34.5 Weeks- Tick Tock!

My Dr. apt. went great today... I am still on bedrest for 2 more weeks, still at a 2 (no progression is good!), baby's heart rate is 144 which Dr. said is "perfect" with a smile :) I gained a pound and got a flu shot to give baby antibodies for at least 2 weeks until Dr. takes me off of Terbuteline at 36.5 weeks (Oct. 22). My company is setting me up on a laptop to do some admin. work from home to keep my regular salary coming and so I do not have to dip into FMLA until the baby comes. We are so thankful to have made it to the 34 week mark and appreciate everyone's concern. We will try really hard to keep you all posted as things change/ progress. We are pretty excited we get to meet our baby soon and can't wait to know if we have an Elliott or a Luke!

Homebound

Since Brent and I are sentenced to our house due to bed rest, our weekend was pretty low key- this was much needed because I think Brent was still running on fumes from the last two weeks events. We had some friends come over Friday night and brought us Chili's for dinner and gifts- thank you Kalli and Phillip! And Saturday, Brent dug up some pipes in the backyard (getting us ready to extend the patio). My mom also left him with a rack of ribs to grill, so that was his project for Sat.-- making the perfect Memphis style rib rub and slow cooking them for 2 hours... they were SOOOO fall off the bone good! Brent also installed the baby's car seat base in my car, so we are totally ready to bring home our little one-- bags are packed and we are in wait mode. Don't tell my Dr. but Sunday, we went to a furniture store to find a glider and they pretty much told us we waited too long to custom order (the story behind that is that I don't procrastinate on much, but I hate the way gliders look, so have not really wanted to shop for one. We know we need one for late night feedings, so we are at an impasse). After lunch at the Olive Garden we headed home and I found a glider online at JC Pennys that will do the job. It will be arriving on Wednesday, so the sales lady at Stacy Furniture can breathe easy... I will have a glider in time.

Tiffany/Wanda, check out the "baby" in the carrier :)

THE Glider:

33.5 Week Check Up

We have made it another week! My Dr. says I am measuring 33 weeks now and baby's heartbeat is strong. I am on bedrest until week 36 (2 weeks and 3 days from now), then she will take me off of Tributeline on Oct. 19 and see what happens. The biggest news is that I am holding at 2 cm and seems like baby has moved back up to my belly a little more-- it is definitely getting bigger which I have never been happier about! My mom has committed to another week with me, so I am pretty happy about that (my nurse and my driver:)! We will keep you all posted as things happen! Thanks for the prayers and well wishes!

The BIG Baby Shower!!!

After this weeks events, my Dr. insisted that we not have the baby shower at Carrabbas as originally planned, but that we could have it from my house... with only 4 days for my wonderful friends and hostesses to pull this switch off, they did an amazing job with decorations, food, cake, present, everything... it was PERFECT!

After the baby shower, we had Brent's b-day burgers,

the guys played frisbee golf, and we had a big assembly party with the Brewers and the Allisons... it was a hoot to watch a BearKat and an Aggie put together a playpen:

and Brent wheel the stroller around the kitchen like a pro! Allie even got in on it!

