Monday, August 3, 2009

Just another problem

My doctor's appointment went ok today. I didn't dilate any last week so I'm still at 1cm but I do have a new problem. I have polyhydramnios, which means I have an excess amount of amniotic fluid. This problem can cause premature rupture of membranes (premature breaking of water) and abruption (something I'm all too familiar with). My stomach measured at 40 cm today and it should only measure 36. With all of this plus the fact that I'm completely over it, we're going to try stripping my membranes on Monday. What that means is that she's going to separate the bag of water from my cervix. There's a chance that she might break my water in the process but the goal is to just irritate my uterus enough to start labor. Usually you go into labor within 2 days of having your membranes stripped. So thats the plan for Monday. We'll see if it actually works. Good news that came out of today....I'm off bedrest!!! I can't go to work but I can go out in public now. Although I'm still not up for a lot of activity yet, its nice to know I can go to the store if I want to.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Its starting!!!

After not getting more than 2 hours of sleep last night because of waves of backaches and contractions, not to mention John snoring, today started out very uncomfortable. We had our US today. Emmy looked good again and she weighs in at a whopping 5lbs, 12oz. I was so excited to hear that since last month she was 4lbs, 14oz. She's dropped from 77th percentile to 60th percentile. So I think I might get a petite little girl!!! NST didn't look fantastic. Emmy tried to be reactive but it didn't work all that well. I had a bunch of contractions, about 12 minutes apart. They never got any closer. When I had my visit with Dr Young, after hearing about my lovely weekend and failed "sleep test" (if I fall asleep during my contractions and don't wake up, its false labor. Last night I kept waking up), she agreed to check me and I'm dilated 1 cm. So we're making some progress. I got the official "when to go to the hospital" speech....if my water breaks or if my contractions get to be 3-5 minutes apart and I'm having trouble tolerating them. She also told us that a baby born at 35 weeks (where we are right now) should have no complications. That was a HUGE relief. So we're looking no NICU stay, unless something arises during labor.

With that being said, I'm going to try to start walking. I'm taking myself off of bedrest (well off as much as I can tolerate) to see if we can get things started. Walking is pretty rough but I'm trying.

Only complication that has come up since leaving the doctors office was a random bleed this afternoon. They always tell me that I might have some spotting after being checked. About 4 hours after being checked, I had a pretty good bleed...more than the original abruption bleed. I called the doctors and they said if I didn't stop bleeding in an hour to call back and I'd probably have a trip to the hospital. Well its stopped, thank goodness, but I'm nervous about another bleed. I'm not sure if this was related to being checked and being dilated since it was so long after the doctors appointment but who knows. We'll just have to wait and see. Keep your fingers crossed that there are no more bleeds and we go to the hospital because my water breaks.

Off to try to fall asleep tonight. I think my body is totally prepared for no sleep by the number of sleepless nights I've had over the past 3 weeks.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The random things I find

Update on me.....still cramping/contracting with horrible pain but not in labor yet.

Since I've have had a little time on my hands, google has been my friend. I google everything....signs of labor, ways to stop backache, ways to survive bedrest. Yahoo discussion boards have the funniest conversations. I love when they pop up in my search results. However, last night I came across something disturbing. There are multiple websites that teach women how to check themselves for cervical dilation. I couldn't believe this. And the best part is women commented on their experiences. Who does something like that???

Anyways...thats it. Keep your fingers crossed that Emmy either decides she wants to stay inside for a little while longer (so the contractions will stop) or that she decides to just get it over with and make her entrance. I can't take her being stubborn right now

Saturday, July 25, 2009

False Alarm again

So after 3 hours of contractions (which never got into a good pattern) and horrible abdominal pain, I was able to get some sleep...bad sleep but sleep all the same. So not true labor yet. Who knows what's going on. I think Emmy is getting cold feet. She wants to come out then decides not to. Stubborn little girl!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Same old, Same old

Well I'm sitting here at 34 weeks, 6 days pregnant. Today we had our first reactive NST within 20 minutes. I was off the monitor and in the car driving away 30 minutes after I got hooked up. It was a first and the doctor and nurses were all just as excited as Mom and I were. Dr Young signed off on my strip. She came in to see me and said "look at you still hanging in there." The way she said it made it very clear that she didn't think I'd still be pregnant. So we're surpassing everyone's expectations.

