Little Marks Miracle

4 Months Old!

2008-10-20T15:51:00.002-05:00

I'm a little embarrassed because I haven't been keeping up with this blog page. Between email and Facebook, I've totally neglected this website...aah! I don't know where to begin. Instead of telling you about the labor and delivery and first 4 months of Benjamyn's life, I'll just start with today.

Benjamyn will be 4 months old on Saturday and I am continually amazed at how FAST the time has gone. This has been the BEST and HARDEST 4 months of mine and Nathan's lives. This little boy has blessed us beyond words and we are so grateful that God gave him to us to take care of and raise. My prayer for Benjamyn's life is that God will keep him from harm and that he will grow up loving Jesus and loving others. It's funny to watch his personality form and just yesterday his Daddy had him belly laughing...so precious!

He is such a strong little boy and has been holding his head up pretty much since birth. He wants to sit up so bad but gets frustrated because he can't...but he's close. Benjamyn has suffered with reflux but it has been manageable and seems to be getting a little better. He is sleeping through the night consistently but gets up a little too early for our liking!!!

He is growing like a weed and I pray that he loses a little bit of weight once he starts crawling and walking...he's a little on the chunky side. I have posted a pic of him in the bath tub. This was taken a couple of weeks ago so he'll look completely different way too soon.

Thank you for your love, prayers and encouragement. I can't believe I'm a Mommy! My prayer every night for Benjamyn is that he will sleep peacefully and grow and that God will keep him safe for another day. My prayer for myself is that God gives me the strength to be the best mother to Benjamyn and I thank him for choosing me to be his Mommy!

Just a Teeny Weeny little scare!

2008-04-24T19:35:00.002-05:00

Hey Friends and Family,
Benjamyn, Nathan and I had a little tiny scare today but everything is ok. I started cramping in my lower abdomen yesterday a little and it didn't seem to be any better this morning. I had a little bleeding (too much info, I know) and with the help of Jeanne (my friend and work nurse) and my Dr. nurse I decided to be checked out at the hospital. I have told myself that I will do ANYTHING for this baby and knew I made the right decision just in case something wasn't right. Turns out everything was fine and he is still an active little fellow! Nathan and I were in the hospital for about 4 hours and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor to monitor his heartrate. He's perfect! They did a urine test to make sure I didn't have an infection and the results were negative. We don't know exactly what happened but I've been instructed to really take it easy this weekend. Nurse's orders were no laundry, no lifting heavy things, little walking and rest! I praise God for answered prayers and for the continuing health of this child. Don't tell Nathan I said this, but he got a little anxious in the Labor & Delivery unit and I think this was a good trip to help us prepare for what is ahead. We are thankful that everything is ok...especially with the baby and are counting down the days until we actually get to meet him. Love all of you very much!

More pictures.

2008-04-16T22:19:00.007-05:00

Incredible!

2008-04-16T22:14:00.002-05:00

Hey Friends and Fam,

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Life has been so so busy but it's been going by fast so I'm glad. I'm almost in my 30th week...a little over 10 more weeks to go. I have been feeling quite uncomfortable lately but I still feel incredibly blessed to be the mother of this precious little boy. He is a very active little thing...just like his Daddy. We went today to have a 3d/4d sonogram and it was absolutely amazing! How anyone could every doubt creation by Him I'll never know. I love this baby so much and it was so incredible today to see his features and his precious face! We are getting so excited and everyday I am reminded of how blessed I truly am! Enough about me, here are pictures of Benjamyn from today. I have a CD of 36 pics on it so I had to edit and remove a few...it was hard. I'm already the proud Mommy who wants to show everyone everything! Love you guys!

Presents for Benjamyn!

2008-03-30T20:18:00.002-05:00

Hey Friends and Fam,
It's been a while since I posted anything. There is nothing really exciting going on and I'm working on getting over the viral infection I had weeks ago. My voice still gets tired at the end of the day (Nathan is loving it) and my throat still hurts a little. The nurse at my Dr.'s office told me that my immune system is pretty weak and it would take a while to completely recover. I'm back at work though and life is back to the same old schedule. Nathan and I registered yesterday at Babies R Us! It was so fun but a little overwhelming. Nathan got a little carried away in the bib section...praise the Lord that we can edit our registry online! We registered for matching everything (almost). The travel system which includes the stroller and carseat, the diaper bag, swing and playpen are all the same pattern. Blue, tan and green polka dots (I think). There is so much stuff for babies now and I had no idea what some of the things were for. I have my first small shower scheduled for the end of May. My sweet friends from college are giving me a little get together/shower in Austin. I am super excited.
I am in my 27th week now...that's the beginning of my 3rd trimester. God has been so good throughout this pregnancy. Although I'm getting pretty uncomfortable and I feel like an elephant (or a hippo on some days) I praise Him that this little guy is healthy and developing properly. There are so many things I have to be thankful for.
My wonderful husband surprised me on Easter with the confirmation email to a 3d/4d sonogram. I go on April 16th and can hardly wait to see his precious little face. My Mom...aka Grammy is so excited about her first grandbaby. Nathan's parents are moving down to San Antonio tomorrow so we'll have both sets of grandparents here for Benjamyn. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family on both sides. Life is good!!!
Well, I've kind of rambled on and on. Things are starting to seem more real and although I'm excited beyond belief, I am a little scared. What kind of Mommy will I be? Will we have enough money? I know that God has a plan for my family and I pray that He will continue to give us peace and strength. Starting a family is a little scary. Thank you for your prayers and love. 3 more months to go!!!! I love you guys very much!

