Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Another turn in this awesome yet crazy pregnancy

What a lovely day yesterday was. We went down to St. Pete for my appointment with Dr. Raimer (specialist at Bayfront) for an ultrasound. They did baby anatomy again, which was a bonus, since we already had that done back at 20 weeks or so. Baby has big feet, lots of hair and chubby cheeks and looked perfect! Baby weighs 7 lb 9 oz give or take over a pound, so yah, not too accurate. My placenta was previously 1.5 cm from my cervix; now it is over 4 cm at the lowest point from my cervix. So this means I am officially off bed rest, off the meds to stop contractions and we can aim for a vaginal delivery!!!! We are extremely happy. It feels very weird to not be stuck in bed and have all this freedom. I don't quite know what to do with myself and feel a little lost. When we got home from the appointment, I emptied the dishwasher and was exhausted and had to rest! I ate at the dinner table and we even walked Allie to our pond to feed the ducks. There are lots of little baby ones there. Too cute. We then went to Fritzie Freeze for ice cream cones to celebrate and also to mark my last day of my REALLY bad sweets addiction. I gotta stop it! I have had contractions since not being on the meds already, Braxton Hicks. If I use the restroom or change position, they seem to dissipate. We still had dinner brought to us by a church friend, so that was nice. Aunt Michelle and Uncle Dave came over to see the belly and the nursery. They argued over the size. Uncle thinks I'm huge, aunt no so much. It was entertaining. God is amazing and what a testimony!!!!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Bad Mommy Moment (already!)

I was thinking further about the very superficial things I said in my post yesterday and also my comment to Becca. I just had one of those "a-ha" moments. I'm sitting here on the computer, had navigated from my blog and was reading Becca's, and baby started shifting and swimming around when I realized something. This precious little thing that Sean and I made with God, that is so innocent and just wants love and for us to take care of him/her, completely reliant on me right now, which will continue once born, who cares what BB looks like. How could I be so ugly like that? God has blessed us with a baby!!!!!! What more could we ask for? Especially after all we have been through and to be where we are now, I should only be thankful. So many couples out there have tragic things happen to them and their babies both unborn and born, and some aren't even able to get pregnant. I know I am human and those silly thoughts are going to pop into my crazy head, but I went a little far. I feel as if I need to apologize to my poor baby. I think I just made my first mistake as a mother. Well, I guess I have made a few mistakes while being prego, but why go there.....I stressed too much. That's not me anymore. I have always vowed that this is the place where I can totally be uninhibited and real, so I don't regret the things I said. Instead, through writing about it, I learned a valuable lesson.

To see exactly what I mean about families having to endure such hardships with their kids, go to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/. This mama is so strong. She has a little boy that is 4 months old with heart problems that has spent most of his little life in the hospital. She was told while she was still pregnant that her baby was going to die because of his heart and probably would not even survive in the womb. I can't imagine. She is an extremely courageous Christian woman and some of the stories and pics of this little miracle are both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Thousands of people are following this story. There was even a "Pray for baby Stellan" message on the scoreboard during a Red Sox game!!

So really, an ugly baby?????? Not a concern of mine.

I think we may have a future rocker on our hands. I have been uploading ALL (I mean probably 100s) of songs from our CDs onto our iPod and baby has been thoroughly enjoying listening to the music. Peanut was so active all day yesterday. It was totally cute!

Monday, April 27, 2009

This mystery in my womb

I feel nauseous and low on energy today. Blah!

So, I can't stop thinking about baby. I think about what BB is going to look like and I know this is totally awful to say (hopefully I'm not the first mother to think this), but I wonder if our baby is going to be cute or ugly. I of course think about baby being healthy, no problems physically and mentally, all 10 fingers and toes. Morbid and scary, and awful, but I have thought what if we lost the baby. It just makes my heart skip a beat and I feel all panicky. I think about if I will deliver normally and if so what that will be like or if I will have a C-section and what that is like. How I will be when we bring the baby home? What type of personality will BB have? Will it be a boy or girl? Will peanut be a chill baby or fussy and colicky? How will I feel and deal with a new life changing situation? How will Sean be? So many questions and no answers. It's really exciting and scary at the same time. I gave my worries to God last night, but then I still want to write about it today. OK, after this, for real, it's going to Him.

Our house is clean and I feel much better for that! Thanks to my grandma for having her house cleaner come yesterday!

Maybe eating will make me feel better......

Sunday, April 26, 2009

On a Sunday

Marley & Me is the best movie! It had me and Sean in tears, like lots! It was so good, so sad, so good! I definitely recommend it.

Sean ended up getting home around 1 or so. Dad came by with food grandma had made us. We also got more baby gifts of bibs and blankets and burp clothes. All organic. Baby is officially green!

Cheryl, my grandma's house cleaner, is coming over in about 1/2 an hour to clean our house. I am really excited about that because it is pretty dirty around here.

We found out Medicaid did not approve us. :(

Me and baby are great. Sean is great. We are excited. :)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Blog

OK, I FINALLY updated the pics on the sidebar. I had, had the other ones on there for over a year. How boring is that?! I will try to be better. Any way, check out the new ones and scroll all the way down. Enjoy!

It's started out pretty fantastic-o

Good morning! It's beautiful here. Sean is working. I am enjoying a quiet time with the lap top, morning news, an active baby and a sleeping pup. I think Sean works til 12 today.

