WEEK 29 HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday (7/2/14)

Yes!! I made it another week!! Today the doc told me I've been here for 40 days and I'm hoping for 35 more! I'm noticing that little guy's movements are getting stronger and by that I mean more powerful and sometimes a little painful. He's definitely a strong little guy! I'm also starting to feel pressure against my tail bone, which the nurse thinks is due to his position and him growing. I'm still bleeding a little but it's starting to be more fluid than blood so that's good, well better than just blood. I had a couple of contractions this morning while being monitored. I'm just hoping that I can keep getting passed these things and keep little guy baking! Some people think contractions during pregnancy might not be too big of a deal, especially at 28 weeks or more, but what they don't understand is that with pPROM contractions can change in seconds and you could be getting ready to deliver in less than 5 minutes! Also, contractions hit harder than women with fluid because there isn't any cushion, so they come on fast and strong and can cause baby to go into distress. My docs are always saying that I need to let them know what's going on because labor will come on quickly and they will need to move fast. I keep thinking about my neighbor who was just fine and then all of a sudden and out of nowhere went into labor and had her baby! I'm hoping that however things happen they just go smoothly so that little guy is okay.

The boys came by this evening and we went outside. After they played for a while Lincoln asked to go see the Life Flight Helicopter. We made our way over and as we pulled up to the fence that surrounded it the pilot, who was on a call, hung up and asked if the boys wanted to come in and see the helicopter. We went in and they loved it! Oliver started to try to climb in right away and then the pilot asked them if they wanted to sit in it. We took pictures and the boys were happy to see it up close. They had to leave so we went to a little hill and the boys sat on the grass and we watched it take off. It was pretty windy when they started to take off and the boys' hair was being pushed back. As we walked back to my room and were talking about how fun it was Lincoln says, "it made my hair go zoom!"

When we got back to my room I realized we had been gone for an hour! The boys told the nurse that they got to see the helicopter and she was very impressed. Since it was almost 9pm it was time for the boys to go home. Dave cleaned up and then put the boys in their stroller. I asked Lincoln to say prayer and I looked at Oliver and told him to fold his arms and close his eyes, which he did and then he just started saying prayer in Spanish all by himself! He said, "nuestro padre gracias amen". Dave and I looked at each other and were so happy! We told him he did such a good job and then I said goodnight to all my boys.

Thursday (7/3/14)

Today was a pretty boring day and a horrible day as well! After my shower I was laying in bed and got a weird pain on my left side of my uterus. The nurses kept telling me it was probably just round ligament pain, but I knew it wasn't. After about 20 minutes of it I got up to go to the bathroom and then I discovered that I started bleeding! I told the nurse and they put me on the monitor. They called the doctor and he ordered some blood work to check and make sure I wasn't bleeding internally where they couldn't see. I was having contractions so the doctor told them to keep me on the monitor until the bleeding stopped. I guess they thought I was going to go into labor at any point, which is quite possible, but I had the feeling that I wasn't. The rest of the day passed and my contractions had stopped completely and the bleeding had slowed down, but I was still on the monitor.

Friday (7/4/14)

Happy 4th of July! I was still on the monitor for pretty much the entire day! They took me off finally at 8pm...32 hours of being monitored. Dave, the boys and Gwen stopped by for about 20 minutes before they went to the Stadium of Fire. It was good to see them even if just for a little bit. I got to watch the fireworks from my window. There were a lot of fireworks all around my room so it was not that bad. After the stadium Dave came back with the boys and Andrew. They stayed for about 30 minutes waiting for traffic to pass. Oliver kept saying "fireworks" and when Dave told them there were fireworks outside Oliver ran over to see them and when he saw none he said "no there's not". He's so silly and so smart. They left just a little before midnight...definitely a late night, but totally worth it! They had so much fun and loved all the fireworks and the show.

So this morning was pretty hard, knowing that it was the 4th, which is a holiday our family loves. I wanted to be with them and enjoy the days activities and not being able to do that made me sad. What made it worse was that I had to be connected to the monitors when I wasn't cramping or contracting and my bleeding had slowed to almost a stop. Previous bleeds didn't require this much attention and I felt they were just being drastic. I guess I was just extra annoyed because it was a holiday and I felt left out, sad, upset and all kinds of emotions. Seeing the boys as the day came to an end helped and of course reminding myself why I'm here at the hospital made me feel a bit better. Oh yeah, Dave brought me some yarn so I started on round 2 of Misty's baby blanket. I got several rows done before the night was over.

