Ultrasounds

Last week I had a 30 week doctor's appointment and they informed me that my sweet little BOSTYN is well.... not so little. She is measuring the same as a 33 week baby. Everything else was absolutely perfect. Her heart rate was at the 145 range and my blood pressure while it started the appointment being a little high once I got over my initial white coat syndrome, it quickly came down. Because Bostyn is now measuring 3 weeks bigger than she should, they have scheduled another ultrasound just to be sure she is ok. That ultrasound will happen on June 3rd. BUUUUT I paid for an elective ultrasound when I was 20 weeks pregnant and it was cheaper to pay for 2 so we will get to see Bostyn TODAY! I am so excited. I love seeing her sweet face! She is just so beautiful. It is exciting to know exactly what she looks like! I am adding a picture from her first 3D/4D ultrasound so that we can see the difference from 21 weeks until 31 weeks. My weekly email said that she should weigh between 3.3 lbs and 4 lbs and from now on she will gain a 1/2 lb a week.

It really won't be long and our sweet angel will be here. I will post new ultrasound pictures soon! Please keep our sweet baby girl in your prayers as she continues to grow.

May 2

There is lots of news to be shared in this post. 

Probably the 1st and most forefront is that Osama Bin Laden was killed last night. 

I am having a hard time swallowing an emotion on this issue. I am so thankful for every person whose life was given while looking for this evil man but at the same time, I find it hard to celebrate a LOST life. This man was obviously confused and completely separated from ALL GOOD. When I think of his name, I see nothing but evil. What is strange to me though is that although we see evil, someone gave birth to him and loved him when he was born. He was someone's brother... 56 other people's brother. He has nieces and nephews and so on... and while I am glad they will not have to grow up knowing his evilness.... in a lot of ways, they will. It is in history books and on the TV. It will be on magazine covers and newspaper articles every year when May 1st rolls around; a reminder to his family of how evil he was. It doesn't seem fair that he gets to be dead while his family has to live with the doings of his life. I guess I hurt for his family, surely they are not as bad or as evil as he was (although it doesn't seem possible that evil could come from something wonderful.... where did his hatred start?). 

Maybe I shouldn't have an opinion because I am not as educated on Osama and his life or the things that he has done. I only remember one event from this man and that was September 11th, which impacted my life greatly. I had visited the towers only 5 months before they were so heinously made to tumble with innocent lives inside of them. I do know that in the aftermath of Osama's death, I find a relief in knowing that when Bostyn is born... she will not know an evil such as Osama's.... but that doesn't mean she won't know evil. We are beings on earth that all know what EVIL looks like... each person's "evil" has a different face. I can't help but think of Osama when I think of the word "evil." I know a lot of people will disagree with my opinion and that is fine.. that is the beauty of being a human as well as an American. We all come from different places and backgrounds and we all have the RIGHT to share our opinions. 

In other news.... Today is my husband's birthday. We have plans to eat dinner out Outback and celebrate his 27 years of life. I am so thankful to have him in my life. I cannot really imagine life without him especially now that Bostyn is a part of us. Without him, I would not have my sweet, sweet baby girl. I heard a saying once that said you never know how much you love your partner until you have children with them. I know that being pregnant right now, there are days I think.... OH man I am soo in for it.. but mostly, I have really enjoyed being pregnant and I am glad that I get to experience pregnancy with Jd. He is an amazing man and father and while there are some things I wish he would do or become, I am glad that he sticks by his convictions. I have been so blessed over the last 2 years to go through the experiences that I have with him. We have done and been through so much and without each other, I don't know that either of us would have had the strength to push through the "hard" times. I'm not 100% sure how he feels entering his late 20's but I know that the future holds a lot for us and our children and this year is the just the beginning. 

Now for news in my pregnancy... I am in sooo much pain today! I don't know what Bostyn is doing but I have the sharpest pain in my ribs, the worst heartburn, and I can hardly walk because of the pressure on my pelvic bones. Thank God there are no contractions as it is WAAAY to early... I know with each ache and pain though that there is growth and watching her move makes the pain bearable for sure. I just pray the pain does not mean anything negative. 

Well I am going to sign off of here. I will update later!

God Bless,
Stephanie Allen

1st Blog

Hello! This is my first blog. I decided that I would keep this blog as a way for me to get out all my emotions and share news with friends and family. I typically have so much to talk about and feel this will be a great way for me to "put things on paper." I have never really "blogged" before so this should be a great learning experience. 

Now that I am 28 weeks pregnant, I am learning that with pregnancy comes the loss of memory. Here is the story... April 26th I received a phone call from Scott & White that told me I was to have an appointment on April 28th at 9:50 AM. If you know anything about my school schedule, I have one morning class, then lunch and a full afternoon schedule. I feel that it is a waste of a substitute teacher to take a 1/2 day in the morning, so I do not typically schedule doctor's appointments for that time; I try to shoot for the afternoon. I was a little confused about the 9:50 appointment time and thought maybe this was my reminder to pay for my birthing classes so I made a phone call on the 27th to Mrs. Kylie (my doctor's secretary) who informed me that I had missed my GLUCOSE LAB and my DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT on April 19th! Oooops! I was so lucky though because she had an appointment in the afternoon of the 28th which meant I would be able to make the appointment up (since I had already put in for a sub on the 28th.) I made sure I apologized profusely to my doctor for missing the appointment. 

This is not the only "memory loss" I have suffered from. I typically will teach a lesson to one class period and pass out an assignment, setting the extras aside and then be unable to find the "extras" when it comes time for the next class to complete the same assignment. 

It was great to hear that our little Bostyn is doing well. My glucose test came back 88 which is within normal ranges and her heartbeat was 158. I also learned at my appointment that she is now right at 28 weeks instead of the 1 week ahead that she has been for my entire pregnancy.

Being pregnant is absolutely hilarious. I am so excited that we only have 12 more weeks until we meet our sweet Bostyn Karol. She is getting bigger and stronger.