7 weeks Old

Bella is 7 weeks old now! She is doing some pretty amazing things like smiling and holding her head up for a few seconds at a time. She is spending more time awake and loves to just look at you. We all continue to be very in love with her. Bella is the most amazing gift and we love her so much.

Life has been pretty busy around here. Three kids is a lot to manage at times. I know that I have parented 3 kids before with foster care, but there is something different about a child that you know is yours and is not leaving. It is a new experience for us not to have caseworkers, visits and everything that comes a long with being a foster parent. It was so weird having her social security card and birth certificate just show up without jumping through all these major hoops just to get them.

I took Bella to get her pictures professionally taken today. She is not a fan! We got a couple of good shots but then she was finished. Poor baby. I won't have them back until the end of the month. I used JC Penny's and was pretty impressed for the price. Can't wait to share.

Father and Son Adventure

Mark and Luke went kayaking together yesterday. They really had a wonderful time. I wish I could have gone with them, but alas...I am still recovering from the birth of Bella. They went with a group from our church. Luke had a blast and from what I heard always wanted to be the kayak in the lead. He is wanting to be first all the time these days. They kayaked for a while and then had their lunch on a large sandbar with some awesome huge pieces of driftwood. It was a beautiful day for the outing too. Here are a couple of pictures.

Isabella is 1 month old!

I can't believe a month has already flown by! Where does the time go? Isabella is a good baby. She is a delight and a little bit spoiled (but that is ok right now). She is held all the time. We celebrated her one month birthday by taking her and kiddos to the zoo. It had been way over a year since we had been to the zoo. I didn't do much while I was pregnant. The kiddos were thrilled to go. We kept Luke home from school so that he could have much needed day off. He worked so hard this work doing their standardized testing. He was just "done" yesterday.

I continue to feel well. I have to be careful not to overdo it because then I start to feel pain in my incision.

Bella in her "My auntie loves me bib"

Bella in her red and white outfit (which by the way doesn't fit anymore).

Luke and Grace at the zoo.

Bella "enjoying" the zoo

Luke and Grace playing drums at the zoo.

Beautiful Bella

Bella is changing everyday. She is the most wonderful gift that I have been given. The love I feel for her is amazing. It is the same love I feel for Luke and Grace, but the love happened differently. It is crazy to think I carried her for 9 months, and loved her for 9 months and took her with me everywhere for 9 months...I still can hardly manage to part with her. She is a gift and I am so thankful for the miracle that is Isabella...I was told she wouldn't happen...that she couldn't happen without "medical intervention". But here she is...perfect..beautiful...and healthy.

She had her 2 week check up yesterday. She has gained a pound since leaving the hospital!!! She also grew an inch (20 inches). The doctor is happy with her progress and said she is a wonderful, healthy little love. We think so too!

This is Bella just hours old when I finally made it to the recovery room after the c-section.

Bella and I getting to know one another....

The new and complete Dahl family on Easter. Just the 5 of us.....

Welcome To The World...Isabella Mary-Ann

Isabella Mary-Ann arrived Wednesday, March 24, 2010 @ 8:13am. She weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and was 19 inches long. We are at home and doing well adjusting to life. We are beyond thrilled with her. She was born via c-section due to my high blood pressure. Everything went well and the recovery has been pretty easy. We are all in love.

This Time Next Week....

So...we are going to have our baby girl on Wednesday, March 24th. We are very excited. My c section got moved up due to my high blood pressure. I have had more tests and blood taken and even a 24 hour urine collection (which let me tell how much fun that was). Monday is my pre-op with the doctor and the hospital. I am very excited, yet nervous at the same time. It is nice to plan everything out and weird to know when it is going to happen. I am really ready to move on to the next phase of this journey...I can't believe it is almost here.

Here are a few pictures as promised from my baby shower at church last Sunday.

Me and my huge baby!

My sweet son who had to come to the baby shower because his sister had pink eye and dad had to stay home with her.

