Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
It's New
I know I was supposed to update a day or two ago, but I couldn't think of anything to say. Here are the highlights:
Evan is doing well. He almost always looks great on the monitor and I'm often told he looks as good as a full term baby. He's getting bigger and his *active* days wear me out. I'm very excited to see how big this little guy is getting at our next ultrasound.
I'm doing well. My body is starting to protest all of the laying down, but I really can't complain too much. I feel very blessed to actually be this pregnant! I love feeling this little guy moving around. Since the last ultrasound I spend 90% of each day laying in bed with the foot of the bed elevated. I sit up to eat 3 times a day. I shower every couple of days (sorry if that was tmi.) I try to drink plenty of water especially now that a lack of sufficient fluids is leading to increased contractions. I am having about 1 or 2 contractions an hour and they are...shall we say...intense. Most of the time.
On Sunday I was given the opportunity to move to a new room. Of course I jumped on the chance, so now I'm in room 582. It's not any bigger, but I have a different view out the window and the television is better. I also have a mini refrigerator in the room for snacks.
Today is Monday and I am having blood drawn to check my thyroid levels and for a glucose tolerance test. Hmmm...fun times around here!
And the most exciting thing of all...
I'm well on my way to meeting our first goal...30 weeks! It's a goal that has at times seemed so far away, but now we're just days away. I feel so blessed to be this far. Keep your eyes on the ticker though because as soon as we reach our goal we'll be setting a new one with a new ticker!
Evan is doing well. He almost always looks great on the monitor and I'm often told he looks as good as a full term baby. He's getting bigger and his *active* days wear me out. I'm very excited to see how big this little guy is getting at our next ultrasound.
I'm doing well. My body is starting to protest all of the laying down, but I really can't complain too much. I feel very blessed to actually be this pregnant! I love feeling this little guy moving around. Since the last ultrasound I spend 90% of each day laying in bed with the foot of the bed elevated. I sit up to eat 3 times a day. I shower every couple of days (sorry if that was tmi.) I try to drink plenty of water especially now that a lack of sufficient fluids is leading to increased contractions. I am having about 1 or 2 contractions an hour and they are...shall we say...intense. Most of the time.
On Sunday I was given the opportunity to move to a new room. Of course I jumped on the chance, so now I'm in room 582. It's not any bigger, but I have a different view out the window and the television is better. I also have a mini refrigerator in the room for snacks.
Today is Monday and I am having blood drawn to check my thyroid levels and for a glucose tolerance test. Hmmm...fun times around here!
And the most exciting thing of all...
I'm well on my way to meeting our first goal...30 weeks! It's a goal that has at times seemed so far away, but now we're just days away. I feel so blessed to be this far. Keep your eyes on the ticker though because as soon as we reach our goal we'll be setting a new one with a new ticker!
Friday, April 23, 2010
3-Year--Old Thoughts
While watching a commercial for "Fishy Crackers:
Ryan: "Ryan really like fishy crackers"
Nana: "Oh?"
Ryan: "Ryan really like fishy crackers"
Ryan: "Nana and Ryan need to go in Nana's car to Wal-Mart to get some fishy crackers."
Nana: "Do you think so?"
Ryan: "Need to get fishy crackers soon"
Nana: "Okay. We'll do that tomorrow"
A day later...
Nana: "Come on let's go to Wal-Mart and get some fishy crackers."
Ryan: Smiles the biggest smile
Ryan: "I a tired boy. Tired boy."
Me: "Well lay your head on Momma's pillow."
Ryan: Laying down on pillow, "I tired boy."
Ryan: "Tired boy time to go home."
While playing outside..."Daddy need to get camera and take pictures of Ryan outside." (He must be trying to take care of his momma."
While trying to remove my hospital wristbands..."Time for momma to go home."
With every evening visit to the hospital..."Time to go up the stairs and down the stairs and get some cossee (coffee)."