We got our bunny mobile yesterday. It looks awfully cute. We turned it on (it plays music and rotates) and Allie was barking at it. It was funny. We also got a box of goodies from our friend's daughter. It was filled with bottles, a drying rack, nipples, caps, a couple of things that I don't know what they are, some toys, a bottle warmer and I think that's it.

Aimee visited yesterday. The girls from work got us more diapers. :)

I guess that's about it. Our night flew by. Allie had her spa evening, which she hates, we watched some movies and just hung out.

While Sean was giving me my bird bath, he started laughing at the size of my belly (of course). So, I asked him "Did you think I would get this big?" and bless his heart, he almost made me cry, he said "Not at 30 weeks". That is one of the few times he has expressed how scared he was for our little baby. I mean I know he was, but you know guys and their lack of communicating emotions sometimes. He, too, was scared we would never even get to 31 weeks and here we are at 37 with a ginormous belly! So, I said, "Well before everything happened did you think I would be this big?" He said he had hoped so. What a husband, even if it was a lie! ha!

Oh, and I am convinced that my pedicures monthly are DEFINITELY not a waste of money. My poor feet look horrible. All dry and cracked and flaky. Great image I know. It can't be from anything else, but my lack of pedis, because I sit in bed all day with socks on and lotion them up nightly. I can't wait to visit my nail place!

I think I am going to try to update my blog pics.

Friday, April 24, 2009

U know what they say about a dirty house before bringing home baby?

You know what I would absolutely love to do right now? Clean and organize! I can't think of anything better. OK, maybe I lie. Suntanning on a beach in Hawaii sounds a little more appealing, but cleaning comes in a close second. I am sure it's the so-called "nesting phase" of wanting to get everything done before BB arrives. If I were allowed I would definitely go through each room in this house and clean and organize everything from top to bottom, inside and out, and I would love it. It doesn't help that my house is NOT organized like it usually is and it is NOT clean like it normally is. Nor does it help that I have OCD and I am a neat freak and I crave perfection. Well, I guess I will just have to settle with looking at disarray and dust. Probably will need to get used to it any way - doesn't sound like cleaning will be a top priority when Peanut does get here. I will so rather be with our baby!

We had an OB appointment today. Pretty routine. Checked urine, blood pressure, weight, fundal height and baby's heartbeat. All was great. Still decided not to check for chlamydia or gonorrhea b/c of risk of bleeding. It was checked in Sept and was neg any way. My cervix was not even checked for dilatation and effacement for the same reason. My midwife said to stay on the contraction stopping meds until Tuesday when I have my u/s appointment. She also gave me her rule of thumb for when to call about being in labor ~ contractions every 5 minutes for a minute straight for an hour straight. The contractions have moved a lot already. Some are still in my upper belly, but a lot of them are lower. I know this is supposed to happen. They haven't yet effected my back or legs yet, nor are they as frequent or consistent as above. They are a bit more painful than a few weeks ago though. We also got a whole bunch of goodies from the OB. Another diaper bag, formula, breast pads, diaper cream, ice packs and an insulated bottle tote, diaper changing mat, paci. All stuff we had, but doesn't hurt to have more. Actually, we did not have any formula, so I guess it's good to have on hand, just in case.

I went into the doc's wearing comfy pants (kinda like PJ's) and a T shirt and Sean was like "See I told you at the beginning of the pregnancy that by the end you would be wearing pajamas in public, but you didn't believe me". I find this unfair. I don't have hardly a thing that will fit me anymore thank you very much. Plus, what's the point? I come back home to get right back in bed. Sheesh!

So, it was nice to spend most of the morning with my hubby. I even sat downstairs for a bit. Woo-hoo! He showed me our stroller. It's so nice. Judy brought me over a chicken philly and fries and now I am waiting for Kari and Aimee to come and see me. :O)

Is it Friday? I guess it is. Well, happy Friday. It's funny how it doesn't make a bit of difference to me right now.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

37 weeks!!!!!!

Woo-hoo! I am 37 weeks today! Full-term baby! How exciting is that!? Baby is all snuggled in my ribs today. Ouchies!!! I was feeling pretty nauseous and head-achy last night, but thankfully sleeping helped and it was gone this morning.

Kathy brought us over our Bunny Meadow lamp. It looks gorgeous. Kari brought us over more diapers and hangers, so I was super excited to hang the rest of the 0-3's and get them hung. She also got us a musical light up rain forest thing-a-ma-bob for the crib that is supposed to soothe baby. We likey! We got more of the Bunny Meadow crib sheets, too. I really have to say I am very pleased with the theme and bedding we picked! :)

We packed our hospital bags last night and are all ready to go, whenever that day may be. We even got baby's homecoming outfits together. We picked a boy outfit and a girl outfit. Thanks Becca cuz we are using the little pink outfit you sent us if it is a girl, that is!

My fingers are sore from typing and mouse clicking so much today. I am getting a gajillion addresses together for announcements and thank-you's. BIG task! I planned on waiting until after BB was here, but figured I better get a head start on it since I am on bed rest now and needed a ton of addresses. Sean asked me to look into announcements today - still gotta do that.

Oh! So my grandma called me today and she called me the Octomom because of my big belly. I LOL'ed, but then I realized that certainly was not a compliment! She is silly. She said it was good cuz that means baby is healthy. Octomom! WOW!

Okay,lunch is here - yum Firehouse subs! I'm starved!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day!!