So what does that mean for us? Plan is to induce at 39 weeks. So we're looking at an induction around August 21st, unless I go into labor before then. We're adding growth to our ultrasound on Monday. I found out it doesn't really matter how big Emmy is on US right now. The only way they react to "large for gestational" age babies is if the baby weighs 11lbs or more at 39 weeks. Then they schedule a C-Section and forget vaginal labor altogether. I'm still on bedrest but I talked them into letting me walk a little more around the house. I've been tryiing to do some more walking but I've realized how weak I am and how hard this has been on my body.

Today I am completely uncomfortable. My back hurts and I'm having right sided abdominal pain. Whenever I'm standing, it feels like the baby is going to fall out. Not sure if this is a good sign or a bad one. All I know is that the abdominal pain is starting to feel like it did when I was pregnant with Noah and had to be admitted overnight. I had a lot of uterine activity on my end of the NST but I wasn't in a pattern and I think they aren't going to be concerned with it since I'm 34 weeks now. I'm sure if I was looking like I was going to get into a rhythm, I would have been sent to the hospital. So we'll see how the weekend goes. Fingers crossed Emmy wants to stay in for about a week or two more.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The big day!!!

We've made it to 34 weeks! So now if I go into labor, they won't stop me. Emmy's lungs should be mature enough to avoid any major respiratory complications. So how am I feeling now that I'm 34 weeks? I thought I was going into labor Wednesday night. I had 1-2 hours of horrible contractions and I was really nervous about them. But I was able to fall asleep so I guess it was a false alarm. I've been very "active" since then. My NST strip on Friday had an increase in uterine activity but not enough to send me to the hospital. I don't feel too good, I'm not sleeping, and I'm going stir crazy. Oh yeah....I'm uncontrollably itchy. It gets worse as the day goes on. Don't really know what that's from. Maybe Dr Fosnot will have an idea on Monday. Other than that, thats it.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

A few more angels

God gained a few more angels this week. 2 of our patients lost their battles with cancer this week. Please keep these grieving families in your prayers and pray for all the children and families who are fighting the fight against cancer every day. Thai and Jhanelle, you are so missed already but God is so lucky to have you next to Him.


Just a quick update on us. I'm losing my mind and going stir crazy. I am so restless and I don't know how much longer I can take this.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

In it til the end

So I'm pretty much pregnant until 39 weeks unless something changes. I'm still not dilated so we're planning on an induction. Dr Fosnot says there's a very slim chance that I'll end up with a C-Section (very excited about that). Now if I come in with a horrible abruption again, then we're looking at a section. Emmy's still not reactive on the NST. She has moments of reaction but not a great amount. Last week, we had 2 ultrasounds without 30 seconds of breathing but Monday's ultrasound we caught some good breathing. The report from the high risk guy came in. He made it sound like I definately had an abruption (which he told me I didn't have). We did learn that Emmy's weight is in the 77th percentile. We'll do another growth scan in 2 weeks. If she's greater than 90th percentile, she'll be considered large for gestational age. I think we'll then talk about delivering her. Other than that, we're still doing biweekly monitoring and bedrest. I'm going to discuss coming off bedrest in a few weeks. There is no way I'm staying on bedrest until 39 weeks. I'm pretty uncomfortable and I'm definitely over being on bedrest.

Off of baby news. Noah is doing great with his speach therapy. He's talking more and more. Every day he has a new word or two. I think its finally coming together. And he's so cute when he talks. Sometimes he sounds like he has a southern accent. I can't figure out what his voice will sound like.

