38 Weeks & Counting Down!

I sit here and write this.. feeling blessed, so very blessed.. and worn out at the same time! I am almost 39 weeks pregnant. Twelve weeks ago, this achievement of reaching 9 months pregnant seemed impossible. I was put on bedrest as my body was preparing for delivery at 27 weeks into my pregnancy. My body was wracked with constant Braxon-Hicks contractions & cramping. We prayed and sought the Lord and begged him to allow our baby Josiah to hang out much longer within the confines of my body. Yet, here I am 3 months from that time, and am actually praying, "Lord, let Josiah come today!" Isn't that funny & ironic?

One of the greatest things about our story is the fact that Lydia & Elijah have fervently prayed that Josiah wouldn't come early. For 3 months, 2-3 times daily, this has been the words that poured from their hearts during each prayer time we have had. How cool is that!?! They are 6 & 4 years old and God has heard their cries and answered their prayers! I LOVE that! I love that He hears all of our prayers.. even the ones of the young children!!

From the nerve pain I now experience in my pelvis, night-time insomnia, and terrible acid reflux.. I am very ready to evict the little life that takes residence in my body! I praise the Lord I don't have any swelling though.. I imagine that would be quite terrible!! I am thankful that God gives very pregnant women the nesting instinct, or else it would be nearly impossible to take care of my home & children. How great & thoughtful our Lord is that he even gives me these sleepless nights. It definitely prepares me for what's ahead with a newborn baby!! I texted my sister earlier and jokingly said, "I now know what Grandma must have felt like when she got run over by a reindeer." I feel very worn down, but from what I've read online.. this feeling of puniness, exhaustion, and overall icky feeling can be a precursor to labor! So I have my fingers crossed, hehe!

Josiah is measuring between 7.5-8 lbs and is very healthy! My body is dilating & effacing as I prepare for my VBAC birth and I am ecstatic to meet this little guy!! I praise God for his healthy weight and from all we can tell.. a healthy baby!! My body has never prepared for labor before. After 2.5 years of chiropractic care.. it is doing it and I can't tell you how happy this makes me!! The hospital wasn't very pleased when I explained to them my desire for a VBA2C, but thankfully my Doctor is on board, and I know we can do this!!! I anxiously await for the contractions to become consistent! I am walking as much as I can and drinking lots of red raspberry tea... and praying, lots of praying for him to come!!! hehe

Lydia & Elijah are so excited as we prepare to meet Josiah. They love talking to & hugging my belly and including Josiah in every thing we do. It's absolutely precious & warms my heart immensely. How sweet my children are!!

I know the nights will be long and I understand there will be a big transition that takes place in our home, but we are very excited as we become a family of 5. I've been fervently asking the Lord to prepare our hearts for this transition; making it smooth for all of us. I have been sharing with Lydia & Eli about the needs & cries of a newborn. To which, at this point, they are understanding and okay with! We will see how long that understanding truly lasts!! I know the day will be here soon in which Josiah makes his appearance, but I will selfishly admit that the days drag on forever as we anticipate his arrival!!

So, here's to hoping that this is my last post as a pregnant woman and my next post will be pictures of our sweet newborn son and my birth story!!

38 weeks pregnant

Bedrest Update!

On Thursday, I got the test results for my preterm labor fetal-fibronectin test. The nurse called me and said it's positive. This isn't the kind of result you want with this type of test. It means, preterm labor is imminent. She tells me it can be as soon as 2 weeks or later. I am told that I am on strict bedrest and I must cancel my Pampered Chef Show that is scheduled (that night!) I have been a little concerned (with my Braxton-Hicks & pain levels) how I would make it through this show that was also 45 minutes away, but I was excited about this party.. because I had coached my host well & she was excited for a great party!! Those are my favorite ones to do!! Nonetheless, I found a replacement and I stayed home. The nurse wanted me back in the office the next day.

Friday afternoon, Andy accompanied me as I went through another cervical exam, ultrasound, and fetal non-stress test. The exam showed that I am still not dilated, but my cervix is very soft (which we knew!) and the ultrasound showed that I am not in immediate danger as my cervix hasn't shortened. The doctor tells me, "We've caught this early! Which is a good thing! We must be proactive!!" She explains that I will be in the office for testing & monitoring twice a week now. I will be on bedrest. I can go on non-stressful outings for short periods of time & can make my children's lunches, but absolutely no cooking and no cleaning. I am to rest, hydrate, rest, hydrate, and so forth. 