Last time I was in the wheelchair and we entered the elevator..."Ryan and momma go down the stairs and get some ice ceam." (We were on our way to the doctor.)
While on the way to the hospital..."Momma in the big house."
The "surprise" snowball bush in our backyard. I think there are 2 or 3 along the back of the house. We were pleasantly surprised. We weren't sure what the bushes were, but now I think they might be able to stay and I'll incorporate them into the landscaping instead of pulling them out and starting out with nothing.
Playing outside pictures...
I'll do an Evan update tomorrow.
Ryan: "Ryan really like fishy crackers"
Nana: "Oh?"
Ryan: "Ryan really like fishy crackers"
Ryan: "Nana and Ryan need to go in Nana's car to Wal-Mart to get some fishy crackers."
Nana: "Do you think so?"
Ryan: "Need to get fishy crackers soon"
Nana: "Okay. We'll do that tomorrow"
A day later...
Nana: "Come on let's go to Wal-Mart and get some fishy crackers."
Ryan: Smiles the biggest smile
------------------------------------------
After an hour to two of visiting at the hospital...Ryan: "I a tired boy. Tired boy."
Me: "Well lay your head on Momma's pillow."
Ryan: Laying down on pillow, "I tired boy."
Ryan: "Tired boy time to go home."
------------------------------------------
Other things he's said recently:While playing outside..."Daddy need to get camera and take pictures of Ryan outside." (He must be trying to take care of his momma."
While trying to remove my hospital wristbands..."Time for momma to go home."
With every evening visit to the hospital..."Time to go up the stairs and down the stairs and get some cossee (coffee)."
Last time I was in the wheelchair and we entered the elevator..."Ryan and momma go down the stairs and get some ice ceam." (We were on our way to the doctor.)
While on the way to the hospital..."Momma in the big house."
--------------------------------------
And here are some recent pictures...
The "surprise" snowball bush in our backyard. I think there are 2 or 3 along the back of the house. We were pleasantly surprised. We weren't sure what the bushes were, but now I think they might be able to stay and I'll incorporate them into the landscaping instead of pulling them out and starting out with nothing. Playing outside pictures...
I'll do an Evan update tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hope
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. --Romans 15:13
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Discouragement and Ultrasounds
Discouraged. That's probably the word for the day.
So here's the run down of the day...
I haven't slept well in 2 nights despite the help of ambien. The noise level has been horrible between the nurses break room on one side of me and a very "night oriented" family on the other. They have stayed up laughing and "carrying on" until 2 or 3 in the morning for 2 nights in a row. I guess I should be thankful that they have such good friends and family surrounding them at all hours of the night, but I sure wish they'd sleep at night and party during the day. This morning when I heard snoring coming from their room (yes the walls are that thin!) I so wanted an air horn. Shame on me for wanting pay-backs.
And before anyone gets any *bright ideas* that I should just change my night/day clock so I can prepare for a new baby staying up at night...shut your mouth! I can't. I'm still working during the day despite being in the hospital.
I was scheduled for an ultrasound for around 4:00 p.m. this afternooon. I asked the nurse this morning to please check on the status of that appointment since I had some *issues* with the receptionist at the doctor's office when I called to ask about an appointment. She came back about an hour later and informed me they would be coming to get me in about an hour. I called my mom and told her to come up to the hospital with Ryan so they could see it too. Thankfully they were still home. They were just about to leave to go elsewhere.
I was wheeled over to the doctor's office where they placed us in an exam room to wait for the ultrasound tech to come get us. We waited in that small room for at least an hour! I'm supposed to be laying down as much as possible and here I am sitting in a wheelchair...waiting. Not to mention that my poor little guy was beyond tired...he started the day tired...and staying in that small room was starting to prove itself disastrous. When they came in we were all pretty excited until we found they were only moving us to a different room to wait. At least there was a recliner in that room. Finally we were escorted to an ultrasound room.