Well thats it for now. Time to finish watching the All Star game.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Sticking to the same old plan

So my high risk appointment went as follows: We showed up and the US tech brought us in and asked me why I was having an ultrasound with them because none of my other US have shown the abruption (which all of my docs have been completly aware of). So she's scanning me, telling me that she doesn't see the abruption (go figure) and she's starting to go through all the organ systems, etc. She double checks again that Emmy is still a girl (we have a very conclusive picture proving her girlness). Then the doctor comes in. He shakes my hand, shakes John's hand, and proceeds to walk to the other side of the room. He asks me why they even sent me to see him since there was no clinical proof that I had an abruption. The fetal cells mixed in with my blood cells were probably left over from Noah's pregnancy (yeah right....2.5 years and 3 RhoGam shots later, I still have his cells with mine...don't think so). So he tells me he thinks they are treating me for something that I don't have, that they are over-reacting and that he doesn't understand why they are even discussing a delivery plan for me. I had tried to explain to him everything thats been going on, how I'm having contractions and a lot of uterine activity, and he proceeds to tell me that I'm not in preterm labor, I'm fine, the baby's fine, there's nothing wrong with me. And he knew all of this by shaking my hand. He never once examined me or put me on a NST monitor, nothing. So needless to say, I left his office more upset than I have ever been.

We did, however, learn that Emmy weighed 4lbs 14oz before she turned 32 weeks. Her head circumference measured over 34 weeks and her femur length measured over 32 weeks. So she's going to be a big baby.

So fast forward to today. I go to my normal 2 hour visit at the doctors. I have my US and Emmy looks great but she decided that she wasn't in the mood to breathe too much. So she didn't score her perfect 10 like she usually does. I go on the monitor, which I was only on for 35 minutes since she cooperated and was reactive. I was having contractions but what else is new. We go into the exam room, have the most ridiculous nurse who I'm pretty sure doesn't really know what she's doing, and Dr Young came in and told me we're sticking to our normal plan....bedrest, twice a week monitoring, etc. She informed me that Dr Prieto only sent the US report, not his official consult report. The jackass probably wont' send it either since he made it very clear he didn't know why I was sent to him. I proceeded to tell her that I would never recommend him to anyone, I had the worst experience with him, that he pretty much told me that they (my OBs) didn't know what they were doing and treating me for something I didn't have, I pretty much let it all out. Dr Young seemed shocked and was very apologetic. She reassured me that with my positive blood tests, 2 episodes of bleeding, and all the uterine activity I've been having, that we still need to continue being vigilent. She did mention that we could think about inducing me around 39 weeks if we got there. She did order another US for Friday to see if Emmy wanted to breathe for us. I don't really know what will happen if she doesn't breathe on this one.

I'm excited for my next few appointments. I scheduled them with Dr Fosnot (my favorite one!!!) She takes the time to really sit and explain things and answer questions. She'll be able to give me a better idea as to where we go from here. So I see her 3 weeks out of the next 4.

We built Emmy's crib tonight and we're finishing decorating tomorrow. One step closer.

On to a random thing....my mail man is a lazy bum. He refuses to deliver my mail if there is a car parked in the street. On multiple occasions he has not delivered my mail and written "mailbox blocked" on the mail. Well today, Mom was parked in the street (like most cars in our neighborhood) but she purposely left him enough room to deliver my mail. We watched as he drove past my mailbox without attempting to pick up the mail that we had in the box. And then we watched as he drove away. I was almost about to call the Post Office and then he drove back, was able to actually deliver our mail and take what needed to go to the Post Office but the bum wouldn't put down the flag. One day he told John that he won't "dismount" in order to deliver the mail if there is a car in "the way". John's dad (who is a retired mail carrier) said that is the official rule but he pretty much said we must have a jerk of a carrier and that he's lazy. I mean really....they drive in a car all day long. Is it that hard to deliver my freaking mail??? John's dad used to park and walk to deliver his route. And this guy won't even attempt to drive to my mailbox. Whatever. I've got my eye on him now.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Annoyed

Too annoyed and confused to discuss the high risk appointment right now. I'll post after my OB appointment on Monday. I hope we'll know whats going on then.

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!!!!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Big day tomorrow

Big day tomorrow full of appointments. We're up in Clearwater for my NST appointment at 1030 then its off to downtown St Pete/Bayfront for my High Risk OB appointment at 2. Should make for a very LONG and tiring day. Only cool thing is that we might end up with a 3D/4D ultrasound if they think it aid them in coming up with a delivery recommendation.

I'll update tomorrow and hopefully with new pics!

Monday, June 29, 2009

We set a goal!