Preterm Labor

Monday morning, I went to work not feeling great-- more cramping and back pain had started... we had a marathon weekend, so I just thought I had overdone it. I went ahead and called the Dr. from work and they said to come on in and lets just take a look with the Dr. on call. We talked and we both thought I was experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions (not unusual at this point) and ligament stretching (also not unusual). She did an exam and found I was 2 cm. dilated, looked at me and said this changes everything. She said that if I were at 34 weeks, she probably would not intervene and let my body go into labor, but at 32 weeks, the baby's lungs are not fully developed and the next two weeks are very important for growth. They wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery, hooked me up to the baby heart monitor and contraction monitor and started watching. I was contracting regularly, so they gave me a round of Tributeline. They also gave me a round of a steroid shot to boost the baby's lung development in the event I still delivered. By this time, Brent's co-worker had driven him to the hospital (we carpooled) and he was walking through the door (we had just toured this floor a day before during our childbirth class, so he knew right where to go!). My Dr. ordered another ultrasound to measure the baby and check if he/she was in distress. They wheeled me to Dr. Weiss's office and he did his thing. The baby measured 4 pounds 6 ounces-- bigger than most at this stage, but still very small to be out of the womb. The amniotic fluid looked good and he confirmed I was thinning and cervix was still at a 2. We went back to Labor and Delivery and they hooked me back up to the monitors and I began contractions again. Another round of Tributeline did the trick and baby was still looking good. They observed me a little while longer and then took us to a postpartum room where I stayed overnight for observation. More mild contractions followed but they were giving me Tributeline by mouth at this point and it was working. My Dr. came by Tuesday morning for an exam and another steroid shot and said she would release me to strict bed rest for the next 2 weeks and then she would decide what comes next. Brent took me home and my mom came up Tuesday night to help me-- she has been a HUGE help... my list of things to do was long! I am at 33 weeks today, so we have an extra week behind us... it is a good feeling knowing that every day the baby says put is two days we don't spend in the ICU. Thank you everybody for your prayers and phone calls... we feel loved and look forward to introducing you to Luke/ Elliott (in a few more weeks!)

Childbirth Class- Part 1

Sunday morning, Brent and I helped out in the church nursery with barely 2 year olds. The sweetest little blond headed girl in pigtails walked up to Brent (he was sitting on the floor playing with blocks) and asked him to read her a story-- he gladly said sure! Without hesitation, she sat right down in his lap and leaned back against his chest as he read about Noah. It brought tears to my eyes to see the love and innocence that little children have with everything! After church, Brent and I headed to the hospital for our first round of childbirth classes! We talked about labor and delivery, toured the facility, learned about diapering and bathing, discussed procedures, etc. A lot of good information at once! We went to Sweet Tomatoes afterward for dinner and halfway through, Brent said, "It just hit me!". Yes, to hear the play by play of labor hit me pretty hard too!

Boys go Fishing/ Girls go Party!

Friday evening, Sarah, Rebekah and I headed to Ginny's house to a Pampered Chef party-- this was my first party and loved it! They made a spinach dip cheese ball that was dynamite! I will try to find the recipe! I ordered new wood spoons and a pizza stone that I am pretty excited about! The boys went fishing in our neighborhood... Wade was behind the lens, so I don't have a picture of him... they all had a catch, so I'd say it was a successful trip!

Brent's "Man Shower"

Friday afternoon, Brent's company had a surprise baby shower, I am sorry, "Man Shower", for Brent! We had a fun time and I got to meet some of his coworkers that I had not met before. They were extreamely generous and we are truly thankful for all of the gifts and well wishes.

The hostesses

The cake

The PARENTS!

We were actually planning to buy the crib mattress on Sat., so they saved us a trip to BRU... I am sure there are many more in the near future though :)

We had so much fun Sat. morning going through all of the bath stuff, blankets, and baby clothes... it is starting to feel so close now!

Good Check Up

My 32 week check up was yesterday (I am really at 31 weeks and 2 days)... I am still measuring a week ahead and she thinks we will have an 8# baby with the size I am now-- baby is about 4 pounds/ 16". She showed me what the head and booty felt like so I can know how the baby is positioned (right now we are head down!). From here on I go in for check ups every 2 weeks and the baby will gain 1/2 lb. per week (me a full pound)... whoah! The heart beat was 152 and the murmur is not as pronounced-- Dr. Sigman missed it the first time and then I asked her if it was fixed, she listened again and it was much more slight than a month ago... I had a hard time hearing it where before it was clearly every 4th beat missed! It won't be long now... baby is just bulking up and getting strong (I am craving milk like you wouldn't believe!). On a side note, I couldn't catch my breath on the way to work this morning and threw up out of the car again... thought that was over! I am sure the traffic that we stopped got pretty mad as they missed the light! Hopefully they were entertained!

