My busy days

Here is what I now do everyday:

I help Cary get up at 5:30 am to go to work.
I go back to sleep.
A few hours later, I start to wake up.
I watch some TV.
I do Sudoku or a few word finds.
I eat whatever food I remembered to take upstairs the night before - usually chocolate or cookies.
I take a shower.
I do Sudoku or a few more word finds.
I rest for a few minutes - like the doctor told me too.
I look around the room and pack up for my trip downstairs for the rest of the day.
I go downstairs.
I lay on the couch.
I watch TV.
I do Sudoku or more word finds.
I read some in a book or a magazine.
I make myself a quick lunch.
I do some computer work.
I look around the living room and dining room at all the stuff I want to do.
I take a nap.
I make a quick dinner.
More TV
More sudoku
more word finds
more reading
more computer "work"
Then I gather my stuff up go upstairs and go to bed. (by stuff I mean a big water, sudoku, word finds, a magazine or a book, cookies or chocolate, and my cell phone)

My mom and sister stopped by yesterday. Cary's mom stopped by today. My sister is stopping by tomorrow with Zaxby's.

I'm still having some contractions. I don't think monster's going to hold on until October. My contractions don't have a pattern. I don't have to go back to L&D until there is a pattern.

My sisters and mom came by Sunday and helped me nest. Actually, I reclined in a chair while they nested for me. Monster's room looks great. My sister and mom finished monster's bedding (I would post a picture, but the camera and computers are downstairs and monster's room is upstairs). My sister is stopping by this weekend with the window valances and new cushions for the glider rocker.

Did I tell you about the bedding yet? It is pottery barn kids very old animal safari print. I went to PB Kids just to see what they had and I found the animal safari crib skirts on sale for $4.99! Can you believe that? So, I called my sister. She said buy them! I bought 5 crib skirts. 1 to use as a crib skirt (imagine that) and others to cut up and use to make the bedding and window treatments. The bedding came out great! She used the fuzzy green stuff and some blue stuff we had leftover from Caleb's stuff. I will have Cary or my sister take pictures this weekend and I will post them soon!

Time to get back to my schedule...

I'm free!!!

I was discharged at about 1sh today. I am on bed rest for 2 weeks, and then they will re-evaluate me. I'm not on really strict bed rest like I was with Caleb. I can do 1 trip up and down the stairs everyday. I have potty privileges! And I can do basically anything thing I want to go - as long as I can do it laying down. Since I am insane, I asked the nurse if I could drive. She said sure, as long as I can drive lying down.

The OB told me that after 34 weeks, they usually don't stop labor. That means the next time I go into labor, monster is coming. (I'm 33/4 by the OB.)

I'm already going crazy. There's so much I want to do around the house. Cary did a GREAT job of cleaning up while I was in the hospital. Now, I just want to help finish things up!! ARGH! I guess I'll have plenty of extra time to do cleaning once monster's out. Right? I'm sure I'll have plenty of extra time with a newborn at home.

Ahhh

I just got a shower! Yay!!!

I'm still in the hospital. I got round 2 of the steriod shot at 5 pm. My contactions are pretty much gone. I will get a few contractions when my bladder's full, so I have to pee more. I guess that's a pretty good trade - go home with monster in my belly and pee more or stay here. I'm ok with peeing more.

The hospital is still full, so I'm still stuck in a tiny room. I share a bathroom and the lady in the other room keeps locking me out of the bathroom. Not good! ('cuase when my bladder's full, I get contractions...) The TV in here is tiny. I mean really, really tiny. I have about 10 channels to choose from and 2 of them are Spanish. (I don't speak Spanish).

Since the contractions are gone (knock on wood, cross your fingers) I should get to go home tomorrow evening on bed rest and anti-contraction meds.

I can't tell you how great the shower felt after 2 days of laying in bed. I'm pretty sure they let me take a shower 'cause I was starting to stink. ;-) They had to wheel me down to another room for the shower. I don't have a shower in the shared bathroom. I guess it doesn't really matter though, since my neighbor keeps locking me out.