We're Anemic?!?!

2008-03-15T22:34:00.002-05:00

Hey Friends and Family,
Just wanted to update everyone and let you know that I had a Dr.'s appointment this past Thursday and everything went just lovely. They got a great picture of little Benjamyn's profile which they tried to get last month but he's too much of a ham to cooperate. They said that he looks perfectly healthy and is growing and measuring right on track. We heard his strong, fast little heartbeat and I had to do the gestational diabetes test. Yuck!! That is some nasty liquid that you have to drink. My results came back negative...praise the Lord but the nurse did say I am anemic. They prescribed some iron supplements for me and this has been the second day of taking them. They are GREAT! I feel so energetic and can get so much done during the day. I've been pretty sick the past week with a viral infection and had to take a little visit to Boerne Urgent Care last Sunday. I was told to take Tylenol and Sudafed and still haven't fully recovered. They assured me that the little man has no idea what is going on when I'm sick so I felt much better. I missed work all week...Yikes but am feeling so so much better (I think it's the iron)! Thank you for your prayers.
We are getting more and more excited everyday (especially someone named "Grammy") and just can't wait for him to be here. I know I need to enjoy my time with my husband and I am...I really am. I'm also enjoying just being able to jump in the car and go somewhere whenever I want. I think I'm starting to get the "nesting" syndrome that pregnant women get. I just want to be at home and make sure things are organized and ready for this child. 3 1/2 months to go and I sometimes feel like there are too many things to do. My in-laws are moving back to San Antonio...Yea! We are going to be so blessed having both sets of grandparents close. Benjamyn is going to be so spoiled. Well, not much else interesting is going on. Pregnant life is good and I'm just so grateful that God has continued to allow Benjamyn to develop healthy and strong. I can't wait to meet him and one day share with him the love of Jesus!
We love you guys and will post pictures soon of the latest sonogram. Have a very Happy Easter!!

Benjamyn has his picture taken again!

2008-02-29T21:40:00.003-06:00

Here are the most recent pictures of the little man taken a couple of weeks ago. One is of his face...pointed at the camera the whole time. The other is of his two legs and...you know what right in the middle! This is the most precious little boy I have EVER seen!

I'm almost in my 6th Month...Yippee!!

2008-02-27T21:17:00.005-06:00

Hey Friends and Fam,

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything and I feel like a terrible mother. I know he can't actually read these but I want everyone to know how special little boy Marks is! We had our most recent Dr.'s appointment on February 12th and it was great. They did confirm that he is a boy...definitely a boy and hopefully I can scan some of the pictures and post them soon. The sonogram measured his body parts like his heart, stomach, femur, head, abdomen and so on and so on. My most favorite part of the sonogram was getting to see his precious little feet. He was curled up and comfy and kept flexing his feet and moving his toes. They were sooooo cute. For those of you that don't know, I have an extremely large Big Toe (according to Nathan) and so does my son! We are so excited and so blessed that he looked perfectly healthy and happy might I add. There was one shot that the sonographer wasn't able to get...his profile. He was looking straight at the camera the whole time so my next appt. she'll try to get him to cooperate again. This view checks for cleft palate, etc. I'm not concerned because I love him so so much already. He's perfect in my eyes.

So, I think we've decided on a name. Unless he comes out a girl, we are going to name him Benjamyn Michael Marks. We call him Benjamyn already so I can't imagine naming him something else. We are going to spell it a little different just to be unique but I love the name and can't wait to meet little Benjamyn!!

Nathan, aka my overachiever husband, has finished painting and trimming out the nursery. I have attached pictures of it for you to see. It is absolutely the cutest room in the whole house and we can't wait to put a baby in it. We have a crib that was generously bought for us by my bosses at work and will work over the next 4 months to furnish the room. It's not a huge room so we'll (more like I'll) have to be careful about not buying too many things. I can't wait until shower time...I LOVE getting gifts and have waited for baby gifts for a long time!

Another exciting thing is that I can feel Benjamyn kicking and moving around all of the time. I was sick last week for 2 days and was able to rest at home. He wouldn't stop moving! I thank and praise God every time I feel a kick or some type of movement. It's a miracle to know that an actual human being is being formed inside your body. God is amazing!! Thank you all for your love, prayers and support. This is such an exciting time in our lives and Nathan, Benjamyn and I are so incredibly blessed to share our joy with you. We love you!!

