January 9, 2012

29 Weeks-WHAT A WEEK!

We got popsicles while in the hospital :)
**Since this week has been pretty stressful, this hospital pic will have to work for my 29 week picture. No bump pic this week!**

For those of you following my facebook statuses, you know it's been a stressful week.  It started last Wednesday when I had my 1 hour glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes.  Well, Thursday I found out that I didn't pass the first test, but that I would need to take the 3 hour glucose test to find out if I had gestational diabetes or not.  I started sobbing when I found this out.  The nurse reassured me over and over again that this didn't mean that I had it because the 3 hour test was the accurate test, not the 1 hour one. I was still really upset.  That night I started having very frequent contractions and got a little concerned because everything I read online said that you shouldn't have more than 4 an hour. I was having them every 2-3 minutes.  I called the on-call midwife at Vanderbilt and they told me to take a hot bath, drink tons of water, and lay down. I did all that, but they didn't improve at all.  I didn't know whether to go to the hospital or not because I didn't want to make a big deal about it if it was nothing, but I was obviously contracting way too much.  I ended up just going to bed.  I woke up Friday morning, still having contractions but they were better. I went in for my 3 hour blood glucose test at 8 am, and I was there for almost 4 hours.  I had to drink a 100 g carbohydrate drink and have my blood taken 4 times while I was there. The drink didn't taste so bad, but the way it made me feel was absolutely horrible.  I really needed to throw up but refused to let myself because I didn't want to repeat the test. I felt so sick and nauseous from all that sugar on an empty stomach (I had to go in fasting).  I told myself that I will never do the 3 hour test again.  I honestly don't think it's good to put that much sugar all at once in your body on an empty stomach. And who drinks that much sugar in one sitting without eating something or walking around or anything? Nobody. They wouldn't let me walk around because they said that could mess up the test.  I was so thankful to grab a salad as soon as the test was over. I was starving!  I found out later that afternoon that I passed my glucose test, which meant I didn't have gestational diabetes. Praise the Lord!

Then, the next day (Saturday), my contractions started again around 11 am. I took a hot bath and rested for awhile, but then Eric and I had some errands to run.  I tried not to walk around much when we were out driving around but then when we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, I started having stronger contractions.  While Eric and I were waiting for a table, I started having a ton of pressure down low. I knew in my gut we needed to get to the hospital. I had already talked to the on-call midwife that day and she said to keep counting my contractions and how close together they were.  They were VERY close at this point.  So Eric drives me to Vanderbilt Medical Center and I told him to just park the car outside while I waited for the on-call midwife to call me back. I didn't want to go in unless she thought it was really necessary. As I was laying in the back seat of our car outside of the hospital, I started having painful contractions, and things just didn't feel right. I followed my gut and went upstairs to L&D.  To make a long story short, my contractions were WAY too close together, so they wanted me to stay awhile so they could monitor me. They gave me 2 bags of IV fluids, and the midwife checked me.  Thankfully, my cervix was still closed. Good news! They did the fetal fibronectin test on me to see if it was likely that I would go into preterm labor within the next 2 weeks or not.  The test came back negative, so everyone was very reassured that I wouldn't go into labor for at least a few weeks. They said the test is 99.8 % accurate.  Finally, late saturday night, my contractions got further apart, and they let Eric and I go home.  They said I had just been having bad preterm contractions but they were reassured that I wasn't in preterm labor.  Unfortunately, as soon as I got up and changed and out the door, the contractions started up pretty close together again. We went home so I could lay down, but the contractions didn't stop all night or all day Sunday. I stayed on the couch 24/7 from Saturday night until right now (Monday night) except for trips to the bathroom and one trip to go in to get checked at my midwife's office.  My mom came down Sunday morning so she could take care of me while I was glued to the couch.  She's been a HUGE blessing while I haven't been able to do anything.  She's grocery shopped, cooked, cleaned, and ran errands for me.  Moms really do just make everything better! 

At my appointment this morning, my contractions were about 1-1.5 minutes apart, so they almost sent me to the hospital, but then they slowed down, thankfully. She checked me and my cervix was still closed (praise God), so she let me go home and told me to rest and take it easy.  I've only been on the couch for 2 days, but I can already tell you I do not like it one bit.  It's very uncomfortable to lay down all day, and it gets pretty boring.  I feel sorry for those who have had to be on bedrest for months. Thankfully, I'm not on bedrest; I'm just supposed to rest as much as possible and take it easy. Obviously, if I start having too frequent contractions, I'm supposed to stay lying down and monitor them to see if I need to go in again.  I'm praying that this doesn't happen and that my contractions stay far apart; better yet, that they stop all together would be nice! I can't wait to meet this precious baby boy, but not quite yet. He needs to keep growing inside of me for at least 8 more weeks. And I have baby showers to go to! Excited about my 1st one this weekend in Illinois. I can't wait to see everyone!

