"All my bags are packed & I'm ready to go..."

hello all! I'm doing well! I was at the doctor for 2 hours today and even though my blood pressure was lower than it has been, they still want me laying down and taking it easy...(fine with ME!) I saw Dr. Logan today (i really like her--she's very nice) and she put me on a fetal monitor to check the stress, heartbeat and movement of the baby and it also measures any contractions. He was hiding in there and it was hard to get a steady beat for like 20 mins. Then they hooked me up to a newer machine and he liked that one a lot better =) I am also 70% effaced and almost ONE CENTIMETER! whoo-hoo!! (hey, it's progress people!) She said if my blood pressure spikes again they can take the baby by c-section but obviously, if our health is fine, they want me to dilate on my own and if need be, induce then. Basically it just depends on my #s and if its putting any stress on him. Isaac, not Matt =) Matt has been such a FABULOUS HUSBAND though i must say! He is so attentive and caring and I truly appreciate all he does...enough brownine points for now...ohhh brownies, yuuuuum...

Keep us in your prayers! I have a bp monitor at home my in-laws let me borrow and if my counts are low, I may go to church on Sunday--Otherwise, we will be MIA...Have a great weekend!

Happy New Year!

I went back to the doctor today and my blood pressure is still high- He has ordered me to stop working and wants to re-check me 3 times a week. He seemed to be a little concerned about the baby's fetal movement and kept asking me if i was feeling him move or not and i said that i was--but i know my blood pressure has a lot to do with stress on the baby. The Doc said he didn't want to induce today b/c my cervix isn't exactly working with us right now...I'm not dilating. He did say that i have Gestational Hypertension and laughed when i asked him if that meant that I'm a 'nervous wreck'? =) He told me 'no' but then i replied, "Just wait until you see me at the hospital..."

Update to follow after Friday- Until then I'm trying to relax at home! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and remember, I like Harry Potter movies, cola slushies and ...well...food. (I was going to be specific but, I just like eating...) hahaha

WISHING YOU A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

a name has been decided...

Isaac Lorenz Metzler

Gender: Boy
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: laughing one


Isaac, we pray that you will be a healthy, happy, handsome baby who will grow in wisdom and grace and love the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior! We can't wait to meet you,

Daddy and Mommy

Ohhh Boy!

I pray that your Christmas was wonderful! I will blog on that and post pictures of the nursery soon! It's fabulous!

Well, we are 37 weeks and things are starting to get exciting!

I am swelling-ewww--a lot. I have 3 fingers on my right hand that have been constantly numb for 4 days. I am contracting often and feeling a lot of 'fetal movement'. Its been rough at night; lots of discomfort and getting up to use the restroom...blasted tiny bladder...

I went to the doctor's today and she checked to see how i'm progressing. I haven't dilated yet but i am 50% effaced and his head is down but he isn't yet engaged. She found that my blood pressure is pretty high... =( No traces of protein which is great but b/c of my high BP and amount of swelling, has ordered me to stay home this week...Wednesday i have a return visit to re-evaluate the 'situation'. Keep us in your prayers =)

How our baby's growing:
Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[c] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."

38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

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The Birth of Jesus
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.



Thank you for your Son who was born in a manger and lived to die as our holy sacrifice so we might understand your glory and one day, truly live. You are Christmas. You are the reason to celebrate!







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Santa baby...

I found some wonderful photos of children who will hopefully help you capture a little joy of the season! Okay, not really...but some of them have a good reason to cry! Check out these Santas...

35 weeks and counting...

I went to the Doctor yesterday and he said that everything is going beautifully! Even though i think he's wrong! =( I am swelling! I've gained a lot of weight during this pregnancy and I told him, "Look at my legs and feet and hands! Are you telling me that's normal?" He laughed and said, "yup, I bet you aren't used to seeing your ankles look like that huh?" haha doc. And why does everyone feel the need to comment on how much I'm swelling? You wouldn't, on a normal day, go up to a woman and say, "Geeze, you look awful! What happened to your face?!" Even moreover, why go up to a EMOTIONAL PREGNANT LADY and say, "Holy Cow! You are swelling! Your poor face, feet, hands...." I'm starting to tell people..."Bee sting".


Baby's head is down and man the past week his head has been pounding down on my cervix! Ouch! He wants out! My blood pressure is higher than normal but is still in an average range. I also was given a huge packet of my medical records, notes of all my appointments and results of blood work and ultrasounds to keep with me at all times just in case =) Its the information needed at the hospital for the triage people! We're getting closer!

Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Winnie Palmer Tour

Last night we had our exciting tour of Winnie Palmer Hospital! Jon and Nikki went with us as well as my mom and Matt's mom. It was so nice to be able to familiarize ourselves a little with the hospital and everything was so beautiful! They had everything decorated for Christmas and the massive tree with larger than life ornaments and lights filled the 'waiting room'/lobby! They hung thick strands of evergreen garland sparkled with gold and ribbon along the banisters and placed tiny blue and pink stockings along the nursery hallway...

This is a picture of the lobby during the day (and without Christmas stuff)


Here is a stock photo of the NICU hall-We didn't visit this floor...

(Sorry the photos are so small) But here is an example of the bathroom, labor and delivery room and mother/baby unit--complete with a murphy bed for dad!


Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

We can't wait to see you baby Metzler...Love, Mommy and Daddy

"Stephanie Metzler, you just successfully hosted Thanksgiving at your house for 17 people! What are you gonna do next?!"

"I'm goin to Disney World!"


Thanksgiving was great! We had our parents and brother and sisters (minus =( Sarah)and their kids and grandparents coming to a total of 17! It was so wonderful to have everyone over to our house to celebrate being thankful for all the Lord has blessed us with! The food was so delish! I didn't take any pics so I'll post some when I get them from other family members =) But here's one my sis sent me... Silly Turkeys...



Saturday, Matt took me to the Magic Kingdom! It was such a beautiful day! The weather was perfect and we had a leisurely day at the park, no rushing or dealing with fast passes (b/c I couldn't ride any of the mountains) and it wasn't as crowded as it normally is...They say the 2 weeks after Thanksgiving is the best time to go...


I was so unaware of how much this baby is doing to my body until walking all day at the park from 9:30am - 10pm! Geeze that extra weight is killer and it doesn't help having my lungs pushed up towards my throat by my expanding uterus =)


Matt has been SO WONDERFUL throughout the whole pregnancy and he's going to be a wonderful daddy! During our Lamaze classes (we received our Certificate of Completion on Tuesday!!! yea!), he knew all the answers during our review and was a wonderful coach during our practice sessions even though some of the exercises are a lil silly!


We kept saying, "Goodness, I can't wait until we can bring our lil one here in our tricked out stroller...It'll be SO fun!"






Christmas 'frost' on the castle-They really outdid themselves this year--Especially when you throw the WISHES fireworks show in there--Its awesome!



We were tired but are very glad we were able to come one more time before the baby gets here! He'll be a charmer like his pops (haha) "It's all so magical..."

Where do astronauts leave their spaceships?

At parking meteors!

So, two Saturdays ago my family and I went to Kennedy Space Center to spend the day at the coast! It was 'outta this world'! Sooo nice out-a little windy and a bit chilly but the sun was out and the skies were clear which launched us off to a great day... We had a BLAST!! (okay I'll stop now)

Mother/daughter day

Thursday, my mom and I took off work to spend some time together and to get stuff done! It was such a great day! I had an early doctor's appointment and was so excited about my progress! I passed my sugar test (YEA!!! x's 100), they found no trace of protien or sugar, my blood pressure was perfect, he's measuring right on, his heartbeat was loud and proud (mom was excited to hear him) and he is now in a head down position! Its getting exciting! After my next appointment which is the first week of December, I'll go see my OB every week for a check-up!



Next, we drove a few miles down the road to my GOOORRRGGEEOUUS new hospital, Winnie Palmer. They ask that you pre-register so you aren't huffing and puffing in labor and have to sit down and sign important papers-- It felt so good to get that taken care of...The part that started to make it all more real was when I was signing his birth certificate and filling out the form that says they can prick his lil foot =( I started to feel pretty emotional and protective--"Well, WHY must they poke him?!"

***Important to know*** If you are going to visit Winnie Palmer, the only parking available is the garage across the street ($4) or valet at Winnie Palmer ($5)-- Its CASH ONLY and you must pay FIRST. FYI (I'll write more about the hospital in a few weeks--We are going for the tour on December 9th!!)


Afterwards, we had lunch at an old antique shop called 'The White Wolf' cafe. It was delicious! (we were, however, right in the middle of snoody-town--Ladies with lots of makeup and hair tied up real high, nails done, little dogs wearing sweaters and their Louis Vuitton hanging on purse hooks)
Costco was next on the agenda! I love that place! Its ginormous and they have free samples at every row! Steph's deal of the day: 2 AMC movie tickets (no expiration date and can be used for ANY movie including opening nights) plus a large coke for $15.99! Good deal since movie tickets now are $10/each. ALSO, $100 worth of Starbucks giftcards for $80! Great idea for stocking stuffers or just to save on moca frappuccinos with whip for yourself =)

"Bring your pillow..."

