Wowza

Okay, so I am pretty much an emotional wreck right now. ha My cervix is staying between closed and 1 cm. dilated, and my doctor told me today that I'll be on bedrest until I deliver. Hmph. He said I could lighten up a bit at 34 weeks, and there's no way I'll stay on any kind of bedrest after 37 weeks. ;-) I think he doesn't expect me to go that long. So, five weeks more of strict bedrest, and eight more until I'm 37 weeks. Wowza.
I don't like bedrest.
I've been reading my Charlotte Mason book Philosopy of Education and trying to figure out my approach to Nathan's education. :-) I know he's only three, but once Noelle does finally get here I won't be in much of a pondering mood for a while. ha And I truly enjoy reading about education. I look forward to teaching Nathan, and I think I'll be using quite a bit of Charlotte Mason's philosophy regarding education. I just have to figure out what will work best for Nathan, and how everything will fit into Evan's requirements. :-D I wish I had someone to discuss the book with, though.
Hmmm. I made a menu and grocery list tonight. I do not like the fact that I really don't know what is in my refrigerator anymore. Maybe I should follow Pooh's example and sing a Complaining Song. ;-) hee hee

Monday

So, life on bedrest. Funny, I really thought we had gotten past that point. I think my doctors were also thinking we were past that, too, because my specialist had said that the last appointment was more of a formality. I still am wondering exactly what happened. The specialist would’ve actually sent me home even after seeing my cervix shorten if only I hadn’t had another contraction while she was monitoring me. And, I think I only had the contraction because of how I was lying on the exam table. Ha Bodies are weird things anyway. I have an appointment with my regular doctor on Wednesday, so hopefully I’ll get to ask a few questions then.
I am feeling pretty stable today. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were a bit tough. I think those were my “wrap my head around it” days. :-) I just kept thinking of all the things I am not going to be able to do and, truthfully, feeling very sorry for myself. And a bit overwhelmed. Ha I definitely love my job and enjoy taking care of everything in my house. Having to let it all go and watch others do my work (or have it go undone) is a bit hard. I am so thankful to have Mom here to help me, though. I am just having to learn to let go.
Nathan is doing pretty well. I am so thankful that he loves to read and color. We did that together quite a bit today, and it makes me feel so much better to still be doing something with my kiddo. I think he enjoys all the reading, too. :-)

Home!

Wow. What a couple of days.
The past few weeks my cervix has been staying between 3.7 and 4.2 cm long, and my specialist was very happy. Yesterday I had my last appointment with her, more of a formality she had said, and something happened as she was measuring the cervix. The cervix went from 3.7 to 2.7. She said I had a contraction, although I didn’t feel it, and monitored me for thirty minutes. I had another contraction, so she wanted me to go to the hospital to be monitored for a couple of hours and to have my regular doctor digitally check me.
By the time I got to the hospital and was strapped into the monitors, I was freaking out and having light contractions. My doctor checked me and said I was one centimeter dilated. They gave me medicine to make my uterus calm down and also gave me a steroid shot to help mature Noelle’s lungs just in case I had her. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike hospitals?? Noelle was NOT happy at the monitors being strapped to the outside of her home and proceeded to kick and push the monitors as much as possible. I don’t think that helped my uterus calm down. Ha It wasn’t until this morning that my uterus stopped being so touchy, and Noelle also decided to stop attacking the monitors. I had to laugh last night as the nurse was trying to find Noelle’s heartbeat. Every time the nurse would get the monitor on her, Noelle would kick like crazy and move. The nurse was even laughing and commented at how strong Noelle was (yes, there could be a bit of motherly pride leaking through there…ha).
I hardly slept last night, but I’m thankful that I only had to be there one night. Today my face started feeling really hot, and my eyes started burning. I was really wondering what was happening to me, but my doctor walked in and said that I had a nice steroid flush. Ha My face is still red, but I don’t feel like my eyes are burning anymore. I had to get one more steroid shot before I left the hospital this evening, so I’ll have a nice red glow for the next couple of days. My doctor checked me again this evening and was happy to tell me that my cervix had almost completely closed back up and that it was feeling much thicker than it did yesterday (thicker is good). He wants me on bedrest, and I have to keep taking the medicine for my contractions. Tonight, though, I’m just happy to be home.