We had a great appointment today. Emmy looked great on ultrasound and actually had a reactive section on the NST. I might have found the secret....drink juice for the hour before the NST. We'll see on Thursday if that plan works. I was only on the monitor for 30 minutes. That is a first. I'm usually on for an hour. Then we went into the exam room and had the door open. Dr Fosnot (my favorite doctor) walked by and said hi as she was going by, then backed up and came in. She was kinda talking to me about plans and then told Dr Young (who my appointment was scheduled with) that she was just going to finish and take over the appointment. I was really excited because she really sits and explains things. All the doctors conferenced this morning and came up with a plan for me. Here's what they told me:

I'm back on strict bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy. There's no chance of coming off of it.
We're still doing bi-weekly NST, weekly ultrasounds, and weekly visits. We're still worried about the chance of another spontaneous bleed. They are sending me to a High Risk doctor for a more extensive ultrasound and recommendation for delivery. My OB's couldn't come to an agreement when it comes to delivery plans. Some want to induce me at a certain point, others want to let me go into labor spontaneously. So they decided to get the High Risk doctors input and they'll pretty much do what they suggest. We're hoping to get an appointment with them next week so then we'll have a good idea as to whats going on. If the high risk guys feel like its in the best interest to deliver the baby now, thats what we'll do. If they say let me go into labor on my own, thats what we'll do. If they say induce me, that's the plan. So we'll learn a lot next week.

Dr Fosnot says there is a good chance I could make it to term, or close to it because I've been so stable over the past few weeks. She doesn't think I'll make it to 40 weeks but she thinks there's a reasonable possibility to make it to 36 weeks. She's nervous for another bleed because she thinks it will be a substantial one if it happens. She also voted for letting me go into labor on my own because she doesn't want to hyperstimulate my uterus with the induction. All of these things increase the risk for my bleed. She thinks that even if I go into labor on my own I'll come in bleeding but at least it won't be because my uterus is so overstimulated by pitocin. Unfortunately its all a waiting game and like she reminded us, "there's no true right or wrong choice"

Our ultimate goal is to get to 34 weeks and any day past that is icing on the cake. They won't stop my labor after that point because Emmy's lungs should be mature enough to handle life. If I go into labor before 34 weeks, they'll try to stop my labor to give me steroids to help mature her lungs. The good thing is that we're over a lot of the long term problems associated with prematurity (cerebral palsy, retinopathy/blindness, severe developmental delays). We're looking at respiratory problems if her lungs aren't developed enough (oxygen supplementation, possibly intubation/ventilation). We're also looking at some feeding issues since her sucking reflex won't be completely developed so she may need a feeding tube until she can learn to suck on her own. I'll take those complications over any long term complication any day. But each day she stays inside me is a day in the right direction.

Thats all for now. We'll see how she does on Thursday and what my fetal fibrinectin says. Oh yeah, they did another one since its been over a week since the last one just to be on the safe side. Hopefully its still negative.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Another day spent at Morton Plant

Oh yeah...6 hours at the OB Assessment center. We went to the office for my routine NST and Emmy, as usual and expected, wasn't reactive on the strip. Usually this is not a big deal since she's still really young but today I had a significant increase of uterine activity so they wanted me monitored a little more. So we headed to Morton Plant, got set up in the same room as last time and had the same nurse around 1245. My hemoglobin hadn't changed (10.9) and we did another Kleihauer-Betke test (the one that counts the fetal cells mixed with mine). Emmy looked great on ultrasound. I had them double check that she was still a girl....and she definately was. MP's ultrasound machine is really good and we got a great look at her face. I think she's going to have Noah's nose and cheeks. After a slight delay by blood bank (aka 2.5 hour delay) they started counting the cells and found 1 in about 200,000. So that wasn't too bad. Emmy looked ok on the strip. She had one variable (dip in heart rate) but only that one so I was able to go home....at 7pm. So my day consisted of being put on the monitor at the office at 1045 and coming off of it at 645. Gotta love it. I go back on Monday for another NST, ultrasound and office visit (with Dr Young, who sent me to MP today). We'll see what happens.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A little extra

So yesterday's appointment was really good. I'm still not dilated, my fetal fibrinectin was negative, and I finally had no blood in my urine. So things are looking pretty good. Still contracting but since I'm not dilated, its not a worry yet. The baby still isn't reactive on the NST but she's still a little young to have a great strip. So the verdict.....I can add some activity to my day. I'm not on strict, strict bedrest anymore. I can't over-do it but I can try to do a little more each day. No work though. I think they want to see if I can actually tolerate increased activity. We'll see if bleeding starts again, if contractions intensify, and if I have any cervical changes. I think its a great idea...see what I can and cannot tolerate. We'll get a better idea of how to handle the next few weeks. We're still aiming for 32 weeks and then making a new plan for the next few weeks.

