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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

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.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

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!

Friday, May 8, 2009

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!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Trip to the Zoo

Last Wednesday we took a trip over to Houston to visit the zoo with Cole and Aunt Leigh Ann. It was the day after it flooded in Houston so we were a little worried that it wouldn't work out..or if it did, that it would be a nasty day. The weather turned out to be perfect..it even got pretty hot. However, what we didn't know was that pretty much every elementary school in Houston was going to be at the zoo that day. Literally EVERY k-2nd child was there. It was crazy! Soo..we had a good time..but it was a little hectic. Kids kept getting in front of the strollers so Cole and Brody couldn't see a lot of the animals. Plus some of the walls were a little high so we kept having to get them out of the strollers so they could see. Some animals Brody pretty much couldn't care less about. But there were definitely some that he was very interested in. He loved the lions, the elephants and the komodo dragon bc he could see them really well. We'll definitely be making plenty of trips to the zoo so he'll learn what everything is. Just maybe not this summer..its already getting hot and Baby Carson will be here before we know it!

I'm a cool dude in my mom's sunglasses!

Hey, I want whatever is on HIS tray!

Not lovin the preggo pics..but I couldn't not take a pic with my boy. I don't have many! Not sure what he is looking at.

Can't remember what the animal is called that he is trying to look at but he was very interested. Cole is enjoying his food back there.

We went back to Cole's and had dinner and played a little while before we had to go home.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Funny Brody Story


Brody Boy is so much like his daddy in so many ways. He definitely has his sense of humor, love of sports and so much more. Some people know that Matt HATES and I mean REALLY HATES stickers. Any type of sticker that a kid would have to stuck to them or on paper, he hates them. Its a weird phobia. Lately Brody and I have been doing sticker crafts and Matt keeps saying he doesn't want him to like stickers.

So yesterday, Matt, being the wonderful husband he is, took Brody with him on a grocery shopping trip. (I've been having contractions and am not supposed to over do it so he volunteered to do the shopping for us this week.) When he got back he said "I have a hilarious story to tell you." Apparently, while they were checking out there was an "incident." Matt pushed the cart up so the bagger could put the bags in. Brody was just jabbering away to the people and seemed happy. Matt turned to give the checker the coupons (that's right!) and to pay. He glanced and noticed the bagger giving Brody a sticker. He was like aww man, but just let it go. All of a sudden, Brody started crying histarically. He was reaching for Matt and trying to climb out of the cart. Matt had no idea what happened.

What he saw next made him beam with pride. Brody was tugging at his shirt and had a look of fear in his eyes. The bagger had put the sticker on Brody's shirt and he wanted it off. He hated it on him. He was looking down at his shirt, scared, trying to get the HEB sticker off of him. Matt said as soon as he took it off of him, Brody immediately stopped crying. All he wanted was to get that horrible thing off his shirt. Hilarious!

He is definitely his daddy's boy!