Ironic

My wonderful parents have been staying with us in St.George for the past 6 weeks to help with the kids while I am on bed rest. My Dr. upgraded me to moderate bed rest on Wednesday ( wahoo). Friday my parents left and it was sure hard to see them go. They have been lifesavers for the past 6 weeks. I honestly don't know what we would have done without them. Matt packed up the kids and headed up to Delta for the Easter weekend. I decided I better stay close to home "just in case" i had any problems. I was glad to have the weekend to finish up some baby projects and to rest up for the coming weeks of just me and the 3 kids flying solo with no help from Grandma n grandpa.

So....isn't it ironic that Saturday morning, the day after my parents leave.....and the day after my family goes out of town.....that I wake up and find that I am bleeding and have to go to Labor and Delivery. I have to call around to friends to catch a ride to the hospital and then when they checked me they discovered that I am now dilated to 2+ cm and 80 %. I stayed all day and night, hooked up to machines, as they watched for contractions. I had contractions but they never became regular. They gave me another round of steroid shots for baby girl's lungs and sent me home this beautiful Easter afternoon. I was instructed to come back immediately if my contractions become regular or if my water breaks.

Wow. This pregnancy sure has been a roller coaster ride. I wasn't really sure if last night was going to the big night. The night I would deliver. Matt was driving home from delta with the kids and was pulled over for speeding. Ha ha. Ironic , right? At least it gave us a good laugh. ( and he didn't get a ticket by the way) What a crazy weekend.
Here are my stats:

32 wks 2 days pregnant
Dialated 2cm+ effaced 80%
2nd round of Steroid shots given
cervix length below 1cm

30 wks 4 days.....

I had a great appointment with the maternal fetal medicine specialist today. I have been stable now for about a month at 1.7 cm cervical length so I no longer have to go to the specialist and I will be upgraded to Moderate Bedrest in a week and a half. ( 32 weeks) I then will be completely off of bedrest at 34 weeks.

You have no idea how happy this makes me. I have been feeling pretty crazy all cooped up and I am excited to be able to get up and move around more often. I have not been able to do anything to prepare for our baby yet. I am excited to get all of Ava's old clothes out of the attic and start washing and ironing them. It will be fun to do some shopping too, for this new little one. Girls are seriously a blast to shop for.

I hope everyone realizes how much I appreciate the support and prayers we have received in the past 2 months. I have felt such peace and comfort, and I know it is because of prayers.

Here are my stats today....
30 weeks +4 days pregnant
Baby girl measuring at 3lbs 5 oz
Cervix measuring at 1.7cm with funneling
1cm dilated and 50% effaced.

27 weeks 5 days

Here are my stats as of today.....

27 weeks +5 days pregnant
Baby girl measuring at 2lbs 10 oz
Cervix measuring at 1.8cm with funneling
1cm dilated and 50% effaced.


I am on day 29 of bed rest. Yep. I have made it 29 days and I still have about 10 more weeks to look forward to. I was so happy today when I went in for my weekly appointment with the specialist and they measured our baby at being 2lbs 10 oz. It is such a relief to be close to 3 pounds. The bigger she gets, the better I feel. She is growing like a champ. The Dr. says I am still high risk and that if my cervix shortens any more I am being admitted to the hospital. I really want to be home with my kids....so hopefully I can stay steady at 1.8cm.

My mom and pop drove out from Arkansas and are staying for a couple months to take care of the kiddos while Matt is at work during the day. It has been such a blessing to have them here.

Every day is different. Some days are wonderful and go by fast. Some days drag...and drag...and drag. I am determined to try and be optimistic....but here are 3 things that annoy me lately.

1. I can't pick up my kids. I can cuddle with them, which I do, but it is frustrating that I can't be the first to respond when they are sad or hurt. I have to rely on others to do it for me.
2. I stare out the window lately and watch the tree outside start to blossom for spring. I watch Matt and Max playing catch and Ava riding her bike and Isaac digging in the dirt. This is my favorite time of year. Spring is beautiful in St. George and I feel like I am missing it. I want to be outside playing with my family too. I want to enjoy the weather.
3. Daytime TV is annoying. Actually , evening TV is annoying too. Thank goodness for HGTV and discovery channel. They are the only channels that I can count on.

24 weeks 4 days

I have my computer pushed up to the side of my bed, a pile of books on the floor next to me, my cell phone and a big jug of water. My house is quiet. Too quiet. Today is day 7 of Strict bed rest orders from my OBGYN.
My amazing in-laws have my kids in Delta for the week, as I can't do anything but lay on my back , go to the bathroom, then lay back down. No lifting, no cleaning, nothing. I can shower every other day. Did I mention how strict my bed rest is?

It all started last Monday ( presidents day). I was feeling "off" and crampy and so I tried to stay off my feet until the next morning when I called my DR;s office and got an appointment to be seen. Having lost our baby girl Anna, I am definitely more aggressive about being seen when I am crampy because that's how my labor started last time. They figured out that I had some sort of infection . A UTI or bladder infection so I was given a prescription for an antibiotic and was told that it probably caused my crampiness. I asked the Dr to order an ultrasound to double check that all was well with our baby. I really needed to make sure she was alright. A couple hours later I found out after my ultrasound that my cervix was shortening and that I was at risk to go into pre-term labor. At my 19 weeks ultrasound my cervix measured 5cm. My ultrasound now showed a length of 2.8 cm. My cervix was disappearing and there was nothing to hold the baby in. It's called an Incompetent cervix. So I was ordered on SBR(strict bed rest) and it has been a challenge to say the least.
I went into the Dr yesterday to get another ultrasound and I had more bad news. the cervix is now measuring 2.5 cm. I was given steroid shots to help the babies lungs develop faster and also given progesterone 17p to reduce my chances of going into labor.
Tomorrow I am going to see a specialist that is coming down from SLC to figure out what the best plan is for me.

Can I just say that I am SO grateful to my wonderful husband. He has taken on the stress of completely taking over all the household chores and taking care of me and running errands...all while working full time and finishing up his masters and serving in the Bishopric. He is superman. I have had a lot of time to reflect these past 7 days, I am truly humbled to have met Matt and married him 9 years ago today. ( yep it's our anniversary) He is my best friend and he makes my life truly perfect. He is the best dad I have ever seen. He is patient and an extremely hard worker. He truly cares about those around him and is always willing to serve. I love you sweetie!

I also wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all my friends, family, ward members and neighbors who have really stepped up and helped with my kids and meals and coming over to visit with me so I don't go crazy. How did I get so lucky? I have such an amazing support system.

Here are my stats as of today.....
24 weeks +4 days pregnant
Baby girl measuring at around 1 1/2 lbs
2 steroid shots given
1 progesterone shot given

Please keep us in your prayers. Our little girl still needs time to grow and to develop.
Grow strong baby girl. We love you!