It's crazy to think my C-section was scheduled for arounds 8 a.m. this morning! It's 10:25 and by now we probably would have met our precious little baby and known the all important boy or girl answer! Of course there is a little part of me that would have been just fine with meeting our child today, but I know that baby still in my tummy is way better and I get more time to enjoy being pregnant and God has us right where he wants us. I wonder where He has us going next????? I'm very curious to see what the u/s will show next Tuesday. I also know that we have to take one day at a time, we could have a baby today any way, we just never know, only He does.

I am starting to feel nauseous again like the first trimester. It makes it hard to eat much, well for that reason and the fact I have no room for my food to go! Faithlynn brought us dinner and me breakfast this morning. She is such an amazing cook!

We watched 7 Pounds last night. Interesting movie. I think we liked it.

We got some incredible news. It seems some people at church want to pay some of our bills. Sean and I don't even know what to think or say about it. We feel so blessed. We don't know much else about it or who it is, but we are just amazed. It's not like us to hand over some of our bills, but Pastor Trail said that if God has impressed upon their hearts to help us like that, then we don't have a place to stop God from working within them. He is right. My biggest hope is that Sean and I can help others the way we have been helped.

Well, we are about out of cell phone minutes - ahhhh!!!!! - How am I gonna go until May 7th without talking on the phone (unless it's the free nights and weekends). What will I do with myself????

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

It's All About the Benjamins

My appeal went through with school! I had to withdraw, but it was way after the refund drop date, so we appealed that, asking for money back b/c of the extenuating circumstances. So, since they approved it, we will be get $360 back. It's dad's money, but he said to just keep it and apply it to the next classes I register for.

We have started to get a good amount of hospital bills in. So, we called our insurance agent and he guided us in what we need to do. Sean got on United's site today to look at my account and sheesh I'm (and munchkin) expensive! It's at about $100,000 right now! We owe about $2,000. Thank the Lord we have insurance! It's crazy what some of the charges are for - $500 every time I checked into the hospital, about $350 every day the specialists came in to talk to me for 5 minutes or less, $1,000 for 2 ambulance rides, etc. So, $2,000 out of pocket is way better than $100,000, but we are still hoping we can get some help. I have applied for Medicaid and am awaiting to hear if they accepted me. Also, we heard from Daniel and Jen that we can call the contributions department at the hospital and sometimes they will take off the debt you owe them. We are actually relieved to see how much was covered, it makes $2,000 not seem so bad. And they did cover me the whole time I was here, which is great, since there was some issue with them saying they wouldn't cover from April 2nd on because they felt I was well enough to go home.

Mama got us the bunny mobile - thanks mom!!! xoxoxo Kathy got us the lamp, so yay for that!

Monday, April 20, 2009

BB's Nursery

Our little BB is almost to the end of his/her time line on my blog! So amazing! It's crazy to think I am close to the end.

It has been a very relaxing morning. Looks like rain any moment. Joy and her boys came to visit, Kari should be here any moment and Faithlynn is bringing lunch. Pastor Trail went deep sea fishing and she cooked up some of the fish he caught and is bringing that to me. Should be tasty.

Sean and I had a delightful weekend. Very relaxing. Sean got my car detailed so my ride is all clean for baby, but of course it looks like rain today. At least the inside is clean. We organized the nursery. I camped out in there and directed Sean (with his input, of course) as to where I wanted things. Nursery is done now. It looks good! I still want the Bunny Meadow border, lamp and mobile, but other than that there isn't too much left. We still need more hangers (that's why there are still clothes on the floor). We decided to hang all the 0-3's and the rest of the clothes we put in drawers, along with blankets, burp clothes, receiving blankets, towels, wash clothes, socks, bibs, hats, etc. The changing table is organized now too. We put baby care in one basket and burp cloths and receiving blankets in the other one. We put diapers in the diaper stacker. Got all the trash out of there and everything that was all over the floor. Organized the rest of the closet, etc. I am very pleased. We could not have done it without the help of all of our friends. They made it very easy to finish and we appreciate all they did. It was a lot of work. The bouncy chair is in the nursery and of course the bassinet is in our room. The swing and pack and play are downstairs, along with a diaper caddy, which will probably help sooo much. I am sure we will rearrange another gajillion times, but for now I am happy.

Other than that, we watched a bunch of movies, read a lot, did puzzles, ate a lot and just enjoyed being together. Good weekend I say.

Here are the pics of our little peanut's nursery. Our little one is starting out good, what with his own room all decorated, 2 beds, own bathroom, lots of stuff, WOW! I stressed so much we wouldn't have anything and now the kid has a bigger wardrobe than I do! And guess what....that's exactly how I want it. We are so grateful, I don't think we have spent any of our own money. God has so taken care of us, as he always does, so why do I always forget and get stressed out when it isn't on my schedule???????? Trust in Him!








Sunday, April 19, 2009

Enjoying R&R

Sean and I have been enjoying our weekend together. He stayed in bed with me most of the day, except to do some housewife chores. We watched Don't Mess with the Zohan, which I DO NOT recommend, and Shrek the Halls. TBS runs movies all day long on the weekend, as well, so we watched Clueless and Housesitter. Kathy came over with drawer dividers, hangers, drawer liners, a rod to hang the valence and a picture for the nursery and then worked on that for a while. The drawers look good! Two other ladies from church came over to give us presents. We got a really cute album that stores greeting cards given to baby and an awesome bath center. We already had one, but this one is WAY better. My dad and grandparents came over last night. Granny wanted to see the nursery. She for sure thinks there is more than one baby in my belly! They were surprised at all the stuff we have for BB and how nice it all is. Can I say thankful one more time?

