Lots of prayers, hugs, and positive vibes heading your way!!!:D

Now remember, with the sunshine today, we should have a nice cold breeze followed by hail if the weather holds;)

I just read your blog and saw you have Dr. Burt – he is the leading man with all this. I still have an article about him and his procedure from Sunday Oct 12, 2003. At this time, he had done 80 stem cell transplants (more than anyone else in the world) with ‘dramatic results’.
YOU ARE IN GOOD HANDS!!

After I miscarried, it took us 6 months even though we had conceived so easily the first two times ( I had a 2 year old at the time).
It’s a horrible yucky thing to go through and so many people thought by telling me statistics and numbers of how normal it was was supposed to make me feel better.
I had to come to terms that I didn’t do anything knowingly wrong. After I relaxed and began to forgave myself, it seemed like I became pregnant at the right time for us.
It wasn’t until I held my next daughter in my arms that I completely forgave myself. Once she was born, I fully understood how complicated but special carryng a baby to full term was.
Unless you feel something is wrong, I would wait. It sounds like you’ve seen enough of doctors, dear, and may just need some time for you and the hubby.
Unless you are feeling GBS symptoms, spend your time on the two of you!

That’s my advice and my hubby’s would be the same as he went through it all with me. The only thing he would add is to “practice, practice, practice” but that’s my hubby for ya! We now have 4 children and each one is so unique and precious 🙂

Good Luck and keep us posted – baby news is so happy to hear!

I tried boots too thinking that if my foot stayed at a right angle, I wouldn’t trip.
I found the boots to be too heavy to wear comfortably. I have a lot of muscle atrophy and the weight was too much. I also couldn’t get the boot to bend when I stepped off because the sole was too thick. My gait resembled a duck…a very heavy-footed duck 😀
I always say try whatever won’t break your bank or neck! They may work for you. I do use wrestling shoes around the house every once in awhile – they lace up and are very light-weight but are not good for any sort of long distance walking.
Let us know what you decide and what works!!

I’ve had 4 pairs of custom AFOs from Hanger and I have discarded all of them. They were normally more than what I felt I needed as they went from toe to knee. Plus they were incredibly hot and uncomfortable.
So I went looking and found cheap ones on ebay that I have used for the last 2.5 years. In fact, when I went for a check-up, my pt commented on how I finally got used to my AFOs. I lifted my pant leg and LOVED the look on her face when she saw I had replaced the $1000++ AFOs with a pair for less than $50.
They are called SWEDISH AFOs and I found them on ebay from a seller called ape medical supplies. I buy an insert for arch support (found at FootSmart magazine) which easily fits inside. I trim them down to below my toe knuckes with a pair of kitchen scissors and they are flexible enough that one can use a hot air gun to help give them a more custom fit. I haven’t needed to flair them out and have about 4 pairs for each of my shoes – everyday, church, boots, outside.
I love them because they are so less bulkier than the other pairs and they allow me to use what little muscle I have left instead of making me completely dependable on a pair that did all the work.
They are considered ‘super-flexible’ and may not work for all but at $50, they were worth the chance for me. And I wear them everyday now instead of the others which I wore only when forced to due to longer distances. It is so nice not to have the ‘high-step’ and walk unknowinly amongst the masses.
In fact, a friend I met last fall had no idea I wore them – that was the nicest compliment because my other ones were so bulky, loud, etc that it ws hard not to.
I hope you find something that works for you!!

It’s so cute to hear mom’s commenting on the fun we go thru while we are pregnant. And regardless of all the craziness, just the sight of the new one erases all the discomfort. Well, almost, LOL!
Make sure to use your 3 year old ~ mine loved helping in any way. There are so many wonderful bonding moments.
Enjoy the tap-dancing babe and I hope for a quick delivery. And don’t over-nest!!! I know you want things perfect but all the prepping in the world isn’t worth mama being tired:)

Oh, nothing is better than a baby especially one in the summer! How lucky you are!!
With pregnancy, our bodies do all sort of weird things … just wait until post-pregnancy, LOL!
I hope you find some answers because stress is the absolute worst thing for anyone especially an expecting mom. I don’t necessarily agree with your doc about the body doing most of the work itself. I was very happy on my Epideral and still had to push like mad to get the boy out:D

I have read over and over that a woman’s body’s immune system is naturally surpressed during pregnancy. It is the body’s way of not aborting the baby so in theory, those suffering from an overactive immune system should receive a break since the immune system is taking it easy.
I found this to be true in my pregnancy.
I felt better than I had in so long. I was determine to just stay pregnant forever:)
Several months after the pregnancy was over, I did find myself relapsing. I did pt again and ended up in AFOs permenantly in April of 2007 along with problems in my hands. This didn’t surprise the PT specialist…she said many women have symptoms of carpal tunnel during pregnancy and those with nerve inflammation illnesses do severe/irreversable damage.

However, if we could post pics of the kids, you would see that there is not a moment in my day I ever regret having another child. My eldest 2 are so helpful and compassionate that my fears of them having a disabled mother have all but disappeared. In fact, I would love to have just one more but we’ll have to see about that!
Enjoy your pregnancy because it is truly a special time that not everyone gets to experience.
Peace,
Mary