Lastly, I want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers and kind words.  I truly believe that prayer is SO SO powerful, and I know that my contractions have gotten better because of everyone's prayers. Though it's been an extremely stressful past few days, I know that God has never left my side, and He loves this baby more than I do.  Keep the prayers coming that these contractions stay far apart and that baby Owen stays inside for at least another 8 weeks. I really appreciate them! Love to you all! xoxo

January 2, 2012

My 2012 Prayer


I'm not sure why people wait until January 1 to make goals/new year's resolutions, etc.  I kinda feel bad that I don't focus on this all year round.  But I'm like a lot of people in that I make goals at the beginning of every year.  I think it's a good thing to write down your goals.  Studies show that if you write them down, you are more likely to attain them.  Eric and I have coffee at the beginning of every year and discuss our goals-our individual ones and ones we have as a couple.  Today I was reminded of a few of my spiritual goals.  I was reading a chapter in this amazing book that my cousin, Brandi got for me when I first told her I was pregnant.  The book is called Prayers for Expectant Mothers.  As I was reading today's chapter, I started tearing up because I want to be the woman it talks about so badly.  I'll read an excerpt from today's chapter:

"More than a pregnant glow, I want a light that cannot be hidden. A light that burns brightly. A light that can be seen from a distance and draws others in. I want to be a light in the darkness. A beacon that guides others to you. So many things threaten to hide my light. Sin. Complacency. Self-centeredness. Lord, I can be such a dim light at times. I confess that left to my own, there is no light to burn. Try as I might, I cannot muster even a flicker on my own. I am a shadowy grave, except for Your grace. Fill up every dark place with the radiance of your presence.
Replace my complaining with worship. Exchange my gloomy doubts for an enduring vision. Convert my pitiful worries into righteous confidence. Abide in me. Change me. Use me. God, please do whatever it takes to brighten the light inside me. Because of Your mercy and because of Your presence, I shine. Amen."

 Wow, that is so powerful!  Lately, I've felt like I'm stuck in a place I don't want to be-a place of complacency maybe.  So as I read this today, I just started sobbing because this is the type of woman I want to be. And I know I can be through Jesus Christ's grace and through His power.  As I start out 2012, I'm thankful first of all that the Lord has forgiven all my sins. Second, I'm determined to become the woman God wants me to be.  I feel that 2012 may be a year of refining for me, and though it may be difficult at times, I'm thankful that God loves me too much to let me stay the way I am. My desire is to become more like Him-to love more, forgive more, and to have a heart of joy and compassion.  I'm excited for what this year is going to bring.  How about you? What are you looking forward to in 2012?

28 Weeks


How far along:
28 weeks
Size of baby: Chinese Cabbage (2 1/4 pounds)
Movement: He is definitely a night mover. Owen likes to sleep most of the morning off and then wakes up very active in the evenings.
Sleep: It's getting a lot harder to get comfortable.
Cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary. Since the holidays are over, I'm determined to eat even healthier and reduce the amount of sweets I eat. (Besides my baby shower days :)
Queasy or sick:  Nope.
Symptoms:  I have a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen when I exercise, but other than that I'm good. 
Maternity Clothes:  Yes, the dress I'm wearing above is from Rosie Pope Maternity in NYC. I loved getting to visit her store during our NYC trip last month.  She has her own show on Bravo called "Pregnant in Heels."
Belly Button In or Out? Half innie/half outie. :)
Wedding Ring On or Off? On
Miss Anything? My motivation.
High of the week: Eric and I had a great weekend at home. We had friends over Friday night and Saturday night was New Year's Eve. We had a great time with friends at Larry's party.  I was surprised that I stayed up til almost 2 am!
Low of the week: Taking down Christmas decorations is pretty depressing. My house looks so bare now.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.
Gender: BOY!
Looking Forward to: My baby showers this month! And I finally ordered Owen's crib, and it should be here any day now.  I can't wait to put it together and see it in the nursery. 

Wednesday is my gestational diabetes test, and I'm a little nervous! I've heard that the orange drink doesn't taste as bad as everyone says, so that's good. Praying I don't have GD!  


Eric and I had a great Christmas in Illinois-our last one as a family of 2!  I'm so excited that we'll have a 9 month old crawling around next Christmas. It's so hard to believe!  Here are a few pics from the Christmas weekend:
Eric & I w/ our twin niece & nephew, Caden & Chloe

Owen got a BOB jogging stroller for Christmas. Mommy is already looking forward to losing the baby weight w/ this gift.

Christmas Day 2011