5 lbs 8 oz

Great news! We had an ultrasound this morning to determine the size of the baby. As I mentioned last week, I have been measuring about two weeks ahead. However, based on today's measurements, we are right on track to deliver around the due date. With Donald traveling next week, that is music to our ears! Hopefully, our little girl will be here sometime during the first full week in May (the 4th - 11th...give or take a few). She currently weighs around 5 lbs 8 oz. She is head down and her little booty and legs are in my ribs (as I suspected). Praise God for our little miracle!

Charley

It's official. Our baby girl will be named Charlotte Rose -- "Charley." We will call her Charley most of the time, Charley Rose when she's being cute, and Charlotte Rose when she's being bad. :)
Why: My maternal grandmother was named Charlotte. She was born in 1902 and had a twin sister named Mary who died when they were toddlers. I always thought I was named after Mary, but my parents just confirmed that I wasn't...or at least they can't remember that I was! Charlotte was my Mema...I never knew her because she passed away when I was one, but I've heard stories about my Mema from my sisters, aunt and mom my whole life. She was a neat and special lady. Rose is Donald's family's name; his mom's maiden name. When I talk about Donald's family, it's the Rose family that I'm talking about. The Rose name comes from Donald's maternal grandfather, Thomas. Before that, there is probably some kind of story as to where Rose came from, but we are not sure.
So there you have it. Charlotte Rose. 44 days, give or take a few, until Charley arrives. We can't wait. We went to the doctor today and I measured 36 weeks. Since I'm only 34 weeks as of tomorrow, I have to go in for an ultrasound next week to see if the baby's a chunker or if I just have a lot of fluid that's making me measure big. I've been two weeks ahead the entire time, so who knows what it is. A lot of people measure large for no reason (as in, have their babies late and they don't weigh an ungodly amount), so I'm not too concerned. But hey, if she comes at 38 weeks and is healthy, that's fine by me!
I don't really have any pictures to post relating to the above topics. So here are some pictures of the eggs Donald and I dyed on Saturday!

They Made Me Do It

We visited the hospital today...against my will. You see, what had happened was... I had a weird dizzy spell last Sunday. I almost passed out, and I've never passed out or even come close to passing out. I'm just not the passing-out type. Even so, I didn't think it was too odd and went about my week. Well, it happened again this morning, but again, I went about my business, chalking it up to...well, I don't know. I called Andrea while running errands and mentioned it to her, half hoping she would tell me that it was normal. She wasn't too concerned, nor was I, but she suggested for me to call my doctor. It takes a good friend to convince me to call my doctor, because I'm also not the doctor-calling type. So I called my doctor -- oh, wait... first I called my OLD doctor and asked to speak to a nurse, and then panicked and hung up when I realized I hadn't been there in like 13 months... So anyways, I called my current doctor and spoke with the receptionist who put me on hold while she talked to my doctor for me. I wasn't too convinced that I would be represented well, which made me nervous that a mole hill would all of the sudden turn into a mountain. Well, sure enough, the receptionist returned with Mount Everest: "The doctor wants you to go to the hospital." Hospital?!?! Are you serious? Isn't that a BIT extreme? I feel fine. Nothing is wrong. This is ridiculous. So, being the reluctantly obedient patient that I am, I called Donald to come meet me at the grocery store and take me to the hospital. If I absolutely had to (side note: Donald just corrected me when I read that to him, and said that I didn't call him to come get me, I called him to convince him that the doctor was crazy and for him to agree that I didn't need to go... But it didn't work. Is that better, D?). So anyways, I then called Andrea and my mom, and probably said the words "extreme" and "ridiculous" like 15 thousand times in two minutes. So to make a long story a bit longer, we went to the OB triage, as instructed, and they strapped the "baby's heart beat reader" and the "contractions reader" to my belly and everything was wonderful. It was probably a blood sugar or blood pressure thing that was causing my dizzy spells, but I really wasn't given any instruction or advice beyond that. So for now, I'm just going to eat more protein for breakfast (both episodes happened about an hour after breakfast time), and try to take it easy. And breathe more. Of course we are grateful that everything is fine. Praise God! I'm sure my blood pressure will spike when I get the hospital bill, but that's okay -- I'm sending it to Andrea. ;)

32 Down, 7 to Go

Today I began my 33rd week of pregnancy. I pretty much feel like I've been pregnant forever. I'm not sure why that is, considering I've had what most people would consider to be an "easy" pregnancy (I consider it pretty easy, myself, even though I have nothing to compare it to). I've heard nightmare stories of women who are sick the entire time or on bed rest for 10 weeks, and let me tell you, those women are champions. I am just now starting to be uncomfortable with my size and regularly popping the Tums, but nothing worth complaining about. With the reality of people around me who simply want their child to live, or want to be pregnant but can't be, it's really hard to get too upset over an uninvited double chin, teenage acne, or a 10-step roll-over plan while sleeping.
My sister and brother-in-law threw us a couples shower last weekend in Charleston. We had so much fun celebrating with our friends and families. Even 5-week-old Maggie joined the festivities!

