In a hurry for Christmas!

Well, what is it about the holidays? I found myself in the hospital for contractions the day before Halloween, and now again right before Thanksgiving. This child is determined to be here for Christmas I think, but hopefully I am more stubborn than he is. I went to the hospital yesterday to be evaluated for frequent contractions again that my medication wasn't taking care of the way it usually does. When IV fluids, medication, and rest failed to stop them, they decided to keep me overnight. Contractions slowed down to about every 15 minutes overnight (from 3-5 minutes during the entire day), but then picked back up again after I woke up this morning, so they kept me longer. By 2pm, they had finally slowed down enough to make the doctor and staff comfortable with letting me go home. My cervix has not changed at all from last time, so that is very good news, but we all know that can change very very quickly. My previous "modified" bed rest has been upgraded to stict bed rest with bathroom priviledges only. I receieved the first of two steroid injections this morning to mature Luke's lungs in case he comes early. I'll get the second tomorrow. Isaac benefitted from these, I'm sure, so I'm thankful to get them for Luke. Through all of this, I wasn't able to see Isaac at all. Due to the H1N1 epidemic, children under the age of 12 who are not patients are not allowed in the hospital. This was the first night I've ever been away from him since he was born. That was the hardest part for me.

So, we are back to taking this one day at a time. I am 28 weeks today, and our goal is 34 weeks minimum (the point at which Isaac was born), but ideally 36 weeks or beyond.

So many times over the last 24 hours, I have thought about how difficult and frustrating this all is, especially around the holidays and with a 2 year old who wants his Mommy to play with him. Several people have commented to me lately that, after all of this, surely this is my last pregnancy. And honestly, I have voiced that very thing many times lately. At this point, there is very little I enjoy about pregnancy. I have just not had a very good experience with pregnacy this time or last. But then, I look at Isaac, and I think about little Lucas as he's wiggling around, already showing lots of personality. And I know that all of this is completely worth it in the end. A relatively short period of inconvenience and discomfort for me, but the result is wort it all and more. I know there are certainly risks involved, but I think the potential benefits ultimately outweigh the risks. And I am blessed to have wonderful doctors (I now have 4 great doctors from my clinic that I have made the rounds with and are familiar with me and looking after me), not to mention all the wonderful support and prayers from family and friends. I know we'll get through this pregnancy just as we did the last. And I am no where near ready to say that I know for certain that this will be my last. We'll just cross that bridge if or when it comes. Right now, my focus is on little Lucas only, and giving him the best chance possible of having a warm welcome to this world.

Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers that we continue to ask for.

26 Weeks!

Well, this is the week I started having problems in my pregnancy with Isaac and was put on bed rest. I can't believe it started so much earlier this time. I just hope that doesn't mean Luke will come earlier than Isaac did. Hopefully, my doctors and I am more aware of what's going on this time around and we can delay as long as possible. I think the boys must think this is some sort of race. Luke is already feeling the competition and wants to beat his older brother at something. I just hope he realizes that the goal is to bake longer than his brother did, not the other way around.

My doctor's appointment this week was pretty uneventful! I got there to find out that my regular doctor was sick, so they scheduled me with another. At first, I was disappointed, because I had really wanted to talk to my doctor about some things. But, then it turned out that they had scheduled me with the same doctor who had seen me at the hospital a couple weeks ago. This doctor was actually trained by my doctor who had delivered Isaac (she has since moved to South America), whom I adored. So, I feel incredibly priviledged to now have 2 wonderful doctors that know my case well and are keeping an eye on me. This is really important to me, because I was originally very distraut over having to find a new doctor when my old one moved away. So, anyway, she checked the status of my cervix once again, and there has been no change since my hospital visit. That is great news. She reminded me that I am not yet considered to be in pre-term labor, these are just pre-term contractions and they can be controlled. At the same time, she also pointed out that since my cervix is very weak at this point, I do need to be very aware and take it very easy. Since I doubled my medication, it has been working very well to hold off contractions. The side effects have lessened some, although I still experience severe dizziness and lightheadedness for an hour or two after taking it. But those side effects only continue to remind me that I need to be taking it easy. I also finally got vaccinated for H1N1 flu! I don't think I've ever been more excited about a shot in my life.

