This is my 100th Post

I felt like I needed to write about something epic for my 100th post. I kept waiting for something spectacular to blog about but nothing too exciting came up. So, here's an ordinary update, for the 100th time.

I'm 27 days away from having a baby. That's really soon. Everything is falling into place, his belongings are washed and waiting. I've been nesting on and off like a crazy person and am almost ready to welcome my son into the world outside of my abdomen.

Speaking of my gut, I swear this child is going to be bigger than Emma. Let's compare pictures, shall we?

39 weeks 1 day w/ Em

34 weeks 4 days w/ Liam

The picture on the left shows me on Emma's birthday. The one on the right was taken five days ago. I'm huge this time, right? Well, I think I am bigger now than I was on the day I delivered Em. Despite my abnormal uterus and doctors' warnings about low birth weights and premature deliveries, Emma was born a healthy 7 pounds 4 ounces. Kid #2 has a little more room in the womb than Emma did because the bottom of my septum is no longer in tact. I feel him stretching (and punching/kicking) areas of my body that Em never dared to reach. He must be bigger. I'm guessing he'll reach at least 8 pounds, but we shall see. Should we start a poll?

In other news, Em is doing magnificently. She's great at sleeping in her twin bed, except that she fell out last night. Oops. She's still feeling fine and seems pain free on the lower dose of mtx, but since that drug takes several weeks to take effect, it takes several weeks to know if a dose change made a difference or not. I'll keep watching for evil arthritis.

Emma and I watched a video this morning that was taken last summer. Instead of seeing my beautiful, little girl playing at the water park, all I could see was her swollen right knee and her hobbling limp. It made me cry. Mom says I cried because I'm pregnant, and maybe that's true. However, I think it's more than hormones. I will always grieve over the pain caused by Emma's illness. I will always fear it's recurrence. I will always rejoice over her magnificent strength and current medicated remission.

I will continue to do my best to raise awareness and funds to help research Juvenile Arthritis treatments and a cure. Emma is one of the lucky ones, and God only knows how long this lucky spell will last. If it weren't for her quick diagnosis and speedy, aggressive treatment, we might not be where we are today. I want other kids to have the results Emma has enjoyed, so I'm going to keep on talking about JA. 

My big girl refusing to smile.