I'm Back...

Yes, this poor blog has been neglected lately. It has been busy and I have had many topics swirling around in my head but haven’t yet written them down. I will try to do better.

One of the fun things of pregnancy that has been going on lately is … leg cramps. I have gotten these awful things in the third trimester of every pregnancy. So of course, this time is no different.

About 2 weeks ago, I woke up as Brian was getting ready to leave for work with a horrible leg cramp in my calf. The kind where it feels like someone is cutting it open with a knife. So I hear Brian still in the kitchen and I start beating (as quietly as possible so not to wake the children) on the wall and screaming (as quietly as possible) for him to come. Immediately he knows what is going on.

He comes in and starts stretching my leg like the football trainers do on the field. All the while, he’s telling me to get up to go get some water and that I need to walk. Ummmm – yeah – I know, I just can’t move because of the pain (not to mention I am pulling worn-out stomach muscles, well muscles might be too strong a word, as I try to get out of the bed)! So it takes a good 5-10 minutes for me to get to the point where I can finally get out of bed!

I make it to drink some water and eat a banana – but my leg is so worn out that it is sore for 3 days after that! Yikes. I had one more night where they were threatening to come but we were able to work them out pretty fast. I know, I know – drink water, eat bananas, stretch, etc. Trust me, I am doing all of that – and hopefully I won’t experience too many more of these the next 2 months!!

See aren’t you glad I filled you in with what’s going on?

Can I Blame My Lack of Posting on This?

Home!

We came home this morning! It's so good to be here - with a new little baby. Thanks to Kim for updating everyone and thanks to everyone else for all of your prayers! I am going to go take a short nap and then feed the baby ... again. But I hope to do a post soon about the Birth Story - sooo much to tell! And of course, we'll post more pictures!

I love you all!

Baby Update

I have been contracting since yesterday morning and they have slowly gotten closer together. Now we are at about 3-4 minutes apart and they are a bit more uncomfortable and involving some back pain. I think this may be it. I was trying to hold out a little longer so my Doctor could deliver her when he gets to the office this morning but I may have to go with the on-call Doc!

We have made it 3 more weeks since she tried to come a little early. This is about the time frame that I delivered my last 2 and they did great. Now we are all ready to meet her. My 4-year old kept asking me last week when her little sister was coming and I told her that only God knows. She informed me later that God told her she would come next Tuesday (which happens to be today)! She is going to be thrilled when she wakes up and finds that we have gone to the hospital.

Please pray for a safe delivery. This will be my second VBAC. She is a little early and small so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. We continue to trust in God's grace and sovereignty as we await her birth! Hopefully the next post will have a picture of our new sweet little girl: Ellerie!

Anyone Out There?

"Is anybody out there? Our Mommy has had to rest alot while we wait for our new baby sister. Frankly, we're bored out of our minds! Can someone help us?"

I realize this is my 101st post and I should have done the "100 Things About Me" list but frankly I can't think of that many and I didn't want to bore you!! So we'll just move on...

Another Baby Update

We thought little Ellerie might join us yesterday. Yesterday, (close your ears guys) I lost some mucous, which is a sign for me that labor is usually about a day or two away. So I went into the Dr. so they could try and stop the contractions. They ultrasounded the baby and she is almost 5 lbs, which is great. After IV fluids the contractions slowed down and I got a steroid shot to help her lungs. I am home now and will rest until she comes. Pray for her safe delivery and pray for my husband as he picks up the slack around home! I will have completed 34 weeks tomorrow but we're hoping to make it to 35 weeks next Saturday.

Will keep you updated if she decides to join us early.

Baby Update

I had my 34-week check-up today. Well, I like to say I am 34 weeks, because I am in the 34th week … know what I mean ladies? But my Dr. says he likes to say 33 ½ weeks. (Technicality right?) Except for the fact that I have already started dilate – I am about 1 ½ cm right now. I usually have my babies early (by about 37 weeks) and I usually dilate a little early, but not this early. I am not on "official" bed-rest because they will only try to stop labor if I go in the next 3 days. But I am supposed to take it easy. Out first goal is to make it another week and a half, preferably a little longer.

