Bored... and upset....

Me:
This partial bedrest thing is getting old really fast. I have probably been doing too many things around the house, such as finishing all the baby's laundry and trying to keep things neat, but it's so boring to just lay on the couch and I feel like such a louse not doing anything. But my body does remind me anytime I've been doing too much, cause I'll start contracting again and I go lay down as soon as I do. I have another appointment on Wednesday, hopefully things will still be normal.

I don't feel like I've grown very much in the past couple of weeks. If anything, I think I look smaller. I guess maybe Vic's just dropping down more and I'm not growing out as much. I'll be posting pictures soon and you can all tell me what you think.

Matt:

Is being absolutely wonderful as always. He has been cooking and helping me with laundry. His mom came down for a few days last week with the crib they bought for us and some of Matt's things from the house. Also the baby clothes that Matt's grandma got for us. So we got to spend a couple of days with her, which I know Matt loved since he doesn't get to see his family as much as he would like. I know everyone always says that you're not supposed to get along with your mother-in-law, but we've always gotten along very well, I think it scares Matt sometimes how much we are alike, haha! Hopefully after Victor is born his family will be able to come down and visit and we can spend some time with them all. So yesterday we put the crib together and vacuumed everything and were putting clothes away and trying to get things a bit more organized.

He was off Saturday and Sunday so we got to spend the entire weekend together! That pretty much never happens so it was wonderful to spend so much time together. In 5 more weeks (maybe less!) we'll cease to be Matt and Heidi and forever be Mom and Dad and as much as we're looking forward to this next phase, it's also nice to spend time just the 2 of us as much as we can until then. Next Sunday is our 1 year anniversary so hopefully we'll be able to spend a romantic weekend together doing absolutely nothing, haha!

My mom:
As of yesterday my mom was getting better. They had had her on a machine to help reduce the fuid that had accumulated in her body. She had lost a couple of liters of fluid and as a result was breathing much easier on her own. She is still on the ventilator but it was "on demand" and only helping when she needed it. So yesterday things were looking much better, they were starting to reduce the sedative as well so she could wake up a bit on her own.

As of today: she now has an infection and is retaining more fluid again. They have had to increase the sedative again because she was coughing and fighting the ventilator. They may try the CRRT (I think that's what she called it) machine again to help get rid of more of the fluid, but they won't try that until tomorrow, because they don't want to overwork her. She is also still bleeding from where they had to open her chest back up. Apparently they have a tube in there to keep fluid from accumulating around her heart again and since she WAS on a blood thinner (she's not anymore) it's still in her system though and they keep having to give her more blood.

It's so frustrating not being able to be there. And yesterday for my dad to tell me how things are looking up and today for grandma to tell me there's another set back.... it's just so hard. My mom always said that if there was anything weird that could happen, her body would be the one to do it. She's had Lupus since she was young, and Diabetes since I was born, so she's been dealing with doctors, medicines and hospitals most of her life. I'm kind of mad actually. She'd been doing fine with her heart valve just the way it was, probably not great, but ok, why did they have to decide to fix it now? It seems like every time she starts to get a bit better, something happens and she's right back where she started. I just wish there was something I could do, I feel so far away and helpless....

Another update

I was at the docs office forever it felt like. Really it was about 4 hours. They did a quick ultrasound to check my fluid, then did a Non-Stress Test to make sure Vics heartrate and movements are good. All of which was wonderful. Yay! Then he checked my cervix again to see if the contractions were doing anything and I'm about 1/2cm dilated and still about 60%effaced. So his big concern is that my cervix is so soft already and that combined with the starting of dilation equals not great. So basically I've been put on partial bed rest. He did not use that term however. He said that i was only to be working 3 days a week for UP to 5 hours a day. When I'm not at work that doesn't mean I can run around town running errands and what not, I'm to be resting. He said to let Matt run around and get the groceries and take care of things.

I feel so guilty about work! They've been so great about working with me about everything and I feel like I'm putting them at so much of a disadvantage. But, I did talk to my boss about everything today and he was really nice about it. And I know that keeping little Vic inside for a bit longer takes priority over everything else. So, for now we'll just take things as they come and make the best of it.