And here's where the discouragement really started to set in. For someone stuck in the hospital on bedrest with very little social interaction and excitement sometimes just going for an ultrasound is a very exciting adventure. A very important day!
So far all of our ultrasounds have been in a big room with a big screen on the wall for everyone to watch and see "Baby Elmo". It's comfortable. It's special. It's exciting! Not today. We were taken to an exam-size room with a regular/portable ultrasound machine. No big screen. Cold. Run-of-the-mill. Not special. The tech said, "okay we're going to look at your cervix real quick." I asked if we were going to look at the baby too and she said, "oh, well, yeah, we'll take a real quick look so we can get some measurements." She left. I stripped. She came, took a measurement, gooed up my belly and quickly scanned the baby. The screen, being a small computer screen was in such a position that I could barely see anything. Ryan, although sitting on the table with me, was unimpressed and kept saying, "momma all done?" I think he was disappointed too.
The bad news: My cervix dropped back to 0.8 cm with (what appears to me to be significant) funneling through the stitch. I was very discouraged by what I saw. I'll be honest, it was probably the first time during all of this that I had the thought, "we're not going to make it. We're going to have to live the NICU nightmare again." I've tried to stay so positive and optimistic and here this thought creeps in.
The good news: Evan is measuring great. He weighs approximately 2 pounds 8 ounces and is measuring exactly where he should for 28w3d. He was all over the place! The tech kept making mention of how active he was being. Unfortunately he was also being a little shy. He never would let anyone get a good look at his face. Therefore we have no good pictures from this ultrasound.
After the ultrasound I could think of nothing better than getting back to my room and laying down with my butt in the air again. I just wish I didn't have to get up to go to the bathroom. Ryan and Nana had to leave right away which was okay since Ryan was getting fussy and even more tired. I loved seeing him today though. Okay so back to this whole whiney, discouraged discourse...I didn't see my nurse again until 4 p.m. and she came and took vital signs in a flash and flurry hurrying on to the next task.
Now it's nighttime and I hate nighttime around here. The neighbors are having a good time. I'm really tired. It's 9:15 p.m. and I have yet to meet my nurse for the evening which means that it's going to be at least 10:30 before I'm able to settle in for the night because I still have an hour of monitoring.
So...there you have it! One of few whiny, discouraged posts.
(On a positive note...Dr. G came in and is still feeling optimistic about everything. He is still shooting for the 32-39 week mark and is really hoping we will be able to completely avoid the NICU altogether, leaving here with a healthy baby. He was very encouraging and I'm feeling more hopeful again.)
So here's the run down of the day...
I haven't slept well in 2 nights despite the help of ambien. The noise level has been horrible between the nurses break room on one side of me and a very "night oriented" family on the other. They have stayed up laughing and "carrying on" until 2 or 3 in the morning for 2 nights in a row. I guess I should be thankful that they have such good friends and family surrounding them at all hours of the night, but I sure wish they'd sleep at night and party during the day. This morning when I heard snoring coming from their room (yes the walls are that thin!) I so wanted an air horn. Shame on me for wanting pay-backs.
And before anyone gets any *bright ideas* that I should just change my night/day clock so I can prepare for a new baby staying up at night...shut your mouth! I can't. I'm still working during the day despite being in the hospital.
I was scheduled for an ultrasound for around 4:00 p.m. this afternooon. I asked the nurse this morning to please check on the status of that appointment since I had some *issues* with the receptionist at the doctor's office when I called to ask about an appointment. She came back about an hour later and informed me they would be coming to get me in about an hour. I called my mom and told her to come up to the hospital with Ryan so they could see it too. Thankfully they were still home. They were just about to leave to go elsewhere.
