Thursday, September 30, 2010

35 weeks 4 days

Bedrest Chronicles Day 59

Weekly appointment with my favorite doc showed my cervix shortened to one cm with some dilation despite the stitch. My stitch is coming out next Thursday at my regular appointment in the office. The nurse advised me to take some Tylenol beforehand as it's going to hurt. Imagine that? You are pulling a stitch out where skin has probably grown over and around it. That's going to feel great! lol. I don't think it will be any worse than childbirth right?

Any bets on when he's coming?

xoxo

Friday, September 24, 2010

Bedrest Chronicles Day 52

For my birthday present, my day brought me forty mph winds, a twelve hour power outage, pumpkin pie, and flowers from my hubby! Being a city girl, before today I had yet to discover the joys of a power outage when you have your own well. Hmm. No power means no water either! I don't mind the lack of electricity but not being able to flush when you're pregnant? That's a different story!



Despite the inconveniences, I had a rather nice day. It's already quite chilly up here, so I first bundled up in a sweatshirt and warm socks. Then, my dad and I basked in the warmth of my fireplace, reading and watching the birch trees bend in the wind. Sigh. Around noon, a man came knocking on the door with a flower delivery from my hubby. This makes the second time in ten years that he has sent me flowers in our ten years together so I was all smiles.  His note....incredibly sweet and heartfelt. This evening when the electricity came back on, we were able to crack open our refrigerator in time for me to celebrate my day with a huge slice of pumpkin pie. All in all, it was a simple peaceful day.

Belly pic from 34 weeks 4 days...

xoxo

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Weekly Appointment (u/s pics)

Bedrest Chronicles Day 51 - At home with my dad

Today was my day for the trek down to Anchorage to see my favorite doctor. Today I was once again reminded of how lucky I am to have been under her care for this pregnancy. Due to liability or insurance coverage, very few doctors would have performed a cerclage at 27 weeks. Baby E could have had a very different entrance to life without her expertise in performing this nontraditional cerclage. Besides simply being a great doctor, she's also just nice. For example, she has a 3D/4D ultrasound machine in her office, so every appointment she takes a peak at my munchkin. For fun, she's been trying to get me a face shot. After having feet and hands blocking the shot in previous weeks, she was finally successful!




Ha! Keep in mind that my little man has his face squished up against one of the walls. I think his nose looks huge in the last two picks! Too funny. Apparently, he keeps pressing further down towards my cervix with his head putting a lot of pressure on it. The bad news is that my stitch is definitely losing the battle and my cervix has shortened to 2 cm. Today I was sure I was going to have some bleeding after a sharp pain early in the day, but I'm holding on. 

Keep baking Baby E!

xoxo

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Bedrest Chronicles Day 49

Happy ICLW! For those of you who are visiting for the first time you can find my history on the sidebar to the right.

I've been home from the hospital for twelve days now. Coming home has been like sliding into my comfy sheets on my bed -- warm and comforting. Having my dog Sweetpea following me around during the day from couch to bed is just the icing on the cake as being without her is like missing a member of my family. Besides, she's a great foot warmer.


On Saturday I switched one good thing for another as my sister flew home and my dad came up to Anchorage. I had such a good time just hanging out with my her during the week as we watched TV, she cleaned, cooked, and organized the baby's room. She did this despite the fact that she has a strained achilles and sprained ankle that isn't exactly healing correctly. My dad has already pulled out his comfort food by making me homemade biscuits on both Sunday and Monday. Since I'm trying not to be a glutton, I didn't have him make them today. :)

Meanwhile back at home in California, my mom has been busy running my sister and dad to and from the airport while holding down the fort there. I have to tell you that she won the teacher of the year award for this school year for her district. Yesterday, the county celebrated all of the district teachers of the year in a big ceremony in which none of the family could attend because of all of this switcheroo to take care of me. We wished we could have been there to support her, but she sacrificed this so I could not be in the hospital. :) We are SO proud of her!

My family just keeps coming through for me on so many levels. This doesn't happen for everyone so I'm just flat out grateful that I have them to unconditionally love me...broken eggs and all. I know this sounds incredibly sappy but I think that sometimes we forget to think about the things that are really fundamentally good in our lives. Between my husband, my family, Fairyeggs and my other friends and family, I'm just lucky. Baby E might not have had an easy or traditional path of coming to be, but he is coming into a family where he is already loved to bits.

For the first time in this pregnancy, I feel like we are actually going to make it to the finish line.

Our goal is to make it to 37 weeks when my doc will remove the cerclage and my cervix will probably return to a five centimeter dilation. The nurses tell me this does not mean I'll go into labor immediately. What? lol. I can't imagine that Baby E won't drop straight out at that point.

Hope all is well with you.

xoxo

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Tag

I've been tagged by Genevieve at Spermination Station to play..


If money was not a consideration, what would you do as a career? To fill your days? Several things: professional student including going to cooking and language schools or being a financial planner/life coach to teach people how to live within their means.