The dinner they brought me at 4:15 is gone now and I'm starving! Rachel and her son and Hedda brough me some snacks today. All the snacks might be gone by the morning...

They also brought me games and movies and trashy gossip magazines!

I'll try to update tomorrow after I break out of here. But, you know I'm very busy right now laying in bed doing nothing.

Guess where I am?

I'm at the hospital.

I was having some contractions and cramping, so I called my doctor. They don't want me to contract for too long with the cerclage in, so they told me to go to the hospital for observation. After I checked in, the contractions started to pick up. So, I got 2 shots of drugs to stop the contractions. The contractions stopped - for a few hours. They are more space out now. I'm having about 2 an hour. The main goal right now is to get some steriods in me to speed up the development of monster's lungs. I got the 1st round at 5 pm today. I will get round 2 at 5 pm tomorrow. If all goes well, 24 hours after round 2 they will let me go home on bed rest.

The OB and the perinat stopped by today. They both said having the baby at 33ish weeks isn't bad. He should have some fat on him by now, he should be maintaining his own body temp., he should be breathing. Basically, he will go to the NICU to perfect everything. Of course, the longer he stays in my belly, the better.

Monster is still breech. My cervix is still measuring long.

I can get up and go to the bathroom, I can eat whatever I want, and I can sit up in bed. This is much better then last time! And the hospital has wireless internet! I can play all day in blogland!!

The hospital was full when I got here - I took the last room. I'm in a tiny room. I'm waiting to get moved to a larger room in the high risk wing. High risk is nice. The rooms are HUGE - they have a little table with 2 chairs, microwave, fridge, a big TV, and a VCR! They spoil you there. But, I'd rather be home...

Anyone know how to turn the lights off? It's bedtime.

Pictures!

Ok - I get the hint. I'll finally show you some pictures.

After seeing Britney Spears on the Teen Choice Awards last night, I now feel much better about my size.

First things first
Our herd of cats...

Misty, Bluto, and Oscar on the new scratching post Cary got them. (and some junk in the background.)




On to monster's home...

I was walking down the stairs the other day and Cary said "watch your step." I looked down and saw this:

Like any good blogger, I took a picture so everyone can laugh at me.





I swear this one is just the dress. Yes, I'm sure it is the dress -it has nothing to do with me being 57489305 weeks pregnant.

Ironically, it is just this dress too. Not me...


Sorry to blind you with me paleness. I really need some sun! If only it wasn't 90 degrees everyday.

56 days?

Does the ticker at the top of the page really say there's only 56 days to go?? I have work to do! And the ticker is based on the perinat date due. That means the OB due date is only 50 days away!

So much to do...

Yay!

I went to the perinat today. They told me everything I wanted to hear. My cervix is still long! That means no more transvaginal ultrasounds! And the perinat is cutting back how often they see me. I'll go back in 3 weeks!! I get a week off! I go to the OB next week, then nothing the week after that! But, I'll end up going to the OB and perinat on Sept. 5.

Today the doctor said something about "towards the end of the pregnancy." That's me! I'm towards the end of the pregnancy. Can you believe that? Me, the preemie maker, might get to have a healthy, term baby!

They measured monster today. He is in the 42% for his gestational age. He is 3 pounds, 7 ounces. He has a little head just like his mommy and daddy.
I labeled the picture to make it easier to figure out. Basically he is looking at you with his hand by his mouth.
(Cary still hasn't plugged in the camera to his computer, so I can't show you the pictures of monster's GIANT home yet.)

He is still breech. His head is now in my ribs. It is as comfortable as it sounds. The perinat told me today that normally at this point there is about a 95% chance the baby will flip. But, he has no idea what monster's chances are of flipping. I'm so freakish that I'm not even in any statistic.

