Still here!

Well, we're trying all the old wives' tales at this point. I walk twice a day, we've had mexican food, I do lots of vacuuming and heavy lifting that's prohibited on bedrest...you name it...we've tried it! Just kidding on the heavy lifting, Mom.

Actually, the mexican food just sounded good to me, and it's not spicy at all up here in NC (at least not for this Louisiana girl), so I seriously doubt my lunch enchilada will jump start any contractions. Nick and I got to meet today for a spontaneous lunch date while Ben took the boys to the pool. What a fun treat!

No baby action going on yet...I know you're checking!

39 Week Update

The blog has been quiet, I know. I've had a rough week, and the boys have been out and about doing fun things with friends so that I can rest. I'll post pics of them as soon as I get some from our friends.

I am 3 cm, and my doctor stripped my membranes. The baby is very low, and the delivery should be quick. My blood pressure is also low, and the baby's heat rate is perfect. I'm still smaller and weigh less than the boys' pregnancies. I've had a lot of cramping but no contractions. It's strange that my 3rd pregnancy is progressing slower than my first two. Crazy. I had already delivered Elijah by now. And Hudson was at 4 cm for several weeks. Goes to show there's no rhyme or reason to it; it's all on God's timing!

I have been battling nausea, vomiting and migraines. And they peak at night, so I am not getting much sleep. Since everything looks great with my blood pressure and the baby's stats, there aren't any red flags, it's just pre-labor symptoms. It's just crazy to have it the last week of my 3rd pregnancy, when I've never even had first-trimester nausea before.

Yesterday, Pri took the boys to Baileywick Park for the morning, and today Tyler Parker is taking them to Marbles. Our friends have been so kind to us! Thank you for helping us during this season!

All of that is to say that we're ready...and it'll make the baby's arrival even that much sweeter!

20 Weeks

We're halfway there to meeting Baby Roark! He/she should be measuring about 6.5" from crown to rump, or 10" from head to toe. That explains why I'm growing! I feel the baby move several times a day now, and it's always such an amazing feeling...even the third time around. I'm feeling great, and we're very thankful!

Elijah and I matched today, so we had to take a picture after church.

The Littlest Roark

Obviously, these are scanned, so please excuse the fact that they're crooked.

He/she is still just as cute.

Here's the face and chest looking straight on. The black circle on the chest is the heart.

The sweet profile.
The profile, leg and a hand rubbing his/her eyes.
The black circles in the chest are heart, stomach and kidneys.

Look at these precious feet side by side!

Another profile and arm or leg...can't remember which.

Taken at 18 weeks, 5 days.

Ultrasound at 18 Weeks

We had our "gender" ultrasound this morning, and we didn't peek! Well, actually, we never took our eyes off the screen...we just never saw anything, and the ultrasound tech even got a picture of the gender for my file! At the beginning, I told her we didn't want to know, and she did a great job of being very nonchalant. I am sure it was visible when they were checking out the kidneys, stomach and bladder...but we couldn't make out anything. Although I would be SO upset if I saw!

All of the organs checked out wonderfully, and the baby is very healthy. I drank caffeine before the appointment to get the baby moving for a fun ultrasound, and it worked. We got to see him/her move a lot and open and close his/her mouth. We have some cute pictures, but I'll have Nick scan them at work tomorrow so they'll be better quality.

I have gained 3 pounds, and my tummy is measuring right on target. The baby is 9 ounces and is measuring right at my due date.

For those of you who 'believe' in the heartrate-gender theory...
Elijah's was 148 and Hudson's was 141 at 18 weeks. This baby's was 146.

I'm not sure if I 'believe' in it, but I'm still sticking with my boy vote.

Baby Roark at 16 Weeks

Baby Roark is really growing. I'm starting to 'pop out' and show a little more these days.

Baby Check

I had a check-up today with Dr. H.
He found the heartbeat very quickly and said, "Hmmm...sounds like a boy."

(Of course he really doesn't know; he was just kidding around with me. But I think he might be right!)

I have gained 1 pound. And my blood pressure was low as always--"borderline alive" as my Dad says. Everything checked out great. I go back in mid-March for the big ultrasound.

And...nope, we're not finding out!

Baby Roark 14 Weeks

Here we are at 14 weeks. I started taking pics at 14 weeks with both boys, so I'm going to try to keep up again! The baby is the size of a lemon right now. I don't feel like I've grown much, but I do rubber-band my jeans sometimes. This pic doesn't really show much since my sweater is really bulky, but at least it's a 14 week picture!

I am not super hungry, and I'm not as tired. I am feeling well...very normal, actually. I am not craving anything specific during this pregnancy. I usually crave a food that I've heard someone talk about. If I see a commercial for Olive Garden, then a salad with breadsticks sounds good to me a day later. If I hear someone talk about something they ate, then I want the same thing a few hours later. It's very random.

I will say, though, that I haven't had a bowl of cereal in weeks. You can decide for yourself what that means! But I'm not thinking pink yet.

