I saw this on a blog of someone who has been very inspiring to me lately. It was very touching and I felt that I had to share it.

A Pair of Shoes

I am wearing a pair of shoes. They are ugly shoes. Uncomfortable shoes. I hate my shoes. Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair. Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step. Yet, I continue to wear them. I get funny looks wearing these shoes. They are looks of sympathy. I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs. They never talk about my shoes. To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable. To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them. But, once you put them on, you can never take them off. I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes. There are many pairs in this world. Some women are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them. Some have learned how to walk in them so they don’t hurt quite as much. Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt. No woman deserves to wear these shoes. Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman. These shoes have given me the strength to face anything. They have made me who I am. I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.

-Author unknown

5 pounds!!!

So we had an OB appointment and ultrasound on Monday. We got a lot of amazing 3-d pics of Cora!!! She is in a breech position right now. For the past few weeks, I've been thinking that I've been gently pushing her butt out of my ribs. Little did I know, it was her head. Its not a problem because I'm going to have a c-section anyway. At the end of the ultrasound, they told me that she is 5 lbs. 13 oz. I was so happy to see that she is growing well. She is staying in the 75th percentile. I was even happier to see that she is at least 5 pounds now! I know that ultrasounds can be off by at least a pound, but I'm very confident that she will be at least 5 pounds by the time she is born. 5 pounds is like a magic number to us. We've been told that it is a safe operating weight for newborns. They usually don't do the surgeries on babies until they are at least this weight. I'm so happy that I don't have to worry about that anymore!!!

The OB appointment was just a check up, everything is normal. They have scheduled me for a c-section on March 31st. If Cora decides to cooperate, that will be her birthday! I say this because I have this strange feeling that I'm going to go into labor before this date. Also, when shes born, we'll get much more info about what route to take next. It is so frustrating not knowing whether she'll have the surgeries or a transplant. I am okay with both options. They each have their own pros and cons, but overall, they are about the same in immediate and long term risk.

I am just so excited to finally be able to hold her in my arms! I can't wait!!! Gabriel can't wait to see her too. Somehow, he thinks that Cora will be born and come play with his instruments and toys. He even played with my belly all day Saturday, pretending that it was Cora. He can't wait to meet his sister, and I'm sure he'll be an excellent big brother.

Lastly, we have finally decided on a middle name for our little girl. Her name will be
Cora Rachelle Dahlgren. The first name was so easy to choose and seemed almost obvious to us. We love the meaning behind it. It was hard for us to agree and decide on a middle name that went with Cora. There is no significance to Rachelle, but we like the way it sounds with Cora.