Pray with Us

Today I am 35+ weeks. Saturday I will be 36 weeks; NINE MONTHS PREGNANT!!! Unbelievable!!

We started our appointment with an ultrasound to see if Beulah has turned. I knew she hadn't, but I was excited to see her again anyway. We were SHOCKED to hear that our "little" girl has gained more than a pound in less than two weeks!! She is weighing in at a whopping 6 lbs 3 oz!! The tech said she's going to come out will fat rolls!! Check out this beautiful picture of her FAT little cheeks! I had fat cheeks 'til I graduated college. Guess she's going to take after her mama!


This is a straight on shot of her face. Her eyes are faded into the dark top, so you're looking at her nose, lips and CHEEKS!! What a little chunker!!

She is still sitting with her bottom at the bottom of my uterus and her head at the top. Her LONG gorgeous legs (measuring at 39 weeks!) are straight up in front of her face. :) She's a flexible little bugger; again, like her mama!

The doctor recommended doing an external cephalic version TOMORROW, before she gets any bigger! Basically, I would have to go to the hospital, be put on an IV, medicated to relax the uterus, and the doctors would turn Beulah with their hands, externally. They would have to monitor her heart rate and my fluid, and if there were any signs of complications (cord entanglement, etc.), they would have to go ahead and take her. There is only a 50% success rate, and even less with first time moms.

Because of the risks involved, the drugs required, the stats, and the fact that we want to leave it in God's hands, we decided against the version. We are stepping out on faith and trusting that God knows what's best. We believe whole heartedly that He can turn her and do a better job than the doctors. We also believe that He is sovereign over her birth. If I have to have a c-section because she doesn't turn, we believe He has His reasons for that. We would LOVE to see Him turn her (against all odds) and get all the glory for it rather than the doctors. So, we ask that you pray for that with us. She is currently only consuming the space from my mid-line to the left of my uterus. It appears that she has plenty of space to use the right side of my uterus, and she is VERY active (see video taken this week--35 weeks). So, there is no reason to believe she is settled into her birth position yet...not to mention we serve a God who specializes in the "impossible!" :)


Beulah moving 35 weeks from Michelle Crissinger on Vimeo.

I bust out laughing at the end because Andy was watching with his mouth hanging open saying, "Woah!!!!!"

8 weeks to go!!

I can't believe I am 8 months pregnant and we will get to meet Beulah in about 8 weeks!! People have always talked about how fast time goes when you have kids, but I didn't realize it started before they were even in the world! This has really flown!

These days Andy and I enjoy sitting and watching my belly morph and jump. We've got one active little girl, thank the Lord! In the picture below, you can see how much she's grown. :) It's the first bare belly picture I've posted, although I walk around the house like that all the time. I wish I could go everywhere like that!



Last Friday the doctor released me from pelvic rest. She said she doesn't see any reason to believe that I will have to have a c-section! They will check me again at 36 weeks (I am currently at 32 weeks). After she left the room, I just sat on the table and breathed several deep sighs of relief and praised God! I was able to exercise some last week, but it's slow going since it's been a while.

Last weekend Andy and I went to the most wonderful birthing class at the hospital where I will deliver, CMC Pineville. We are praying that I will get the nurse who taught the class (or someone like her) to attend the birth, because she was AMAZING!! We learned SO many helpful things. She was really good at talking to the husbands in the class about their role during labor and delivery, and I think it really helped give Andy some much needed confidence. We are more and more excited every day about meeting Beulah!

On Valentines Day, I came home to some beautiful gerber daisies (my favorite) from my husband, and some fresh, young tulips "from" my precious Beulah! What a treat! Beulah and I also had a gift for her daddy. (See the shirt below.) He loved it. :) (Thanks for the idea, Aunt Danielle!)

My New Favorite Thing!!