I had a freak out prego moment yesterday. Sean was putting away laundry and he put his shorts in his sock drawer. I kindly asked him to put them in the drawer below, which is the shorts drawer. He dismissed me and didn't do it. I started to cry (almost) and biotched about why do I spend all this time keeping the house nice and organized if you don't even appreciate it or care??? I probably totally scared him. I think I was taking my frustrations out on him because it is VERY hard for me to rely on everyone else to do things for me. I am so independent. It is hard to ask for stuff. It is hard to sit here and not be able to clean, do laundry, put the nursery together, cook, etc. I'm over it now. I am going to enjoy all this pampering while I can; won't be long til peanut is home and consuming all of my time, energy and attention!

I still am not sleeping very well b/c of bathroom breaks, having to take meds at 3 a.m. and just being uncomfortable. At 3 this morning, alarm went off, took my meds and peed and then realized something. The iron prescribed to me from Bayfront was not at Walgreen's, so Dr. Paolillo gave us a bunch of free samples on Friday, but didn't tell us dosage and frequency. So here we have been still taking two a day like Bayfront had told us, but with a different brand and dose. So I freaked out that I have been overdosing on iron and hurting me and baby. It made it really hard to fall back asleep. Finally I did. Woke up and first thing I did was research it. I think we are OK. Its been quite confusing to be under the care of like 4 different doctors!

On to FB.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Typing the pounds on

I just finished a yummy breakfast(served in bed of course) that Sean just made me. Omelet, toast and grapefruit.

I don't think I have much to talk about today. Joy came over yesterday. Her and Autumn bought us a super nice swing. we also got a bouncer chair and more bath stuff, medicine stuff, hangers, etc. She spent some time here putting all of munchkin's clothes away. What a woman - she has laryngitis and was still over here doing that! I can't believe how stressed I would get because I didn't think we would ever get everything we need for the nursery and look at where we are now!!!!??? We can't even think of too much that we DO need. It's amazing! Thank you immensely!!!!!

Sean is pretty concerned about the lack of weight gain. He made me potato salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, a salad, cornbread and cake last night. Wow, just typing that makes me gain a pound I'm sure! I told him he needs to relax and not be so focused on it! I think things are better this morning, but I know he is still concerned.

We have our whole weekend together and I am thrilled about that!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Back with Dr P!!!

More gifts! Sean's ex girlfriend and her ladies church group sent us lovely gifts. Yah, I know that sounds weird (Sean's ex), but it's not at all. I think she reads this blog, so thanks Christi, we really appreciate it!! And pls thank the other ladies. The gifts were very thoughtful and it was cool cuz there was stuff in there for me too, not just baby, which usually it's all about baby, which of course is fine. :) I know I won't remember everything in there, but there were onsies, book, a water mat, bath time stuff, blankets, paci, sun shade and they gave me chap sticks, Palmer's lotion, journal, parenting book. It was fun to go through and see all the stuff. The little Pooh onsies are adorable.

We signed our re-fi paperwork last night. We will get to save $173 a month. Yippie!

I weighed myself this morning. I'm at 132, started at 114 pre-prego so that's a grand total of 18 pounds.

We went to my original OB today. Wow, it felt like I had run a marathon by the time I left there. All I did was a bit of walking. Scary! If we do get to deliver normally, how will I even have the energy??? Oh, but God will see me through, I know. Any way, the appointment went well. They wanted to do the Group B strep, but I had that done already. They also wanted to test for chlamydia, but we said no, since it is an internal exam. We aren't worried about it b/c I have been tested before and of course b/c me and Sean are faithful, but next week, since I will be 37 weeks, we will probably get the test done. We just didn't want it today b/c of a chance of bleeding. Next week, I am supposed to stop the terb (med to control contractions) since it is OK to have contractions then and the doc said if I do and start to bleed and we need to deliver, then OK, cuz at 37. We will see what happens. So, yah, we will probably do the test next week. We of course got to hear baby's heartbeat. Fundal height was 35, which is a little under. It is supposed to correspond with the # of weeks I'm at so 36. Dr. Paolillo said it looked as if I had lost weight in my fotch. I don't see it. I feel huge. I said I know my tummy is big, and he said well baby is doing his own thing, so I guess maybe a teeny bit of concern that baby is stealing all my nutrients. I eat.....A LOT. And a lot of good healthy stuff, but also bad stuff like snacks and daily chocolate. I really do feel huge. He said to "eat good" and it's like I eat when I am hungry and usually, but not always, stop when I feel full (sometimes I continue to stuff my mouth after I am feeling full). I am not going to worry about it and just eat. I thought for sure I was like 150 #s, what with bed rest for 6 weeks and counting and hospital food and my 3rd tri craving for chocolate.

Allie is still acting strange and not eating well. We figured out why I think. When she saw me leave the bed this morning and function like a normal human being by walking and actually leaving the house, when we got home she was super excited and followed me around, wagging her nub, jumped on my legs when I sat down, just thrilled to see her mama moving around and not looking so ill. But, now I am back in bed and she looks a bit depressed. I think she has resorted to the fact that she will just join me instead of fighting it, as she has been in her bed all morning and she usually doesn't do that.

Sean made me yummy breakfast and now is back at work. We are at weekly doc appointments now, so we will be back next Friday and this Tuesday is the all important u/s to see if my placenta is migrating north (pray not south!)

