Today is the last day of Mr. Rylan Kent being on the inside. I am more than ready for my little man to be in my arms, but I am getting very nervous as the emotions of everything are becoming very surreal. There is no turning back at this point lol! Yesterday was my last ultrasound and it was very bitter sweet. I was sad that it was the last time I would see my little man on the inside and excited that the next time I see him will be in my arms. As my hours of just me time are drawing near I have spent today just relaxing, sleeping, painting my finger nails, I took a long bath, shaved my legs (by the way I am still impressed I can still do this on my own), loved on my little dog as today is the last day he's mommy's only little man. I have soaked up every little movement Rylan has made, as this is going to be one of the things I miss the most about this journey coming to an end. I took my last shot last night and I am glad all that is over with, but dont get me wrong they were worth every stick I had to endure. All of our bags are packed and ready to go, he's car seat is installed in the car, we have everything ready for our little man. We have to be at Baptist at 11:45 tonight to start the induction process. I pray that everything goes as planned and that sometime tomorrow we have our little fella! I know that it's all in God's hands and that we've got 3 little angels watching over us, but its still hard not to think about all the things that can go wrong. We have endured so much hurt getting to this point and I know that the fear wont go away until I hear his first cry and see him take his first breath. I have longed for this day for so long and now that its incredibly close I am very scared.
I've went back and read every post from the very beginning and it's crazy to think how far we've come and how much I've changed along this journey. Throughout this journey there were many of times I didnt know if I would make it through the day and if I would've ever gotten the chance to be a Mommy. Now I am just hours away from my little miracle being born. I don't know and don't know if I ever will know what lesson was to be learnt from every miscarriage, but I do know that it has made me cherish every moment of being pregnant and I will cherish and not take for granted every moment that he is in this world. A lot of people have asked if I am ready to hear that cry and all those sleepless nights, but after everything I've been through I am looking forward to that cry and all the sleepless nights because there were many of times I never thought it would happen. God knew exactly what he was doing. I will never forget my little angels and I know that I will get to see them all one day, but until then I know they are watching over us everyday.
As this step of our journey comes to an and I want to thank every person who has prayed for us along the way and for all of the love and support throughout all of this. We couldn't be more blessed to have you in our lives. I cant wait for you all to hear about the birth story of our little man and see all the pictures. I know Im scared but I know that it will all be worth it the moment they lay Mr. Rylan up on my chest for the first time. I can only sit and imagine what that moment will be like and it just brings me to tears, but it will all be a reality very soon. Please say a prayer for us tonight and I will keep everyone updated along the way!! I cant wait for everyone to see my little fella!
Sorry its taken forever to blog another post, but life gets crazy busy the closer it gets to my wild man's arrival. Alot has happened since the last post. I started seeing a high risk doctor, Dr. Connie Graves. Which is the best of the best when it comes to maternal fetal medicine doctors. She is the head of Tennessee Maternal Fetal Association, which means Rylan and I are in very good hands. We had another ultrasound done at 21 weeks and 3 days to check Rylan's cyst that were on his brain, and with the amazing power of prayer we found out that the cysts were gone! I'm telling you God is great and we are so blessed to have a healthy baby boy! From that point on I had to have ultrasounds every 4 weeks to monitor his growth. So we go back for another ultrasound and to our surprise we found out he is going to be a BIG boy!!! Every time we went back for an ultrasound we would find out just how big he had gotten. Our last ultrasound was last week and was Rylan Kent was 4lbs and 10oz. He even has hair and a fat roll on his neck! His head is in the 99 percentile and body in the 86 percentile. So we have ourselves a little chunky monkey! But I wouldn't want him any other way!!!
