Week 36

Madeline 36 weeks & 3 days! Look at her chubby cheeks!

Madeline at 35 weeks and 2 days! Love this sono because it shows her heart!

Some of Madeline's Christmas Presents!

I had an outfit made off etsy so she could match Matt's Crew!

Can't wait for a group photo of them with her!

I hope that everyone had a very merry christmas! Things around here sure have been busy to say the least. Lots of christmas shopping and lots of baking! With the weeks getting closer till our little girl is here we have had lots of appointments. After the appointment with the Maternal and Fetal Dr last tuesday, we were looking forward to our appointment with my OBGYN. We heard her heartbeat last friday 12.23.2011 and the Dr said it didn't sound irregular at all so we were very excited for such great news. Unfortunately we had our follow up appointment with Maternal and Fetal today and it seems she still has an irregular heartbeat but it doesn't happen often and they don't seem to be to worried about it. All I can do is to make sure that I don't drink caffeine, no chocolate and limit the amount of sugar that I intake. All the Dr's can do is to monitor her heart beat each week to make sure that it isn't getting worse. We obviously would prefer for the irregularity to stop, but as long as its not getting any worse thats about all we can ask for right now. We have our weekly appointment with my OBGYN this friday 12.30.2011 & then our next appointment with Maternal and Fetal is next Tuesday 1.3.2011.

With the holidays wrapping up and 2011 coming to an end I look at everything I have been blessed with, not the amount of christmas gifts I received (although I did get a ton of amazing things!) but the more important things. My health, the health of my family and amazing journey that we have been through in just these past 9 months. Finding out we were going to parents in 2012, getting engaged and getting married. I couldn't be more blessed to have the family and the friends that support us through everything that we do! I ask that you look back on your year and find what you are truly thankful for, don't forget the small things, and never take anything or anyone for granted. For tomorrow they just might not be there.

We can't wait to hold our little girl in our arms and wrap her up in the endless love that we have for her. I will be praying that this heart issue ends with her delivery and that we won't ever have to worry about it again. What god has in store for us is unknown but my resolution for 2012 is to keep my little family happy & more importantly healthy!

God Bless.

Xo Ashlie & Matt

Woah Baby!

Baby Madeline at 35 weeks and 2 days (Notice her heart!) So sweet

The holiday season brings numerous things, endless hours of Christmas Shopping to find those perfect gifts for those you love, lots and lots of yummy cookies and most important it brings family even closer.

This week has been hard because Matt's Great Aunt (His dad's mom's sister) passed away this week from a terrible fall that she had in her home. So today was the funeral, Unfortunately I was unable to attend due to my OBGYN apt that was at the same time. I'm still measuring at 35 weeks which is great! & they asked me are you having leg cramps, trouble walking, and swollen feet every now and then? Um.. YES YES & YES! They always listen to her heartbeat just to make sure everything is going smoothly and today it was a bit irregular.. Its usually strong and steady at 150 beats per minute but today the Dr and I could hear it skip a few beats. The one appointment I wish my husband could of been there because it was scary, But I knew his family needed him there at the service. My OBGYN called a High Risk Maternal and Fetal Dr to make an appointment for me to get a echocardiogram this afternoon at 3 pm. My OBGYN said that caffeine and chocolate are usually causes of irregular heart beats, but I haven't had caffeine in months. So maybe all those yummy chocolate cookies that I have been making aren't always a good thing? This year I will be leaving the cookies (well the chocolate ones) for Santa and eating less sweets.

Matt and I met with the High Risk Dr and got another sonogram! We love seeing her on the screen it makes it all so real, and boy does she have chubby cheeks! She's in the 98% percentile for almost everything and weighs a whopping 7 pounds 5oz already! She's the weight of a baby at week 37. So at the rate that she is growing the Dr said she will be 9 pounds 4 oz at delivery! Yikes! Its already hard to walk and they said that the odds of us delivering early are rare because first babies don't usually come early. He focused on her heart for the majority of the appointment and said that only 2% of the 150 beats per minute does her heart skip a beat, which is great news. So he's not to concerned and I have been told to have NO chocolate and NO caffeine, and we will go back next Tuesday December 27th to check her heart again. More than likely over 50% chance that her heart will be back to normal and we will have nothing to worry about. Also due to her large size I will go back to see him one more time a bit closer to my due to measure her size again to get an estimated size of her so my OBGYN and I know what to expect. I wasn't to scared of delivery because the result of pushing is a beautiful baby girl and I just want to hold her in my arms, but wow.. 9 pds?