I received permission from my doctor to give my final presentation for a teaching class I have been taking this semester. I was given specific instructions to only go if I was having a good day with contractions, if I took my medicine right before leaving, if I had someone drive me, and if I promised to do nothing else prior or after. I was having a good day that day, so I got to complete the final assignment for the course. It went very well. But I do think it might have been a bit much for me, as contractions started up pretty heavy that evening and the next morning. This only served as a reminder of the importance of bed rest. However, after spending a couple hours at the spa yesterday, thanks to a good friend, getting a relaxing facial and pedicure, they seem to be under control once again.

Through all of this, I don't think Luke has a clue that anything in his world is out of order. He has been quite the active little boy this week. He has enjoyed spending the days, and nights, butting his head into my hip and kicking me in the stomach and ribs. He's also had the hiccups quite frequently. I have definitely noticed that he has grown quite a bit. His space is getting more and more cramped. So, he seems to be doing quite well.

Again, thank you for your continued prayers. We're getting closer and closer. Which reminds me, Christmas will be here before we know it! I better get on my online shopping!

25 Weeks!!

Yay, we made it to 25 weeks, and still holding steady, sort of. My new meds got doubled already yesterday because I was having very frequent contractions breaking through. The Nifedipine seems better than the Terbutaline so far, though it's not without it's side effects too, just not as severe. It is regularly prescribed as a treatment for angina. It causes a decrease in blood pressure, and I am feeling that. I get dizzy very easily when standing too quickly or doing much of anything. I get headaches and nausea occasionally. My gums bleed profusely when I brush my teeth - seriously, the sink looks like a blood bath when I'm through, it's quite disturbing. But I think my body will eventually adapt. The terbutaline was worse. But, as the doctors tell me, there is no perfect medicine. My doctor did recommend I get regular prenatal massages to help me relax - that sounds about as perfect a medicine as there is, so I think I'll take her up on that prescription. Today has been a somewhat decent day as far as contractions go. Still had plenty, but nothing like the last two days, since I increased my dosage. Though they do start acting up about an hour or so before my next 6-hour dose is due. I just wish my uterus could chill out already.

Our tv decided to go out today - blew a bulb or something like that. Of course, as soon as I end up on bed rest and can't leave the house, our only tv goes out. And Geek Squad can't get around to coming out here to look at it for a week, then have to order the part and wait on that (Amanda, think you can look into that for me? haha). So, that just gave Steve an excuse to go buy a brand new 23" computer monitor. Since the tv is normally hooked up to his computer anyway, and we watch tv through the media center on that, we just replaced the tv with the new monitor for the time being. He wanted a new monitor for hooking the laptop up to anyway, so now he just had an excuse to buy it sooner than later. It's remarkably smaller than our 50" screen, but it'll do. But it was a nice day with no tv today. I spent a good part of the day sitting outside in the beautiful sunshine watching Isaac play in the backyard - things like this I miss being at work everyday. I've spent much of the week working on a paper for work that will be submitted for publication tomorrow, so that has kept me quite busy. Darlene has been the best mother-in-law anyone could ask for. She has cooked, cleaned, done 10 loads of laundry in two days, done the dishes, changed diapers, fed Isaac, put him down for his nap, played with him, gotten him out of trouble numerous times, and kept me company. I don't know what I'd do without her. I can't figure out how I survived bed rest when I was pregnant with Isaac without her.

Thank you all for you prayers. I'm so thankful for another week!!