I was wheeled over to the doctor's office where they placed us in an exam room to wait for the ultrasound tech to come get us. We waited in that small room for at least an hour! I'm supposed to be laying down as much as possible and here I am sitting in a wheelchair...waiting. Not to mention that my poor little guy was beyond tired...he started the day tired...and staying in that small room was starting to prove itself disastrous. When they came in we were all pretty excited until we found they were only moving us to a different room to wait. At least there was a recliner in that room. Finally we were escorted to an ultrasound room.
And here's where the discouragement really started to set in. For someone stuck in the hospital on bedrest with very little social interaction and excitement sometimes just going for an ultrasound is a very exciting adventure. A very important day!
So far all of our ultrasounds have been in a big room with a big screen on the wall for everyone to watch and see "Baby Elmo". It's comfortable. It's special. It's exciting! Not today. We were taken to an exam-size room with a regular/portable ultrasound machine. No big screen. Cold. Run-of-the-mill. Not special. The tech said, "okay we're going to look at your cervix real quick." I asked if we were going to look at the baby too and she said, "oh, well, yeah, we'll take a real quick look so we can get some measurements." She left. I stripped. She came, took a measurement, gooed up my belly and quickly scanned the baby. The screen, being a small computer screen was in such a position that I could barely see anything. Ryan, although sitting on the table with me, was unimpressed and kept saying, "momma all done?" I think he was disappointed too.
The bad news: My cervix dropped back to 0.8 cm with (what appears to me to be significant) funneling through the stitch. I was very discouraged by what I saw. I'll be honest, it was probably the first time during all of this that I had the thought, "we're not going to make it. We're going to have to live the NICU nightmare again." I've tried to stay so positive and optimistic and here this thought creeps in.
The good news: Evan is measuring great. He weighs approximately 2 pounds 8 ounces and is measuring exactly where he should for 28w3d. He was all over the place! The tech kept making mention of how active he was being. Unfortunately he was also being a little shy. He never would let anyone get a good look at his face. Therefore we have no good pictures from this ultrasound.
After the ultrasound I could think of nothing better than getting back to my room and laying down with my butt in the air again. I just wish I didn't have to get up to go to the bathroom. Ryan and Nana had to leave right away which was okay since Ryan was getting fussy and even more tired. I loved seeing him today though. Okay so back to this whole whiney, discouraged discourse...I didn't see my nurse again until 4 p.m. and she came and took vital signs in a flash and flurry hurrying on to the next task.
Now it's nighttime and I hate nighttime around here. The neighbors are having a good time. I'm really tired. It's 9:15 p.m. and I have yet to meet my nurse for the evening which means that it's going to be at least 10:30 before I'm able to settle in for the night because I still have an hour of monitoring.
So...there you have it! One of few whiny, discouraged posts.
(On a positive note...Dr. G came in and is still feeling optimistic about everything. He is still shooting for the 32-39 week mark and is really hoping we will be able to completely avoid the NICU altogether, leaving here with a healthy baby. He was very encouraging and I'm feeling more hopeful again.)
Monday, April 19, 2010
Hospital Pics
One of the favorites--Playing in the window!
Getting ready to go for a ride with Momma in the "black stroller"
Taking care of business
And...finally...disregarding the fact that I really look...well...not so very good, a belly shot. 28 weeks!
(Hospital bedrest doesn't coordinate with the beauty regimen)
Saturday, April 17, 2010
28 Weeks
28 Weeks! 28 Weeks! 28 Weeks!
It's time to celebrate. I'm 28 weeks! Why so excited?...because 28 weeks is a HUGE milestone. We've moved from out of those weeks of "extreme premature" to "very premature"...no longer a *micro-preemie*. So here we are...28 weeks...safer, but not satisfied. We want more! More weeks! More weeks! More weeks!