12 Week Baby Update

I'm in the middle of the 12th week, and I've got a little pooch. Thankfully, it's not something that strangers would notice, but it's not 'normal' for me. It's a fun reminder of this little one! I've had some spells where I've lost my appetite in the late afternoon/evening, but no nausea or anything like that. I've taken my share of naps, and I have slept in until the last possible minute, so I can tell I'm a little more tired than normal. But overall, I feel great, and am loving being pregnant again!

Here's a picture of a picture of our baby at 11 weeks. I haven't seen my children in 3D this early in pregnancy, and it was absolutely stunning!

My picture of the picture is obviously not great quality, but he/she looks just like this:

(From BabyCenter)

A Failed Attempt

We tried to get some pics outside after church,

but I think everyone was ready for naps, myself included.

Maybe this can pass for my 12 week belly shot?

This photo op is not really working out...

Good smiles, but we had a little airplane distraction...not to mention sunspots on the lens.

What kind of smile is that?

Eh, it's naptime!

Coming Soon...The Roark Five

Around August 22, we will become the Roark Five!

I am 8.5 weeks along, feeling great. We heard the heartbeat today--what an amazing sound!
Praise God with us!

Hudson Parker Roark

Announcing the "Roark Family of Four" with their newest addition, Hudson Parker Roark, born around 3 pm on November 3rd, 2007 weighing 8 lbs and 6 ounces. More details and updates coming soon!

My life is about to change.....

Mommy and Daddy just left in a rush to the hospital this morning. Daddy was making phone calls about Mommy's "contractions" ... whatever those are. They kept talking to me about being a big brother. If I hear of anything new I will keep you updated but I have this weird feeling that my life is about to be a lot different.

37 Weeks!

We are so thankful to have made it to 37 weeks! (This is considered "full term" even though due dates are calculated at 40 weeks.) We praise God for sustaining this little one in the womb this long, and we're ready to meet him/her any day now! I had a busy work week last week, and was thankful that the baby didn't come in the middle of that week to complicate it even further. And then on Saturday, I helped give two baby showers for Robin and Kristen, and I really didn't want to miss either one of those!

So, now my calendar is free and I have nothing major planned. You can come anytime now, Baby Roark. Our schedule is open. We are ready to hold you and kiss you!

(And Daddy has mid-terms this week, so it would be a perfect excuse for him to get out of taking them.)

Week 36

We just had a check up in the middle of week 36, and I am now 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The baby is head down; ready to go. The baby's heartbeat is 140 bpm. My strep B test last week was negative. I've had alot of cramping and contractions here and there, but nothing worth timing. We'll see if we make it one more week to "full term" which is at the end of week 37? But if the baby comes now, it's still safe. It'll just make for a fatter baby. :)

(Sorry for no fun pictures or Elijah updates. I just wanted to post a quick update before I leave for another work dinner tonight.)

35 1/2 Weeks

We had a check up today, and found out that I am 2 cm. dilated and 50% effaced. The baby's head is fully engaged, and it will not drop further until I am in active labor.

(I was 4 cm when I checked into the hospital with Elijah at 38 weeks, having contractions that were less than 2 minutes apart, lasting 2 minutes.)

The Dr. made sure we had registered at the hospital, and that our bags were packed. She speculated that Baby Roark may come before 38 weeks. But who knows?! We are as ready as we can be!

I've loved being active again and being able to play with Elijah and pick him up...and go to Target.


Here is a picture of 35 weeks with Elijah. What do you think? (It's hard to compare with different shirts.)

Baby Roark at 23 Weeks

Our little one is doing great! He/she is 23 weeks, and has a heartrate of 145 bpm. His/her little head was down, right in position, when we saw him/her last week in our ultrasounds. The little one is growing nicely, and so am I! I feel kicking and crazy movement pretty much constantly throughout the day, not to mention the times when I am trying to fall asleep, too. It's funny how his/her awake time is always when I'm trying to fall asleep. Some things will never change!

While Baby Roark is doing great, I have had a few minor "complications" this past week. (If you want details, I'll be happy to share. I just figured the male readership of this blog might not want to hear all those lovely terms.) Through a course of events, the doctors were able to determine that my body is already progressing towards labor, and of course it is way too early for that to happen. Things seem to be stabilizing right now, and we are thankful for that. However, I have been put on a "light bed rest" for lack of a better term to describe it. I need to lay down or sit as often as I can, and my activities need to be limited. For example, I can't go grocery shopping, run errands, exercise, lift things, etc. And the hardest part is that I can't pick up Elijah. So we've had to get a little creative around here! We're figuring it out as we go. God has been gracious and we're just taking it one day at a time. It never hurt for anyone to eat in their booster chair on the floor, right?

We've had many friends rally around to serve us, and we are so grateful. Monday through Wednesday, Danielle, Natalie and Robin are all coming to help while Nick is out of town for a pastor's retreat. I'm excited about the girl time! Oh, and Elijah and I will really miss Nick too. :)

(Nick has been SuperDad lately, as you can imagine! I'll have to devote a whole separate post to that.)