3 Days

Well, I've made it 39 weeks. We are all in shock. We thought this sweet boy would have been here a couple of weeks ago at the latest. We are very glad that he stayed safely tucked in as long as he has..but just very surprised. So after all the pre-term scare and bed rest ordeal, it has now come down to being induced! That's right! Who would have thought! If Carson isn't born before this Thursday, July 16th, I will be induced then. So we will for sure be parents of 2 boys on Thursday! The way things are looking, its doubtful he will come before then. I guess there's always a chance though. We decided to induce for a couple of reasons. One, my dr is amazing and has made the decision to only work 2 days a week so she can stay home with her twin babies. However, this limits the number of days she's available for appointments and deliveries. So with it being scheduled, we can guarantee she will be there. Also, since I received steroid shots,etc when we thought Carson may be early, he is now quite a big boy in there. So having him a few days before my due date will just keep him a little smaller..and 4 days before my due date is plenty safe for him to come!

We are very excited! Its crazy to have a set date! I think it makes me a little more nervous though. It makes me feel as though I have so much to do in these last 3 days and only a limited amount of time to do certain things. I feel like I'm being lazy and un-productive just by taking the time to write this post! But in reality, I need to just relax! It will get done..and if it doesn't, OH WELL!

We are trying to get Brody excited about being a big brother. He loves babies and likes to "help" with them. So I'm hoping he is very welcoming and loving to his new brother. But he is 18 months old..he may not like that mommy's attention is not focused soley on him anymore. I guess it will be a learning and adjustment period for all of us.

The plan is to try to keep friends and family updated on the progress throughout the day on the blog. No graphic details, but just updates to let you know that things are progressing and how we are doing. And an announcement when he's born of course. If you want hospital info, Matt's phone number, etc then email me.

Can't wait for you to meet our new angel!

What's Your Prediction?

Still no sign of Carson. Which is a good thing. I'm just about 36 weeks now, off of bed rest, and the dr says he can come anyday now. So we're just waiting. And getting very anxious. Brody was born at 35 weeks and 5 days, which is today. Soo..I don't know what its like to go any farther than this! I'm ready for him to be here! I don't really have a prediction about when he'll come. I guess I should since he's in my belly..you'd think I'd have some sort of feeling about what's going on in there. But not really. I thought he would have already come by now!

So what do you think? Let's see who gets it right..or closest. In case you forgot, my due date is July 21..but he obviously can come at any point from now on bc of all my history.

So predict: his birthdate, weight, and length.

Patio Project

I've finally gotten my act together and made a slideshow of all the patio project pics. It looks sooo great and we are loving it! Brody wants to go outside all the time now bc he has a place to play. Thank you to Matt Welch for helping out so much!

Babies and Bedrest Update

Well, it's been 3 weeks since I went to the hospital with the contractions. I've been confined to the couch ever since I got home on that Tuesday. I went to the dr every week for her to evaluate the contractions and to see if I was getting closer to delivering. Fortunately, all of those visits revealed good results and it seemed my body wasn't trying to have a baby quite yet. My last appointment was this past Thursday. I am about 1/2 centimeter dilated and Carson's head is way down. So I'm not exactly sure what that means. It definitely shows progression, but I think its also a good sign that I was only 1/2 centimeter bc we thought it could have been a lot more.

I get to get off of full bedrest on Tuesday and am finally allowed to take care of Brody boy by myself! I can't wait! I promise not to overdo it, but it will be so great to love on him, pick him up, and even discipline him all on my own. These past 3 weeks have been very confusing and frustrating for him. I would like him to have at least a small amount of normalcy before the baby comes.

Brody was born about a week and a half after I got off bedrest. Since my body seems to be doing all the same things it did back then, we're pretty much expecting the same thing this time. Obviously, its no guarantee, but based on my history, there's a good chance. So we might have a baby in less than 2 weeks! If I make it 2 more weeks, I'll be almost 36 weeks, which is when Brody was born. So we're really hoping to make it at least that long, or longer. But either way, little Carson will be here before we know it. I'm very excited to meet my new little guy! I never pictured myself as the only female in a house with 3 guys. But I think I'm going to like this :)

Babies, Hospitals and Bedrest ...Oh My!

I'll try to give a brief synopsis of what's going on for those who haven't heard much. I'll try to keep it short for those who already have heard what's going on and then I have a few updates that I haven't had a chance to tell anyone.

Here's an email I sent out to a few people on Sunday:

"hey friends, i know some of you have heard or seen messages on g-chat about us being in the hospital so I wanted to update. I started having contractions about 10 last night (saturday). I was awake all night pretty much with steady, painful contractions. We came to the hospital about 9:30 Sunday morning. I was on the monitor all day and my contractions were always about 5-10 minutes apart. Some were extremely painful (I seriously thought I needed an epidural at one point) and others were just steady, uncomfortable tightening. They checked my cervix early in the day and I was still closed but was starting to efface but they never told me a percentage. They started me on some medicine to stop the contractions but it hasn't worked yet. I've had one round of steroids for Carson's lungs and will get another dose tomorrow. Nothing has really changed since we've been here...Its 10pm and I'm still having steady contractions. Fortunately Carson is still doing great in there. I'll see hopefully my dr in the morning and then they will do a test to see if it looks like I will go into labor within the next 2 weeks. I get my second dose of the steroid in the afternoon and as long as things don't look worse I'll go home...and be on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy more than likely. So right now we're praying that things don't progress so that Carson will stay where he is and get stronger."