My mom, as far as I've heard, is still being sedated for a day or so. They are hoping that since her kidneys are working and producing urine, her body will continue to flush out the extra fluid that has accumulated. Once the swelling goes down, they expect her liver function to go up where it needs to be. So right now it's really just a waiting game. Hopefully things continue to go in the right direction!

Update

My mom got out of surgery at about 1o'clock this morning. They are keeping her sedated for awhile, hoping that with the machines breathing for her she can rest a bit more. They were worried about her kidneys and saying she might have to be on dialysis for a few days, but so far her kidneys are making urine and her blood work is coming back good. SO, things are are good as they can be right now since she is still unconscious.

I however, was having BHC sporadically throughout the day and then after hearing about my mom was a little stressed out. They started getting worse and continued all night and this morning. So I've been told to lay here on the couch and not move until 1pm when my doc is back in the office and he can see me. I'm sure everything is fine, especially as they have calmed down since I've been resting. When I was up fixing lunch I did notice that they increased a bit, but I'm just continuing to drink a bunch of water and lay down so I'm sure things are fine. Thank you everyone for your prayers, and pleas continue to pray that she will continue down this path! thank you!

Please Pray for my Mom

I mentioned in my last post about my mom's surgery on Friday. I just got a call from my dad. She started swelling today and was having a harder and harder time breathing throughout the day. An hour or so ago they took her back down to the ICU and put her back on the respirator in order for her to breathe. She is on medicine to get rid of the swelling, they think the extra fluid is what is keeping her from breathing. Hopefully they will get rid of the swelling and she will once more be able to breathe on her own. Update: I just got another phone call. There is too much fluid around her heart and she is being taken back to surgery. They have to open her back up and try to relieve the pressure.

Please, if you pray, Please pray for her.....

I want my mom to be ok...

I want my son to know his grandmother...

I want my mommy!!

Please, pray for her!

Good Doctor Appointment

Belly- 33 Weeks

Last Sunday I woke up and while getting dressed I caught a look at my belly in the mirror and thought to myself. "hmmm, my belly looks smaller..." I just figured I was imagining things. Throughout the day I kept looking at my beachball (ha!) and thinking the same thing "it looks smaller.." I was also running to the bathroom even more frequently than usual (honestly, that's hard to imagine) cause it felt like Mr. Vic was grinding his head into my bladder. I asked Matt later on that evening if he thought it looked smaller, without any hesitation he says, "Yes!". So I figured that with the increase of pressure on my bladder and the different shape of my belly, Victor was starting to drop a bit more.

Monday brought not only peeing about every 20 minutes, but several braxton-hicks contractions throughout the day. Then Tuesday I woke up with BHC. They were more often than Monday and noticable enough that my boss made me call my doc just to make sure there wasn't anything I needed to do. I knew they weren't real contractions, and I also knew they weren't close enough together for him to want me to come in or anything but I called anyway. The nurse said just what I thought she'd say, that unless they were about 5-7 minutes apart there was nothing to worry about but try and drink more water (great, more trips to the bathroom) and rest when I can (yea, right, I have a 9 hour workday).

So wednesday morning rolls around and it's time for our docs appointment. The nurse had made a note in my file about the BHC and asked me if I was still having them, I told her I'd probably had 2 of them since I'd woken up. I'd been up for almost 2 hours, so no biggie. But my doc wanted to check my cervix just to make sure the contractions weren't doing anything. I am not dilating yet, but am about 60% effaced. Vic's still head down and his head is about a -3 station, which is still kind of high, I don't even want tot know what it's going to feel like when he drops more!! He also said that especially since Vic's been measuring big, he was not going to let me go past my due date. Doc thinks I'll go into labor on my own around 39 weeks, Matt thinks 37 weeks and I'm just praying I don't have to be induced!

The saving grace is that since I'm already starting to efface, at least I know my body is progressing on it's own. If I do end up having to be induced hopefully it wouldn't be very difficult. But still praying I don't need to be induced. I want things to start naturally. I just have this horrible thought that I'll end up being induced and then end up with a c-section and I REALLY don't want a c-section. I know alot of people have them and a lot of people do just fine with them, but I really want a regular delivery.

