34 weeks and 1 day

Today marks 34 weeks and 1 day of pregnancy. I have been feeling better, but for a cold that I somehow caught while lying around the house (how does that happen??!!). My doctor's appointment today went well and they feel encouraged by how the week has gone. The main points of today's appointment were:
1. She appears to be head down and way down and the dr said that is good.
2. Her heartbeat was great and my vitals were great.
3. The dr wants to keep up two more weeks of bed rest so that I reach the 36 week mark. Although he is OK if she comes now, his summation was "34 weekers don't get to go home with their parents from the hospital, but 36 weekers usually do. I want you guys to have the greatest chance to take her home when you leave the hospital."
4. She is still measuring along a 33 week mark, so small, but he doesn't seem worried by that.
5. He said that unless anything "seems amiss" they don't want to see me back for 2 weeks. At that point I will be just past 36 weeks and if all seems to be good I can resume normal activities at my own pace. That appointment is June 13.
6. He asked me if I knew how close my contractions were in the hospital - I told him I didn't know the time, but I felt like they were close. He said they were 3 minutes apart and constant "and that wasn't a good sign", so for now with 10-15 contractions a day he things that is just great (he's never felt a contraction:).
7. He gave me a mix of medicines to take to get past the cold so I can feel better.

So all in all, it was great! I am back relaxing on the couch, since besides the dr's I also ran 3 errands (Library, Bank and PO Box) and took Camden over to Elaine's this morning, and then got my haircut. So it has been the busiest day yet and I am worn out. Gotta get some rest because the Season Finale of LOST is tonight!!
Thanks for all your prayers - they seem to be getting answered. And thanks again to everyone who has brought meals - they are SO helpful right now and we've had lots of good food.
I'll update again later if anything happens!

Just past 33 weeks

Things have been much better this week. I am now at 33 weeks and 3 days of pregnancy and each day that MacKenna stays put is a blessing.

Earlier in the week I found (I'd known her for awhile and never knew her story) a mom who had her son at 32 weeks. She delivered at the same hospital I will here in Raleigh. Her son now at 2 1/2 is a thriving little boy!! She encouraged me to get out my pregnancy books and read about pre-term babies - just to prepare myself. I wasn't really wanting to do that for emotional reasons. But I did later in the week, and I learned so much that was actually an encouragement. I won't list all the details here, but the 2 greatest things were that babies born at this stage (especially after having the steriod shots) really have few major complications. They are small, but they typically do very well. And the best news - the test performed in the hospital last Friday morning (when I was 32 weeks and 2 days) having a negative result seems to tell the doctors that my chances of delivering within 2 weeks are very low. In fact my doctor this week said you are usually guaranteed another 2 weeks before delivery. She cautioned that things can happen, but they really trust the test to predict at least that 2 week mark. So we are feeling confident that as long as I continue bed rest we can make it beyond the 34 week mark.

God has sent us many other blessings this week - friends who have delivered dinners, lunches and yummy desserts; Grandma (Kevin's mom) who has come to take Camden outside to play for a bit a couple times and then took him most of the day yesterday; neighbors who have come by just to keep me company; lots of friends who have kept my spirits up through phone calls and emails; and Debbie who came yesterday and cleaned house!!! They have all been a blessing to us. Thank you so much!!

We will continue to post updates as we know, but I have to say I feel more confident as each day passes. I continue to have contractions daily, but the doctor has kept an eye on things and these contractions (despite being painful) are so far not changing things and starting the delivery process. The dr's goal is to keep MacKenna put as long as possible, despite the discomfort I might continue to expereince. As long as she handles these "fake" contractions well and true labor doesn't begin, they will keep me resting to get to the 36 week mark. Let's pray for that!!!

An interesting week

More dancing with the Wiggles

Trying to pose for my 3 year old picture


Dancing to the Wiggles

This week started as a normal week. Here are a few pictures to show you fun things I was doing...

Mom and I even made a video of me singing the Blue's Clues song, but she can't figure out how to upload it, so you'll just have to trust me. I was starting to get over my ear infection from the previous week, and all was well.

Then Wednesday things got a little crazy. Mom had to work a longer day that day because she was starting to train Nicky who will help out with her work when she has MacKenna. When she walked in the door at 4:30 sho dropped her stuff, gave me a quick hug and went right to lay on the couch. I tried to lay with her and make her feel better, but she seemed to be in some sort of pain. She told daddy she was having something called contractions and just needed to rest. Gigi was stopping by soon and when she got there she sat with Mom for awhile too. You see, Mom had been told about 3 weeks ago to take it easy since she was starting to have these contractions (Braxten Hicks) more often. The dr's said it was just too early for MacKenna to come and so she had been doing that. Well, after two hours of contractions, Mom called the dr. It took another 2 hours to actually get the doctor on call and they told her to come to the hospital. They arrived around 9 pm, and were sent to triage. After being checked out it was determined these contractions needed to stop. MacKenna is only 32 weeks along and it is just too early. They gave mom IV fluids and a shot to relax her uterus - this worked for a couple hours and then things started again. So they admitted her to the hospital about 1 AM. She sent daddy home to sleep and take care of me (she worries about her boys). They gave her some fluids via IV (Magnesium Sulfate) that were more poweful to stop the contractions and they also started her on steriod shots to help develop MacKenna's lungs. She was in the hospital from 1 am Thursday morning until about 9 am Friday. After some more tests Friday morning the doctors feel that MacKenna should stay put at least a couple more weeks and Mom should go home and be on bedrest unti then. So now she has laid on the couch for two days while daddy and I take care of everything (cooking, cleaning, washing the cars, going for walks, etc.). I come visit her a lot and sit with her, but it's pretty boring.

Maybe she will tell you more about the situation later, but until then pray for MacKenna to grow strong and hang in there at least a few more weeks. And pray for daddy and I as we hold down the house (and daddy still tried to work!!).