Then this was the update I sent it on Monday:

"Update...My dr wasn't making rounds this morning bc she only works a couple days a week. So Dr. Price came to check on me. Apparently now, I have to stay another night and not go home until tomorrow. I know that he talked to my dr so maybe those are orders from her? I'm not really sure. He kept telling me I have to keep this baby in for 3 more weeks..which will get me to 34 weeks so I guess they're being very cautious. My contractions slowed down and I was able to sleep last night and have only had a few bouts of bad ones today. So hopefully things are looking better. This afternoon I get my steroid shot and the fetal fibronectin test to see if I'm going to go in labor soon and then I guess I'll just be waiting and resting here. My mom is in town and will be here all week to take care of Brody and feeding us. I guess when I'm discharged (hopefully tomorrow) they'll give me my final orders on bedrest and everything. We're still planning on having the shower on Friday..I'll just stay in a chair the whole time haha."

Ok..so currently..its Tuesday. I saw my dr this morning and we sat and talked about all that's going on. She was obviously concerned about all that had been going on, but was relieved that my contractions have slowed down. I still have random bouts of strong, intense contractions but it seems that the medicine is holding them off a little. So I got to go home about 9:15 this morning. Of course I'm on strict bedrest for the next 3 weeks to make sure he doesn't come before 34 weeks. The more active I am, the more intense my contractions get and the greater chance my body will start progressing towards labor. I'll see my dr every week from now on so I will be monitored closely.

So now we're in the praying, waiting, resting mode. I'll be on the couch for 3 weeks trying to explain to Brody Boy why I can't pick him up. He can only snuggle with me. My mom will be here all week and my awesome sis-in-law is coming next week. For week 3, we'll probably try to make arrangements with friends and family to watch Brody some days.

So there's a good chance that in a month we could have another sweet boy in our home. But as excited as I am to meet him, I want him to stay put as long as he needs to. Babies born after 34 weeks are far less likely to have breathing and developmental problems. And even though Brody was born at 35 1/2 weeks and was perfectly healthy, we have noticed small things developmentally that are delayed. Nothing drastic but just small things that he would probably be a little further along in if he were full term. But he'll catch up...no worries there. As long as baby Carson is healthy when he's born, we can handle him not walking at 12 months.

I guess that's all there is to update on right now. If anything changes we'll let you know. Thanks for all the prayers and offers to help out. We'll definitely be making calls to take you up on that soon.

Our Little Talker

Brody loves to talk. Most of the time its jibberish..but apparently he knows exactly what he's saying bc he sometimes expects a response from us. Its very funny. Lately though, he has really started picking up on words and tries very hard to say them correctly. Here's a few that he has mastered and that we're working on.

Mama
Dada, Daddy
Nana - (banana)
Go
Yay! (usually accompanied with clapping)
Bebe - (baby)
No-No (he's never told us "no", but he sometimes says it to himself.)
Bah - (ball)
Ah Don - (all done..he also signs this so it makes it easier to figure out what he's saying)

I feel like I'm forgetting some. He rambles on and on all day so I feel like there's some real words he's slipping in sometimes that we haven't picked up on yet.

And I think we're getting even closer to walking! He loves to walk back and forth between Matt and I. He's taken about 5 steps on his own and then always dives. He will be standing with his back to the couch and take off from there to someone...or to no one..which isn't always the best. So he's getting closer. Maybe in the next couple of weeks? Or maybe that's just wishful thinking? I don't know how fast it comes once they are at this stage.

That's the only updates for now. We worked hard around the house and yard this week getting things ready. I'll have an update on Carson's room and the patio project very soon! Things look different around here!

3rd Trimester Update

I'm ashamed to say that this is the first picture I've taken of my belly during this entire pregnancy!! How sad is that! I hope that's not a sign of how many pictures there will be of Carson! No, I don't think it is..I love pictures of my babies..just not myself. But I decided it was time.

29 1/2 week belly shot

I haven't posted much about my pregnancy at all. It's been pretty much exactly the same as it was with Brody. Sick almost everyday for the entire time. And pretty steady contractions that started way earlier than they are supposed to. So I get shots once a week to prevent me from going into labor too early. Once I get to 36 weeks, I will stop the shots and see what happens. So there's a chance that Carson could be born about the same time Brody was..35-36 weeks. It's weird to think that in potentially 6-7 weeks I could have another sweet baby! That seems so close! I'm not on bed rest but am SUPPOSED to be on "limited activity" where I try to not do too much during the day and if I have to get out, I am only supposed to go out for 1.5 hours a day. I don't know how well I am following those rules. Knowing Carson could be here in less than 2 months has gotten me in full swing with organizing and cleaning. So its hard to sit still at home. Except during my afternoon naps :)

We still haven't picked out any furniture for Carson's room. Since Brody is so young, its still going to be a while before he is out of his crib. So Carson is getting his own bed..we just have to find one that is a reasonable price. We've picked out bedding and have pretty much gotten his room cleaned out. I still need to work on his closet and my desk area, but other than that, the room is ready for a crib.

I can't really think of any other updates. I'm going to the dr every 2 weeks now. That makes it seem like its going so much faster! When it gets to once a week, it will really fly by! Our second baby boy will be here before we know it!