Anyways, the BHC continue while I'm up and walking around or at work or whatever and then as soon as I lay down they go away. Luckily, my boss has finally figured out that I'm really pregnant and is starting to cut back on my hours. I think it helps that I mentioned to her that my doc made a comment about me not working more than 6-7 hours as I get further along. So I'm still getting extra hours, but my shifts are shorter. For example, my typical shift on a Monday has been from 9-7. 10 hours. Tomorrow I'm working 8:30-12:30. yay! I was originally hired on at 25 hours to begin with, and have been working about 40 hours for several months. Partly it's my fault, everyone has to get all their vacation time in before I go on maternity leave, so I then have to help cover shifts while they're gone.

My mom had open heart surgery on Friday. A month or 2 ago they were doing a EEG and discovered that she had a devective valve that was probably a birth defect that no one had ever noticed before. So they had surgery to replace it. The surgery took about 6ish hours (I'm not sure exactly how long it was, just guessing) and she was pretty out of it for awhile afterwards, after having open-heart surgery who wouldn't be? They got the breathing tube out that night and yesterday they moved her off the ICU into her own room and she was even walking on her own for a bit! I'm so glad she's doing better and that she's going to be ok. She's still got a long recovery ahead, but she's a fighter and I know she's going to get better, fast!

Since Matt is now the co-manager, he's been working some extra hours. Part of it is since we still only have 1 car, if I get off an hour or so after him he'll just stay at work to finish things up before he comes to get me instead of going home and then driving right back. I have to say, one of the best things about only having one car means that we are actually spending alot more time together. Since there are only 7 more weeks until we are never alone again, I savor every moment that we get together.

Matt's baseball team played last Sunday night for the championship title. They won the first game against the #1 team and so they played a second game to figure out who the Champion was. They unfortunatly lost the 2nd game but they put up a great fight and still got 2nd place in the league! I'm so proud of my husband :)

soooo disgusting...

I was at work today. A normal day at work, nothing terribly exciting. I was out working in the drive-thru part, it's a completely seperate little buidling from the rest of the bank, we call it the "cracker jack box" because it's basically a small room with 2 computers and a bathroom. Anyway, I walked into the bathroom and felt something tickle my arm. I look up after brushing at it and see what I think is a cobweb with a couple of gnats stuck in it. Then I realize that the "gnats" are moving. At this point I let out a "Oh my GOD!" because I realize that it is a recently hatched sack of baby spiders crawling ALL OVER THE WALL!!!! It was absolutely the most disgusting thing and I'm still itching all over my body just thinking about it. Boss called terminex, and the maintenance guy. I kind of hope the Terminex people show up tomorrow to spray because I can't be around all those chemicals so I'll get to go home :) heheh.... so selfish I know :)

I suppose I should update :)

This just in (literally, Matt just walked in the door from work and told me): Matt got a raise and promoted! FINALLY. He was assistant manager at The Liquor Company and now is Co-Manager. The guy who was the Store Manager is on probabtion and may not even be coming back to work next week so Matt may actually be the Store manager here pretty quick. This promotion has been a long time coming and we are FINALLY able to announce it! This will make it a lot easier to save money up in the next couple of months so my maternity leave can be a bit longer.

On another happy note: My co-workers threw me a surprise baby shower today!! I was told we were going to lunch at Ryan's (a buffet-type restaurant) and when we got there they took me to the back room and there was a table full of gifts and a cake! I, of course, started crying, it was so sweet! I really haven't worked there that long, just since February and I really wasn't expecting anything like that. They are the best co-workers! Now if I can only get my manager to cut my hours.... lol!

All the wonderful ladies that I work with (minus one that wasn't able to make it). The guys I work with all pitched in as well, but they didn't want to come to a baby shower, haha go figure right?

the beautiful winnie the pooh diaper bag they got me. Yes they made me wear the bow on my head :) Ok, ok, I wanted to wear it :)

The bouncy chair!! It's a bouncer that also works as a rocker for a toddler. So cool! I've been wanting a bouncer pretty bad, but it was on the "wish list" not the "need list". so Yay!

Travel packs of baby shampoo, lotion, desitin and a couple of other things. Perfect size for diaper bag!