Consider these numbers
Weeks Pregnant: 28
Current Survival Statistics: 90-95%
Days Hospitalized: 25
Days on Bedrest: 101
Days Until Full Term (37 weeks): 63
Days Until Goal #1 (30wks): 13
May 1: 30 weeks
June 1-18: If early delivery is imminent, days I would be satisfied to deliver
June 19: Full term! (37wks)
July 1: The date Dr. G is planning to deliver if I'm still pregnant then. All I have to say about that is he and I are going to have to have a long talk about that. After all I've been through I'm thinking 37 weeks is good enough.
Weeks Pregnant: 28
Current Survival Statistics: 90-95%
Days Hospitalized: 25
Days on Bedrest: 101
Days Until Full Term (37 weeks): 63
Days Until Goal #1 (30wks): 13
May 1: 30 weeks
June 1-18: If early delivery is imminent, days I would be satisfied to deliver
June 19: Full term! (37wks)
July 1: The date Dr. G is planning to deliver if I'm still pregnant then. All I have to say about that is he and I are going to have to have a long talk about that. After all I've been through I'm thinking 37 weeks is good enough.
Weeks Pregnant: 28 weeks!
Weeks to Go: 2 weeks till 30 weeks, 4 weeks till 32, 6 weeks till 34, 8 weeks till 36
Gender: Boy...Evan Alexander Stanfill
Baby Statistics: Nearly two weeks ago we went to the perinatologist and our little guy weighed 1 pound 12 ounces. I'm expecting/hoping he will be at least 2 pounds at our next ultrasound on Tuesday.
Movement: Busy, busy, busy!
Momma's Ever-Changing Body: I feel huge. It feels like I've grown so much over the last week or so. I showed no weight gain at my last weight-check this past Monday. I'm laying flat most of the time with short times of incline so I can eat. Many hours of the day I spend with my bottom end up and head down to keep as much pressure off the cervix as possible. My back hurts sometimes and positioning is becoming increasingly difficult. I've been given wheelchair privileges and so far I've been taking advantage of the "freedom" about 3 days a week. I take a quick shower every other day. (And here's my whine: my legs are in desperate need of a razor, my hair looks and feels like it's in a constant state of bed-head...bedrest doesn't feel beautiful...which is one reason why I hope to make it far enough along to be released from bedrest so I can have a day of pampering...a girl has to look good for the birth of her baby doesn't she?)
Belly Button/Stretch Marks: Flatty, Yes
Food Cravings: No cravings. In fact eating has been a challenge for me (too bad that doesn't happen more often). After getting sick earlier this week with what could have been food poisoning I'm extremely leery about everything I eat/how it tastes/etc. Being sick like that was awful and scary. I eat as much as I can hoping to "beef" up this baby a little. The menu at the hospital is pretty good. I have a choice between 3 main dishes and their complementary sides. One is usually very good, one is so so, and one is for the desperate. The desserts are always good though.
Sleep: I have good nights and bad nights. Getting and staying comfortable is usually the biggest problem with noise from either side of my room or the hall being the second problem. I'm (somewhat reluctantly) taking ambien each evening and it seems to make a huge difference in how much sleep I get. The doctor wants me to rest well, so I view the medical help as a necessity. I take it. I sleep. I don't take it. I don't
Projects: I'm still working on the blanket for Evan. I'm trying to finish at least 1 or 2 rows each day. I just hope I can finish it before he gets here. I've been reading some too and have almost finished Beth Moore's book, So Long Insecurity. I play scrabble on the computer and spend too much time on the internet.
Coming Up: Peri appointment on Tuesday afternoon.
Medications/Doctor's Orders: Strict bedrest. Procardia-2x/day, pepsid, prenatal vitamin, colace, P17/weekly, ambien, synthroid, miralax when needed, terbutaline (shot) as needed, NST (non-stres test) once each shift unless I start having regular contractions, vital signs at least once or twice per shift.
Contractions: I have started averaging 1-2 an hour with my most irritable days being Mon.-Wed. The other days are hit-and-miss...some days with 1-2/hr and some with very few all day long. Dr. isn't concerned.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Time for Creativity
Since time is something I'm not lacking, I've been working on a new blog layout. The header is complete and uploaded and the background is complete but for some reason it won't load. I'll keep trying but for now you'll just have to look at a mismatched, uncoordinated blog. My apologies.