Now we are at 32 weeks and 3 days and I started weekly ultrasounds today to make sure everything is ok with me and little man. Today he weighed 5lbs and my fluid levels were a little low. So, I've gone to 1/2 days at work, I've got to increase my water intake and rest, rest, and you guessed it rest! She's going to recheck my fluid levels next week and hopefully they've gone back up. If not I am assuming it would be bed rest and possibly even taking him earlier than what I want. I at least want his little lungs to be fully developed, which they took tons of images of them today and monitored him practicing his breathing. I am so excited to get to see him every week now, its crazy how big he's getting and getting to watch him grow inside my belly is a pretty amazing gift! It's the best feeling in the world to feel him moving around like a wild child in there. I am honestly gonna miss him being in there, even though I am so ready and excited to have him in my arms. We found out today that she's going to take him at 37 weeks, so I can come off of my blood thinner injections in time. I'm thinking it will be the weekend of May 17,18,19, or 20th. I'm hoping they have me go in Thursday May 17 to start the induction and hopefully he will be here May 18, 2012!! It's getting scary close now and all I can do is pray and know that Gods in control and he will keep me and Rylan safe as we take the next step in this journey.
We are getting excited about our baby shower coming up April 21, 2012!!! I absolutely love the baseball theme!! It couldn't fit Daniel, Rylan, and I any better!! I'm so excited to see what all he gets and to start putting everything together and finally getting ready for our little peanut! After next weekend I will be set and little man can make hes arrival!!!
Rylan at 28 weeks
Rylan at 32w3d
29 weeks
Baby Shower cake, but HOOLIHAN and #9 on the jersey!
As this weekend starts I will be 20 weeks on Sunday!! Which means Rylan Kent is halfway done. =) I can't wait for my sweet little man to be here! We had another ultrasound done on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. It was crazy to see how much he had grown in just 4 weeks. I was so in love with watching him sleeping in my belly. He wasn't very active this time, but the 2 nights before he had kept me up all night so looks like my little man has he's sleeping patterns backwards lol. He is still quiet the thumb sucker though, thank goodness he's mommy will be able to fix those teeth!! Rylan is now the size of a cantaloupe this week, measuring 6.5 inches and 10.5 ounces!! Everything checked out great with our little peanut, even though Dr. Chern said that he had 2 Choroid plexus cyst on his brain. Dr Chern reassured us that they almost always go away by the time he's 32 weeks, but after everything we've been through its hard not to get a little worried. I've read and researched everything, but at the end of that day I had given it all to God because I know its in his hands and I know that my baby is going to be just perfect to me either way. Since that night I haven't worried about him at all, every time I start to get upset about it he starts to go crazy like he's trying to tell me that he's gonna be ok. I still would like everyone to keep us in your prayers because they've all been working so far!!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's! We had a wonderful Christmas, Rylan got so much stuff cant imagine what it will be like next year! He got tons of clothes, we got his nursery furniture, he got his first pair of Sperry's, we got a gift certificate for his newborn pictures (I'm so excited about this), we got a new camera to capture all of those kodax moments. We got Jason Aldean concert tickets, I got my sparkly blue Toms just for my little BOY!! We were so blessed this Christmas, and the thought of how special next year will be is just amazing! We spent New Years at the Liberty Bowl to watch Vandy play! We had an awesome time, even though they didn't come through with the win!! We got home around 10:30 p.m and spent midnight snoozing away!! We laughed the next morning because it was our first time to not stay up till midnight, and how different they would be for here on out but most definitely for the better!!
It's hard to believe that in just 5 months I will be holding my sweet angel for the first time ever! I'm so excited and so nervous all at the same time! I try to imagine what life will be like when he gets here and it brings tears to my eyes to think about the first time we see him. I wonder who he will look like, whose nose he will have, will he have hair, hopefully he wont have my ears lol. I just cant wait to see how Daniel and Rylan are together. Its got to be the best thing ever in life. It's crazy how much I love him already and everyone says it only gets stronger once you see him. I cant imagine it getting any stronger, I would give my life for him right now. I heard the song I Saw God Today by George Strait and carrying a child within me and it made me think how can anyone not believe in God. For something so tiny as a sperm and egg to create a baby that starts out the size of a poppy seed and grows into a little human on the inside of your belly, and to watch the miracle of life be born. I watched Madison Liggett be born and its one of the most amazing things in this world and you can just feel the presence of God in the room. It just blows my mind of how much of a miracle it is, and for there still be people who say he doesn't exist. I am proud to say I am a believer and that he is my savior.
