Growing a boy: Bed Rest Day 5 (Overwhemled)

Saturday, April 1: Bed Rest Day 5

I felt like I got better sleep last night. I didn't need any pain med in the night and the anti-contraction meds seemed to work great too. My fetal monitoring got moved from once per shift to every 4 hours. Around 4:30am, I was put on the monitor and baby's heartbeat was difficult to locate. After trying for about 20 minutes the nurse used a doppler. The heartbeat was located sporadically but not well enough to "count." This process took over an hour. The nurse was finally satisfied with the readings we got and my back was hurting due to the back contractions I was having. We called it quits. There was a scary moment though, not knowing if a heartbeat was there.

After this ordeal, my darling husband took a quick trip to the hospital cafe and surprised me with a blueberry scone and a decaf double raspberry latte! YUM! We sat in the room eating and drinking our treats discussing our excitement to see our kids today! I had great expectations for this day. I mean, how can you not by starting out with yummy coffee and the knowledge of seeing your kids.

My next monitoring was scheduled for around 8am. Oh boy, what this an ordeal! The nurses switched shifts and a new nurse was now on my case. She was wonderful and also tried valiantly to capture baby's heartbeat but was unsuccessful because baby moves around so much. This resulted in a flood of providers entering our room...nurses and doctors, dopplers and ultrasound machines-- just to try and get a steady heart count on baby. At one point there were at least 6 providers swarming around me. Everyone was very nice but also asking a lot of questions...questions about baby, possible c-section, severity of contractions....it went on. Overwhelming! Good morning Saturday! After about another hour things slowed down including contractions. Baby was fine (and had been the whole time). I then realized (duh!) that stress greatly increased the severity and duration of my contractions. Even through things slowed down, I was again put on an "ice-chips-only-diet" until further notice. I was even more thankful for that morning coffee and scone.

Another measure they wanted to take to help slow contractions was IV fluids. Since my IV was put in two days ago it has stung but today it was different. It burned and itched as they began to push the fluids into my body...the IV was blown. Bummer!! We had to wait for IV Therapy to come done and start another line...this time in my right hand. Although this is a little more comfortable, it is rather inconvenient.

By this time it was about 11am or so and still no kids. We eagerly awaited their arrival and when they showed up, it was nothing but pure delight. Our daughter was curious about everything, exploring the room and asking questions. She finally snuggled with me in the bed and I read her a Bible story. I could tell she missed her momma. Certain not enough time with her. I just love that little girl to pieces and I did not realize how much I missed her until she was in my arms. Our son on the other hand, at 15-months old was tired, hungry and cranky. There was not any opportunity for me to hold him as he wiggles and moves so much. I am restricted from lifting anything heavier than 6-10 pounds. I am still a little sad I couldn't hold him but I was able to make him smile. My parents and sister came also. It was such a delight to have the family together. On the way out daughter did not want to leave me. My Momma heart broke as I could hear her scream my name from down the hall. "At least I know she loves me," I thought. My heart was overwhelmed.

Tyler and I had a quick late lunch and by 2:30pm I was back on the monitor. Because our boy moves around in all my fluid, it is hard to track his heartbeat. I was on the monitor until about 4:15pm.

Shortly after, our friends came to bring us dinner, to pray over us and to have a quick visit. It was so wonderful to see their faces and to hear how they are AND to hear they were going on a date once they left the hospital! Dating your spouse is so important. It gave me the idea of dating Tyler...even though we are stuck in a hospital.

Putting on the new robe and socks my sister gave me, Tyler and I had a cafeteria date. :) Fruit and drinks from the hospital coffee bar. Although I had to be pushed around in a wheel chair, it was so nice to get out of our room and have different scenery.

It is just now 7pm...still a few hours left in the day but I would call day 5 of bed rest overwhelming in both challenging and good ways. Overwhelmed by the amount of staff caring for me and baby, overwhelmed by the love of my kids, overwhelmed by the love and support of family and friends visiting/sending us messages.

Physically, I can just feel all those 17cm of fluid that left my body yesterday have returned to my body making it difficult to move and get up and down. The ultrasound tomorrow will measure the actual fluid I have but it sure feels like it has come back! I am still battling this cold and I developed pink eye in my left eye. Fun, huh?

Spiritually, I have been so encouraged by so many scriptures today but especially Psalm 34 & Matthew 17:20. Thank you to those who have sent us scripture today!

Tomorrow we look forward to having an another ultrasound (praying no fluid appears on his stomach or lungs!) and celebrating the fact that baby Ollie had one more day in the womb. You could also be praying that baby stays on the monitor for a full 30-minutes every 4-hours...this would greatly ease our minds and my discomfort of having to stay still for 30-minutes. :)

Stay tuned for more and I report tomorrow on day 6 of bed rest (hopefully)... Again, thank you for your love, support and prayers!

Honoring Marriage in Parenthood

It all started when my husband and I realized that we had no time for each other. It was like ships passing in the night with his work schedule and my sleepless nights caring for our seven month old son & crazy days chasing our 2-years old toddler.… our conversations would mostly be through text or at 1 AM when he rolled into bed after working a 10 hour shift (most of which he would forget because he was so tired). Dialogs in the morning consisted of getting the kids fed and changed before sending my husband off to yet another long shift.

Something had to change!

So we took out our calendars and decided to tackle the cultural problem with being too busy.

Last month we instituted "surprise date day" which once a month one spouse plans a surprise date...(no hints allowed!!), finds childcare and works out all the details. The other spouse willingly follows. 

Last month I planned a movie-theater, popcorn eating, air conditioned, snuggle my man in comfy theater seats date! Something we have both wanted to do more frequently than we have. Pre-kids, we enjoyed going to the movies at least once or twice a month. Post kids, we are lucky if we get out to the theater once every six months. It was a real treat!

This month was my husband's turn. The only hint that he gave me was to dress in active wear. I had no idea what he had in mind. Rockclimbing maybe? As I walked out the front door I saw the kayak on top of our vehicle! We own a double kayak we affectionately called "the yellow banana." I was getting pretty excited about where he might be taking me.

He said to get cozy because the drive might be a little while. Shortly there after I guessed that we were kayaking through the Ballard Locks! It was such a wonderful surprise date! We stopped at Trader Joe's to grab lunch, pushed off the kayak into the crystal clear lake water and headed towards the locks. The breeze was warm and the water calm. We enjoyed laughing, talking, and splashing each other just a bit as we paddled each stroke. Before we knew it, we were in the lineup to enter the locks. It was such a fascinating experience especially with the salmon running. A little nervous at first, our little kayak did very well!  Once we got through the locks, we paddled a little further and pulled off to a quaint little beach where we ate our lunch and enjoyed a spectacular water view. 

Our stop wasn't too long as we had to paddle back and drive the hour and a half home to relieve the babysitter. But it is so special to carve out time with the man I fell love with well over 8 years ago.

I'm and thankful for our new tradition. We still go on other dates within the month, but there is something special about being surprised and also surprising the one you love. We have also been more intentional about planning a family day once a week. This family day consists of two hours to a full day of just spending time enjoying life as a family of four! 

Below are a few pictures from our adventure today.

Many Blessings.