Who is someone you look up to and why? I'm really not one to idolize famous people but rather I admire the people I see around me that have qualities I want. M - for her ability to enjoy the moment, E for her true kindness, D for her generosity, my mom for hard work, my dad for his example of unconditional love and support...it seems like every person in my life contributes something different. 


What is the weirdest combination of foods you have ever eaten? Living overseas gave me the chance to eat all sorts of strange things...I swear you don't even want to know.


If you could choose your own name, what would it be and why? Sophia...feminine and cute without being that common when I was born. There are a billion Jennifers as it was the #1 name for like ten years!


Where is your dream house located and what does it look like? I don't really care where we end up living as long as it is not too crowded or overpriced. My goal is to have my sister, parents, and hopefully family friends nearby. I would like a half acre of land with a ranch style house, four bedrooms, a big kitchen and connected living area where everybody can hang together. :)


If you had to use only one musician's songs to describe your life or answer these questions, who would it be?  Barenaked Ladies


What do you want your last meal to be? Some fantastic carne asada, guacamole, pico, chips and salsa followed up with pumpkin pie. 


Jello or Pudding?  Chocolate pudding all the way!


So, if you've made it this far, you've been tagged!!! Here are the questions:

  1. If money was not a consideration, what would you do as a career?  To fill your days?
  2. Who is someone you look up to, and why?
  3. What is the weirdest combination of foods you have ever eaten?
  4. If you could choose your own name, what would it be and why?
  5. Where is your dream house located, and what does it look like?
  6. If you had to use only one musician's songs to describe your life or answer these questions, who would it be?
  7. What do you want your last meal to be?
  8. Jello or Pudding?
xoxo

Thursday, September 16, 2010

No Pictures Please! (u/s pic ahead!)

Bedrest Chronicles Day 44

We had our first checkup with the doc today. Both of us look good which earns a happy dance from me. My doc has a 3D machine in her office which is far cooler than the ancient ones in OB/Triage. Check my babe out, he's ready for the paparazzi:


No pictures please!!

xoxo

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Way Overdue....Shower Pics!

So my shower took place at the end of July, but with all of the hoopla of everything I have never shown you pictures of it! My sister threw this for me in California where most of my friends and immediate family are located. I also had two dear friends fly in from the other coast for a fun girls weekend. She went all Martha.Ste.wart and made many of the decorations herself!



 


Customized M&Ms!


The appetizers...with copious amounts of peach bellinis consumed with them!


My favorite Italian cookies


Simple games such as "guess how many skittles are in the bottle?" and "what is Jen naming her baby?"


preggo bellies (I'm on the left)


So much fun! Thank you sister for throwing me a fun yet laid back shower!

xoxo

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Coming Home & Getting Ready

Bedrest Chronicles Day 42

Every morning I wake up and have a delicious moment where I think "I'm at home" and then snuggle into my comfy sheets and fall back asleep with my dog next to me and baby E still growing safely inside. It's a perfect moment every day.

Coming home couldn't have happened without my sister generously taking a week off to come take care of me. At the last minute there was a change in plans with my dad coming up as he had a work thing come up. Because my dad is a dear, he didn't want to disappoint me so WITHOUT telling me, he arranged for my sister to come up. I was a little appalled to put out my sister in this way since I could easily stay in the hospital. However, because they love me, they took care of it before I could say anything. Control freak much Jen? Regardless, I *really* appreciate their kindness! I'm so lucky to have them in my life. We all are actually.

When I left the hospital I was amazed at how beautiful it is here. After being inside for so long, I had forgotten how amazing the mountains and water look here. On her way up, my sister took this picture from the plane:



Coming home to my new house is surreal and so much fun! I'll have to follow up with pictures soon...well I'll have to get my sister to take them. :) All I can say is that I L - O - V - E it! The peaceful green walls and immense amount of natural light. Sigh. So happy.

With my sister here, we've been working on getting the baby stuff ready. Okay, I lay reclined in the chair and keep her company while she does all the work. :) We've come a long way in getting the clothes and supplies organized with what I have so far. She also put the carseat together...check it out:


Haha!

xoxo

Sunday, September 12, 2010

New Design

New design for my background...hope now there are no problems reading from iphones now! :)

xoxo

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Yes.

Yes, I do remember what happened nine years ago today.

It changed a lot of things in our country.

Today I celebrate the life that the terrorists did not manage to damage - the spirit, the love, and the hope of my country.

I hope to raise my son to be a proud American.

xoxo

Friday, September 10, 2010

Going Home...

Bedrest Chronicles Day 35

The plan is to go home today! My sister will be coming up tomorrow for the week until my dad comes next weekend. I'm just hoping that everything goes as planned between now and when my hubby comes to pick me up. Baby E and I have continued to be stable so I just need my discharge papers...I'm not so patiently waiting.

I know my reaction to the NICU tour was a little dramatic, but it just hit me. As much as I know everything has been going well for us, fear still lingers in me. In the last year, we have been through so much to get this little man here. Needless to say, he is wanted and already loved.