Monster's going have a freak mom with a little head and a dork dad who won't plug the camera into the computer.

drive-thru belly

Today I stopped by Pizza Hut Express for some nice, healthy, fast food. While passing my food through the drive-thru window, the lady asked me if I was having a boy or a girl. This is the second time some one at the drive-thru has asked me something like that. (I promise I don't eat fast food everyday.)

Am I really that big? Am I really so big that strangers can tell I'm pregnant while I'm sitting in my car? I swear my belly is getting bigger by the minute.



Still working on the picture. Cary told me earlier today the camera just needs to be plugged into the back of the computer. I said "I know, but I can't reach it." He laughed and said he would plug it in later today.

still pregnant

Went to the doctor today. There's no change! My cervix is still closed, cerclage is still there! Monster is still breech - they typically don't worry about that until 36ish weeks, but since I'm a freak they are thinking he will probably stay breech. All that means is that I will probably have a c-section. I got to say I don't really care how he comes out. I just want him to be healthy and come out screaming.

I go to the perinat next Tuesday. Then to the OB the Tuesday after that. Then back to the perinat the Tuesday after that. Then back to the OB... you see a pattern?

Most preggos probably don't even think twice about being 30/31 weeks. I wake up every morning scared I missed something again. I know I should be happy that I have made it this far, but I just get more afraid that I will miss something again. Last night, I was driving home from dinner with Cary and started to think about how happy I am that Jeana, Michelle, and Alyson all got to meet Caleb on my birthday. Jeana got the best Caleb show. She got to see him completely naked for his bath. He was so cute and so chubby. The nurse sat him in the pink hospital tub thing and he took up the whole tub. He was just looking at me with his curious eyes. I miss him so much. I don't want any other baby to go through what he had to go through. I wonder if I will ever stop being mad at my body and just be able to enjoy a pregnancy?

Sorry that was a sad paragraph...
On to happy things...

I had a funny post to leave the other day (with pictures of my giant belly!), but I have been having...umm...computer issues (like I can't reach the back of the computer to plug in the digital camera and I've been falling asleep after dinner every night). I will try to have Cary plug in the camera tonight.

The OB kept my due date at October 10 (Caleb's birthday). So, by them I am 31 weeks today. I mentioned it to them a few visits ago and they said they don't tyipcal change it. I mentioned to the dr today and she said she would have changed it to Oct. 16 - based on monster's measurements. She said changing the date at this point was up to me. Her exact comment was "do you want to stay pregnant for an extra week?" Let me think about that...NO! So, if monster stays breech and I don't go into PTL, they will schedule a C-section for about 8 weeks from now.

8 weeks!! That's soon! I need to clean the house and wash monster's clothes and measure the windows so my sis and mom can make curtians and decide how I want them to make monster's bedding and finish painting monster's bathroom and get Caleb's stuff out of monster's crib...

Chocolate good

I went to the perinat today. No change. Monster's still breech, my cervix is still long (35 mm).
I found that my body likes chocolate more than ice cream. I was gaining about 2 pounds a week. I cut back on the ice cream and upped the chocolate and only gained 1 pound this week. LOL! Guess I will be forced to eat more chocolate.

The perinat said it is fine for me to go to the pool! I told her I have noticed that some of the doctors at my OB office seem to be a little too cautious. She said they are being more cautious with me but since I'm measuring long the pool is fine!

I go to the OB next Tuesday afternoon and then to the perinat the Tuesday after that. If my cervix is still long at my next perinat visit, they will stop the transvaginal ultrasounds!

Monster put on a good show during the ultrasound today. He was kicking and stretching. He sucked his thumb, he had the hiccups (very fun to watch!), he rested his hand on his belly. It was great. During his show, I realized he looks just like Caleb.

I can't wait until October when we get to met Monster! (you hear me monster? OCTOBER!)


I had a dream about monster the other day. He was little, but when he was born he came out crying and he was able to come home from the hospital with us. AND he had a real name! I told Cary about it and he said he had been thinking more about that name. (The name was already on the top of our list, now it is on the very top of the list.) Maybe monster will get a real name one day...


One more thing...
Monster kicked Cary in the head this morning!