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32 Weeks! Nursery almost complete and starting to dilate..

Thankfully, it has been more productive around here lately in terms of the house...and it needs to pick up even more...especially after my doctor's appointments the past couple of weeks.

Last week, I had another ultrasound and Bennett is continuing to look great. He is still measuring big and weighed in at 4 lbs 11 0z!! But my cervix was starting to thin out again and he has dropped really low in my pelvis....and I was already at 0 station. I went back to the hospital last weekend for another set of betamethasone injections for his lungs.

This week, I was checked again and now he is +1 and I am 1 cm dilated. My doctor said that he will hopefully stay in there another couple of weeks and that I am going to have changes with him being that low and putting that much pressure on my cervix. She thinks that we would be really lucky to go near 36 weeks, and that 36 would probably be our max.
I will admit....this slightly stressed me out...
I just want him to be okay...and I want to bring him home with me when I have to leave the hospital.

Ultimately, I keep reminding myself that God has kept him in there this long...which is truly a miracle and a blessing. And hopefully, God will continue to keep him in there until he will be safe outside!!

In the meantime, Will has been hard at work on the nursery! And it is almost finished and the windows finally came in...they just have to be installed. Other than that, we just have little things to do like hang things on the walls, put pictures in frames...and wash everything once we get our laundry room back!!

Here are some before and after pics!!


The before (kind of scary):

The "nursery" when we looked at the house:


After the walls were insulated, drywall installed, and painting started:

Disaster!!



The AFTER:


Some up-to-date with only a few things left to do:

A a pic of his little clothes in his closet:

I love the way everything turned out. It may be the only room in the house that is even near completion...but I love love love everything about his room and love to sit in there.

I think that it makes everything real...Bennett is going to be here soon...and he is still safe and healthy. So much heartache has happened in the past year....and now God has given us another chance. This room used to be a room of sadness for me, and now it is one filled with excitement, hope for the future, and a lot of love.

I can't wait to meet our little guy...but I sure do hope he can wait a few more weeks to meet us!!

Please pray that he can be patient!!

30 Weeks and into the New Year!!

It has been a while since I've posted..probably because not too much has been going on with either house or baby. Great to have some calmer weeks with Bennett...not so much with the house!

Baby Update:

30 weeks...31 on Monday!! I feel much better about where things stand at this point. It is truly amazing that we have made it this far. I have my hopes set on full term and would love a March birthday...but we'll see! Ultimately, what I really really want is to be able to bring him home with us and not to have to leave him!
At my last ultrasound a couple of weeks ago, Bennett was measuring about 3 lbs. The ultrasound tech said he was getting lots of hair. He was sucking on his thumb and practicing breathing. :)

And for me...well...I'm getting rather....large...ha! My belly is massive and my back is starting to feel it big time. I can tell that I am starting to have a lot more pressure now that he is getting bigger. I feel like he's a lot lower lately and I've had some contractions and pain off and on the past week...but the Procardia stops them every time. :)
Still going to the doctor every week for my 17-p shots. I go back on Wednesday for another ultrasound and shot. My doctor wants me to go ahead and get another round of betamethasone injections for his lungs...just in case. So, I might get those this week too. We'll see how we both look on Wednesday!

Big belly shot!


House Update:

Frustrated is how you can describe us this week. Not too much has been going on...I guess nobody wants to work around the holidays? I had a slight hormonal moment Thursday night wondering if we were going to be able to get at least the kitchen and laundry room back before Bennett arrives. I certainly hope so!

Soooo...things that have been done: the drywall is finished in all of the downstairs and the nursery...and the ceilings were painted leaving white paint spray all over the floors. So the ceilings look great...the floors...not so much...ha. The outside trim was finished (I need to get pictures). Dentil blocks and oval windows in the gables were installed to match the old part of the house. The porches and railings were completed and the missing transom finally showed up and was installed. Grading was completed and the drainage system was put in around the foundation (we had a river flowing up under the house every time it rained when we first moved in).

Will took off the week between Christmas and New Years and installed all of hardwood floors in the addition. He also primed the majority of the walls downstairs...with the help of his mother painting a few walls. And the tile guy did come and tile the master bath shower. They also came and measured for the shower doors.

The cabinets were supposed to be finished and installed ...and they aren't finished. The siding guy was supposed to come and didn't show either....So...now we have the same old outside and a foyer full of kitchen appliances that can't go anywhere until the cabinets are in. Soooo....it's been a little aggravating. But, the siding guy is supposed to come this week...The cabinets should be ready Tuesday...And the electrician is supposed to start installing all of the light fixtures this week too. We'll see what happens.

So, with all of that said, Will has focused mainly on the nursery this week. We hope that if we can get this one room finished it will keep us motivated...and...make us feel like we are ready for Bennett whenever he decides to make his appearance. Will finished the painting in there so the floor refinisher could come in. The floors finished up yesterday...and they are beautiful!! This weekend, Will has been hard at work painting and finishing the closet, installing some baseboard (where we filled in a door in that room), tiling the fireplace, installing curtain rods, changing out receptacles and switches, putting in new light fixtures and vents....and bringing in all of the furniture...He has been quite busy!! I know he has to be exhausted. I'll try to post some pictures later this week once we have the furniture in...and hopefully the windows (the only thing we are missing in that room and another source of frustration since we ordered them 6-7 weeks ago...hehe).