Edit:
Okay so I was a able to get rid of the old background, but I still can't upload the new one. It's a little ummm....lacking....right now, but it won't always be. :)
Edit 2:
Fixed!
Edit:
Okay so I was a able to get rid of the old background, but I still can't upload the new one. It's a little ummm....lacking....right now, but it won't always be. :)
Edit 2:
Fixed!
Random Thoughts
Not much going on around here.
I got pretty sick Sunday night with dizziness, nausea and vomiting. We're not sure if it was food poisoning or an infection. All the bloodwork came back negative for infection. IV fluids and zofran was started on Monday and after a very lousy, sicky day I started feeling better. I'm fine now.
I'll be returning to Dr. M's office on the 20th for another ultrasound and cervical check. I'm ready..
Today is an emotional day for some reason. I guess they're expected considering pregnancy and hospital bedrest combined.
I got pretty sick Sunday night with dizziness, nausea and vomiting. We're not sure if it was food poisoning or an infection. All the bloodwork came back negative for infection. IV fluids and zofran was started on Monday and after a very lousy, sicky day I started feeling better. I'm fine now.
I'll be returning to Dr. M's office on the 20th for another ultrasound and cervical check. I'm ready..
Today is an emotional day for some reason. I guess they're expected considering pregnancy and hospital bedrest combined.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Random Thoughts
I was going to post a picture tonight, but when I inserted my SD card in the computer slot it "ate" it! Ugh...frustrating! I hope I can get it out without tearing anything up so I can still the few cute pictures off that card. Oh...the more I think about it the more frustrating it is. Rrrrrr.
I don't have much to talk about really, so here is are some random thoughts as they cross my mind.
I'm 27 weeks today! Hooray! There have been times I really didn't think I'd make it this far, but I'm so grateful to be here and I'm praying for many more weeks.
Today I got to go outside. It was exciting and the sun felt great. It's been 3 weeks since I last felt the sun's warmth. I was a little nervous too because I sure don't want to "mess anything up" and because of that I probably won't go on daily wheelchair outings (even though I have the privilege) but save them for every couple of days. Ryan LOVED it! I could just tell that it was the greatest thing in the world to see his Mommy outside with him for a little while. We went to the Hospital's prayer garden which is a big stone/brick circle with trees surrounding it and benches scattered here and there. Ryan ran round and round the circle then decided I needed to be on the circle so he pushed me to the circle. He had to move me a couple of times saying, "I need to find a place to park," so he *parked* me in different spots.
PT came to visit me yesterday and gave me handout of exercises to do while I'm just laying around. We'll see how that goes. I'm not making any promises.
The food is great here at Mercy as far as hospital food goes, but I'm already getting tired of the rotation of menu items. I haven't had a great appetite the last few days which is good for the hips but not so good for plumping up my little baby.
I've resigned myself to taking something to help me sleep each night. Part of it is because of all the extra/unfamiliar noises. The most disturbing so far has been the couple in the next room who tend to fight until the wee hours of the morning. My heart breaks for their unborn baby. I can't imagine being in the hospital having complications with a pregnancy and spending hours fighting/cursing at the people around me. Oh my.
I'm still working on Evan's blanket. I wish someone would finish it for me. :)
Ryan actually called Evan "Baby Evan" (pronounced more like Edan) the other day. It was a cute and sad all at the same time.
Ryan has reduced the amount of "beatings" he gives Baby Evan and has replaced the belly smacks with super sweet kisses...for the most part.
I don't have much to talk about really, so here is are some random thoughts as they cross my mind.
I'm 27 weeks today! Hooray! There have been times I really didn't think I'd make it this far, but I'm so grateful to be here and I'm praying for many more weeks.