We are now having weekly appointments at my OBGYN so we get to go back this friday and hear her heart beat again, so hopefully it will be back to normal and I can update with some great news!

XO Matt, Ashlie and Baby Madeline

Christmas Card!

Our Beautiful Christmas Card!!

Our beautiful tree!

This year Matt promised me that we could do a christmas card, I wanted a picture of the both of us with my belly to remember the holiday season! We almost didn't do it, because the days are flying by and I didn't think we would have time to address and mail them all, but matt said it didn't matter if they arrived at our family and friends house's after Christmas. The point was to take a photo and create a memory to show baby Madeline when she is older. Boy am I glad that we did it! Matt's dad who's a professional photographer did an amazing job taking this picture and I can't wait to take some more maternity photos soon! Christmas is in 9 days! YES 9 days and we haven't even started our christmas shopping! Yikes!! Tomorrow is the big day that we are spending the entire morning doing nothing but shopping. Baby Madeline is full term (37 weeks) on New years Eve, so maybe we will have a New Years Baby!?!?

As much as I love being prego and feeling her little kicks inside of me, I can't wait to hold her in my arms and kiss her little nose! So I told Matt that for New Years Eve we are getting Thai food, because spicy ingredients are supposed to induce labor! So we shall see.. whenever our sweet baby girl comes we will be ready and waiting! Can't wait to meet our little tiny squish!

Her nursery is almost done, so I will post a picture of the progress very soon!

XO Ashlie, Matt & Baby Madeline

Baby Shower 12.4.2011

Maw, Me, Addie-Tay & Gracie

Amazing Diaper Cake my Future Sister in-law Krysta made!! Over 100 Diapers!

Beautiful Flowers on the table!

Got Cravings?? Why yes I do!!

Stunning Table Filled with Sweets!!

The baby shower was EVERYTHING & MORE that I could of dreamed of! Caitie (Matt's Sister) & his cousin Shelley did an amazing job planning it all! Plus my future sister in law Krysta for her adorable diaper cake she made me! She's so creative and crafty! She even made her a custom tutu! Can't wait for all the hair bows and ribbons! LOVE LOVE LOVE my new extended family!! After 2 long weeks on bed rest it was finally nice to get out of the house and see everyone! I can't thank everyone enough for all the gifts that Baby Madeline got! She is set for quite some time! We will have to put her in a new outfit every hour to keep up with all the adorable clothes that people keep getting her! But I love it, everything is so sweet and pink!

Only 17 more days Till XMAS which means... SHE'S ALMOST A HERE!! We are 37 weeks the weekend of New Years so she can make her arrival anytime after that! Can't wait till she is here!

Matt & I decorated our Tree last night and I told him we will have to leave it up so Baby Madeline can see it when she comes home! I'm kind of hoping she comes early, I just can't wait to hold her in my arms!

We love you tiny squish!

XO, Ashlie, Matt & Baby Madeline

Tis the Season

Moose Apple Tree Farm BerryVille VA 12.3.2011

Tis the season to be jolly and thankful for many things! Above is a picture from our recent outing to Moose Apple Christmas Tree Farm! Matt & I have started a tradition where every December we head out to BerryVille to cut down our own Christmas Tree! This year my mom and ron and joined us! They found their tree right away, but us on the other hand it took at least an hour to find the perfect tree. Matt & I were saying its amazing how fast time flies, last year at this time we were getting our tree as a couple who had been dating for a year. Now this year we are married with a beautiful little girl on the way! The amazing thing is, is that our christmas tree might still be up when baby Madeline makes her appereance into the world! We both are SO excited, I can't wait to hold her in my arms and share that amazing bond with Matt as parents to our daughter!

Besides getting ready for the holidays, we have been making frequent appearances with some Drs. After our last scare of pre-term labor, we were faced with the fear that we could possibly deliver at 37 weeks (which is still considered full term) but that I might have to spend the remaining weeks of Decemeber on bed rest! We met with my OBGYN friday and we got great news! I'm finally released off bed rest, Thank GOODNESS!! You take the fresh air for granted when your stuck in your bed all day for 2 weeks. We also interviewed two pediatricians, recommended by friends and we are proud to say we will be going forward with Dr. Bill from Capital Area Pediatrics. Our close friends The Bischoff's see Dr. Bill and we just love his personality and staff! When Matt's not busy working he's been busy working on our little girls nursery and its almost done! I will post pictures of it soon!

Today is Baby Madeline's Baby Shower! I can't wait to see everyone! Thanks Aunt Caitie & Cousin Shelley for hosting it, I'm sure its going to be stunning!!

XOXO Ashlie, Matt & Baby Madeline