So, my favorite part of my second trimester was feeling Beulah move.  Now that she's bigger and there's not as much room for her to move, her movement feels very different, and I LOVE IT!!  I can feel her rolling around and I can even feel knees and elbows sometimes!!  I love knowing what I'm feeling.  It makes me feel closer to her because I am more attuned to what she's doing.  She's amazing!!

Tiny Dancer!

Check her out!  This is Beulah moving at 22 weeks!  I took this video with the camera on my chest looking down at my belly with a remote on top.  The only movement that I made was breathing, the rest is her!  I edited out all the still moments, that's why the clips jump sometimes.  Enjoy the performance!

Beulah movement 22 weeks from Michelle Crissinger on Vimeo.

It's a GIRL!!

If I could express my excitement in characters on a computer screen, I'm afraid it would come out like this @#%^&*!  I am refraining from putting an infinite number of exclaimation points at that end of this sentence:  IT'S A GIRL!!!  (Could you tell by the changes to the blog?)  Our poll results?  17 people (38%) voted it was a girl.  27 people (61%) voted it was a boy.

I don't know how I knew it would be a girl (see last night's post), but I did.  The greatest blessing of all is her great health!  The tech said everything looked "normal".  We saw the four chambers of the heart, the brain, liver, kidneys, bladder, 10 fingers, 10 toes, spine, ribs, etc. and she is just perfect!  She is still measuring a week ahead of schedule, but they're not planning to change the due date.  She's the most beautiful sight we've ever seen!  Praise the good LORD!!  I told Andy that he was glowing.  He's worried about having to give her away one day.  :)

And now for the name reveal...drum roll please...

Her name is Beulah!  When you get a chance, read Isaiah 62.  I cried when Andy read it to me last night.  It has so much significance to us.  Beulah is the new name God gives Zion when he redeems Israel.  It also says in verse 4, "No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate."  That's what we were through six years of infertility.  Not anymore, Hallelujah!!  Verse 3 says, "You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God."  That's our prayer for Beulah.  

We're still toying with the middle name, but we tend to say Beulah Grace.  I had a great-grandmother named Grace.

I'll post the newest video of our beautiful Beulah after I've had a chance to talk to my friend Greg, the computer whiz.  :)

I didn't sleep well last night.  I dreamed that my clock went off at 6:30 and so I turned it off.  As I was laying there thinking about our ultrasound, I fell back asleep and woke up at the time of our appointment.  My mom was here with us (in my dream), so I made her call the doctor while Andy and I frantically got ready to go.  I kept saying, "This was supposed to be our anatomy scan.  We were supposed to find out the gender today!"  It was more of a nightmare than a dream.  I was happy that it wasn't true.  I woke up early.  :)

Since she (Did you hear that? I said SHE!) started moving a couple of weeks ago, the bonding has been so much easier.  And now that she has a name, it's even more-so.  We couldn't be happier or more thankful for this incredible blessing.  Now, I'm going to go praise our LORD for the miracle of our precious baby, Beulah.

It's His Turn!!

As Andy was teaching children's church this morning I was listening with my hand resting on my belly when the baby kicked and I felt it in my hand!  So, tonight when the baby started moving I called Andy over and he was able to feel it twice!!  It is so great for him to be able to participate in the excitement that I feel when s/he moves!

So, tomorrow's the big day!  We find out in the morning whether it's a girl or a boy!  I see on the right side of the blog that most are voting for a boy, so it will be fun to see who was right.  I will post as soon as we get home, so check back when you get a chance, and if you haven't placed your vote...there's still a couple of hours left.

FYI--I think it's a girl.  Andy thinks it's a boy, but he's starting to have his doubts.  We'll see!!  Hopefully I'll sleep tonight.  :)

The Moment I've Been Waiting For!!

We've got movement, people!!  What a ridiculously amazing miracle!!  I've heard it described as a flutter or a feeling similar to gas bubbles, but the best word I can use to describe it is energy.  It feels like a ball of energy inside.  I have to be very still to feel it, but when I do, I could just lay there for hours.  Thank you, God, for this privilege!