Today's Appointment

Today's appointment went really well! My cervix is measuring around 3.77, and my specialist said that she is a happy camper. :-) If my cervix is still above 3 cm at 28 weeks, I'll be done with the specialist! Only 2 1/2 weeks to go! I am so thankful.
She also measured Noelle today and estimated her weight at 1 pound 14 ounces. She said that is four days ahead of schedule. :-) So, I came away from my appointment a very happy girl.
Right now I am procrastinating. I did not get a nap today, and I've been pretty busy getting ready to go camping tomorrow. I made muffins, went to my appointment, took Nathan to library time, ate lunch, made potato salad, roasted and cut up chicken to freeze (not exactly planned, but it had to be done), and made yogurt after supper. Of course, Hannah helped wash dishes and take care of Nathan through all of this, or I would not have gotten it all done. ha
Well, I'm going to go find another way to procrastinate now. ;-)

A post!

No, I haven't been to the doctor yet this week. :-) And it's been wonderful. I go on Thursday. A friend of mine just had her baby last night. At home. After three hours of labor. And forty weeks of pregnancy. So, I can't help but be a wee bit jealous. :-p
Hannah is still here, and I am loving it! She is a lot of help and also a good distraction. She's going to stay another one to three weeks then (hopefully) come back closer to my due date. Am I blessed or what?! All that time and effort I put into her all those years ago... hee hee It's funny, though; I turned twelve the day after she was born, and I carted her around so much that her mother called me her second mom. She's come to see us every summer since we've been married, which means since she was eight or nine years old.
Well, I can tell the Wii has been turned off. I suppose I should go. I'm praying that my cervix is behaving itself! :-)

Quick post

My cervix is now between 3.4-3.8, so my specialist is going to keep me on weekly appointments until 28 weeks. What we do after that will depend on how everything goes between now and then. Right now, I’m still 2 cm. from needing a cerclage, so it looks like I will not be getting one. She usually does not give cerclages after 24 weeks, and I’ll be 24 weeks on Monday. Believe me, I’m not shedding tears over that!
That’s about all I have time for this morning. I saw a TON of garage sale signs on my way to my appointment, but I think I’ll have to let them go this morning. Now that is sad.
P.S. I also got to see her opening and closing her mouth. The tech said it looked like she was drinking. ha I have so many ultrasound pics of this baby! It really isn't even funny.

Okay, so I am really not keeping up with this blog.
My cervix went from 4.8 to 4.0 in two weeks, and I’ve been on weekly appointments since then. However, it has stayed 3.8-4.0 the last two weeks, so the doctor isn’t too concerned. I have an appointment tomorrow, and if my cervix has stayed around the same we’ll go back to two-week appointments. If my cervix is 3.0 or above by the time I’m 28 weeks I won’t see the specialist anymore. I’ll just watch for preterm labor and go from there. Right now I’m 23 ½ weeks. This all sounds so cut and dry, but the last few weeks have been pretty emotional. I am thankful for every new week that I carry this baby, and I’m even more thankful for weeks like this one in which I actually enjoy being pregnant.
Hannah is here, and she is being a lot of help. Nathan was sick for about a week a couple of weeks ago, and between me and him we had three doctor appointments in one week. It was so nice to be able to take naps at weird times on those days and let Hannah watch Nathan.
I’ve made my bread recipe again, and it is still a keeper! I love making bread once a month! I made muffins yesterday, and I’m amazed at the difference it makes to soak the flour in buttermilk rather than yogurt. Soooo much better!
Okay, that’s about as much time as I have right now.