Saturday (7/5/14)

I think I took several naps today. I also worked on Misty's baby blanket and got pretty close to finishing it. Dave was going to bring me more yarn because I ran out. They went to the lake today so I saw them on their way home around 8pm. I'm glad they had fun. Dave brought me more yarn so that I could finish the blanket. Before they left I said prayer and I guess this was a hard weekend because I started crying and Dave asked why I was sad. I told him that tomorrow was Oliver's birthday and I was sad because I couldn't be there. He tried to make me feel better and it worked a little, but of course I was still sad just thinking about it. After they left I quickly composed myself and then the nurse came in to put me on the monitor. They ended up coming back like 30 minutes later because Dave left his phone so when they came in the room I was on the monitor and Lincoln was excited to see my heartbeat. They grabbed the phone and then left again. I continued to crochet and then after a while I went to bed.

Sunday (7/6/14)

I woke up today and told myself I wasn't going to be sad, but it didn't work. I was doing okay, but then when the couple came by to give me the sacrament they were asking questions and then asked how old my boys were and when I told them that my younger one turned two today I just couldn't help it and I started crying. I kept it a little under control while they were here, but then I just got so sad and I couldn't hold in the tears. I had a pretty good crying session in the shower and then was finally able to feel okay. I wanted to call Oliver to say happy birthday, but I couldn't stop crying so I decided to hold off and then they were at church. After talking with Dave I was happy to hear that Oliver was having a good birthday. It was just hard not being able to be there when he woke up and to help make his day special. Everyday has been difficult, but today more than ever because it's his special day and I wanted to be there with him and not here at the hospital.

After I got ready I read some General Conference talks from April. I found one that talked about being grateful in any circumstance and how we should focus on being thankful in our circumstances, whatever they may be. I changed my way of thinking about today and decided that I would be grateful for my family, for their strength, for their health and for their happiness. I'm grateful that I could be in the hospital (for 6 weeks now) so that our baby could have a fighting chance and for the blessing that I am still pregnant, especially since we have been told since I was 19 weeks that I would deliver any day and that our baby had well no chance.

I was able to get through the rest of the day without tears and I finished crocheting the blanket.
We had a celebration for Oliver's birthday here at the hospital. Dave and Andrew set up Oliver's big birthday present outside and then came up to get us so we could go and see his surprise. He was so happy when he saw his Thomas ride-on train. He was very sweet! He saw his cousin Vinny and he went up to him and said, "hug" and then gave him a hug. It was nice to have everyone come out for cake and  little fun. Both of the boys looked so cute, Oliver with his Thomas shirt on and Lincoln with his pirate Jake shirt and his hair done like Jake. Oliver is starting to sing the happy birthday song. He ate cake off of the big cake and wanted to share bites with his momma and dadda.  They had fun playing on the new train and running around. I got extra outside time today to hang out with everyone, but unfortunately the nurse of duty was crazy strict! At 8:10pm she came down looking for me and told me it was time to go upstairs. I thought it was really weird and so did everyone else! I've never had a nurse come down to get me. She said that I needed to be put on the monitor at 8pm and I was late. I let her know that most of the night shift nurses just make sure I get on before bed and they are usually flexible when my family visits. Apparently, some people are just not lenient at all! I had to say a quick good-bye to everyone because she was not leaving. The boys came up to say goodnight and then they had to leave. Overall it was a good day and I'm glad Oliver enjoyed his birthday.

Monday (7/7/14)

So apparently after Dave left yesterday the car overheated and he ended up dropping it off at his sister's and getting a ride home. He took it to get repaired this morning and because of timing he didn't bring the boys by today, instead he picked up the car after they went to sleep and then came to see me for a while.

The day itself was uneventful. I read that only 1% of pPROM pregnancies make it to 34 weeks so my long term goal is to make it and be part of that percentage! I looked at pictures and some videos from my phone of Oliver's birthday yesterday and it made my day. I love seeing how sweet the boys are. Lincoln tries so hard to listen and does a good job. He was told that they needed to wait til they got home to open one of the gifts and he walked around playing with it in the box and even when he was being told to open it he said "no not til we get home". He was so ready to sing happy birthday to his little brother that he started singing before everyone else and then started again with the group. I love the way he sings happy birthday! He must have been singing it a lot because Oliver sings it too!! "Birthday to you" over and over is Oliver's way.

I met with the dietician today and apparently I have gained 9 pounds in the last 7ish weeks. I was glad to hear because I feel like I've gained about 20! I guess when all you do is eat and lay around the weight is bound to pile on so I'll take 9.

Baby continues to look good! I go in next month for another ultrasound, which will be my last. I'm still leaking lots and it continues to be blood tinged. Nothing new so I don't stress over it.

Tuesday (7/8/14)

I haven't felt like doing much so I had a TV day, thanks to Mike and CeCelia! Dave took the boys to IHOP for dinner. It was like 57cent pancake day and since it was Tuesday, kids eat free, which was an added bonus. He got three meals for the price of one! He said the boys had a blast! They came that evening and as soon as they got here we went for a walk. It was a short visit, but I was glad to see them. Oh and I can't forget that they brought me pancakes for dinner. Of course I had to close my eyes and wait for them to say surprise! Oliver always says "eyes, eyes" so I will close my eyes and then he will say "a-pise"!