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!!~

Dogwood Arts Festival Fun 2013!

Last weekend we went to the Dogwood Arts Festival! We had such a fun time with my Mom! First we went to lunch and then walked around the Festival. They had alot there for the kids: Face Painting, Sock Puppets, Sidewalk Chalk Art, & Coloring Activities. Lydia & Elijah enjoyed looking at the art and the performers. Most of all, they loved all of the dogs on Market Square that they got to stop & pet!! We stopped and ended our fun at Rita's Italian Ice! They enjoyed that too!!

 Here are some pictures of our fun together!!!

22 Weeks & Changes in our Home!

I am now 22 weeks pregnant.

 Here I am at 20 weeks pregnant.

We are getting things ready for little Josiah as he's growing bigger each day and the kids' excitement is growing too!!

We decided to put them both in the same room and Josiah is Lydia's old room. We painted both rooms a really pretty sky blue. Everybody helped.. even Cassie tried to!

So now the kids' room looks like this:

Lydia in one corner and Elijah in the opposite corner! They both love their new spaces and the pictures are true to form.. Elijah is so messy, lol!!

We went through a small scare with the pregnancy where Josiah wasn't gaining enough weight. They put me on a diet of EATING and now he has caught up with where he's supposed to be! I go back again this week for another ultrasound. They couldn't get all the pictures they needed of his heart, so they want to check one more time to see if they can get it.

During the scan he was curled up in a corner with his legs over his head. He had LOTS of room to move in, but preferred being in the corner (as he normally does) curled up in a ball. He's such a funny little guy, already!

Facing us.. face on right, belly on left.

I praise the Lord that he is healthier now & moving around much more too!! For now, they've released me from the diabetic diet. I do the glucose test on Wednesday though (3/20) and we will decide then if I need to be back on the diabetic diet. For now, I am just trying to be mindful of what I eat. 

I am just praising the Lord for this little life within me and trying hard to savor each moment.. especially when the ligament pains hit (they are quite painful!) hehe.

Surprise!

On February 13th we had an ultrasound appointment to find out if our baby was a boy or girl. I jokingly told everyone, "It's really just verification of a girl!" We were all confident in having a girl! Lydia & Elijah were fully convinced that our baby was a girl and due to our "Zoey Experience" we named our baby Zoey Noelle. Noelle, because "she" was our Christmas Miracle!! People inquired what boy names we had, and I told them, "We have several we like, but none that we've decided on. Truly, because we feel like the baby is a girl."

We counted down the days til our appointment on the 13th with great excitement!! Lydia & Elijah were elated as they called my name from the waiting room. We got into the ultrasound room and I shared with the tech, "We think the baby is a girl." The kids glowing with excitement both echoed my sentiments of baby being a girl. I explained to the tech, "They are fully expecting that baby is a girl!" She took a quick peek and said, "Umm.. I think I see something" to which Andy replied, "... Well.. I think I saw it too.." She went on to look at the other organs and came back to the anatomy check. She said, "Well, Mom & Dad.." and we both said, "We see!" and she wrote this on the ultrasound...

The arrow is pointing to the anatomy of a BOY!!! Imagine our surprise!!!! lol! After the tech quietly wrote these words she kindly leaned over and whispered, "I'll let you explain this to them (Lydia & Elijah) in private."

I couldn't stop laughing.. truly! God has such a sense of humor and it cracked me UP! We walked to the private room to meet with the Dr and Lydia sadly says, "Mommy.. that lady never told us if our baby is a boy or a girl.." We walked in and I said, "Do you want to know.. really want to know?" They both shook their heads with SUCH excitement. So I told them our baby is a boy! Lydia had huge tears well up in her eyes. It was so pitiful and I hugged her and told her it is okay to feel disappointment. Elijah jumped up & down yelling, "I want a girl! I don't want a boy!" The Dr walked in and said, "What's the matter with you guys? You look so sad!" She giggled when I told her the issue, but was very empathetic with both of them!!

We tried cheering them up by taking them to Chickfila. They were excited about that and asked if they could play on the playground. We told them of course they could! We got to the Chickfila (not our usual location) and realized that the play area was outdoors... and it was raining!!! They were heartbroken again. It was a sad day for Lydia & Elijah!!

Today, February 17th, they are coming around! We have named him Josiah David and they are beginning to talk to my belly again and rub it. Now instead of hearing, "I love you Zoey!" we hear, "I love you Josiah!" with such love & compassion! Funny thing is.. Elijah really routed for the name Josiah, but consistently forgets his name. He often says, "The baby" and Lydia will say, "You mean Josiah?" Then, he answers, "Yes! Bosiah" He keeps saying it with a B instead of a J. He will get it though!!

Meaning of Name:

Josiah = The Lord Saves

David = Beloved

In the meantime, Josiah is healthy but really underweight. I have been put on a diet of EATING and told not to be on my Insulin Resistance Diet  (aka gestational diabetes diet) for now, but to eat as much as I possibly can. I go back in 10 days to have another scan and hope that he has gained weight!! At this point in the pregnancy (18 weeks) I've only gained 2 lbs. I pray that I (and Josiah) will gain more when I go back! Aside from that, he is a fighter & doing great!!!

Do you see his little foot? It's a perfect imprint with 5 perfect little toes!

Side profile picture. His chin is down to his chest. His head is on the right.

Thank you all for your continued prayers for our precious little Josiah!! 

We are so excited and so thankful for the Lord saving his life and allowing us to love him!