It's great - 9 months preggers now! :) What a journey!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

It's Thursday - 36 weeks today!!!!

Good morning! Kathy came over to wash all of baby's clothes in Dreft. So this morning I was so excited I couldn't sleep because I got to fold them all and look at them. They are so sweet and little. We have a lot of clothes. It took me an hour to fold them. Most are neutral, some boy, some girl so we have variety.

Sean put our glider together. I like it and it's comfy. I think Sean likes it, but he can't lay back with head support so no napping for him while bonding with baby!

We got great news! We are able to refinance our house. We are currently at 6.5% and can lock in at 5%. That will save us $160- $180 a month on our mortgage payment. We will also get to skip a month while this is being transferred over so no payment for a month, which will be sweet. :)

I called and canceled all of our credit cards now. We got our cashback, paid off all balances and closed them. It is amazing how these companies try so hard to persuade you to keep their card. It was like pulling teeth to get them to close our accounts. If only Dave Ramsey could here the convos I had with these people, although I am sure he wouldn't be that surprised.

Got to see dad a couple of times yesterday, grandma made us dinner last night with a ton of leftovers, Autumn came over and did laundry for us and worked on the nursery, Kari came by today and yesterday to take care of me and Allie, but I still got some good rest in yesterday, nice as always to have the company. I didn't really get any extra time with Sean even though he was off work. He was super busy with dad working on his house, running errands, etc. What a husband!

I am 36 weeks today!!!!!! I wonder if I should weigh myself. I haven't done that since March 5th (the day I went into the hospital). My guess is 135. I started at 110, so that would be 25 pounds. Hmmm, maybe tomorrow. Figure if I'm going to do it, better do it before eating Bfast.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Sunny Day

Yesterday was super busy. I had a ton of visitors - Kari walked Allie and made me lunch, Pastor Trail and Faithlynn came over with a bunch of food and cards from church, Faye and Angele came by to visit and brought over lots of stuff. I got a grooming kit, nursing bras, baby Tupperware, diaper rash cream, baby gowns, bath time stuff, teethers, donuts, Easter chocolate and maybe more?

Sean is off work today and helping dad with the 80 year long remodeling on the house. The glider came in and so they went and picked it up and now it is here waiting for Sean to put it together. Sean LOVES to do that kind of stuff.

I have two doc apps coming up. One on Friday with our original OB and then one next Tuesday with the specialists down at Bayfront (u/s appointment).

Faithlynn brought me breakfast in bed this morning! Our fridge is getting filled with food, which will make it so much easier for Sean. He is a busy bee, taking care of me, working, being a house-husband. Thank Heaven for wonderful husbands and family and friends!!!!!!!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Home Sweet Home

So I am at home now! Whoa how things can change in 24 hours. I got home yesterday (Monday) afternoon. Why? How? Well, I will tell you! The u/s on Sunday showed evidence of a moved placenta, so the docs decided to do a more reliable transvaginal u/s yesterday. It showed that my placenta is 1.5 cm away from my cervix. So, now my placenta is low lying, but not previa. Before it was over the os of my cervix. C section for April 22nd has been canceled. Now, docs would like for me to go to 39 weeks and then have a C section. However, my placenta could still move away from my cervix, so if it does and it goes 2 or more cm away, then I can have a normal delivery. I am on strict bed rest at home. I can get up to potty and that be it. I was very uncomfortable with the fact that I was coming home and leaving the safety of the hospital, but since getting here I feel much better. Of course, I was worried yesterday, which caused a bunch of contractions. I am staying relaxed today. i am confined to the upstairs in our bed (oh how I missed our bed) so Sean got snacks and Bfast and drinks and meds put together bedside. Kari came by and walked Allie and made me a sandwich. I slept horribly last night; up every half an hour. Guess I was used to the hospital. I am also allowed to go back to my original docs and hospital if I so choose.

The weather is crazy today. We have had tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms. We need the rain though because we are running out of water around here and we're on water restrictions.

My friends came over last night to put my nursery together. They did such a great job and I really appreciate it. Sean and I got to baby sit Joel while Joy was doing my nursery with the other girls. Well, more Sean than me! So, things are coming along in baby's room. :O) I did go look once and it looks nice! I wanna go back, but know I really shouldn't. We also got a ton more stuff yesterday - a beautiful bassinet (gonna give the other one that we had back) that is Eddie Bauer, perfect neutral colors and wood and just gorgeous and free. Becca sent us a box of goodies that was much needed and appreciated (clothes, diapers, bottles, breast-feeding stuff, etc). Joy brought over gowns and Tees and onsies and baby meds. Barbie bought us a bunch of clothes and blankies, towels, washcloths, diapers. Probably got more, but can't remember. So grateful! My work friends gave me money and diapers and a book (so sweet!) Things are coming together.

Allie is happy to be home!

Gotta go! Faithlynn and Pastor Trail are here~

Monday, April 13, 2009

Ginormous Mama and Baby!

We had an ultrasound yesterday. Baby weighs 6 lbs 5 oz + or - 17 ounces so really could range anywhere from 5 lb 4 oz up to 7 lb and some oz. Everything looked great on u/s. We got a cute pic of baby's nose and mouth. Baby was moving lots yesterday so it was hard to capture the little peanut.

