33 Weeks!

One more week and we can deliver at our hospital of choice. Two more weeks and we will be at the same week as our other 2 delivered. So, I am still optimistic. My 4 contractions an hour when I am not sleeping not withstanding.

Mike is still leaning toward sooner than later, but that is okay too. I appreciate all of his attention and kindness even though he is completely exhausted from doing everything! The kids are also being troopers, they are helpful and great at meeting all of my needs when they are here.

I am also really grateful for our ward. They are bring in dinner on Tuesdays and Thursdays which seems to be enough food to make it through the week for us. That is a big relief. Grandma and Mike were doing a great job of trying to make dinner happen, but I am glad that they do not have that burden anymore. It has also been nice to see people from the ward a couple of time a week. It gets a little boring to sit here all day, so the variety is nice.

Hope you are all well! I have done a couple more hats, and now I am working on one for C. Next will be one for M. I will post pictures when I get the camera back out:)

32 Weeks

I forgot to write an update after my appointment on Tuesday. I am so grateful for my doctor who is so reassuring. We decided against another FFN, even though it has been 2 weeks. His take on it was that if it came back negative I might not be so careful, Lol! I think he knows me a little too well.

He did check my cervix and I am a little more dilated and effaced (2 cm and 70%.) He actually looked back at my record with M and I was at  3 cm and 60%  by week 34 with him. So he said my body is just moving a little faster this time, and that is to be expected with another baby. I reacted to the progesterone shot last week, so we are stopping those. I am really sad about that, but not surprised. Wish there was a way to keep it from turning to a giant lump and itching like crazy!

Dr. Smith is optimistic that  I will make 35 weeks. I am feeling pretty good about it too. Mike is not as sure, and feels like the doctor is just trying to be reassuring so that I don't worry. I am grateful for every day we keep this baby in. Each day counts as far as development and weight go.

So, that is all of our excitement so far this week, what is up in your world?

I love Crocheting!

I Love Crochet! I don't care if what I  make looks good, or even fits the baby, I am just grateful for the stress relief it gives me. Sitting on the couch has been ok, most days I have some little project to keep me company (i.e. compiling tax info, paying bills, reading, drawing.)

But Sunday I picked up a couple of skeins of yarn I had laying around and started crocheting, and I was immediately more happy and relaxed. It is as if crocheting changes my brain chemistry!

Anyway, just thought I would share that with you all, I'm sure it was a fact you needed to know, Lol! So here are the pictures of my creations so far, thanks to the internet for so many great pattern options! If you want to know which ones I have been using look at my pinterest boards.

Have a great day!

Baby Shower

Feeling Spoiled! These are my good friends Marilyn and Sharilyn that I have not seen for a long time!

My sisters and sisters-in-law threw a wonderful baby shower on Saturday. I was so lucky to have so many family and friends come and celebrate this baby with me.

I was also feeling very blessed that we made it to the shower. Earlier in the week I was not sure we would because of all of the contractions! They have finally slowed down and I am starting to feel optimistic about making it to 35 weeks. Tomorrow is 32  weeks, so everyday is a bonus.

Just thought I would update you all, I spent yesterday on the couch crocheting baby hats. I will try to get a few photos today and post them!

Taking Charge

I have decided it is time for me to take charge of this pregnancy! I know that sounds a little crazy, and perhaps a bit overdue considering I am in my 31st week.

Tuesday started out really difficult, I was contracting a lot and having low back pain as well as pain in my legs. I finally called the nurse at my doctors office and her answer was pretty much what I expected, "You need to be laying down and not doing anything." I had to refrain from saying, "Duh!"

Anyway, I had been trying to nap, and unsuccessful because the contractions were waking me up. Needless to say I was very worried. Fortunately Mike was home and gave me a blessing, in which I was promised that my mind would relax and my anxieties would calm. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood. I really think I could have ended up in active labor had it not been for that gentle guide to relax!

Yesterday was so much better, only a few contractions, okay relatively few. I even went 2 hours at one point without any contractions.

I think I had given up on having this pregnancy go the way I wanted it to go. I was willing to submit to all of the things that I did not want for this pregnancy. Now I feel revived, ready to take this situation head on. I don't know if we will make it to 35 weeks, but I do know that I want another natural birth and I am willing to fight for it! I know that if  I want a peaceful and beautiful experience that I have to start seeking it, I cannot wait for it to happen to me. I was putting all of my anxieties into the situation which was feeding the tension in my body, and accelerating the contractions.

Now, don't get me wrong, I know I can not control this situation, ultimately it will proceed the way it is meant to proceed. However, I do have the ability to prepare myself mentally, and emotionally to be in the moment and find joy in the journey.

Hope you are all well and happy today! I am off to draw some lotus blossoms and enjoy another day on the couch!

