Baby is Here!

Our new little guy is safely here! He was born at 9:16 pm and weighed in at 4lbs! Birth story to follow soon!

Not Where I Expected to be Last Night....

Last night we headed to the hospital for some monitoring after I began experiencing some cramping. My doctor felt that it would be best to keep me overnight (something I wasn't expecting at all). An hour or two in, I began having contractions. Fortunately, an IV of fluid and a shot of Terbutaline stopped things for now. My doctor discharged me this morning with a prescription of Terbutaline and bedrest orders (no more time outside or cooking for me... poor Fr John!). Hopefully we can buy some more time in the womb for this little guy!

Pregnancy Update - 31 Weeks...

.:Are you tired of photographs of hydrangeas?:.

Well, we are beginning our fourth week of bedrest. In some ways, the time is dragging, but in others it seems like it is going quickly. I am hoping that we will be able to get to 36 weeks in this pregnancy, which means if all goes well, we are looking at five more weeks on bedrest. Then, of course, we'll have our 40 days after the baby is born (I am kind of dreading that to be honest, though we'll see how I feel once I am recuperating from the birth and caring for a newborn, toddler, and preschooler).

We have been so blessed to have at least one or two visitors each week and I am really thankful that I have been able to go to church, cook a little bit, and to take the children outside. I miss going out to do things and popping out to the store when I want to (though I have to say that our budget has never been happier!), but I have found that the children really don't seem to miss story hour, the library, or the other things that I tried to fit into our routine every week. I think that they do wish that they could go to the beach and playground more, but we've been enjoying our own yard a lot. Personally, I have been really looking forward to Tuesdays because I can take a nice long drive to my doctor appointments... who would have thought that I would ever look forward to that?! Ha!

As far as how the appointment went, this week we had our fourth Progesterone shot. I have two more to go (which will bring me to 33 weeks). I also got my strep test. Other than that, everything is the same old, same old:) Here's to another week under our belts!

Pregnancy Update - 30 Weeks...

I had my weekly doctor's appointment yesterday. I was given my third progesterone shot and another fFN test (the results haven't come back yet, but I will update when they do) and the doctor found that our little guy is much lower than he was last week. I am hoping that he takes after his sister who was just as low, but wasn't born until I was induced three weeks after she dropped. We'll see what happens!

Update: The nurse called back and told me that the fFN test came back negative!!! I still have to take it easy (and no trip to New Jersey for Memorial Day... Boo!), but there is only a 2% chance that we will go into labor within the next two weeks. YAY!

Fun Mail...

My mother sent the best thing to the children a few days ago. She is a preschool teacher and totally geared toward little ones and knows just what they like! She wrote each of our children a little story on fun paper - Sugar Plum's was about something her naughty mama did when she was a little girl (it involved the theft of candy at a little shop! Are you properly horrified?) and Little Man's was a story about our beloved kitty, Pippi. It was so sweet of my mom to do that! My mother told us so many stories when we were growing up and I would love for her to write some of them down for all of the grandchildren to enjoy!

Pregnancy Update - 29 Weeks...

We had a doctor's appointment today and got some good news! My doctor thinks that it would be fine for me to modify my bedrest a little bit this week. I am now allowed to prepare simple meals for the family and take the children outside into our yard. I still have to be cautious and I need to drink lots of water, rest frequently, and be sure not to get to overheated. I am happy about this, because it will be a lot easier on Fr John to not have to put together meals and it will also help the children (and me!) to be able to have time out-of-doors each day. I am hoping to go to church this weekend as well. We are going to take things one day and one week at time:)

Bedrest Chronicles, Part One...

Some thoughts from today:

• I have had three shots the past three days and one to come on Friday morning. They hurt! I have new appreciation for the fear my little ones have when the nurse rolls up with a needle!
• Hot Chocolate with marshmallows isn't as yummy as Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream, but it'll do in a pinch!
• I love new babies! My friend gave birth yesterday evening and since we were already getting a shot for me across the street and Fr John had to go to read the first day prayers for them, I got to hold him... such a sweet little guy!
• With all this free time, I am having fun reading some new blogs. Here are a couple: Tous les Jours Diamache (This one is in French. I've used Google Translator, but the best part of the blog is the pictures in my opinion), My French Corner, and little brown pen. Notice a French theme?
  
• Today is the feast of the Ascension. 40 days have passed since Pascha. It went too fast! It was sad to miss church last night and today.
  
• I placed an order through Amazon today. Into my basket went 84, Charing Cross Road, The School at Thrush Green, and At Home in Thrush Green. I can't wait for them to arrive!
• My big boy has been especially loving and cuddly the past two days. It is a bittersweet time when the littlest gets displaced by a new addition to the family. Any tips? Little Man is a bit older that Sugar Plum was when she became a big sister.
  

What have you been up to today?

Pregnancy Update - 28 Weeks...

Two Sundays ago, I had a bout of braxon hicks contractions that lasted for several hours. I went to the hospital to be monitored and they also gave me a Fetal Fibronectin test (fFN) and it was negative which meant that I would not go into labor during the next 7 -10 days. What a relief! Since everything was okay, life has continued as normal (though I have been resting a lot, not cleaning, and not lifting the children). I was really hoping that I would be given the fFN test every week or so for the remainder of my pregnancy so that we would have some idea of whether I would go into pre-term labor. I was so happy that at my regularly scheduled doctor appointment yesterday, I not only found out that I had passed my glucose test (Phew!), but was going to be getting a second fFN test.


This morning, the nurse at the office called to say that the fFN test came back positive. From my reading, the fFN test is a bit more accurate when it is negative.

From Lab Test Online:
"Since there are risks associated with treating a woman for premature labor (in anticipation of a premature delivery), a negative fFN can reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and drug therapies.A positive fetal fibronectin test is less specific. It is associated with an increased risk for preterm delivery and with neonatal complications, but it will not tell a woman's doctor whether or not she will deliver early. A positive test suggests the need to monitor a symptomatic woman more closely."

Basically, we will be trying to determine the best ways to keep me pregnant longer. As of now, I am on bed rest.

Please pray for our family these next weeks. Sugar Plum and Little Man are doing really well. I know that things will get harder for them as time goes on... especially since they really don't understand why Mama is lying around and can't do the things that we usually do. It is a real blessing that Fr John works from home! I'll try to update as much as I can.

Pregnancy Update - 14 Weeks...

We went in for our third doctor visit for this pregnancy yesterday, and everything is looking good. We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time and planned for our next visit which is in two weeks. Starting at 16 weeks and ending at 32 weeks, we will have one visit each week for a check-up and a shot (17 Alpha Hydroxyprogesterone Caproate) which will hopefully keep our risk of delivering early at bay. If you have had these shots, will you tell me how they worked for you? Thanks!

Oh, the little lamb and gray blanket were gifts for this baby from my sister, Anna! I love having a few new things for each child... this poor babe will have all hand-me-down clothing and baby gear, so treats like these are so much fun!