It's wedding season!

With Lucy in Berrysburg, Brent and I are headed to a friend's wedding this weekend in Frostburg, Md. Hubby is one of three groomsmen, and he's certain to look dapper in his tux.

Luckily, Mom and I went shopping a few weekends ago and found two cute dresses, one for the rehearsal and one for Saturday. If I wouldn't have had her help, it might be a little scary what I would have ended up donning. Ha!

I'll post pics soon.

Can you hear that?

The past two days I really didn't feel the little girl moving very much. At 28 weeks, I'm supposed to feel her at least every two hours. I'd go much more than that during the work day. Maybe I was busy. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. But those maybes weren't settling my mind.

So, this morning I called the doctor. While I have been counting kicks (you're supposed to have 10 kicks/punches/swishes/rolls in 10 minutes twice a day morning and night), Amelia seemed to have slowed down lately. The OB nurse returned my phone call, and I made an appointment for 2 p.m. today.

Arriving, I wasn't sure what to expect. They hooked me up to a stress test machine and a contraction machine, each with its own belt wrapped tightly around my tummy. At first, they couldn't find the heartbeat. The weird part was that we could hear her scooting around in there.

Eventually, the beautiful lub-dubs echoed out of the machine. It fluctuated between 98 and 148 beats per minute. Brent and I were told this is normal because it shows elevated brain activity. When the baby is smaller and younger, the heartbeat stays at the same rate because s/he can't regulate it on its own. Usually around 32 weeks is when the baby can start to react to what I've eaten, my activity level and her own activity level. So, it corresponds accordingly.

Anyway, here's little Amelia. I just couldn't wait to hear that sound until Monday at our next appointment. I can definitely say that Mommy is going to sleep better than ever tonight.

(PS. I'm working on getting the audio in here. It's not cooperating right now.)

Our latest home-improvement

There's nothing like a baby on the way to turn the to-do list into a to-done list. While I won't go into "THE" list, here's one achievement put on the books by hubby. My parents bought us a chandelier for our second wedding anniversary (so great!), and Brent installed this a couple of weeks ago.

The 200-mile relay race

Last year at this time, a few friends and embarked on the 200-mile relay race from Gettysburg, Pa., to Washington, D.C. Called the American Odyssey Relay, it's dubbed by runners the 24-hour race. (Except it took us closer to 36 hours, but who cares? We finished!

Anyway, that race pushed all 12 runners to push themselves to the limit mentally, physically and emotionally. You looked at the stars differently as you ran beneath them in the dark, screaming on your fellow teammate. You saw the sunrise in all of its pure glory as it rose above the Antietam Battlefield. You were one with the world, while your muscles screamed beneath you begging to just .... stop ... already.

And it was one of the best times of my running career. It was also before I experienced the most sorrow I've ever felt.

Brent and I are volunteering this year, since we've been blessed with little Amelia. I hope to be crammed into a stinky van with five other runners in 2011. In the meantime, we'll be cheering on The Fighting 69th from Shepherdstown, W.V. Although we're volunteering from 5 to 8 tomorrow morning, we'll be leaving York around 3 a.m.

PS. A fellow teammate snapped this picture as I headed out on my first leg of the race. The hill grade was nearly 65 percent, and it was straight-up hill. I have to admit that I'm not missing this leg.

Spring has sprung

There  are three lonely tulips on the side of our house, but at least they survived the winter and my brown thumb!

My parents felt Amelia!

I was in Baltimore this weekend, while Brent was at a bachelor party up North. Mom and I zipped around town, running errands and gabbing. When we arrived at their house, I decided to lie down to rest my barkin' dogs.

Sure enough, this little slugger started her exercise routine. Mom came running over and felt her immediately! So much fun ... then, I went downstairs and told Dad to come feel my tummy. He started laughing and was a little hesitant. After a few moments, she moved and then moved again.

He said he didn't feel her move, but then goes, "All I felt was your heartbeat."

"Heartbeat? That was your little grandchild!" I chided with a smile.

This is just too much fun.

Fourteen weeks left today

I never thought we'd make it to this point. You're told that a miscarriage means you're fertile. You're told that you're the most fertile after one. But I never thought we'd make it to 26 weeks.

Our little girl made it 17 weeks past Morgan. She beat the massive blood clot that grew right next to her. She defeated the odds the doctors gave her, laughing in the face of a 30-percent survival rate. Amelia grew and grew.

I'm truly amazed at the miracle this child is. While all children are a blessing, this one is a fighter. I'm so proud of her, and deep down, I know this scrappy attitude will most likely come back to haunt her daddy and I!

At 6.5 months, her eyes are starting to open and she weighs about two pounds. Unbelievable. Read more here.

I'm not lucky, I'm blessed

A story came across the wires the other day at work. After my posting about our wedding anniversary, I was reminded once again how blessed I am to have Brent. Yes, he can drive me crazy sometimes. But without him, I wouldn't be me. And without his strength, I still would be stuck in that scary dark abyss over Morgan.
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Another loss can follow for couples who lose a pregnancy

By Karen Kaplan
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES - Scientists have had a hard time finding data to support the widespread notion that parents are more likely to divorce following the death of a child. But a new study finds that the risk is indeed higher for couples after a pregnancy goes awry.

Researchers from the University of Michigan Medical School used nationwide data on U.S. families to track the outcomes of pregnancies and the effects on parents. They calculated that couples who experienced a miscarriage were 22 percent more likely to break up than couples whose pregnancies resulted in the birth of a child. The increased risk persisted for three years.

Things were even worse for couples coping with a stillbirth - their odds of splitting were 40 percent higher, and the risk persisted for nine years, the researchers found.

About 15 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage (the loss of a pregnancy during the first 20 weeks of gestation) and 1 percent end in stillbirth (loss after 20 weeks), so the number of relationships that end in the wake of these losses is significant, according to the researchers.

The study will be published in the May edition of the journal Pediatrics.

Extremely powerful documentary

Children are a miracle, a special gift from God. Not all parents deserve children, not all parents are, well, parents at all.

This is a film produced by the York Daily Record. It keeps the memory of 2-year-old Darisabel Baez alive in the hearts of many. Child abuse should never be ignored.

See the 20-minute video here. You will never be the same.

Our anniversay

April 5, 2008, was one of the happiest days of my life, and it still held true in 2010.

Hubby brought me a dozen beautiful red roses and the most perfect card. I think it was written just for us. I'll have to type it up to show you the ooey gooey-ness.

On top of celebrating our wedding anniversary, we also had our 3-D ultrasound. Words can't explain the emotions ... or the happiness ... or the utter excitement. Pictures get that across a little better.

On top of the 10 pictures ultrasound technician Tim gave us, we also have a DVD.

A. MAZ. ING.

Our little girl wriggled, sucked her thumb, gave us the thumbs up and yawned twice. (Although Brent thinks she's warming up her vocal chords with Bob Dylan lyrics.) She's absolutely breathtaking.