Uh...is it just me or is my tummy getting huge?!?

2008-01-30T22:23:00.000-06:00

Hey Friends and Fam,
It's been a while since I posted anything because things have been pretty uneventful. I got my blood test results back from my Dr. and everything turned out normal so that was a relief. It's ALWAYS good to hear good news, especially when you're responsible for another little life. Besides the fact that my stomach is growing bigger and bigger everyday, there's not much news to share. Nathan was pretty sick a couple of weeks ago but thank God it wasn't the flu or anything serious. Life is busy at work and we (meaning Nathan and I) have been used to going to bed every night around 9:30 or 10! We feel like we're 90 years old but it's so good to get some rest! I usually have to take half of a Tylenol PM every night so I'll actually sleep (and won't hear my husband's snoring).

So we are throwing some names back and forth for the little guy! I am stuck on Benjamyn Michael so if you guys want to send me your opinions that would be great. Nathan wasn't crazy about Benjamyn at first but he calls the baby that so I'm thinking that it's sticking!!

I bought some maternity jeans last night at Target and let me just say that once you've had maternity jeans, I don't think you'll ever go back. They are the most comfortable thing in the whole entire world (besides pajamas) and I don't think I'll ever stop wearing maternity clothes. My stomach is getting bigger and bigger everyday and I think I'm going to throw myself and my husband a party when I've completed 20 weeks! If anyone would like to attend, please let me know. I am a little over 18 weeks and time is flying by!!!
Well, I have to get up at 5 am tomorrow morning to go to Austin for work and I'm already stressing out about the lack of sleep I will get and what I'm going to eat for breakfast. Multiply your food supply by about 3 each day and that's what it takes to feed me and the little man! Love you guys!!

It's A BOY!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

2008-01-16T13:28:00.000-06:00

Hey Friends and Family,
Just an update...Nathan, my Mom and I went to my OB/GYN this morning for our first appointment. Dr. Feinstein is great and we really liked her. I did the normal things, blood testing, asking questions and a sonogram. According to the sonogram, our little one is a boy! Of course Dr. Feinstein explained that she can't be 100% sure until my sonogram next month but we all know what we saw. It was plain as day. I prayed last night, if it was God's will, that He would allow the baby's legs to spread so we can see the good stuff...boy did we see the stuff! He's so cute and is growing so perfectly. The sonogram pictures didn't print out right so I don't have anything to show you this month. Next month we will have a more detailed sonogram where they will measure and look at the different body parts and ligaments. We're so excited and look forward to seeing the little guy next month again. What a blessing from God!! Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. God has been so good to us and I can't help but praise Him for allowing this child to come into our lives!!

Thank the Lord for Chiropractors!

2008-01-09T11:04:00.000-06:00

Well, many of you know I've been having terrible headaches throughout this whole pregnancy thing. Thanks to the advice of April, I broke down and made an appointment with my chiropractor this morning. Things moved and cracked and my headache is almost gone for the day. I'm so thankful for the relief and can't wait to actually sleep through a whole night!! Monday marked my 15th week and I can't wait to meet my new Dr. next week. Hopefully they will do a sonogram and we will get to see how much the little pumpkin pie has grown!! Every time I find myself starting to complain or getting frustrated about being pregnant, I remember how BAD I've wanted this for 2 1/2 years. That shuts me up all the time! I still think that this baby is the hugest blessing I could ever have and can't wait to meet him/her! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.

12 Week Pictures

2008-01-02T09:57:00.000-06:00

This is the Little One at 12 weeks (2 weeks ago)! We have other poses but are scared to show them to everyone because he/she looks like an alien! Still, it is so precious!

These may be a little hard to see. I can't figure out how to make it bigger!!

Time to Party!

2008-01-02T09:47:00.000-06:00

Hey Friends and Family,
It's taken me a while to get this going but now that I actually feel good, I thought, better do it now. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but I'm out of my first trimester and that deserves a party!! I'm proud of myself for getting through it but it really wasn't that bad. I wasn't too sick and really feel blessed that I didn't have to be hospitalized or anything tragic like that. I feel relieved to be out of the first trimester and look forward to feeling better and having more energy. On New Year's Eve I went to bed at 1:30 am...that's a miracle in itself. I was still able to function the next day too. My body actually feels like it belongs to me again and not some alien life from another planet. Besides my growing pooch I'm feeling much better.

I am supposed to have a Dr.'s appointment mid January and am kind of hoping that we will be able to find out what the Little One is. If not, I'll have to patient and wait some more. I'm excited to meet my new OB/GYN and to see how much the baby has grown since the last sonogram. Nathan and I are so excited and can't wait to meet the Little One at the end of June (or whenever it feels like coming)!! Thank you for all of your love, prayers and support. Instead of making a New Year's Resolution (I fail at every single one anyways) I am going to pray that 2008 is full of God's blessings for my family and friends. I pray that we continue to walk in Him and that He continues to keep us healthy and happy! Happy New Year's!!!