At first glance, this all may sound wonderful, right? You're told by the doctor you can't do anything but sit & sleep? How wonderful! I must tell you though.. I am a social person! I get such a buzz from being with friends and socializing with them!! Being on bedrest is kind of lonely for me.. already.. 6 days in! It's also hard for me to look around our home and see things that need to be done or put away, etc and not be able to do anything about it. Thankfully, Lydia is 6 & Elijah is 4. They are pretty self-sufficient, but they are also having to learn I cannot do for them as I was doing before. This is a learning curve for all of us! I am definitely learning to give up control!

The other thing I'm learning is to ask & receive!! Since I was young I have been the type of person that if something needs to be done, then I'll do it! I grew up where money wasn't prevalent and at 14 my sister and I started our own babysitting business just to have money for our lunches at school. Our parents were newly divorced and we didn't have alot of luxury in our teenage years. We worked!! It's hard for me to ask for help.. It's hard for me to receive help! But God is already teaching me, mostly because I don't have a choice, that help is needed and to allow others to bless me with their help for my family and me. Truthfully, the blessings have been overwhelming & I am so very very grateful for all they are doing for us!!

So, I suppose my blogging will become about my journey through bedrest now. I have 8-10 weeks on bedrest at this point. At 28 weeks now, my doctor hopes to get me past 34 weeks and to atleast 36! She is really hoping for 38! It will be interesting to see what the Lord teaches me during this time! 

My full time job used to be Mom: Homeschool Teacher, Cook, & Maid and Pampered Chef Consultant! These roles are changing for a short time and my new job is... growing a baby! 

27 Wks Pregnant and a bit Concerned..

I am 27 weeks & 3 days today!

In my last 2 pregnancies I really enjoyed being pregnant. There are quite a few aches & pains that accompany pregnancy.. but that aside.. I loved it! I love feeling the baby move & grow! Despite stretch marks and my lumps & bumps.. I love the way my body looks! Maybe I should more specifically say.. I love the way my body looks in clothes, ha! I love that you can eat and not have to worry about the feeling you get when you "wish you could unbutton your pants, but how inappropriate is that?!" You have on maternity/stretch pants.. you're almost always getting to wear COMFY clothes!! I love pregnancy!!

I will be completely honest though and say.. this pregnancy has been hard for me. Really hard. I don't want to complain too much or whine, because I have friends that I know who suffer with infertility & miscarriages and I know their hearts are shattered by such tragedy. I know they would take my place in 2 seconds and endure the hardships of pregnancy like a badge of honor. So, please, hear me when I say that I love being pregnant with my little Josiah.. even though it hasn't been easy this time around.

For the last couple of weeks I've had many Braxton-Hicks. They start out just feeling kind of weird, but after so many.. they begin to hurt. When I stand, they come on alot more frequent and the evenings are the worst in terms of this for me. I'm also dealing with alot of ligament pain. The inside of my leg up through the right side of my belly feel like it's on fire much of the time when I move. The ligament pain is a dear old friend, but I will say.. she came back with a vengeance this time around much worse than my previous pregnancies. The Braxton-Hicks.. this often, this painful.. it's all new to me. So I tell my Doctor of this news today.

She is concerned about actual contractions & does a pelvic exam. She tells me I am not dilated (praise the Lord) but my cervix is much more softened than it is supposed to be and that is cause for concern. She is doing a test to check for the possibility of preterm labor and I get those results tomorrow. In the meantime, I am told to rest and I may have to look at lowering my activity level. I'll tell ya.. aside from doing my cooking shows.. I feel pretty worthless in terms of activity as it is. I do minimal house cleaning and alot of couch warming!!

However, this does mean that if I am to lower my activity level that it will cut down or out my ability to do my cooking shows. If I may be honest..With the pain I experience.. this comes as a bit of a relief.  However, as I look out the window and see my van that I so dearly love & am grateful for.. the inability to do my cooking shows concerns me, because it is with my PC income that the van payment is paid!

I do not want to overdo it so much that I cause myself to go into labor and put Josiah in harms way, so I will do what I am told to the best of my ability if it comes down to bedrest. I know that God is faithful & He will provide for our family financially, physically, & emotionally!! It is hard being in this phase of not knowing and being concerned though. However, I serve a God who does know.. EVERYTHING!! He will provide & care for Josiah & me and the needs of our family!!

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart & lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways look to Him and He will direct your paths."  He is FAITHFUL!!

~I look forward to when I can look back at this post and see exactly what God did to care for our needs during this time!! It will be a joy!!~