So I'm excited to go to Shandie's baby shower tomorrow. I left so abruptly from work so it will be nice to see all the girls.

However, I'm miserable right now. Horrible back pain, more contractions and more intense ones at that, and generally uncomfortable, but no bleeding (definately a good thing). I sat on the floor for Noah's speech session yesterday...bad idea. I made my own lunch today (exciting feat....haven't done that in 2 weeks), took a shower, and went with Mom and Noah to get Noah's haircut. So needless to say, I'm uncomfortable and miserable. It will be interesting to see what happens on Friday at my appointment. I think I'm going to tell them that I feel a lot better being on bedrest. I'm not supposed to see a doctor but we might end up having the doctor in the clinic peek her head in to talk things over. Who knows. If anything, I'm having another ultrasound and visit on Monday so we'll definately know then if these contractions are doing any damage yet.

Oh and the Rays are up 7-1 on the Phillies!!! My boy Jason Bartlett had a big hit, scored 2 on it, and then ended up getting a run on a fabulous Gabe Gross liner down the first base line.

~JRC & EPC~

Monday, June 22, 2009

Nothing exciting

Nothing really exciting to report. I go to the doctor tomorrow so we'll see whats up then.

Here's what I've been up to so far:

Books read:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (again)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (again)
Fowl Play by Janet Evanovich
Grand Finale by Janet Evanovich

Now I'm starting the Sookie Stackhouse series...the TrueBlood books. John's read them all and I heard they're pretty good. Plus the show is AMAZING.

Movies I've watched:
Juno
Wedding Planner
Wedding Date
License to Wed (it was a wedding themed day on HBO)
The American President
Twilight (and I'm going to watch it again tonight)
Knocked Up (only one of the funniest movies ever....we watch it whenever its on)
The Dark Knight
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

I'm leading a boring life. Although Mom and I did go through all of Noah's baby clothes. I can't believe how many outfits that kid had when he was a baby. Some still had tags on them.

I'll update with tomorrow's excitement.

~JRC and EPC~

Friday, June 19, 2009

I was a rebel today

Went to the doctors for monitoring. Emmy looked pretty good on the strip. She had a few little variables (fluctuations in heart rate) but the doctor was ok with it today. She decided that I need to have bi-weekly NST from now until at least 32 weeks. So we're spending the beginning of the week and the end of the week at the office. They are going to be on a true first name basis with me.

No bleeding so we were able to get my fetal fibrinectin test. We'll have the result of that by my appointment on Tuesday. She also informed me that I have a bacterial infection, kinda like a yeast infection. So I'm on 7 days worth of antibiotics. To top it off, this infection is known to cause pre-term labor. Awesome. Just another thing to add to my risk factors. If I carry this baby to term, it will truly be a miracle.

She did mention that we are pretty much out of the woods for the baby to develop cerebral palsy if I had to deliver her right now. Thats a huge weight off my shoulders. Thats one of the huge complications of prematurity that I was concerned about. But its nice to know we're looking good from that aspect.

On to more fun stuff....I was a rebel and walked around Walgreens for about 10 minutes while waiting for my prescription to be filled. It was nice to be able to stretch my legs and walk a bit but after being on bedrest for a week straight, my body was not used to walking. I was glad to sit down afterwards.

Now its Rays time (aka Jason Bartlett time!!!)

~JRC and EPC~

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Picture update

Here's Emmy's pic from Monday. She's 29 weeks, 2 days. She's going to be the most photographed baby before she's born at the rate we're going. Kelly, the US tech, gives me pics everytime she scans me. I'm having weekly ultrasounds so we'll see how many pics I end up with by the time Emmy arrives.