Brent's Surprise Party Canceled

I am SO bummed out to tell you all that we are canceling Brent's 30th B-day Party in Houston. Sounds like Ike has different plans than we do. We will miss visiting with so many friends and family and seeing that look of surprise come over Brent as he walks into the room. We have been watching the tracking all week and finally Brent made the call this morning... I told him a few minutes ago about the surprise we had lined up and he was shocked at all of the planning that went into this. Thank you Brewer's and Allison's for the time and effort you put into the party planning... we will have to schedule another pool party next summer to give my parent's pool house a trial run! Since all of the food is already bought, we would like to host a BBQ dinner at our house in Keller the weekend of our baby shower instead (Sat. 27). I think most of you will be here that weekend and if it fits in your weekend plans, you are all invited to come have a burger with us... We will make the cookie cake have a belated b-day message on there instead! Let us know-- (I am sure some of you will be visiting family while you are here and that is totally fine since this is last minute-- don't feel obligated)! Good luck with Ike this weekend.

Brent is 30!

We have celebrated Brent's birthday for quite sometime now (since our Chicago trip), so I think he is feeling 30 now! Jamie came to visit us Friday night, so we cooked steaks and of course we had cookie cake! (It was established 2 years ago that you don't come home without bringing cookie cake if there is a birthday in the house!)
Saturday night, I took Brent to Benihanas for dinner... we had a great time and the food was so good! Our server was fun and talkative-- the group at the table consisted of "seasoned" parents with kids in college, a couple that was dating, a newly married couple, and us the pregnant couple. Our server just thought that was so neat.

Nina's Baby Shower

(Sarah C, Sarah P, Nina T, Abbey)

Here are all of my B35 Sunday School friends that are pregnant... we will be having 5 babies within 2 weeks of each other!!! How fun! Nina's shower was this weekend for her twins, Lauren and Ryan. We are pretty excited to meet these little ones and fill up the church nursery! (Yes, the nursery director has been warned!)

Sunday, Sarah C and I went to get pedicures... we bot agree it is worth the $30 to not bend over our bellies to paint our own toes at this point! The chairs at this place have a FULL body massage, which in itself was quite an experience!

Baby Updates!

This last Friday night, I felt my first Braxton Hicks contractions, which sent me into major nesting mode quickly! I am putting Brent to work this coming weekend to hang curtains and shelves and whatever else I can think of :)

We also had our 4D sonogram this Tuesday... baby was not cooperating, so we got the best pictures we could. We did get a live DVD which is pretty neat-- baby had hiccups (does A LOT!) and kept hands in front of his/her face most of the time, so we will see if this continues once baby arrives! The heart rate was 151 but we couldn't tell if the murmur is still there with those hiccups. As baby was moving around, I asked the sonographer what I was feeling and she told me where the head, feet, and hands were pressing, so now I know what all of the pressure feels like and what part is moving! We are getting pretty excited as you can imagine and seeing our baby today at 3 pounds, 4 ounces was a neat moment! (Just 2 weeks ago, we were at 2.5 pounds! 10.5 weeks to go... this might be a BIG baby!) We go back in 2 weeks for a regular OB appointment-- keep us in your prayers :)




This email from Brent's mom was to sweet not to add on:
I was just looking at your blog and saw my grand baby's picture! Oh My, I just cried!!!!!! Our baby is so beautiful. I can't wait to meet him/her. I'm so excited for November to get here. I just want to hold that little bundle in my arms and kiss it forever.- Deb
Our sentiments, exactly!

Babies, Babies!!!

I just found out that my sweet friends Kelly and Joe are expecting their second baby! They had Jake last November, so this is BIG news!!! We are thrilled for them-- they make this parenting thing look like a breeze!
So we will add them to the list of friends who are expecting-- I will try to go in order of due dates, so we will see if I can do it! Camille, Sarah P, Sarah C, Nina T, Me, Kalli, Whitney, Kelly! This is going to be a busy fall!