Today I got to go outside. It was exciting and the sun felt great. It's been 3 weeks since I last felt the sun's warmth. I was a little nervous too because I sure don't want to "mess anything up" and because of that I probably won't go on daily wheelchair outings (even though I have the privilege) but save them for every couple of days. Ryan LOVED it! I could just tell that it was the greatest thing in the world to see his Mommy outside with him for a little while. We went to the Hospital's prayer garden which is a big stone/brick circle with trees surrounding it and benches scattered here and there. Ryan ran round and round the circle then decided I needed to be on the circle so he pushed me to the circle. He had to move me a couple of times saying, "I need to find a place to park," so he *parked* me in different spots.
PT came to visit me yesterday and gave me handout of exercises to do while I'm just laying around. We'll see how that goes. I'm not making any promises.
The food is great here at Mercy as far as hospital food goes, but I'm already getting tired of the rotation of menu items. I haven't had a great appetite the last few days which is good for the hips but not so good for plumping up my little baby.
I've resigned myself to taking something to help me sleep each night. Part of it is because of all the extra/unfamiliar noises. The most disturbing so far has been the couple in the next room who tend to fight until the wee hours of the morning. My heart breaks for their unborn baby. I can't imagine being in the hospital having complications with a pregnancy and spending hours fighting/cursing at the people around me. Oh my.
I'm still working on Evan's blanket. I wish someone would finish it for me. :)
Ryan actually called Evan "Baby Evan" (pronounced more like Edan) the other day. It was a cute and sad all at the same time.
Ryan has reduced the amount of "beatings" he gives Baby Evan and has replaced the belly smacks with super sweet kisses...for the most part.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Getting There
Every day that passes I'm getting closer to the day we can have a healthy delivery of a healthy baby boy. Today marks 2 weeks on strict hospital bedrest and I'm now 26+4 weeks pregnant! Hooray! It feels so good to just be this far. I can actually breathe a little. Of course I want to make it so much further. I would love to actually get to take my son home with me this time. I've never had the experience of being wheeled out of the hospital with a baby in my arms. I've always had to leave in tears with my babies tucked into the "arms" of an incubator.
We had an ultrasound yesterday. Everything went great! Evan is looking great. He isn't as big as I was hoping, but he's actually right on target for his gestational age. I was hoping he would measure just a little bit bigger (closer to 2 pounds) for his gestational age in the event of an early delivery, but as long as he's healthy that's really all that matters. He weighs approx. 1 pound 12 ounces. He shared lots of cute facial expressions with us..."kissing", yawning, sucking his thumb, smiling. He was so cute. Hospital bedrest is helping...my cx measurement has improved from 0.5 to 1.7. Still considered short, but so much better. Goal #1: 30 weeks! and at this point I really think we can make it. Woohoo!
My OB was pleased with the results and for the first time in two weeks he talked about the possibility of making it to term or very near. Previously he's only talked in "day at a time" terms. He actually said that if I'm still pregnant (and no further complications arise) he will send me home at 32 weeks. I have mixed emotions about that, but I'll take it. Part of me would rather stay until 34/36 weeks, but I'll go with whatever he feels is best.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Happy Easter
Happy Easter! Yesterday Ryan and Daddy had an Easter Egg Hunt in our backyard. I think they both enjoyed it.
Today two of my favorite people came to see me in the hospital. I really enjoyed spending a couple of hours with Wade and Ryan. Ryan and I watched cartoons on the computer and colored some online pages. It was fun. Overall, for being in the hospital, it was a good Easter for me.
Prior to my boys arriving I was able to spend a good deal of time in prayer and reflection. I hope that today, on this Resurrection Day...the day we remember how much God truly loves us...love us enough to send his son Jesus to rescue us, perfect us, renew us, save us...I hope you were able to spend some time in reflection and praise.