So its been forever since I posted a belly pic....here it is. I'm 29 weeks, 5 days. We took it after my daily luxury, a 15 minute shower. Its the most time I spend vertical a day.





Tomorrow is the big appointment. Hopefully we'll be able to do the fetal fibrinectin test to see if I might deliver in 2 weeks. No ultrasound tomorrow, just NST. So I think we'll start finishing Emmy's room next week. Mom picked up some of the final touches for it today. And I guess I'll be directing the decorating while everyone else is actually working. I'm over this bedrest thing. I survived a week of it so far.
I had a pretty good day today. Hope it continues tomorrow!
~JRC and EPC~




Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Bartlett's back!!!

Jason Bartlett is back!!! He's my boyfriend on the Rays and has been on the DL and subsequently negatively affecting my fantasy team. But its nice to finally have him back in the lineup.

Is it possible for your muscles to go into complete shock after only 4 days??? All of my joints and muscles hurt already. I'm a little more crampy today but I really think just sitting down all day long has something to do with it.

And isn't it sad that the highlight of my day is when I can take a shower?!? 15 minutes of standing. Its amazing all of the things that I took for granted before this happened.

~JRC and EPC~

Monday, June 15, 2009

The Plan is:

I'm on bedrest until the baby is born. They couldn't find the abruption again on the US but I'm definately having one. I'm still spotting (bummed out by that last night since it meant I couldn't have my fetal fibronectin test today) and I'm definately having "uterine activity" aka contractions but I'm not dilating. After being at the dr's office for 4 hours, this is what we've come up with.....

Its official bedrest, meaning I can go from the bed to the couch, I walk to the bathroom then come back, I can take a short shower every day and sometimes make a sandwich. Let me tell you how excited I am about that. However, she did say if I'm not bleeding, not contracting, and doing ok, I can go to church. She said there was a chance I could go back to work if the FFP (fetal fibronectin protein) was negative and I made it to 31 weeks. Then she remembered I was a nurse and said no way. She knows how well we nurses take care of ourselves during our 12 hour shifts. I used to wish to get called off of work and now I'm totally bummed I can't go. But at least I'm at home right now and not in the hospital.

The baby looks great on ultrasound (or biophysical profile, aka BPP). She's moving like crazy (possibly because of the contractions) but moving nonetheless. They caught 30 seconds of breathing which was nice to see. I do have a little extra amniotic fluid so I'm going to do some research to see if polyhydramnios could have any connection to abruption. Although on the NST (non stress test: the monitoring they do), she's not really reacting too great. They like to see a drop in heart rate then an immediate increase after movement and she's kinda hanging steady. But since she's so little still, its not a concern.

So here's what's in store for me. This abruption is a serious deal. Right now its a small partial separtation or chronic abruption. But there is a chance that it can continue to separate and cause serious problems....aka severe hemorrhage. So it has me freaked out a little but I'm trying not to focus on it. She also mentioned possibly doing an oral tocolytic (med to stop contractions) even though the OB community is trying to move away from using them (supposedly they don't work too well) and they are even throwing around the idea of starting steroids to start prepping the baby for the world. I'm not excited about that because it makes it seem like they think I'm probably going into labor soon. So its pretty nerve wracking. I'm on Vistaril to try to stop some of the cramping (and I'm a big wuss...I couldn't tolerate 50mg and had to ask for 25mg. I don't know how our kiddos take a full dose without falling asleep for 12 hours). I have to go back on Friday for NST and a visit and hopefully I'll have no bleeding in the meantime so I can have the FFP. Then its weekly NST, BPP, and visits. Its going to be a very long 11 weeks (if I can keep her in that long). I'm just an interesting case and they really don't know what to do with me. So its weekly visits, bed rest, and fingers/toes crossed.

~JRC and EPC~

Sunday, June 14, 2009

So much to tell....

So let me catch everyone up really quickly. We finally bought our house. We closed on it May 22nd (John's birthday) after holding the title company/real estate office hostage (thats for another day). We did a complete renovation in like 1.5 weeks and it looks amazing. I can't thank my dad and Tim for everything they did. We moved in, started to unpack, we're getting used to the idea that this is our home. We've kinda hit a plateau in unpacking and decorating though.