Cutest Ever Puppies

I couldn't think of a creative title, so I'll just say it like it is. Are these puppies not the cutest ever?! They are the newest addition to the Townsend family (my middle sister), and they are SO cute. Taylor (named after the late Washington Redskin, Sean Taylor) is the yellow lab, and Finnigan (named after Matthew McConaughey’s character, Finn Finnigan, in Fool's Gold) is the chocolate. They are both females, and will steal any heart that comes their way.


We were in Charleston last weekend for multiple reasons... Mairin, our youngest niece, turned 6 last week, so we got to spend some time at her birthday party. Also, Mylin and Maria had their wedding celebration at James Island County Park. Here's a picture of some of the C of C gang (hiding behind some trees to get away from the fierce wind). Yes, I realize I look like a big blue marshmellow, but I had two jackets on! At least they zipped!! ;)

We celebrated Donald's 35th this week!! I can't believe it. Please be in prayer for him as he interviews for a new job (more later) and prepares for his trip to Kenya (more later). He has a lot going on and in eight short weeks he'll be a daddy!

Baby Update: I am visiting the doctor every two weeks now. At this week's appointment, everything was still looking good. I'm not sure how they really know things are "good" when all they do is look at you. Kind of like taking your car into the shop for them just to look at it from the outside and give it a good report without even lifting the hood. Maybe they'll check the air in the tires, weigh the car, and even measure the length of the hood, but that obviously doesn't determine whether the engine is in good shape or not. Oh well. I guess they know what they're doing... Our little girl appears to be "looking good," and for that, we are very grateful.

Small Boy, Big Miracle

Cohen McGowan was born last night at 9:23pm. While still in the womb, the doctors had given him mere minutes to live because he was diagnosed with a fatal disorder called Thanatophoric Dysplasia. We have been anticipating his arrival for months now, not knowing what would happen, but here we are, nearly 24 hours after his arrival and he is not only alive but is breathing on his own! We got news this afternoon that the geneticist told them to make an appointment with him in MAY!
Cohen's parents are friends of ours from church: Chris and Emily (I work with Chris). Throughout this whole ordeal, since the diagnosis, they have been so faithful and so open to what the Lord had in store for them. They continued to praise Him. They continued to honor Him and obey Him. Although Emily and I were only six weeks apart, they did not once make me feel guilty for having a healthy pregnancy. I'm not sure if you realize this, but that in itself is amazing and a true testament to where their hearts are. They believe and trust in a God who has a specific plan for their lives, a God who loves them dearly, and loves their little boy, despite the outcome. Doctors recommend terminating pregnancies like these, but here is a quote from Chris and Emily's blog: "We will carry him to term and hope to enjoy whatever time God chooses to give us with him." Well, here we are with 23 hours of Cohen so far, and hopefully that will turn into weeks, months and years.
Please pray for Cohen as he is still in the NICU. His lungs need to continue to develop. Please pray for Chris and Emily as they are running on fumes and have been on an emotional roller coaster for the last two days... Also pray for Emily as she continues to heal from the c-section. Please praise the Lord above for this miracle that He has performed before our very eyes. You can read more about Cohen by clicking here.

My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him -Psalm 28:7

Fun Times

Last Friday we went to Charlotte to visit Adam and Andrea and finally meet Maggie (on her three-week-old birthday). She is as cute as we imagined, if not more. I can't believe I will have a little one like that in about nine weeks. I'm sure that we will enjoy looking at the pictures of her (Maggie) in a few years and say to our little girl, "that was just before you were born!...That's your friend Maggie when she was a baby!"

Maggie and her Daddy

The 5.5 of us

My parents came up late Friday night. We spent the day Saturday doing chores around the house (mainly the baby's room) and then my sister, Stephanie, and my niece, Salley Kate, joined us that evening. We enjoyed some great food (D's pulled pork) and fellowship. I love being with my family.
Allison and Kelly threw a shower for me and the baby on Sunday. It was such a sweet time to celebrate our new daughter with so many loved ones. I loved the fact that my mom and sister could finally meet some of the friends we've made over the last three years. To know that we are surrounded by a community who loves us and loves the Lord even more is so refreshing.

Here are some pics... The rest, as always, are on our web site. Thanks to Sabrina for hookin' it up and taking lots of super cool pics for us.

Me and the hostesses (yes Andrea, I'm already wearing all of your clothes... thanks!!).

Mom, Me, Steph, and SK

Me, Mom and a really cute pink hoodie

I like this picture.