We're starting a brand new week. I have several things on my "to do" list. You're probably wondering how in the world I could have a "to do" list while on bedrest. I wonder that too, but I do. To do: call in Progesterone prescription, call Ryan's pediatrician and visit about a 3-year-old well-child check and discuss baby Evan too, call Dr. M's office (peri) to schedule an ultrasound/cervical check, and...oh...probably a couple other things I can't remember right now.
More later....
Much love,
Julie
Today two of my favorite people came to see me in the hospital. I really enjoyed spending a couple of hours with Wade and Ryan. Ryan and I watched cartoons on the computer and colored some online pages. It was fun. Overall, for being in the hospital, it was a good Easter for me. Prior to my boys arriving I was able to spend a good deal of time in prayer and reflection. I hope that today, on this Resurrection Day...the day we remember how much God truly loves us...love us enough to send his son Jesus to rescue us, perfect us, renew us, save us...I hope you were able to spend some time in reflection and praise.
We're starting a brand new week. I have several things on my "to do" list. You're probably wondering how in the world I could have a "to do" list while on bedrest. I wonder that too, but I do. To do: call in Progesterone prescription, call Ryan's pediatrician and visit about a 3-year-old well-child check and discuss baby Evan too, call Dr. M's office (peri) to schedule an ultrasound/cervical check, and...oh...probably a couple other things I can't remember right now.
More later....
Much love,
Julie
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Strawberries 'N Cream
Ryan loves strawberries! He has since he started eating real food. They used to be called deedledees. Now they are just plain old strawbetties. But however you say it he won't turn them down (usually). He just recently learned that strawberries n' cream is pretty good too. The cream was "gross" until one day I had a temporary lack of judgment and insisted he "try" some cream on his strawberry. Oooops...that's all it took. Now there's less for me :(.
On this particular day, the day before I was "institutionalized", we had some fun laying outside eating our healthy snack. When there were only 3 or 4 strawberries left Nana asked Ryan to pick one out for his Momma. Ryan thought hard. Then...he graciously chose the half-eaten one in his sticky little finger placing it gently in my mouth and snatching up the remaining berries in the bowl!
I've been trying to eat as much fruit as possible while here in the hospital. It's a good snack...and...my OB said studies have shown a correlation between eating fruit and strengthening the amniotic sac. So when he said eat lots of fruit I happily obliged. I'll do most anything to keep Evan inside. Right now (from what I understand) the biggest risks are 1) going into labor/contractions and/or 2) rupturing membranes.
Other interesting facts I've been enlightened with recently.
On this particular day, the day before I was "institutionalized", we had some fun laying outside eating our healthy snack. When there were only 3 or 4 strawberries left Nana asked Ryan to pick one out for his Momma. Ryan thought hard. Then...he graciously chose the half-eaten one in his sticky little finger placing it gently in my mouth and snatching up the remaining berries in the bowl!
I've been trying to eat as much fruit as possible while here in the hospital. It's a good snack...and...my OB said studies have shown a correlation between eating fruit and strengthening the amniotic sac. So when he said eat lots of fruit I happily obliged. I'll do most anything to keep Evan inside. Right now (from what I understand) the biggest risks are 1) going into labor/contractions and/or 2) rupturing membranes.Other interesting facts I've been enlightened with recently.
- The steroid shots I was given upon admission to help strengthen/develop Evan's lungs are also shown to help with lots of other "preemie issues" such as reducing risks of brain bleeds and NEC. That's awesome! (Thanks Angie for that information) I still don't want another preemie though. It's a whole lot scarier to stand by your baby's bedside worrying about all the things that are/could be going wrong at any given moment in a preemie's life than it is difficult to lay in bed 24/7. There's just no comparison.
- Statistically speaking...for every day a baby stays inside his/her Mommy it takes off 2 days of a NICU stay. That being the case, Evan has stayed safely tucked inside an extra 8 days and has avoided 16 days in the NICU.
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