Baby news. Its a girl! Her name is Emily Paige...Emmy for short. Or if you're Noah, her name is Bob. I'm 29 weeks and up until last week, things were going smoothly. Ok that should catch everyone up to 4 days ago.

On Thursday (June 11) I woke up at 5:40 am and started getting ready for work. I noticed I had some bleeding and abdominal cramping but nothing too bad so I decided to go to work and wait until the OB's office opened at 8:30. When I got to work, I was cramping pretty bad and was still spotting. They sent me home (I tried to stay until I could talk to the OB but that was shot down big time). I should actually thank Jean and all of the night shift girlies for being so forceful. I called the on-call doc and she said to make an appointment. I got one for 10:20. Mom took me and I was definately having some bleeding but I had not dilated....good sign. Dr Dadisman put me on the monitors for a while to see if she could catch any contractions. Well I had about 3 and there was something else on the strip that caused her to contact the on-call doc to figure out a game plan. I was sent to Morton Plant Hospital to continue being monitored. Well I was planning on it being a quick visit. At 3pm, the nurse comes in and wanted to draw my blood for a test to check if there were any fetal blood cells mixed with mine. I was also contracting every 2-3 minutes (nothing big, I didn't even feel most of them). Then she said the doctor wanted to come and see me when she was done at the office (5pm). So I was stuck there. Mind you....I haven't been able to eat since breakfast that day and the 2 packs of graham crackers they gave me to try to wake the baby up. So Dr Ritter came, checked me out...I was still not dilated. Because I wasn't dilating and wasn't feeling too many of the contractions, if the test came back negative I could go home on strict bedrest until Monday when she wanted me back in clinic. If it was positive then I would be admitted overnight to run more tests. And of course, it was positive. The blood bank called when they had found 3 fetal cells and they were still counting. So I got to spend the night in a L&D room, had an ultrasound, was on the monitor every 8 hours, and finally got to eat. The next morning, Dr Fosnot came in and said I could go home. I had a probable abruption (placental separation from the uterine wall) although we couldn't see it on the ultrasound. So I was sent home on strict bedrest (I could take a shower, walk to the bathroom, and I could stand for no more than 15 minutes) and I have to go back to the doctor tomorrow for more monitoring, ultrasounds and appointment.

So I've been going insane just sitting around. I can't play with Noah and I don't think he understands why Mommy can't get off the chair. Its breaking my heart. Not to mention that I'm bored out of my mind and my butt hurts so much from sitting. I hadn't had any spotting since Thursday night but at 5pm today, I was blessed with spotting. So now I don't know what the plan will be. I'm just praying I'm not admitted for the rest of my pregnancy. Keep your fingers crossed.

I'll be posting more frequently because I'm bored so this is my way of venting.

~JRC and EPC~

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Update time

I'm sixteen weeks on Saturday. I had my appointment today and everything looks good! The baby cooperated very well and let us find the heartbeat right away. The midwife said its got to be a girl since it cooperated so well. We have our 20 week ultrasound scheduled for April 9th! I can't wait to see what's growing in my belly.

House stuff is moving well. The survey was done yesterday so we're running to the house later today to check out the official property lines. Hopefully we're all set and ready for closing day on the 31st.

Other than that, there's nothing too exciting to report.

~JRC and baby~

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

And the verdict is.....

YES!!!! The offer we placed last night was accepted! Now its inspections, appraisals, surveys, and closings!!! If all goes well, we'll close on March 31st and become residents of the City of Seminole!!!

A much needed update

I survived my first trimester without much problem. I had the occasional dry heaves and nausea but thats it. I thank God every day that I'm not having the same pregnancy I did with Noah. I actually enjoy eating and almost enjoy being pregnant this time around. We'll find out if its a girl or boy in April, so not much longer to wait.

We placed an offer on an amazing home last night. Our realtor, Vivian, is doing an amazing job with us. They have to get back to us by 5pm tonight to let us know what they think. Vivian told their realtor that we didn't want to counter, this was a great offer, and that she needed to make her client come down in price since she got us to increase our offer (well I decided to offer more). So if all goes well, we'll close on March 31st.