Labor Day Weekend

I think this is going to be a tough season for our Aggies... they certainly aren't off to a good start with Arkansas. We did get to go to the game this weekend and tailgated with out sweet friends the Walls and the Cox's-- Ben got a really neat tent that we sat under (I hear he was so excited, he went through a trial set up run in their backyard at 7:30 am. for the 6:00 pm game!). Was fun to visit, even though the outcome was not what we wanted it to be... we always have NEXT WEEK, Ags!

It's Sarah Palin!

Good pick for VP, McCain! Her bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

McCain Campaign Statement on Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech:
ARLINGTON, VA -- Tonight, the McCain campaign issued the following statement from Tucker Bounds, McCain 2008 spokesman, on Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention:"Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama. When the temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts remain: Senator Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American troops in harm's way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be President."

Another zingger:
"No one is above the law, and no one is beneath its protection. Upholding these principles, and bringing Americans together on the side of life, is the work of leadership. And I can assure you that if I am elected president, advancing the cause of life will not be above my pay grade."


McCain is showing up for the fight... Let the mud slinging begin!

Magsdirect just got blacklisted!

My sweet, sweet sister can put up with A LOT... I think she is much more even tempered than me and maintains her cool MUCH better than me when she gets offended. That said, when we first announced I was pregnant, the first thing she did was order me pregnancy magazienes to be delivered to our house monthly... what a sweet idea! Well, they informed her that the order was delayed, so she took it upon herself to go to Barnes and Noble, buy me 3 magazienes, and mail them to me for the first month. The second month passed, no mags. The third month, she called and got the run-around. Today, I got the following email:
_________________________________________________________ Subject: MagsDirect - Status of ORDER M60236>
From: replies@magsdirect.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:52:50 -0400

Dear Melody,
We apologize for the delay, but we are still waiting for the status request for your order. We will contact you as soon as the publisher touches base with us. Sorry for the inconvenience.Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Customer Support Agent - Melissa
http://www.magsdirect.com
replies@magsdirect.com 1-800-232-0487
_________________________________________________________

So, naturaly I forwarded on to Melody because I knew the rollercoaster she has already gone through with them. Here is Melody's email response I found in my mail box, just 5 minutes later, written back to Magsdirect:

Honestly, it is ridiculous that I ordered this magazine in MAY as a gift to my pregnant sister (who is now due in 3 months) and she still hasn't even received the first issue! What's the point? This will be the one and only time that I order from Magsdirect. At this rate, she will delivered the baby by the time you finally "find out the status" of my order. Each time I call, I get a different customer service rep that just tells me "we are looking into why the first issue hasn't been sent yet". Can you please "be of further assistance" and give me the contact information (phone # or email address) for a manager?

I can't tell you how hard I laughed! It is so good to see her get in an uproar instead of it being me! I love it!

Good News!!! / 28 Weeks Pregnant

I PASSED my 3 hour blood glucose screen! What a relief! They told me to go celebrate with a big bowl of ice cream! Maybe I'll just have one scoop since they told me too ;)

New GRILL... what a DEAL!

My parent's brought us their grill last weekend because they are getting a different one in their outdoor kitchen, so we gladly took this one off their hands! We have been enjoying fast dinners with little clean up this week and I have only had to turn the oven on ONCE!!! Yay!

A Fitting Song For A Fitting Day

This morning, as I was driving to go pick Brent up to go to our 28 week Dr. apt., I was overwhelmed with my circumstances (in a good way)-- I was drinking my glucose drink and driving down a road that 10 months ago, our lives were so different. I remember turning on the same street street and talking on the phone to my mom those 10 months ago, saying "I just feel like life is about to get hard". Today, this song came on the radio and reminded me of God's grace and provision over our lives- and as I joyfully drank this orange drink (meaning we have made it to 27+ weeks of pregnancy), I couldn't help but tearfully rejoice- So, I put this next part on our blog, not for sympathy for where we were, but for Brent and I to remember how God tested our faith then and how He tests us now-- all for his glory!