Some good news

Just got back from seeing my doctor for my follow-up from Friday. I had seen a different doctor while at the hospital, so it was nice to get to talk to my regular doctor. She checked my cervix and says it doesn't seem quite as bad to her as the other doctor and nurse who checked on Friday thought, though it is thinning out some. So, that's good. She said my bed rest doesn't have to be that strict. We'll call it a "modified" bed rest. I can't go to work, have to work from home (but I have plenty of writing to do), but I don't have to be strictly confined to bed. I just need to not do too much, and of course, if I'm contracting, I need to be doing whatever it takes to make that stop. I got permission to go to my once a week teaching class which only has 3 weeks to go, assuming I am not contracting and have not done too much already on those days. But she prefers me to stay home and take it easy as much as possible for now during the rest of the week. Also, the best part, she switched my prescription from Terbutaline to Nifedipine, which has fewer side effects. So, we'll see if that works for me. This morning I had yet another bad bout of frequent contractions because I forgot to take my medicine last night. I was able to get it to stop with 2 doses eventually, and have done fine since. So, it's good that I am responding to the medicine, and evident that I definitely do need it. Hopefully the new one will work just as well, without the negative side effects.

Halloween

This was Isaac's 3rd Halloween. I think he's grown quite a bit from that little 5-lb baby that fit inside the Jack-o-lantern back in 2007. This was his first year to go Trick-Or-Treating. Sadly, I didn't get to go around the block with him liked I'd hoped. I was planted in a chair in the driveway handing out candy, but Daddy took him. He wasn't sure what to think in the beginning. Being the shy little boy everyone knows he is, he was terrified of the idea of walking up to complete strangers in strange homes. The first house they hit was our neighbor across the street, and Isaac tried to run away screaming while Steve drug him up to the guy to get his little box of Nerds. After a couple of houses, he finally started realizing that these people weren't out to snatch him but were actually giving him candy!!! He finally got to the point of pushing the door bells himself and even taking candy from the giver's hand, though very cautiously. Then, at home, once he realized we were actually going to allow him to eat candy (a very rare and special treat around here), he wanted it all for himself. Anytime I tried handing out candy to any other kids, he'd come running up to me, grab my arm and scream, "No No No! Stop!"



Now, there's a story behind his Sherif's costume as well. Unfortunately, I waited until the last minute to think about his costume, but by Halloween day, all the toddler costumes were gone. And with me being in the hospital all day Friday, and on bed rest all day Saturdday, I couldn't get anything put together for him. We'd finally, by 6pm, decided he could just go in regular clothes, as we had nothing. BUT THEN, as I was searching his closet for something orange, I saw it!! Last month, on our visit to Kentucky, Isaac recieved lots of clothes as birthday gifts. Among them was this adorable Sheriff cowboy pajama set from PawPaw (Nanny Rebecca's daddy)! It is size 24 months, and that is usually way too big on him, but I knew I had to try. It was a little big, but worked perfectly! Along with a matching red bandana from Grandma, it was a complete costume (with the exception of cowboy boots). It was perfect for him, because he hates anything on his head or anything out of the ordinary pants and shirt. It did take a while for him to tolerate the bandana even. So, thank you PawPaw for saving us very last minute! It was the perfect costume. He was the most adorable Sheriff in town, in my opinion.



I also want to point out the incredible job Steve did on this year's pumpkin. He came across this design, and knew it was perfect. It looks just like Astro, doesn't it? Even Isaac recognized him instantly.

Lastly, and update on me and Luke: still having contractions off and on, but nothing concerning, as long as I'm taking my medicine. However, the medicine is making me crazy - racing heart, dizziness, breathlessness, etc. It's a miracle I'm able to put together a coherent sentence right now, but that's only because it's starting to wear off and time for another dose. I can't think straight, focus, or walk half the time, but I know eventually my body will get used to it like last time. I'm also hoping when I see my doctor tomorrow, we can talk about something different with less side effects, but there are very few options for this situation, unfortunately. But we'll survive. It's worth it to keep him baking a while longer.

Here's the link to our Halloween Album