Yesterday was the first day I felt absolutely ginormous, like I grew overnight seriously!!!!! I could not get comfortable all day. Baby was everywhere - in ribs, on the sides and in the middle and lower abdomen all at once and moving all day long. Hard to breathe! Hard to eat even though hungry. But so worth it! Love it anyway. I am crazy I know. But it just means baby is growing and I just love the feeling of having our baby inside of me.

We had a good Easter. Dad came to visit and brought Easter presents. We had an Easter dinner here from the cafeteria that actually tasted pretty good. We watched Passion of the Christ (what a powerful movie) and did a lot of Bible study and watched Sermon on the Mount. We just really enjoyed spending the day together. My doctor brought me a huge bag of Reece's and a huge bunny!

Sean is already here and going to work from here today, yay! He only went to into the office from like 7 to 9 this morning. Love having him here.

Gotta get off the laptop soon though so he can have it for work.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Resurrection Day!

Happy Easter!!!!!!! Me and Sean are just sitting here, enjoying our time together. We are missing not being able to be at our church, but it is quite Easter-ery in our room. Especially with the singing, jumping rabbit that my MIL gave us.

We are getting this pack-n-play!!!! http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4308594 It's pretty cute. We got more onesies and diapers from a girl at church that we don't even know.

While Sean was at the house yesterday, he had a pleasant conversation with our Russian neighbors (the ones, if you recall, that were leaving poop on our doorstep). Any way, I guess he told Sean that our other neighbors next to us, the guy, got into a wreck, probably drinking and driving and maybe ran from cops and parked his car in our driveway, maybe to hide the evidence? Not to secretive since he lives right next door to us! So, he left a huge fluid spill on our nice white driveway. And the Russian neighbor said the support beam in the back under our deck may be leaning. Yikes! Time to call Beazer. Sean didn't check it out yet; I think dad will today.

Dad came to visit last night, nice to see him b/c we are missing our Easter family time. Everyone is getting together for brunch today at my grandma's. I wonder if the cafeteria here has an Easter feast?? I'm hungry!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Losing a part of me

Tiff's mom stopped by for a visit yesterday. She works at All Children's Hospital. It is crazy to think that Tiffany and I have been friends since 5th grade. She is coming up on 20 weeks preggers!

I cried for like an hour last night. It hit me that I only have 11 days left to be pregnant. I am going to miss our little munchkin being inside of my belly. It is bittersweet. I love being pregnant. It has seemed to fly by and go slow all at the same time. I just kept thinking about our whole last 8 1/2 months - the day we found out, first time hearing the heartbeat, first ultrasound, picking names, getting stuff for the nursery, first kick, first case of the hiccups, first stranger to notice the belly,this whole hospital journey. It is all coming to an end. I know the reward is absolutely a miracle and blessing and of course I want to meet BB, but I will miss him inside of me. And I will miss being in the hospital a bit. That just means I have been here so long that I have gotten way to used to it!

Dr. Montenegro came in this morning and gave me some bad news. Seems insurance doesn't want to pay from April 2nd on because I haven't bled since then. Dr. Montenegro does not want me to go home, thinks the benefits of being here far outweigh the risks. So, of course we are staying here. We also trust in God and know that it will all work out. I cannot stress out - it would go against all the lessons He has been teaching me, plus it's bad for me and baby.

Sean and I watched a new dad video last night and a child brain development video. Both were interesting. Oh how the dad one was funny. To sum it up, this was the advice the dads gave: L&D, although scary, is totally amazing, the lack of sleep stinks, losing all rights to do what you want when you want also stinks and your wife is always right, do what she says and don't argue, even though she really is insane. HHmmmm, was that good advice for my hubby?

Friday, April 10, 2009

April 22, 2009

We are pretty sure we have an official due date! It looks like the C section is scheduled for April 22, 2009. We are so excited and can't wait to welcome our little peanut into this world and show him/her all this love we have to give!

I had 7 visitors at once in my room today! ~ Barbie and her son, Kari and her daughter and Mary and her 2 kids! It was crazy, but fun! They brought me snacks, books and mags and baby got a very cute froggie hooded towel and some crayons and coloring books for a little later when baby gets older.

Last night we got an Easter package from my MIL. She sent us Godiva chocolate, a singing/hopping bunny rabbit and a bunny dish towel. :)

Also, Dad came to visit and I got our 6 piece bedding set from my Aunt Michelle and Aunt Tanya. Love it! We were also surprised with a handmade quilt from my grandma's neighbor that I have known since I was little. It is very pretty and special to me.

The Healthy Families lady came too and brought a bunch of books and mags and baby informative videos.

I am definitely not at a lack of things to keep me occupied. :)

Sean and I did our communion last night and it was very special. Special time with God and special hubby/wife time.

So, only 12 days to go. I pray, pray, pray that God will get us there!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

35 weeks today!

Autumn and Faithlynn just left after a nice visit. They also brought clean clothes and took the dirty. I know I express this often lately, but I just can't say it enough, how blessed we are to have such wonderful people in our life. They brought us an Easter basket, too. :O)

You should see the all the free clothes we got from the pregnancy center yesterday. 5 bags full! 3 bags are boy clothes for newborn and 0-3 and 2 bags are girls NB and 0-3. I may be totally wrong, but when I looked at the boys clothes, I just felt it in my heart. It is hard to describe. But I just felt like aaawww these will be on our little baby boy. Looking at the girls clothes, on the other hand, was like oh cute, but these we will be returning. I am going to be pretty surprised if we have a girl. I don't care either way, it is just my feeling it is a boy. We hope to have LOTS of boys and girls, God willing! The quilt we got is really cute. It is made by a Christian grandmother who donates them to the pregnancy center. It takes her a month to make each one.