A closer look at my huge belly :)

Me and Mom

36 weeks

My blood pressure continues to rise slowly. The doctor is now taking additional steps to ensure my safety and the baby's. I started non-stress tests bi-weekly at the hospital. This is where they hook me up to all the monitors and I push a button when I feel her move. Tomorrow I have another test and then an ultrasound to check the level of fluid in there. I see the doctor on Tuesday and maybe we might have some more answers, but it might be that we are just waiting. I have a c-section scheduled for April 9th but neither the doctor nor anyone else believes I am going to make it that far. I am swelling a lot in my hands and feet. I am pretty uncomfortable and it takes forever to fall asleep. I started maternity leave on Friday, so it is really starting to feel real.

My church gave me a baby shower today and my work gave me one last Wednesday. I am overwhelmed by the generosity of friends that they would think of us and spoil us with all this wonderful stuff. My heart is full.

I just wanted to give a quick update. I will post pictures and update after tomorrow's appointment.

35 weeks

I am 35 weeks pregnant. My blood pressure is high. I am now seeing the doctor on a weekly basis and monitoring my blood pressure 2 times per day. Baby Dahl will be delivered by C-Section. That is what I know. I do not know when. My blood pressure will decide that. Currently, my doctor has not hit the panic button yet, but I am monitored closely. He told me "we have to make sure we keep her in the best nursery for her, yours or ours". Right now "my" nursery is the better choice, but for how long....I don't know. I am not nervous for the c-section. I know it is the right decision for us and her. With my history and now blood pressure, we don't want her going to into distress and then ending up with an emergency c-section.

I am very uncomfortable. I am not sleeping well. I am nauseous again at night (fun). At least this time there is an end in sight. I am still working but for how long...only time will tell. I am tired and emotional and I really can't wait to meet her.

The kids are going to celebrate their birthday's at Chuck E Cheese on Saturday. They are so excited and I will make sure to post pictures. I am excited not to have to clean for the party, clean up from the party and be creative and plan the whole thing. I just have to show up and watch the kids have a great time.

33 Weeks

7 weeks left! I can hardly wait to meet her. I can't believe that I am 33 weeks pregnant. Well...I feel 33 weeks pregnant :) I had another doctor's appointment on Tuesday and all is well. My blood pressure is normal, baby is growing on target and sounds good. So, I will return in another 2 weeks for another appointment. The baby turned head down so I am getting a lot of movement and kicks very high up near my ribs (fun). Also, the baby is having the hiccups a lot which is very interesting.

I am not sleeping well these days. Between getting up and going to the bathroom and not being able to sleep on my stomach, I am pretty miserable. I am still working my short shift at school. The doctor sees no reason to take me off work at this point, so I am waddling around the school. I am pretty big and have gotten all the "fun" comments that go with it. If I hadn't suffered from infertility for 7 years I might have taken offense to some of the comments, but I don't mind.

I am starting to look forward to not being pregnant and getting back into the swing of things with my kids. I miss not being the mom on the floor and playing with the kids. This has been one of the most difficult things of this pregnancy is how much it has affected my body and how I have been unable to function like my normal self. I will however miss feeling her move around. I hope I can remember that feeling forever.

Baby Shower

On February 6th, my mother-in-law had a baby shower for me. It was a lot of fun and I had a really nice time. Grace was a big helper and Luke enjoyed taking photographs. The baby got some really fun clothes and lots of other things too.

My mom, Audra and Audra's Mom.

Me with a beautiful quilt my cousin Cathy had made for me.

Grace and I getting ready to play baby bingo.

Thank you to everyone who made the day special.

30.5 weeks & Friendship

Things with this pregnancy continue to go well. I was worried last week when I failed my 1 hour glucose test. So...I had the privilege of going back to the hospital for the 3 hour glucose test (where they draw your blood 4 different times). The doctor's office called yesterday and let me know that the test results were normal!!! I DO NOT have gestational diabetes. I am very relieved and happy!

God continues to answer my prayers in ways I wouldn't expect. A sweet, sweet friend of mine, let me borrow all of her maternity clothes. I had no sooner finished apologizing to my staff assistants at work as they would be watching me repeat wearing my clothes (and yes I wash them) because they are expensive and I didn't want to spend more money on something I would wear for only a few more months, and my sweet friend offered me her maternity clothes. She also brought me fun pregnancy books, magazines to read during my 3 hour glucose test, and bought babydahl her first dolly.