Take it easy … sure ... with a 5-year old, a 4-year old, and a 2 ½-year old. (A busy 2 ½ year old I might add). Sure Doc. I came away today a little frustrated and emotional. You see, I am a keeper of lists and I have a LONG list that needs to be completed before this baby comes. Although I am starting to prioritize my list into what really has to be done – I mean, I don’t really need to finish painting the deck stairs … My husband is so sweet and told me not to worry about the house or the laundry – that he will take care of it when he gets home, yet it is still frustrating not being able to do what I feel I am supposed to be doing.

So I have just been praying today and claiming promises from His Word, remembering that God is sovereign and my little girl’s arrival is already a part of His plan. I am praying for peace as I seek to wait on Him. (This may be a good opportunity for me to catch up on some reading and some Bible study.)

Isaiah 26:3 – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Kidney Stone Update

(Don't worry - mine wasn't as big as the one in this picture!) Thank you for praying for me! The pain stopped about 11 pm last night, which signified that the stone had finally moved into the bladder. I think I passed a small bit of it – amazing that something so small can cause SO MUCH pain. Today I am recovering from yesterday and should be back to almost-normal by tomorrow. I feel like I have been run over by a truck – but at least I am not in pain. I am so thankful for my sweet husband who took such good care of me and the kids yesterday. Our 3 kids yesterday were great while Mommy was ‘sick’. I’m not sure if it was Daddy being home or the fact that I was ‘flying high’ on medicine. By the way, I am also thankful for the pain-killers I had! Good stuff! (And ‘thank you’ to sweet Kim who, with her mangled finger, is bringing us a meal tonight!)

Have any of you ever had a kidney stone? If not, I hope you never get one. If so, I feel your pain, sister (right, Leslie?)! This was my fourth one since 2001. (Three of them have been when I have been pregnant – what’s with that?) I woke up about 4:30 Wednesday morning and thought “Ooooh – I slept funny and did something to my back.” About 10 minutes later, I realized that I was probably dealing with another stone. (Once you experience a kidney stone, you don’t forget the pain. And if you do forget the pain, it doesn’t take long to remember once it starts again. I woke Brian up and told him that I might be having a kidney stone but that I’d try to wait an hour and see. About 10 minutes later, I’m moaning in the floor of our playroom calling my Doctor to get a prescription for the pain. (I am also thankful for a 24-hour WalGreens!) I’ve been in the hospital with them before and all they do is give you pain meds and fluids and I can do that at home.

They say that men that experience kidney stones have an idea of what labor and delivery is like – well, I don’t know if that’s true or not. When I think about both, I’d rather deliver a baby. When you have contractions, at least you have a break in between them to catch your breath (and then when you have an epidural it’s like “what contractions?”). But with a kidney stone, there is no break. The pain stays sharp and constant and drives you to nausea.

Sorry – I didn’t mean to turn this into a dissertation on kidney stones. All of this to say, that I am thankful that this episode has passed and I feel for people who experience chronic pain everyday. I am also thankful for supportive and loving friends and family who surround me. They say once you have a kidney stone, you will likely have more throughout your life. So, I hope the next one will wait until ‘after’ the baby is born!

Until next time …

Two Words ...

... Kidney Stone. I seem to get them when I am pregnant. I am now medicated and that is helping. Please pray that it will pass quickly and that I can manage the pain at home (and that the baby will be protected). Thanks.

I will update later.

Thursday Thirteen

This is my first Thursday Thirteen. Here are 13 foods that I am craving right now! (Or at least I can use that as an excuse right now!)

1. Kiwi Quencher Smoothie from Tropical Smoothie Café
2. Egg & Cheese biscuit (preferably from Hardee’s but McDonald’s will do)
3. Chocolate-covered crème-filled doughnut (not Bavarian but real cream)
4. Green Bean Casserole – the old-fashioned one with cream-of-mushroom soup and the dried onions
5. The Oreo shake from Chik-Fil-A – without the cherry (have you had those? Yum!)
6. (This one’s for you Kim!) Ukrops icing – with or without the cake! The best whipped icing ever!
7. Cheeseburger – from anywhere.
8. Alfredo pasta. (Olive Garden sounds good right about now!)
9. Sweeet tea! (The kind I make that is like the sweet tea in South Georgia, not Virginia.)
10. Diet cherry coke.
11. McDonald’s french fries.
12. Uno’s Buffalo chicken quesedillos
13. Chocolate chip cookie dough.

Don't worry. I don't eat unhealthy like this all the time. But I am feeling really hungry after all this talk about food! What were some of your pregnancy cravings?