July 10^th- I had a little bit of a scare this afternoon…I’d been dealing with a stomach virus that I had somehow acquired out of no where. Because of this, I hadn’t been able to keep anything down-or in for that matter. Around 11:45am I had another yucky episode and my doc mentioned those fearful words, “head over to the ER!” That of course was upsetting since for one, I didn’t feel good-but I didn’t think things were that extreme, and for two, $MONEY$. Had I not been pregnant, I would have just recovered on my own, but there was no way I was going to put my little man I danger!

I stayed there for about six and half hours and once I was all juiced up and practically floating around the room, I was released! My nurse said that I am to drink 90-120oz a day on top of other juices and milk. With all that who needs to eat right!?!

I have noticed that my swelling had gone down tremendously since I’ve been drinking SOOOOO much, that’s a plus!

August 1^st Hey there mommies-to-be, I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated but nothing new has really been going on… until now.

I went for my routine check up yesterday and I told my doctor how I have had a couple of Braxton hicks contractions, but last Thursday I had them really bad. He said if I had 3 or 4 of them in an hour, head over to the ER immediately, as this could be preterm labor.

He measured me and said I’m measuring where I should be, BUT he wants to get another sonogram. Apparently I have only gained 8lbs, and that wasn’t enough for him, I should have gained 10-15 even 20 lbs by now. I really don’t think there’s anything wrong for the simple fact that I was a big girl to begin, and I have been really careful with my eating habits. So it sounds logical that I could be losing and my son could be gaining- possibly balancing out?!?!?! I HOPE….has this happened to anyone?

Anyway, the positive thing about this whole ordeal is that I get to have another sonogram and see my lil’ man. At the same time, my doc can make sure that everything is okay and his organs are developing…

Justmommies.com predicts...

"Just about the time you think you can't handle hearing one more "when is that baby going to pop?", your baby will decide to make it's appearance. We predict your baby will be born 3-7 days before your due date. Your baby will most likely be born in the morning. Justmommies predicts that your baby will weigh approximately 7.8 pounds and that your labor will be about 6 hours long."

August 11th- Well, I hope justmommies prediction is accurate! I think it would be kinda cool having all my kiddos in the first week of October. So I went to the doctor this past Tuesday and everything appears to be normal and Baby Marqus is doing ggggreat! The only thing that made me a little scared was when the tech told me how much my lil' man was weighing already... 4lbs 10oz. But I've heard that the sonogram machines can be off by a whole pound. Other than that, I can't complain...well not too much anyway :-) Other than the swelling, pregnancy mask, internal heater set on HIGH, and no sleep getting days, I love my pregnancy. Did I mention the swelling? But I only make it through y telling myself this is temporary. I'm on the count down now... :-)

April 10th- Okay, so I went to the doctor today and I got to see my baby! The baby was sucking his/her thumb. OH it was so amazing! The heart rate was normal, and so are the fluctuations :- ) so I guess I can just relax and enjoy the rest of my pregnancy.

Hope everything goes well for all you future mommies...

MARQUS
M	Marvelous
A	Angel
R	Responsible
Q	Quiet
U	Useful
S	Sweet
Get Your Own Name Acronym

Wednesday, 10 Oct:

I had my baby boy on October 3rd...my oldest daughter's birthday!!
Marqus was born at 3:17am weighing 10lbs 11oz and he was 23 inches long. And I had him all natural- OUCH!!!!

Marqus' Birth Story (in a nut shell)

I went to the doctor on Monday, October 1st, and my doctor said I was 2cm but no effacement what so ever. He guestimated that Marqus was around 7.5 pounds and I was right on track. I went home pissed and in a lot of pain (I now know why) but I was determined to hang in there with the whole work thing (even though I so wanted to be off work, my doctor wouldn't take me off) I went to work on Tuesday and felt like dookie, so I went home BUT not before I went and ate spicey Chinese food with my mom (:o) I got home around 1 and immediately had a BURST of energy, but I thought it was cause I was hoping it was my nesting instinct kicking in. Anywho, I cleaned until I couldn't stand up anymore, then I went and took a little nap.

I went to the doctor on Monday, October 1st, and my doctor said I was 2cm but no effacement what so ever. He guestimated that Marqus was around 7.5 pounds, and I was right on track. I went home pissed and in a lot of pain (I now know why) but I was determined to hang in there with the whole work thing (even though I so wanted to be off work, my doctor wouldn't take me off). I went to work on Tuesday and felt like dookie, so I went home BUT not before I went and ate spicy Chinese food with my mom (:o). I got home around 1pm and immediately had a BURST of energy, but I thought it was cause I was hoping it was my nesting instinct kicking in. Anywho, I cleaned until I couldn't stand up anymore, then I went and took a little nap.

I finally woke up about 5 but still no contractions or anything other sign of labor BUT then around 6:30 I thought I felt a little something. I heard that spicy food could bring on labor, so I figured having it 2 times was sure to make it work. On top of that, I went walking with my oldest daughter, and boy were we praying for this baby to come. By this point, I was almost sure something was going on, so I started to get a little nervous, and then when I started spotting I really began to panic. I looked to my husband for some comfort and support - but all he could say was "you're playing..." So finally, around 10pm, I decided to call my doctor and of course he said I should go to the hospital, especially since my contractions were 5 minutes apart, but they weren't painful. Since they weren't painful, I took my time- by the time I got to the hospital I was starting to feel some strong ones. Sooooo I checked into a room and my nurse was awesome! She checked me and said my water was fixing to break and she could feel his head. At this point it was 11:55 and I made the comment about having Marqus within the next 5 minutes so I could have the birthday we were hoping for., Unfortunately she said it was going to be a little while I was only dilated to a 3.

They did paper work and said they would check me in an hour to see how things were moving along, but I couldn't wait that long. After 30 minutes I asked of she could check to see how things were working...she checked me and I was dilated to a 4 which meant I could get the epi-whew hoo!!!! By 1:30am, I had my drugs and it was smooth sailing. My youngest daughter arrived with my aunt at 2:15 and my oldest was on her way. At 2:30am, the nurse thought she would check me again, and to her surprise I was almost a 10; at that point, she called the doctor and it was show time.

It only took Dr Whitfield about 15 minutes to get to there, it seemed like it took longer for them to prep me but actually I started pushing at 3:05. I remembered watching several baby stories on how to breathe and push correctly, so I tried and it actually worked. However, I could tell something was wrong in the doctor's face and tone...my baby was stuck. After the doctor tried several monuvers,3 HARD pushes on my abdomen, and what the doctor said was a little practice push and one real push, Marqus was here. Dr Whitfield was VERY SURPRISED to see how big my little-big man was. And finally took my off work...lol!!!

This is Marqus at 3 and 1/2 months.... ready for the cold.