medical term for this puffiness is edema, but as far as I'm concerned the proper word for it should be "UGH!"

On the bright side though, I am beginning my 8th month and I've only got 6 more weeks to go until my scheduled c-section, so pretty soon my belly is going to be so big that I won't even be able to see how swollen my feet/ankles really are...LOL!

Oh, and another positive...it gives me a great excuse to wear slippers to my baby shower this Saturday! ;0)