Food for thought

Just saw this post on Facebook, and I think it applies to more than parenting Autistic children. Every child has their challenges, and every parent sometimes gets caught up in the daily grind. Take the time today to pause and enjoy the blessing in the moment!

http://www.snagglebox.com/2013/02/17-things-princess-bride-taught-me.html


I really love this reunion photo put together recently by Entertainment Weekly magazine! Have a great day!

Day 8 on the Couch...

Bed rest always sounds so inviting until you actually have to be there. However, Mike has been keeping me busy with little projects to make sure I am not bored. Yesterday I got to add up all of my school receipts and all of our medical receipts for our taxes. It took a couple of hours, I am determined to do better next year, and not wait until the last minute.

Mike also found a new mattress for the cradle. Our beautiful cradle was hand made for Mike when he was a baby, and has been through much love since then. When we were getting ready to move from Enoch we realized that the bumpers that came with the cradle had finally disintegrated. For most cradles/cribs this would be no problem, but ours was a custom size, so the bumpers were not there to protect the baby from the sides as much as to keep the bassinet size mattress in place. So, we were in a dilemma, I could not sew anything with my feet up, and we needed new foam to make new bumpers. Instead, Mike found a mini crib mattress at the Overstock.com outlet store that was too big, and cut it down. So I spent the weekend resewing (by hand) the cover. We are really happy with the way it turned out, now Charlotte is going to sew new sheets for this new size. I am hoping the original sheet also fits, because it was a little over-sized. Now if only I could get to the storage unit and pick-up all of the things I know are there. The one I want the most is my "boppy" style pillow. I made it while I was pregnant with Michael, and i love it because it has pocket. I have no desire to replace it because of that!

Anyway, I also started on several baby announcement designs yesterday. They are on the Picturesque Images facebook page, if you are interested.

So, what is on tap for today? I think a nap first, then we shall see. Hope you are all well and happy!

All About Family

I have been thinking that I needed to separate my business blog from family stuff, so here is the new address. I am hoping to get a few posts in while I lay around on bed rest. So here is the lowdown on why I am on bed rest:

This baby has been in a hurry since October, I know that sounds a little crazy, but just walking the 1/3 of a mile from my car to campus at BYU was causing contractions. Fortunately I only had to do it 2 days a week, so I just dealt with it. However, my last day of class, I had 3 contractions on the way back to my car. I was so grateful that I did not have to make that walk again! So from the end of November on I have been doing what Mike calls "self directed bed rest." No lifting, no running, and just listening to my body. That meant a few days here and there entirely on the couch, but not everyday, and I was still able to make dinner and get errands done.

That all changed last Sunday. Saturday night I decided that I was feeling pretty lousy, and Mike had the gambo so I told Grandma we would not be attending stake conference. I am so sad we missed it, I love stake conference, but glad I made that decision. I contracted all day Sunday, averaging about 4 contractions an hour. Finally, as we ate dinner and watched the Super Bowl I got up to 5 contractions in an hour (actually I had been there for 2 hours without realizing it.) I was really ornery, my poor kids had been chopping veggies and being exceptionally helpful while we got dinner ready, but I could not talk nicely. They are such good sports, they did not snap back or get grumpy with me. They must know me or something, Lol!

All of these things combined to make me realize it was time to go to Labor & Delivery. I know, you are thinking, but you were only 29 weeks and 5 days. That is what I kept saying in my head, but at some point you have to face facts if you don't want to be too late to Labor & Delivery. So, we packed the car with my bag and things to do thinking we would be back within a couple of hours and headed out.

We arrived at Alta View and they put us in a room for "monitoring." Do you ever feel like medical things are in your head? Well I did, because we had exactly 0 contractions for 2 hours! Nice, I love how that works! However, in the first hour we were there they checked me and said I was dilated to a 1+ (the contractions must have been doing something!) They also did a test I had never heard of called Fetal Fibronectin or FFN where they swab the cervix for a specific protein. A positive result suggests that there is a good chance the baby will be born within the next 2 weeks. Dr. Esplin told me it is a more accurate negative than positive result, but it is worth taking precautions.