I kept guessing what the presents were before I opened them and they were getting mad at me, lol!! This one was a 12 pack of diet sunkist (my fav drink right now, besides water of course).

Baby On Board!! Its a sign for the car so other drivers know to be careful with your precious cargo :) I asked them if in the meantime I could just pin it to my shirt, lol! As if the big belly isn't sign enough, right?

It's a baby bathtub! In the shape of a whale!! Also a couple of packs of hooded bathtowels and washcloths. They also got me baby wash, lotion, talcum powder, a bathtub water temperature toy floaty thing and some baby wipes.

Yay for diapers!! I got 2 packs of diapers and a box ( a big box) of refill packs of baby wipes.

The yummy cake they got me! the booties on that are actual booties that you can keep. On the bottom of them are places to record baby's weight, length and the time and name. I thought that was pretty cool.




And here's the 32 week belly pic. 8 weeks to go!! I'm hoping they go by fast, I'm so ready for the little guy to be here. He's been so active lately I wish I could see inside my belly and see what he's doing, hahaa!

We also started our birthing classes last Tuesday on the 4th. We are taking them on Tuesday nights from 630-9 every tuesday night in August. As cliche as it sounds, I'm really enjoying them!! If nothing else, I love that Matt wanted to go with me and by doing this together it makes me feel like he's really going to be there with me and I'm not doing this all by myself. I love knowing he's there to support me every step of the way. We're also taking a breastfeeding course next saturday which I'm really looking forward to. We had a Baby Basics class on Thursday. I was thinking maybe we'd learn some cool tips or something, but no. It was very boring and very, very BASIC. It was in the title, so I guess we should have known. Neither Matt or I learned a thing we didn't already know. I guess if anything, it makes me feel more confident that I know more about babies than I thought I did!

Oh! and I passed my 3 hour glucose test. Yay!

I have another appointment this week and then I start going every 2 weeks. The end is in sight! or perhaps I should say the beginning?

Hello all! 30 weeks down and just 10 left to go. I'm done. Seriously, I'm done. I'm so freaking uncomfortable I don't even want to think about how I'm going to feel in 2 months right before I actually give birth. The comments are getting really old too. It was kind of fun at first, because it made me feel better that I actually looked prenant and not just fat. But now every time I go out anywhere I get a ton of comments on how big I am and that I "must be having twins!" It honestly makes me wish I could just stay at home and not see anyone until I'm back to starting weight. I know all the aches, pains, stretch marks (yes I found stretch marks on my belly last week, I cried) and everything is worth it...... but man, I'm over it.

Belly Shots! I feel like an overinflated balloon about to be popped and I know I still have some serious stretching to do.

I took my one hour sugar test last week, and failed it by just a few points so I had to take the 3 hour test. For those who don't know what that is: You are not allowed to eat anything after midnight the night before and when you get to the office they take your blood first thing sothey get your fasting blood sugar level. Then you drink the glucola (aka. nasty drink) the glucola for the one hour isn't that bad, but for the 3 hour it has twice as much sugar in it and is just super nasty. I gagged after every drink I took. 1 hour after you finish it they draw your blood again, then an hour after that, and an hour after that for a total of 4 blood draws. I still have a bruise on my arm from all the poking!! I haven't gotten my test results back yet, but I'm really not worried about it. Hopefully that doesn't jinx me!

We are still waiting on Geico to get all the paperwork finalized so we can get the payoff for my car. We've gone looking at cars a few times, but it's really hard to look when we know we can't buy yet. Hopefully next week we'll be able to seriously look and possibly buy. I can't tell you how aggravating it is trying to get Matt and I both to and from work, my doctors appointments and anywhere else we need to be. Luckily we work about 5 mins from each other so it's quick to get back and forth if we need to switch or something on a lunch break. We can't wait to have 2 cars again!!

Other than that, not much new here. Lil Victor has figured out how to get his foot up underneath my ribs, which you moms out there know how comfortable THAT is. Ha! He's definitely running out of room in there, his movements are no longer just pokes, but rolls and body parts pushing against me. I can see my stomach roll and contort, it's so funny! Feeling him move is my favorite part of being pregnant, everything else I can do without, lol! He got the hiccups for the first (and second) time today. That makes me giggle :)