The week leading up to finding out what Baby Hoolihan would be took forever, at least we had things to keep us busy in the mean time. The weekend before Daniel, Mom, Bill, Buddy, Chelsea and I all went to Gatlinburg, we all had a blast!Wednesday we had a doctor's appointment to see how everything was going with baby. Everything was great, heartbeat was perfect, more blood drawn, and got in trouble for loosing more weight! Finally Friday had gotten here, I couldn't sleep a wink that night so all I could do was lay in bed and think about how the next day was going to go, then I would pray that God had given us a healthy baby and I told him that I was laying my selfishness out of the way and knew that he had given Daniel and I what he knew we needed in our lives. 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 17, 2011 had finally arrived, Daniel and I were up and getting ready to leave. First we went an ate at Waffle House, which I could hardly eat anything because of my nerves. We pulled in the parking lot of Precious View in Bowling Green, Ky at 10:15 a.m. we walked in and fill out all the paperwork. The time had came for us to find out. She was getting ready to start and I had told her that I wanted to know if it had 10 fingers, 10 toes and most importantly that it was healthy, then she could tell me what it was. She began the ultrasound by letting us hear it's heartbeat and then she started moving it around and BAM there was Mr Rylan Kent Hoolihan's legs in the air so we could clearly see his manhood! There was no shame in his game! I told her well guess he wanted mommy to know who he was right off the bat! I began to cry as we watched our little man! I looked over at Daniel and he was beaming from ear to ear =) Our little guy was very wild at the beginning and had fallen asleep by the end. Words can not describe how blessed Daniel and I are to have found out that our little miracle baby was a boy and most importantly that he was perfect! I love him more than anything in this world and would give my life for him already! Once we had left I called my mom and she immediately said it's a boy I can tell by your voice! My Daddy was the next phone call, followed by my Granny Moma and on to let friends and the rest of the family know! From there Daniel and I went to Babies R Us to register for our little man. We bought him 2 sleepers that we will take to the hospital for Rylan to sleep in while we're there. Then we went to Daniel's sisters to let his family know what we were having! Daniel handed his daddy the ultrasound pictures with the top one being his manhood! They were so excited for us! Now the Hoolihan name will be carried on, what other way to make a father more proud! We want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for us up until this point! We couldn't be more blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives! Mr Rylan Kent Hoolihan is so lucky to have you too! We go back to the doctor on January 10 for my dr's ultrasound!! So we get to see our little man again!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year!!
Here is the link so everyone can watch our ultrasound video!! Hope you enjoy as much as we did =)
I am 13w6d prego! As my first trimester comes to an end, my sweet baby is the size of a peach!! It's head is now about half the size of his or her crown to rump length! It's intestines, which have been growing inside the umbilical cord, are now starting to move to their permanent home inside the abdomen. Also developing this week is its vocal cords( the better to cry with... soon!) My uterus is now the size of a grapefruit which is really starting to make me show!! I'm sure everyone already knows we find out what baby Hoolihan is on December 17, 2011. Which is 16 days, 16 hours, and 29 min away... but no body's counting! LOL I am so excited to find out, I feel like I can have a stronger bond with my sweet baby once I know that it's Mr. Rylan Kent Hoolihan or Miss Bristol Anzlee Hoolihan! I'm so excited to let everyone know as well, I've got a neat way to let our families know what baby is that evening. So, everyone will have to be on the look out for a post on facebook and pictures to come with the announcement!! Everyone just say a prayer that baby cooperates and wants us to find out that day!! We go to baby doctor the Wednesday before we find out what baby is! I'm excited to hear that sweet sweet sound again!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping!!! I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, the food was amazing what a wonderful time to be pregnant! Daniel and I went shopping on Black Friday, we bought diapers and more diapers and I got a great deal on a pump! My parents bought us our baby furniture!!! I absolutely love it and can't wait for it to come in, so we can put it together!! I also put up the baby's tree in its room and then our family tree!! I love our trees and I think everyone else did too! Can't wait for the next update... stay tuned!
