Life Lesson

I decided that with this whole high blood pressure, swelling and possible bed rest at some point thing, I better tell my students what is going on with me. We are a big part of each others lives. Didn't they deserve to know? Who knew that this conversation that should have taken about a minute would turn in to a 25 minute conversation about a variety of things?!? Well, I say that, but I knew all along that this is what it would turn in to, but sometimes you just have to take those moments and not let them pass you by.

I started off with a visual. I showed my kids my feet. I had worn flip flops that day due to the fact that my feet were huge. We all made faces and noises as to the grossness of my feet. I went on to explain to them why my feet were doing that and what it all meant. I stressed to them that the most important thing was that my baby stay in as long as possible. I could deal with high blood pressure and swollen feet. Hagen just needed to be ok. I reminded them of my plan to stay with them until Spring Break and then I would be out of there. I had enough days and I would already be at 37 weeks. Why push myself?!? After reminding them of the original plan, I had to let them know that it might not happen. I might not make it that long. My doctor very well might put me on bed rest, but I would be able to let them know ahead of time. I ended my part of the conversation with this..."If I'm ever just all the sudden, not here, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. The doctor probably just told me I can't work anymore." Here are the ramblings of children's minds that ensued.

"I was born a month early and almost died!"
"Are you scared? You know some people die during child birth?"
"My aunt had that and her baby died!"
Not really the brightest thoughts and warmest of wishes coming from them. Oh well, they're 12. What do they know? :)

And from the boy who is always wearing on my nerves and whose name gets said about 20 times in a 50 minute class period, a hand goes up and he says..."I'll pray for you and your baby." Who said middle school kids don't think about other people? Sometimes they actually know just what to say.

And it begins...

I had my 34 week doctor's appointment today. It was supposed to be Dr. Burkholder's mini-childbirth class, where he gave us his version of what would go on and how things would happen on our big day. Little did I know, we'd have a lot more to discuss.

This past weekend I noticed some swelling of my ankles and feet. I kinda just went on about my business, but was a little concerned. I did my weekend things as normal, like going to the grocery store, a quick trip to walmart and on a walk with my sister. I found that my legs and feet were hurting pretty bad during our walk and we made the decision to cut it short and head home. I looked in my What to Expect book and found that minimal swelling was fine and not to worry, but facial swelling was a sign of preeclampsia. I immediately looked in the mirror and noticed that my eyes were quite puffy. Not to worry. I'd mention it to Dr. Burkholder on Tuesday and it probably wouldn't be a big deal. I had had an easy pregnancy to this point and figured the next 6 weeks would go just the same.

After work yesterday, I noticed quite a bit of swelling and today when the nurse took my blood pressure...dun dun dun...it was high. I can't quite remember what it was. (I've had my blood pressure taken so many times since this day, I've got all kinds of numbers running through my head.) I believe it was pushing 140/90 which is the cut off. When you get there, it's time to be a little concerned. My blood pressure has been fine my entire life, low even, and had continued that trend throughout the pregnancy. Today was a turning point. I have gained 6 pounds in two weeks due to swelling and I now have pregnancy induced hyper tension. Dr. Burkholder was not happy about this. For anybody who knows Dr. Burkholder, you may only see him for a few minutes every month, but you totally feel like the man loves you and would do anything for you and your baby. I knew if Dr. Burkholder was a little concerned that he would lead me in the right direction to get this high blood pressure under control. He told me to monitor my bp, 3-4 times a day, for the next week and to call and give him an update.

I left his office today, thinking that I could easily monitor my blood pressure at home, since Nick is an EMT and has his own cuff and I am around a school nurse all day at work. This wasn't going to be a problem and I felt confident that my high blood pressure at the doctor's office was a fluke thing. I would be able to call him next Tuesday, after my baby shower, and let him know that all was well.

I never thought that today, Tuesday, February 16, was the beginning of one wild ride.

How about an update...

7 months...7 updates

1. I think Hagen's pretty adorable already! See below.





2. It's getting hard to shave my legs and put on my shoes. See below.

28 Weeks

3. Fire Academy is over!!!
4. Nick is working days as an EMT instead of nights! That working nights business is not for us.
5. I've decided that I am going to work until Spring Break and then be done for the rest of the year. That is if Hagen doesn't show up before then. How lucky am I? I won't have to put Hagen in daycare until August!
6. I told Nick that I was having trouble clipping my toenails. He said he'd takeover that job and even give me a pedicure next time I needed my toes done. How thoughtful!
7. I actually said this the other day. "Nick, I only tinkled a little in my pants twice today!