So, after 2 hours we were anticipating heading home because I had not been contracting, and suddenly a nurse appears with a bracelet and pops in an IV. She informs us that I will be staying the night. Now one of the nice things about being on the monitors in L&D is that you can see whenever the nurses chart, because it shows up on the graph, so we had seen the positive result from the FFN, but had no realized that it meant drastic measures. To top things off  I started contracting, not just a couple either. Within an hour I was at 8 minutes apart lasting about 80-120 seconds. For those of you who don't know that is well on the way to active labor. So, they started giving me IV antibiotics, administered a steroid shot, and started Nifedipin (aka Procardia.)  It took the full 4 doses of Nifedipin to slow things down, but it did not completely stop the contractions. Poor Mike was still feeling lousy, I should have sent him home for the night because we did not get any sleep. Finally around 2 a.m. things had slowed down and we were both sleeping, and registration has the nerve to call. Don't get me wrong, my years as a CNA at LDS Hospital taught me the hospital is not for rest, but really, a 2 a.m. call from registration! And the person on the other end had the nerve to ask me if it was a "good time to register." She was lucky I have worked hard to curb my vocabulary over the years, because I was able to bite my tongue and get through the call. At that point I think we both gave up on sleep. So we spent the night watching a "Pawn Stars" marathon on History. Thank goodness for a little distraction. Mike left about 6 a.m. to make sure the kids got to school, knowing that the Dr. on call would not be in until between 8-9. The nurse told us she expected us to be released in the morning and that we would have to come back for a second steroid shot at the 24 hour mark. That sounded fine, I just wanted my bed at that point!

Around 9 Dr. Larsen came in and stayed for all of 30 seconds, he informed us that he wanted me to stay all day until I could get the steroid shot at 9:30 p.m. I think Mike wished he had not come back at that moment, he could have been in bed asleep. I sent him home, and tried to snooze, but that was virtually impossible. The baby hates being monitored (can't say I blame the little one) and was continuously kicking the monitor off, so someone would have to come in and fix it. I got to the point where I was holding it in place whenever I was awake.

Around 11 they came in with another dose of penicillin and told me that they were going to move me to a postpartum room as soon as this dose was done. I was super happy, because the beds there are more comfortable, and the rooms are not charged at an hourly rate like L&D. So, just before noon they moved me. The room was nice, the food was decent and somehow I survived until Mike got back about 7:30 p.m. I really am grateful for the care we received. My nurses were very kind, and attentive, even though the floor was completely full. In the last 4 hours I was there the baby song went off 5 times. Crazy! I appreciate the technology we have today, the fact that they could stop my contractions, so that we can try to hang on for a few more weeks. The longer this baby has inside the healthier it will be. I am also grateful for nurses that were willing to be straight with me when I asked questions, we found out that Alta View can only deliver you after 34 weeks, so if they had not been able to stop my contractions I would have been transported to IMC. When I discussed with my nurse that we had been debating whether to go straight to IMC or not she was very supportive of us making that choice, and even said she would if we had another night like Sunday. So, the good news is, even when you only get 30 seconds of face time with the on-call Doc the nurses are always there to back you up.

By the time 9:30 rolled around we were both, so ready to go! My back was killing me from trying to stay still for the monitors, and from the beds. I think the staff was surprised by how quickly I was in my own clothes and pushing the button to leave, frankly I don't usually move that fast right now, but I was motivated.

They had called in a Rx for the Nifedipin and Mike was able to pick that up earlier in the day, so we had one more day's worth of that, and an appointment with Dr. Smith scheduled for Friday. Somehow he always leaves town when  I need him, Lol!

Tuesday I called my sweet friend Diana Esplin, whose husband is a perinatologist at IMC, and asked her if I could talk to Sean. He called back within a few minutes and was very reassuring. He likes Dr. Smith, and told me not to change doctors, but to be ready to go to IMC if we felt we needed to. He said he likes all of the doctors in the group he is in and that is where we would be assigned if we decide to go there.

I feel so blessed that we are surrounded by people who care about us and are desiring to help out in any way they can. We are really doing well, I can see the wear and tear on Mike as he tries to keep up with work and everything I usually do but he is as loving and attentive as can be. The kids have been a great support too, bringing me whatever I need, even as they get ready for school each day. What a great family I have!

Friday we saw Dr. Smith, it was nice to finally get on track for the things we had talked about all pregnancy. He gave me a PRN (as needed) maintenance dose of Nifedipin and also set me up for steroid shots. We are trying them again even though I reacted to them with Michael, because the track record is so good for them. Dr. Esplin had suggested that I make sure it was not compounded in Castor Oil and see if that would make the difference. The pharmacist was very accommodating (we had to go clear to Riverton to get the vial) and made sure I got sesame oil instead.

When we got home I called my friend Diane Franke and she came and gave me the shot. So, now every Friday until we have this little one I will be enjoying a poke in the butt. I hope my kids know how much we want them and treasure them, because we sure go through a lot to get them here!

I have not been great about keeping up with photos while I have been at school, so here are a few from our trip to Yellowstone August 2011. Maybe the blog will inspire me to be more on top of them!

So, that is the bed rest saga, if you have any questions feel free to comment, and we will answer them. We still do not know the gender of the baby, really we are not holding out on anyone, I promise!