Today we got to hear the most amazing sound ever, our baby's heartbeat!! It was so touching and such a huge relief to hear the BEST sound on earth! Baby Hoolihan is doing great, which is such a blessing. I thank God everyday for my baby and pray that it's going to be healthy as can be. Daniel and I are so grateful for everyone's prayers along the way. You have no idea how much it means to us to know that our baby has little prayer warriors and that its loved by so many already!! Now the count down is on until we find out what baby Hoolihan will be!! I will be 18 weeks the week of Christmas and Im hoping Dr. Chern will let us find out that week and if not it will be the week after. How awesome would it be to get to know for out Christmas present! By the way I have an awesome gender revel for our families! =)
Thanksgiving is only 8 days away, and I am so ready to pig out on all of that yummy food oh yeah and spend time with our families. =) LOL what pregnant girl doesn't get excited about food! On another note I am so ready for Christmas. I hung my wreath tonight and on Sunday I had my wonderful hubby and step dad pull all of my Christmas stuff down from the attic!! Now all we have to do is get a REAL Christmas tree! I have finally talked my paranoid hubby into letting me have one, but he only says just this one year! I am still working on him letting me get a little tree this year for baby's room, but I'm use to getting my way so I'm sure we'll have one before to long! =) I love you Punkin!! Hope everyone has a wonderful holidays!!
Friday November 4, 2011 started my tenth week of pregnancy! I can't believe we've made it this far =). Baby Hoolihan is doing great and growing like a weed! As for me I'm doing great too, belly is getting bigger, boobs are getting huge (can we say ouch), belly is big and bruised (but completely worth it!), I'm still getting sick (on a good note not as often as the beginning). Sleep.. that's all I want to do now.
Sorry it's been a little while since I've wrote. I've been super busy the past couple of weeks. October 22, 2011 my little brother got married. Then Halloween weekend came and went, we spent Saturday morning at the Vandy game, then we headed to Trunk or Treat with the Hoolihan family, finally we went to a bonfire party with my family! A great weekend all together! This past weekend was Benton and Keyna's wedding. We have a craft show this weekend and then finally we go back to the doctor on November 16, 2011! I so can not wait to hear my sweet baby!!
8 weeks
Baby Hoolihan is the size of a prune and is getting bigger and bigger each day! This week baby has working arms joints, and its cartilage and bones are forming. It's vital organs are fully developed and they're starting to function. It's fingernails and hair are starting to appear ( hope all this heartburn pays off), and it's swallowing and kicking up a storm! It's about 1.2 inches long and weighs about 1.4 ounces. It's body length will almost double in the next three weeks!
Thanks everyone for keeping me and my little peanut in your prayers! The power of prayer is amazing, so please continue to keep them coming!! God has been so good to us!! Each morning on my way to work I talk to God and thank him so very much for giving me another opportunity to have another sweet miracle baby, and pray that I am blessed to have a healthy baby! I will continue to keep everyone updated on us!! Cant wait to share that sweet galloping horse sound with everyone in 8 days!!!
Wife, Daughter. Grandaughter. Sister. Best Friend. Lover. Laugher. Believer.
My name is Miranda Dawn Dixon-Hoolihan. I married my best friend, Daniel, on May 8, 2010. I have 2 fur babies a dog named Carter Kent which is a mini winnie dog and a cat named Patches, Im an orthodontic assistant and love putting braces on smiling faces=) We go to church at Long Hollow Baptist Church. I love Jesus Christ with all my heart! I cant wait to be a mother and enjoy the miracle of life. And my dream as a child is finally coming true as I will bring my sweet little man into this world June 4, 2012.