Faithlynn also brought Sean and I communion, which we will do tonight. I am excited for that. :O)

HAPPY THURSDAY! I am 35 weeks today!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Just Things

Sean and I have been bickering a lot about nothing important. We had another long talk last night and I am really excited because I think things are much better now. I grabbed his hand this morning, held it and told him we need a start over. So, we are happy to have a new beginning. Things can get all a little stressful with the current situation, but we need to remember to stick together instead of push each other away during these times. We have too much to be thankful about.

Ellie came to visit yesterday and brought us yummy Easter cookies.

As painful as it was, I wrote a check to the IRS for $1293.00 and another $250.00 for the accountant. We are not sending it out until the 14th, but it is basically done.

Sean went back to Bay Area Pregnancy Center today and got 4 bags of clothes for both 0-3 and for preemie. Some are girl and some are boy. We will just return the ones we don't need. We also got some blankets. I am excited to see what we got when Sean gets here after work.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

AAAAAllllliiieeee-Gator





New Day

My spirits were down yesterday. I was feeling pretty lonely and miserable. I didn't get really any phone calls (OK well a few) and only 2 visitors. I shouldn't complain, that's a blessing. I was just feeling all woo is me. Through prayer and a much needed pep talk from my husband, I feel much better today and very happy. Thankful and content - here I a feeling sorry for myself, when I should be looking at all the wonderful things I have like a healthy baby still inside of me, wonderful hubby, family and friends and church family and I am in a safe place where they are taking good care of me. I have an important job - to be an inkie!

So, the travel system we got that was supposed to come with the free base, well the extra base wasn't in there. After a long fight with Sears (which Barbie took care of, thank goodness, because I might have gotten a little too stressed about that and had some contractions), Barbie goes today and wah-la we have our free base. She thrives on that kind of thing, so good for her!

Dad said that since Allie visited me, she is back to normal and eating again!!!

I will post some pics a little later.

Monday, April 6, 2009

More New Moms-To-Be :)

Only 17 days to go until I am 37 weeks! I am excited, but also enjoying every moment and don't want to be in such a rush. I love being pregnant and have a feeling I am really going to miss it. But, we will have our little baby and it will be a whole new life and daily adventure. We have promised each other not to live outside of the day we are in (either past or future) because then the precious moments of the day we are in get overlooked and missed out on.

Our weekend was nice. We watched a bunch of movies. Dad and granddad came to visit on Saturday. We also had 3 pizzas delivered to us by a lady at our church as a surprise. What a sweet idea and something I would never think of! She is the lady who traveled by bus to see us and who also gives Sean sandwiches and snacks for his lunches everyday. God bless her. I had too many contractions again on Saturday, but they finally eased off after about an hour. Baby is doing great. We had an u/s yesterday, which was perfect. Twice a day monitoring has been perfect, too. Baby is all up in my ribs and moving a lot, probably getting irritated about the lack of space in my belly! Baby is also very responsive to sounds and touch now. It is very cute.

Yesterday, Dad brought Allie. She was so excited about the car ride, the trip here from the car, seeing all the new people, all the new sights, sounds and smells, that alas she was not very interested in her mama. She did get on my bed a few times and gave a couple of kisses and sat for a bit, but that was about it. She never gets car sick, but did on the way home - poor dad.

Brandy and Mark came to visit and brought us Checkers and took our laundry to wash. Sheesh - I am gonna get fat eating all this food we keep getting. It is hard to turn down though, seeing as how we are pretty much sick of hospital food. I have memorized their daily menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner at this point.

My nurse yesterday was really urging me to take showers (so overrated!) and to start walking and to go outside because of muscle wasting, but I am just really unsure about it. I feel like things are going really well and I don't want to do anything to mess that up. I certainly don't want to start bleeding again. I feel much more comfortable being in bed most of the time. Plus, the docs have not said anything about me moving around more. So, I have prayed about it and hopefully God can give me some clarity. It's in his hands and something I can't control cuz in the end I could lay in bed the whole time and still things could go wrong.

Today, has started off well. Barbie and Edward came to visit. They came bearing Cheez-Its!! My favorite!!!!!!!!

I am just feeling very happy today!

Also, Congrats to Tiffany!!!!!! Her and Ryan found out on Friday they are having a baby boy. And, to Melissa Rylee - her and Shawn are expecting. She is about 4 or 5 weeks along. WOW, baby boom! Me and Sean had to guess which of our friends are next. I said either Melissa Norris, Morgan or Christa. I think Sean said, well, I don't remember. I heart babies!!!!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Babies, Babies, Babies

we got our Munchkin Jelly Bean cargo sling yesterday. It is so cute and I really hope baby likes it! Thanks mama! Also, thanks Becca for recommending it.

Aimee and Mike came to visit yesterday. Barbie brought me Taco Bell and our clean clothes last night. It was delish, but I paid for it later. Every time I burped, Taco bell came up. Eww, but it was worth it. Not to mention all the sodium in Taco Bell, I drank like a gallon of water afterward.

The docs said we have the best baby on the floor b/c our monitor strips always look so good. We are proud parents. Keep it up Baby Brewner. Thank you Lord. 4 babies were born between 3 and 4 a.m. this morning! WOW!

