Still Pregnant and Growing Every Day!

It's been almost 2 weeks since our stay at "Hotel Fairview" as one of the nurses called it, and baby has stayed content! I am still on a modified bed rest, which allows me to do a few things around the house once in a while, but for the most part, I am staying pretty quiet! We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and there hasn't been much of a change since last week when we were in after our trip to the hospital, so that is promising! As of right now, I will be on bed rest until I am 35 or 36 weeks, and then will be "released" and see what baby wants to do! Phil and I aren't holding our breath that the baby will wait much beyond my release date, but we could be surprised!

I have been keeping myself busy with getting things ready for school, making birth announcements, reading, watching movies, and connecting with people. The nursery is also starting to look more put together, as final shopping trips were made this last week for those essentials when baby comes home. The bags are also packed, just in case!

Time is flying now! Pretty soon, we will officially be a family of three!

All's Well...For Now!

We went to the doctor again this afternoon for a few other tests and found that all is well, for now! The doctor was happy to see things weren't moving along as fast as she thought they were. Since Monday, there weren't any other changes or progressions, so we were happy with that. The modified bedrest also seems to be helping, since the contractions are less frequent (other than when I'm up and active), so I'll be continuing that routine for probably the next 4-5 weeks. I was being a wishful thinker and hoped I would be completely taken off bedrest today, but was not so lucky! What a dreamer, eh?! However, if we're able to keep the contractions at bay by my lying down, then that's what I'll be doing!


From the sounds of it, our doctor doesn't seem to think I will be going full term (another 7.5 weeks) but didn't think we'd be at risk for delivering in the next couple of weeks either, as long as I take it easy, which was good to hear. She said another 2 weeks would be great, but 4 would be better, so we're making that our mark! However, she also commented that I could be completely fooled and go until 41 weeks too and really be shown God's humorous side! Whatever will be, will be, but Phil and I are going to do all we can so our little one enjoys a few more warm weeks where he or she is currently residing!


Because of these changes, other adaptations in life have had to be made, but it's never so bad that it couldn't be worse! (A wise man (my grandpa) once said that....) I now have had to cancel my participation in some things that were planned for the upcoming weeks, like dance camp, but I know that nothing is worth the health of our baby. There will be other years! It should also help stress levels now that grad school ended today! We made it!!!! Now it's on to finalizing things for the school year so I can rest easy on that front as well, in case this little one decides to come sooner, rather than later.


If you have any good books or movies, let me know! I'm coming up with a list of fun things to do as I rest!

Baby Update

Just a short update for you on the last few days and events. Over the last few weeks, I have been having a few Braxton Hicks contractions here and there, but nothing major, so I didn't pay attention to them and the doctor didn't seem worried. However, starting Saturday afternoon and evening, into Sunday, the contractions started to become more regular and longer. By Sunday night they were pretty long (or so I thought) and a little more to the painful side. I thought I just needed to lie down though, so I did that and hoped all would be fine. Well, we ended up at the hospital Monday afternoon and evening when I called into the doctor and "failed" the questions they asked me. After being monitered for the afternoon and evening, the baby was doing well, which we were all pleased with. However, I was having contractions every 4-6 minutes, and they were coming and going (unlike I originally thought) but they weren't going down enough to feel like it was gone before the next one started (hence why I thought they were 5-20 min long!). So, needless to say, I'm now on a modified bedrest until Thursday afternoon when we're having more tests done. Depending on what they find then, I may be put on full bedrest with medication for the next 4 weeks in hopes the contractions don't go into full labor. Hopefully I will be able to stay on modified bedrest and just lie down when I feel the contractions coming on, but based on the last 4 days, I'm starting to doubt that. However, whatever we need to do to wait awhile to meet the little one, we are both willing to do. I just hope and pray that means I can do whatever needs to be done from home!! We'll update with more news later this week. Until then, I'm going to try to keep Cleatus in his or her warm home! :)

Phil's Birthday Fun!

Phil is now 30 years old!!! He was dreading it and hoping we didn't have a party, but it came and went and he survived!!! The weekend of his birthday we went up north to see his relatives from Colorado that were in town. He enjoyed a nice, quiet weekend of fishing and hanging out and thought his birthday (June 22) had passed without too much commotion. He was able to enjoy a very yummy baseball birthday cake (which wasn't as creative as the fire truck last year, but when you're away from home, you can only be so creative!!!).

(Yes, there is only a "3" candle on the cake.
I told him the "0" didn't mean anything, so it didn't need to be on the cake!)

Well, the following weekend (June 28) I suggested we go out to dinner after church and have a "date" which Phil agreed to. Little did he know it was a "date" with 12 other people! Phil was definitely surprised when we showed up at Champs and had a large table of family and friends there to greet him! He is so wise and mature now..... :)

Check out those big bellies!!

We had another doctor's appointment on Thursday and everything is going well. I'm starting to have more contractions, but am able to control them by lying down and drinking extra water. Baby is head-down at this point, but there is still plenty of time for him or her to move around! We have our tour of the Birthplace at the U of MN tomorrow, so we'll let you know how that goes! We're getting closer to meeting our new little addition every day and we can't wait!

Passed!!