Pregnancy Brain

I thought it appropriate to title this blog "Pregnancy Brain" due to the fact that I am going to now try to recall events from the last several months and I'm not thinking it's going to be the easiest thing I've ever done. It seems that pregnancy causes a woman to lose her short and long term memory and a little bit of her common sense. Most of you know what I'm talking about. Let's start this update with baby news.

The last picture I posted of me was at 12 weeks. Man have we come a long way since then. 16 weeks

20 weeks

At about 20 weeks, we found out that we have a little BOY on our hands. Seems like this is definitely blog worthy, but did I take the time to get on here...NO. So here he is.

Hagen Ford Homyk's Profile

Hagen's little feets

BOY

24 weeks

I am currently a little over 25 weeks and will go back to the doc at 28 weeks to have diabetes blood testing and a 3D sonogram done. Those sonograms are always pretty cool because you can see what the baby looks like. Hopefully, Hagen will cooperate, as he does not like being pushed on. He moves and squirms every time we have a sonogram or listen to the heartbeat. He likes his space, which I'm sure he is quickly running out of.

On to other topics...Nick is only a few weeks from graduating from the fire academy! This is a day that cannot come fast enough. Being away from each other Mon-Thurs and Saturday has not been fun. Don't get me wrong...this is definitely not the hardest thing we've gone through as a couple, but I like him. Of course I love him, but I like him too. He's my best friend and it's hard to get home after 4 just to quickly say goodbye to the one person you wanted to get home to see. It's almost over though. January 16th will be graduation day. I didn't get to see Nick graduate from high school or college so it will be a lot of fun to see him graduate from the academy.

As far as Micha goes, I'm pretty much consumed by growing this baby. It's funny how Hagen just seems to be a part of the family already. He's not even here yet and it seems so normal to talk about him and call him by name. I've gotten registered at Babies R Us and have already received the crib bedding from my parents and have strong feeling that the diaper bag will be given to me before too long, seeing that it shows as being purchased. Work has been pretty good, but I was definitely ready for Christmas break and am hoping to get a lot accomplished with the time off.

Until next time...

The Stick Said Yes

August 3, 2009. Doesn't really sound too special, but for me it was the day our life changed. After a quick trip to Brownwood and Schlitterbahn, I made it home to Lubbock and went straight to the bathroom. I couldn't wait any longer. The stick said yes. Positive. Nick and I are going to have a baby. Most of you who read my blog already know this, but I figured I should probably document this amazing discovery.

August 4th I had bloodwork to confirm. August 7th and 8th we told our parents. Sept. 14th we heard the heartbeat and saw our little one for the first time. My belly is beginning to round out some and the nausea and fatigue are pretty much gone. We are super excited and a little freaked out at how fast April 4, 2010 will probably get here.

Here are some pictures of the first few months of our journey.

Shame on me!

Since my last post a lot of time has passed, but it doesn't seem like too much has gone one. I worked all summer at Savannah Oaks, made some good money and some good friends. Nick is now a registered EMT, is a little over a month into the fire academy and recently turned 30. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary, on August 18th, with a little fire academy and a new student orientation thrown into the mix. Needless to say, we didn't spend a whole lot of time together on our big day, but it's about a life, not just a day. I promise to be better about my posts. Here are a few pics from this summer.

My name's Nick; I'm here to help!

Tonight, my hubby begins his clinical rotations for his EMT certification. He left a few minutes ago all decked out in his EMT "uniform". I have to admit...I LOVE IT! He looks so good. He was completely pumped and looking forward to the adventures that tonight might bring. I found myself being extremely clingy to him before he left. I could see that I was acting this way and seemed to lack the ability to make myself stop. I couldn't help but be enamored. After reflecting on my behavior, I now realize where it stems. I'M SO PROUD! I just couldn't be more proud of him and am excited for all that the future will bring. Everything with his EMT and Fire Academy (oh yeah...he was accepted to both academies he tried out for) has just rolled so smoothly. He has excelled and continues to amaze me with his dedication. I think tonight, I just couldn't get enough of him and hope that he can truly grasp how honored I am to being going through this experience with him.

Had to get one of the two of us.

In classic Nick form..."Assessing" Sadie for the camera!

More adventures to come!