I am not sleeping very good these days. Nurses, peeing, being uncomfortable, and baby moving makes it hard for me to sleep. I experienced the best moment with God around 3 a.m. this morning. He felt right here. It was awesome. He told me not to worry about the nursery, work or being in the hospital. I have also been praying lots about whether we should stick to our decision about not getting back on birth control. I was starting to doubt our decision b/c of all that has happened and b/c of others opinions and "experts recommendations", but God said He would take care of us and not to worry about that either. So, we will not be getting back on any type of BC. I hope I heard Him right and don't end up prego in a couple of months! Or back in the hospital. HA!

Here is an article on my doctor - pretty interesting. She is the one who was in my same room for 10 weeks with placentia previa. Any way, this article is about her 8 children and how she juggles her career, family, etc.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/13/Tampabay/Calling_Dr_Mom.shtml

Friday, April 3, 2009

Adding to the nursery! :)

We got our glider for the nursery!!!!! Daddy got it for us. Here it is if ya wanna check it out.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8055636 - we got the khaki colored one.

Sean went to Bay Area Pregnancy Center yesterday and we got a lot of stuff:
1. Bathtub
2. Bassinet and sheets - just need to buy the mattress for it
3. Chair for outdoors for baby to sit in, but can be used indoors too.
4. Diapers
5. Wipes
6. Decorative stuff for nursery
7. Toys
8. Layette with clothes (onesies, shirts), sleep sack, socks, hat, receiving blankets, diapers, bibs, bottles, hooded towels, washcloths and maybe more that I can't remember.
9. Diaper bag with insulated bottle cooler.

And the best part of it all - it was all FREE! And we only spent like $10 in mommy money so we still have like $35 leftover. Nice!

I got my Group B strep test done. I am not sure of the results yet. The docs said the u/s's are different everyday and some days the placenta is on my cervix or touching it and other days it looks to be far enough from it, but either way they are doing a C section because it is a low lying placenta and it is just difficult to see on u/s at this point because baby is in the way and big and my placenta lies posteriorly, which makes it more difficult to decipher location. Certainly don't want to deliver the afterbirth first!

We also got to see our stroller and car seat system. It is so beautiful! We love it! And Barbie bought me cute pink PJ pants and her mom made us burp cloths. They are sooooo nice and look to be super absorbent and big enough.

I just found out that one of my docs here had 8 kids herself (one adopted child from Russia) and that with one of her pregnancies she was in the exact same room as me with placenta previa for 3 months. Crazy!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

My pregnancy

To see a pregnant woman who is not confirmed to a hospital bed makes me feel as if I have failed as a woman; my body can't handle the demands of pregnancy. I am not strong enough to carry a baby normally. I know that many women can't get pregnant, have to go to fertility clinics, etc., so I am truly thankful that God has blessed me and Sean with a baby (and getting prego on the first try at that!), but it is a weird feeling to see pregnant women doing normal things like walking, working, being out in public...... I am not able to, but God has me here for a reason, a specific purpose and I am OK and feel blessed about that.

34 weeks today - woo hoo!

I started to feel crappie again yesterday - too many contractions - and so I was started on an IV bolus where they give me 500 cc of fluid over 1/2 an hour. Well, my IV was not working right, so they started another one. Then my hand blew up to the size of an egg on the top of it under my IV, so that wasn't good and I have a very sore hand today. I did end up getting 1000 cc and the contractions slowly went away. I refused to have an April Fool's baby!!!!! :O)

Today, I have been feeling much better. I am now only going for u/s once a week. That makes me happy and sad. It was a delight to see baby everyday, but it also means that things seem to be going pretty well! YAY for that!

Barbie and Edward came to visit this morning. They decorated my room with Easter eggs and brought me snacks! Very sweet of them.

Joy and Joel (the little one I used to sit for) came this afternoon. He is getting big, almost 4 months. He can hold his neck up! What a cutie! It was very nice to visit with them.

Today, there are a ton of people here and there was talk that I may end up with a roomie, but I think not now because they discharged some of the patients home.

Dad and granny came by yesterday with flowers, Hershey kisses and cookies. Yum!

I have been busy today with visitors and getting to baby stuff online. This day has flown by!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Yum, carrot cake

It's funny how I have more to blog about sitting in a hospital bed than when I was crazy woman with a million things to do a day. Pastor Trial, Faithlynn and their kids came to visit yesterday. Faithlynn was like "Except for getting bored, I could get used to this, it's like being at a hotel or on vacation". I realized she is right, except for I haven't been bored! My 3 complaints and I hate to complain: 1. No showers. 2. Can't go outside. 3. Hospital food. 3 best things about being here: 1. Baby - knowing I am here for our baby, getting u/s daily and heartbeat monitoring twice a day. 2. Getting to know God better, where I should be going in life, my faith, intimacy with Jesus Christ. 3. The love and support we have received from everyone...... And a mid afternoon nap, five hours a day on the computer and all meals served in bed, my hubby washing my hair and bathing me and hours upon hours of TV (especially back to back to back episodes of House on USA) ain't too bad either. :)

A woman from church that we have never even talked to, who is legally blind, took a bus from Clearwater all the way here, just to meet us and see what our needs are. She and her hubby are also the ones who own vending machines and are giving Sean pre-made sandwiches and tons of snacks and drinks for work. It was really nice to meet her and I still can't believe she took a bus all the way here.

Sean decided it would be funny to rest a plate of carrot cake on my belly shelf and quickly (sneakingly) take a pic. He was really laughing. I kinda laughed too!