We had our first CHILDBIRTH/LAMAZE class last night!

Its through my OB and the lady (her name is Lucy) was so sweet & has been teaching childbirth classes for 30 years--She's kinda out there! But sweet--(She reminded me of our puppy Lucy! She is VERY enthusiastic about labor and delivery!) We are meeting for 3 weeks on Tuesday nights from 6:30-9pm. There were 8 other couples and we seemed to be right in the middle as far as due dates. I think we were the youngest couple there though and you could tell, it's everyone's first child. In the beginning of class, she had us introduce ourselves & mention due date, gender of baby, name (if any) and where we work. Guess who was picked to go first? US. Oh well =) We had a lot of fun and learned some interesting stuff! Did you know that my body is changing 2qts of aminotic fluid 8x's a day!? That during the full moon, more pregger women go into labor due to the gravitational pull? That once your water breaks you have 24 hrs to deliver the baby? And if you relax during contractions, the baby will come faster! We also learned different relaxing techniques-my fav was a slow dance one that really relieves lower back pressure! I felt so much better about the whole birthing process after the class ended and we only made it to stage 1 of labor. Next week: Fast paced breathing, epidurals, prep and procedures!

baby shower #2

Thank you Jenny, Amy and Mrs. Royston for such a wonderful shower this weekend! It was so beautiful and we had such a great time! I love you girls!

Here are some photos of Saturday's shower:

31 Weeks!

See the big picture-- How your baby's growing:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

The Nursery

What a Weekend!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Its been a crazy week with our jeep in the shop and lots of time spent on youth stuff and keeping the house clean for showings... Please pray with us that God sells our house! We've been waiting to paint the nursery in hopes that it sells soon! Okay, the weekend...lets see...

Matt surprised me and bought our baby bedding and it was delivered this week! I was on the computer and had a question for Matt. He had snuck in and placed it on the bed behind me so when i turned around to go find him, I saw our adorable baby bedding! (Its really cute huh Angela?! Poor thing, she has such great taste and Jacob loves his so much--I just didn't love any other like I love this one)

This photo is NOT of our house--I'm just showing you what the BEDDING looks like...


Our baby dresser/changer combo came in on Friday and we picked it up at BabiesRUS...Of course Matt had to load it himself because the sales lady looked like a frail 80 year old who smoked a lot and had trouble just maneuvering the cart with the dresser on it...She went out to the truck with him and watched with the most helpful gaze she could muster. Matt was thinking, "What are you gonna do lady? The wind out here will more than likely blow you over and you're standing here like you want to help?" BabiesRUs should always have some burly men working to help pregger ladies and their hubbies! Matt pivoted it off the truck and its been in our garage until yesterday when Larry came to help Matt move it into the house on Sunday. Its so beautiful!



Saturday was a clean sweep/Steph's nesting day! It was so refreshing! We first emptied our closets of clothes we no longer wear and went through our storage bins and office & kitchen junk drawers. After throwing a lot of stuff away, packing 2 large garbage bags for Goodwill and 3 large stacks of old books (we are taking to the library)we consolidated and re-organized the storage bins and found better places for them in our closets. It looks so much better and is totally less cluttered. Matt washed the windows inside and out and I prepared for the sunday school lesson (We teach 9th and 10th grade) and baked cookies to take on our hospital visits later...

At 4pm we left the house and went to visit my uncle Frankie in his rehabilitation facility--He just had surgery and I took him a stuffed animal Eyeore which he loved and cuddled the whole time-(He is mentally retarded and loves stuffed animals =)

He then told me he was gonna buy me a baby crib from Kmart. Hes so sweet. After spending a few hours with him we got Starbucks and headed for Winter Park Memorial Hospital to visit our friends Blake and Melissa Tolson. Blake was injured at work on Thursday and had to have surgery on his back. He is in good spirits and was well enough to joke with us Saturday night. Keep them in your prayers as it will be a long recovery.

That (for the most part) =) was our exciting weekend and there's a lot going on this month so check back-I also have a small post i wrote this morning so keep reading down...NEW BABY BUMP PHOTOS BELOW! I hope you have a awesome week!