Our biggest surprise last year was finding out in October that my uterus was misshapen. I went to the Dr. for an unrelated pain and a sonogram revealed this 'anomaly'. Immediately we were told it could be difficult for me to carry a baby to full term and to get ready for heart break- this from one of Dallas’s finest fertility specialists. Needless to say, I was spinning for days and trying to grasp God's lessons, knowing that I was fearfully and wonderfully made. To hear Brent tell me he loved me no matter what, babies or no babies, was a relief, to say the least. I think at this moment, we both realized the depth of our love for each other and the thankfulness to God for bringing us together. We tearfully hung on to this news several weeks without telling our families since we didn’t know the extent of what all this meant—I didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for our situation until we knew what we were dealing with. My Dr. quickly scheduled an MRI to reveal it wasn't as bad as originally suggested. It was operable and a better situation to be in, but I would most likely have endometriosis in conjunction with a misshaped, septate uterus. I had surgery in November, the week after thanksgiving (my boss was the only one who knew what was going on so we just made it into a long thanksgiving vacation to dodge questions from coworkers/ HR that I did not want to answer). Surgery was a complete success (this type of surgery-- removing a tissue mass that spilt my uterus in half- was my Dr.'s first one due to being so rare)-- after I came out of surgery, my Dr. told me with tears in her eyes that I did not have endometriosis, yet another answered prayer to a complication that I did not have to experience. It was a great day! My mom came up and helped me through recovery of a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, and healing of scars where extra tissue was removed to double the size of my uterus to 'normal'. The internal scarring was the only unknown left—they inflated a balloon in my uterus so that scaring would not affect healthy surrounding tissue and I went on hormone therapy for a month. Just 3 months later, with our heart’s desire now set on being a family, we became pregnant! We waited to tell friends until 12 weeks in the event that preterm labor might occur if the baby had attached to the scar tissue from surgery. We were overjoyed at the seeing how God carried us through those past months and choose us to be parents to what we will know will be the greatest challenge and gift of our lives! We are convinced of God’s provision for us, HIS children, thus far, and trust wherever he takes us in the future.

So back to today. The song that was so fitting on the radio was Mercy Me's "Bring on the Rain":

I can count a million times

People asking me how

I Can praise You with all that I've gone through

The question just amazes me

Can circumstances possibly

Change who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed

Long before these rainy days

It's never really ever crossed my mind

To turn my back on you, oh Lord

My only shelter from the storm

But instead I draw closer through these times

So I pray Bring me joy, bring me peace

Bring the chance to be free

Bring me anything that brings You glory

And I know there'll be days

When this life brings me pain

But if that's what it takes to praise You

Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of

The dark clouds that may loom above

Because You are much greater than my pain

You who made a way for me

By suffering Your destiny

So tell me what's a little rain

So I pray

Holy, holy, holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

We got to our Dr. apt this morning, they took my weight (7# since last time... whoah!), and my blood to measure the glucose levels. As we were waiting for those results, Dr. Sigman measured my belly (I am measuring a week ahead!) and listened to the heartbeat. As we did, we all heard a little irregularity every 4th beat. So, Dr. Sigman sent us over to the Fetal Cardiologist to measure the heart and determine if this was serious or a regular abnormality that happens to some babies. Dr. Weiss measured our baby's head, legs, arms, brain activity, and heart. We got to watch and hear the blood flow in and out of the heart and watched the EKG where the flutter was. Luckily, the Dr. thinks this is benign and should fix itself before or at birth. I did fail my 1 hour blood glucose test, so I go in on Wednesday for the 3 hour test. Please pray for those results as hopefully that can be a complication we can avoid. After the cardiologist sonogram, we went back to get our 4D sono, but by the time we got there, baby had turned around, so we couldn't get a clear picture of the face. We are scheduled to go back in 2 weeks to try again.

All of this to say, we are in waiting mode until more tests are run... we are thankful for these road blocks that remind us to stay faithful to God who brought us here, and know he has wonderful provisions ahead for our family. Praise the Lord for rain and for refining us. What an amazing way to prepare us for the huge task of being parents to the little one he is entrusting to us!