I can't wait to get home and cuddle with the pup in my own bed.

xoxo

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

NICU tour

Bedrest Chronicles Day 36

Quite unexpectedly, a woman showed up around lunch time to give me my tour of the NICU which I requested when I first arrived at the hospital.

Early on during my hospital stay, I searched for images of 27 week babies to prepare for what Baby E would look like if I had to deliver. I would follow this up with searching for information on what typical problems could happen during each gestational period as well. But for once, I did not obsess about each catastrophe that could happen. Instead, I just tucked the information neatly into a corner of my brain and did not pull it out. Each time a milestone would be passed, I would repeat this just to know what we would be up against.

Most of my thoughts have been directed towards what is happening in the present. This is not typical behavior for me as I'm always thinking towards the future and seemingly waiting for it to unfold. However infertility has changed me in this way, as I'm finally learning how to balance being in the present with my love of looking towards what is coming next. This stay in the hospital has been a very timely exercise in truly getting through each day as it comes. I can't make plans because I have absolutely no control over what happens next! So instead I pass my time from moment to moment, doing whatever strikes my fancy (within reach of course!).

Within this little cocoon of my hospital room, somewhere along the way I have started thinking of baby E making it until 37 weeks which essentially is full term.  This is shocking after everything that has happened over the past month, but quite frankly, also within reach. If I continue on the way I have been going with little to no contractions and baby E keeps plugging away at growing, we could make it to 37 weeks.

As the days have passed by in a foggy haze of making it through each day, this hope of a full term baby has become much more real to me than what I saw today in the NICU. Today it scared the crap out of me thinking of my kiddo in there. Being wheeled through the rooms at this point brought to mind what really could have happened. Maybe I was just blocking out the reality that we could have fallen on the wrong side of the statistics again. He could have died.

Instead of thinking of the fact that baby E hopefully will need little intervention at this point in my pregnancy, I'm kind of turned around looking at what could have happened. Now my stomach is churning and my hands are shaking. Was I just trying to escape reality in tucking everything away? Am I delusional in trying to take things pragmatically moment to moment?

xoxo

Monday, September 6, 2010

No labor on labor day!

Bedrest Chronicles Day 34

Well another labor day has passed without any true labor on my part. Considering my position, I'll consider that a major achievement!

Current weight: +12 which means I lost a pound this week. No, I was not trying to do this. However, hospital food combined with me running out of fun-size milky ways did the trick. I am now restocked with peanut m&ms. Yum.

Baby status: getting gold stars on his non-stress tests (NSTs) and bio-physical profiles (BFP) this week AND he breathed everyday without making me suffer for thirty minutes on the blasted table. What a good boy! He has also reached the next milestone of 32 weeks which is a HUGE difference in premie world. My doc admitted to me that the night she saw me, she never thought we would make it this far. I'm so grateful for this!!!

Best foods of the week: peanut butter and jelly sandwich and cheetos! Having no chips for a month made the cheetos extra delicious.

Crying jags: One.

Activity of the week: hitting the balloon next to my bed over and over again.

Coolest things my hubby did: went to Target and bought a bunch of diapers since they are having a sale. My vision of him standing in the diaper aisle made me giggle. He also washed all of the baby clothes, sorted them, and started putting them away. :)

Score of the week: finding my video baby monitor 20% off at the above store. :)

Moment I'm not so proud of: getting irrationally angry after reading a post from a woman who did one IVF and got three kids (twins and singleton) out of fresh and frozen embryos--then complained about having to do IVF again to have her fourth. I hardly ever feel flat out pissed off because of my circumstances or those of others, but for some reason this time I wanted to kick her a@! (from my bedside of course).

Refreshing moment: hubby briefly mentioned to a work acquaintance (that he reconnected with up here) that I was in the hospital. He and his wife came to visit me with flowers, balloon, chocolate, and comfy socks. Even though we were strangers, it was nice to have someone go out of their way since I don't know anyone up here yet. My hubby said it "refreshed his faith in humanity" that someone would do something so unexpectedly nice.

Biggest news: my dad is feeling much better and is booked to come up to Anchorage on Saturday. This means I might break out of this joint in five days! I'm crossing my fingers on this!

xoxo

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Belly Pix

Bedrest Chronicles Day 29

After a huge flurry of activity between 3:30-5, I managed to get my ultrasound, monitoring, and shower done so I could hang out with my hubby. I changed into real clothes for the first time so my hubby could snap a picture of me. He immediately directed me to lay back down for fear that the baby would drop out in the two minutes I was standing. :) Here I am at 31 weeks!

BTW, I do realize that 13 lbs is not a lot for being 31 weeks pregnant! However gaining four pounds over the last two weeks while I lay like a lump in bed, NOT getting to eat yummy food, certainly makes me feel like it is!!!

Sending luck to my bloggers who are awaiting news!!!!

xoxo