I need everyone to keep a family in their prayers. A girl I work with has spent the past 3 weeks admitted to St Joes Womens Hospital having difficulties with her pregnancy. On Monday, they had to deliver the baby at 24 weeks. He's in the NICU and has a very long road ahead of him. Please keep the baby, she and her husband in your prayers please.

~JRC and baby~

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Its a No

So the bank accepted another offer on the house. So its back to the drawing board. We're checking out another house on Friday. I'll keep you posted.

~JRC and baby~

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Waiting to hear

We placed an offer on the house. So now we're just waiting patiently to see if the bank likes it. I'm so anxious about it. I am so in love with this house. I am already picturing our life there. Pool parties for the kids, hosting family gatherings, planting our family roots. To say that I won't be devastated if we don't get it is an understatement. So we'll see. They have until Monday to get back to us (I think.)

Noah's on this new kick of staying up late or waking up early. He had been getting up at 5 am for a few days but last night he didn't go to bed until 3 am. He sobbed from 11-3am. I just can't handle this. We'll see if he nips this one in the bud.

I'm doing really well with this pregnancy. I'm exhausted, of course but I'm not as sick as I was with Noah. I'm able to eat pretty much anything. I get nauseated every once and a while but its tolerable. I think my belly stopped growing, which is nice. I'm not ready to look really pregnant yet so the fact that I'm in a standstill is cool. I go back to the doctor on the 11th to hear the heartbeat!!! And according to the Chinese Gender Chart, I'm having a girl!!! Now its only 90% accurate but it was dead on with Noah. That would completely excite me because I've already decorated the nursery in my head. But don't get me wrong...I'd love another boy too. There's something so adorable about little boys. But a girl would be AWESOME!!!

John starts a new job on Monday. No more WaMu stress. He's working with United Healthcare doing something with student insurance policies. Shannon loves it there so it has to be a great place. I'm excited that he'll be at a place that isn't so stressful and where he isn't nervous about being fired every week.

I'll post belly pics soon. We've sorta slacked in that department.

~JRC and baby~

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Final Word

John and I had our first official OBGYN appointment today. After a week full of cramping and abdominal pain, they sent me for an ultrasound just to check things out. We found out that we have 1 (and only 1) little baby growing up inside me. The baby measured smaller than we figured. Since ultrasounds this early in pregnancy are the most accurate in regards to dates, we've changed our dates. So instead of being a little over 8 weeks (by dates) we're officially 7 weeks 5 days (by measurements). I'm due August 29th. The midwife we saw today (who is a spitting image of Dr French) told me my uterus knows what its doing and thats why I'm already showing and I'm cramping. She made us feel really comfortable. John was the first to say he liked her, and he's a hard one to please. So we're taking it one day at a time and praying for a girl.

Noah's doing really well with speech. He really likes his therapist. She's noticed a huge increase in his language in one week. Now he's babbling all the time. Sometimes I just want him to stop talking but I know that he needs to keep it up. He'll be a cute little talker once we're all done with this.

On to other news....the house that we've had our eye on for over a year now has finally dropped to a great price. We're checking into all details and hoping to place an offer sometime in the near future. So many amazing changes are on the horizon for our family.

Here's hoping you're having a great week!!!
JRC and baby

Monday, January 5, 2009

Welcome!!!

Welcome to our new blog. I've decided to get with the times and start a blog for our family. This way everyone can keep up with our busy lives. Plus it will give me a chance to blog about my new pregnancy....yes I said pregnancy. John and I are pregnant with our second child!!! We're so excited!!! I think I'm almost 8 weeks at this posting date but I'm really showing so maybe I've miscalculated and got a false negative on a test. All I know is that I'm huge and I'm not throwing up (thank you Jesus!!!!). I'll keep you posted on all things baby as the next few months go by.

Noah turns 2 next week. I can't believe that he's so grown up. He is a little boy now. He's also testing Mommy every chance he can. But he does it so cutely. He's still not talking so we start Speech Therapy tomorrow. Ms Barb is coming to play with us tomorrow morning. Hopefully Noah will really take to her and we'll start to see an improvement in his speech.
Well its off to play with Noah and our dogs (yes dogs....we just adopted a Retriever/Chow mix puppy....who is sucking my will to live). I'll post pics of Jack soon.
I hope everyone has a blessed day!!!
Jessica (and baby)