The dreaded glucose test has come....and gone! Whew! I'm glad that one is over! My mom and I went into the hospital this morning about 7:30 and started the test. My initial results of the first blood draw came back normal, so I had to continue on with the full glucose test. However, they lied to me!!! My doctor said that it would be about three hours from start to finish...well, it ended up being about four instead. Let me tell you, that last hour was hard! Had I anticipated it from the beginning, it wouldn't have been a big deal. However, when they did the bait and switch, I wasn't too happy! The baby was definitely unhappy as well as he or she definitely wanted some food by that time! They said the glucose test was three hours, since once you drink it, they draw your blood at one hour, two hours, and three hours (hence the three hour test, but my doctor had said it would be drawn at 1/2 hr, 1 hr and 2 hrs). However, they do the initial blood draw too and it took about 40 minutes to get those results, and then another 10 - 15 to drink the sickingly sweet, orange pop beverage (that you hope you don't see again based on your very empty stomach!). Anyway, you'll all be happy to hear that I made it through the test and PASSED! I hope I never have to do that one again, although I know there are worse things out there. For someone who is not really a fan of orange pop in the first place, drinking it so fast at 8:30 in the morning, on an empty stomach, was not a treat!

During the test, we were able to go and walk around a bit though, so naturally we headed upstairs to the labor and delivery and postpartum floors. Phil and I have our tour next Saturday, so we'll find out everything then, but it was interesting to see the rooms and how things are laid out. The postpartum floor is very secure, which is great. Before today, I knew that security was high around the babies, but I guess I didn't realize it was to that extent. Each room is locked and needs to have a key to swipe in and the nursery is no longer open for viewing. Once you buzz into that section of the floor, you have to check in as well. I guess I'd rather have it that way though, then not know who is coming and going. Don't worry, you can still come and see us in the hospital!

Have a wonderful weekend!!! I feel a craving for ice cream coming on now that I know I'm safe..... hahaha!!! :)

The Nursery!!

What a busy two weeks!! However, we do have something to show for it...the nursery!! After a lot of hard work painting, stenciling, carpeting, and putting together furniture, we now are closer to being ready to bring our new arrival home and have a place of his or her own! We absolutely love how it is turning out and can't wait to continue to add "finishing touches" on it over the next weeks. Here are some pictures for you!

This is what it looked like when we first moved in...

well, minus the rocking horse, since that was there as a staging tactic when we bought the house.

Gotta love the lavender walls and purple carpet....

It was definitely in need of a change before our baby arrives!
We started with yellow walls....

Then added some stars....

Then put in the new carpet and furniture and wallah!!! NURSERY!!!

Besides keeping busy with the nursery, we are now half way though grad school for the summer, and are looking forward to three weeks from now! It will be a great day when we drive away from St. Thomas on July 17th! Tutoring is going well for me and Phil is also enjoying being a roofing inspector again this summer, especially on the cool days!

I had another doctor's appointment this past Friday and everything went well as far as my health and the baby's. I measured right on for size again, so that was great. However, I did fail my glucose test, so I now get to take part in the three hour test on Wednesday morning. No food from Tuesday night on will not be fun, but it is important that we figure out if I have gestational diabetes. If so, I should be able to control it through my diet, since my numbers of the initial test were not far off. My doctor didn't seem to be worried though, as many fail the first test and don't actually have gestational diabetes. Whatever will be, will be! I now start my two week visits for the month of July and then we're on to every week for the month of Aug. Time will fly until this little one arrives!

Enjoy your long weekend over the 4th!! We will update again soon!

The Third Trimester is HERE!

Wow, time flies when you're having fun! Well, the school year ended successfully and grad school has started. We're now almost two weeks into our six weeks of class, so we are off and running! The classes seem to be intriguing, so that's all we can ask for, especially after we've had some real winners leading up to this!

This past weekend, Mike and Jeanna flew home for our family "vacation" weekend. We decided to stay in town and make it more on the inexpensive end, since they are preparing for a wedding, we have the baby on the way soon, and Stephen just bought a house a couple of weeks ago. We had a GREAT time! After 18 holes of mini-golf (which I won because I'm fantastic... especially with my growing belly!), dress shopping at David's Bridal with a stop at Babies R Us (it's right next door!) for the ladies and Best Buy and Sports Authority for the guys, burgers at the Convention Grill, the Como Zoo and Conservatory, grilling at my mom and dad's, moving my brother into his house, and just hanging out until the wee hours of the night/morning, we are all trying to catch up on sleep now! It was a wonderful weekend! Cleatus the Fetus also enjoyed the festivities. He or she was very active at times, and other times, was taking the nap that we all wished we were taking! I no longer have much of a belly button, so that was a fun topic over the weekend as well. Everyone was able to watch my belly move and feel the kicks so that was fun since the next time we are all together in two months, I will be close to delivering!

Here is a picture of Phil and I at the Como Zoo and Conservatory. :-)

I have definitely grown over the last few weeks! When I had my last OB appointment, almost a month ago now, everything was right on track. My next appointment to see the doctor again is next Friday and will then start my 2 week visits for the next month and finish with one week visits. Pretty soon our new little one will arrive and we can't wait!

Our office was moved downstairs a couple of weeks ago, so the nursery is now ready to be done! Tomorrow night we will be painting it with the help of my parents (since I'm banned by everyone from getting on or near a ladder, as well as stretching to paint. I am told I am to be the observer from a chair with a beverage (probably water) in hand!). The walls will be a pale yellow and I will then be stenciling stars around the middle of the wall next week. Our theme is Goodnight Star from Babies R Us if you want to check it out! I can't wait until it's done! We will be sure to post pictures during the process for everyone to see!

Overall, my pregnancy is going really well! I obviously have nothing to compare it to, but have felt great throughout everything. However, I am definitely starting to notice how big I'm getting and can feel myself getting worn out faster, but I just try to counter act that with a little quiet time. Now that it's summer and I have a lighter schedule with only a little tutoring and grad school, it lends itself better to being able to slow down when I need to. I have had a few of the Braxton - Hicks contractions over the last week, but nothing to really speak of - only when I've been active and need to slow down or hydrate a little extra. Phil and I are looking foward to our tour of the hospital and Birthplace in a few weeks as well.

Enjoy the sun and summer! We will update again soon with pictures of the nursery...and ME!