Here are a couple of pictures I do have:

Will's hard work...looking from the foyer into the hallway into the addition :)


The Keeping room:



The master shower...finished now, but no grout on the floor in this pic:



That's about it for now...going to try to get the nursery finished...hoping everybody will show up this week...and hoping for another good report at the doctor Wednesday!!

Huge House and baby update at 26 weeks

So, the past few weeks have been all about baby, and progress has been a little slower on the house. Still, quite a lot has been done.

First, baby update:

I am now 26 weeks. This week marks about 10 total weeks (counting earlier in the pregnancy) that I have been on bed rest. I am going to the doctor every week, and occasionally twice a week. Still getting the 17p injections, which really seem to be helping.

The past couple of weeks I can tell a difference the days before I go in for another shot. On Tuesday, I was uncomfortable all day, having contractions (?) with some pain off and on. I told my doctor when I went in yesterday, and she decided to check me again. She didn't think my cervix felt any thinner than it has been (yay), but my cervix felt soft and baby has dropped really low (boo). So, she told me that she wanted another ultrasound to measure my cervical length to see if we needed to "do something else". When I asked her what that"something else would be", she told me that if my cervix was shorter than it has ever been, then she might admit me for hospital bed rest... Here is where I think begin thinking...please, God, no. Hospital bed rest would be a whole other level of agony...hehe But thankfully, my cervical length is unchanged from last time....hospital avoided...yay!!

So, instead, she is putting me on another drug, Procardia, to stop contractions in between my injections. She said I might only want to take it when I feel pain like I have before, because it has some side effects and will make me feel pretty bad. It can drop your blood pressure and make you dizzy...and considering my history of passing out this pregnancy...I don't think I want to make hitting the floor a routine...ha

Bennett is continuing to grow and weighed in at 2 lbs 5 oz on this week's ultrasound. He is 2 weeks ahead in length and 1 week ahead in weight and almost 2-3 weeks ahead in his head circumference. I hope he has a lot of smart brains in that head. ;)
He continues to be crazy active and gets the hiccups all the time now. He wakes me up all night flipping around and even kicked the remote control off my belly last week...I was impressed...ha!

That is basically it for baby update. Continuing along, and thankful he is still in my belly! Thanks for all of the prayers!!

Now, for pics and house update!!

22 Weeks

24 Weeks

Sunday, Adam came over while he was here to take a few maternity pics since I couldn't leave the house for any. I think they turned out great! Here are a few...I will try to post more to facebook sometime soon.










As for the house...Wow...it is a DISASTER!!!

The roof was finished a long time ago, and with the exception of one transom (that finally just came in) the windows and doors are in. They finished the plumbing and electrical rough-in in the addition, and completed the central heat and air in the entire downstairs. The drywall is up in the addition, but not finished. We ordered cabinets that should be built in the next 3 weeks, and we ordered all of our appliances that will be delivered the week after Christmas. The appliances might end up coming too soon. We were hoping the dry wall would be complete this week, so the floors could be installed next week, and the cabinets the following week....but the dry wall people have not shown up the whole week....grrrrr....

While the addition is coming together, the old part of the house looks the worst it has ever looked... The electrician moved into the downstairs of the old part and ripped huge holes into the walls and ceilings to wire for new lights and some speakers. And...the insulation people started yesterday drilling holes in between every stud to blow in cellulose...
Now we have hundreds of holes in the walls and ceiling with construction dust everywhere. Upstairs, isn't too bad for now. We are just getting the heat and air started, and the insulation in the nursery. So, the rest of the rooms we are living in, aren't too bad. It's probably good that I am confined to my room. ;)

Back of the house:

Porch Close up:

Side:

Looking from hallway into keeping room (minus the missing transom):

Keeping Room:

Kitchen:

Side Entryway:

Part of master bath:

Great News at 24 weeks!!

This past week has been full of Doctor's appointments.

Last Wednesday, we went to see my regular OB and then went to Emory to see my Maternal-Fetal Specialist. No big news at the specialist appointment. Basically just said that my regular OBs are doing everything that he would do and to continue on as planned with the bed rest, weekly injections, and to maybe consider another dose of steroids for his lungs a little later.

Soooo....I went back to my OB today for another ultrasound and appointment.

AND....drum roll please....my cervix has thickened in the past week!!

It is still too short, but went from 1.8 with a lot of funneling to 2.4 with some funneling!

I was talking to the nurse and told her that I didn't know if it was the weekly miracle shots, bed rest or divine intervention. And she told me that we must have some serious prayers going up for this little guy, because she has NEVER seen the injections work like this.

So, there we have it....Divine Intervention.


We decided on the name "Bennett" when we found out it meant Little Blessed One. Wow, he continues to live up to his name...he is definitely blessed. We are definitely blessed.

Thank you, God, for our little blessing.

As if the first miracle of creating him wasn't enough...then the second miracle of not losing him very early wasn't enough....Now, we have miracle number three....He is still in my belly, instead of fighting for his life...and hopefully there to stay for a lot longer.

So, here is where I say thank you to every single person that has prayed for us. God is faithful and is answering our prayers....I am absolutely amazed by His goodness.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as I know we still have a loooong road ahead. But for tonight, I am thankful....very....very...thankful. :)

This kid better stay in there!! 23 weeks this Monday

I went back to the doctor yesterday for another appointment and ultrasound...and, unfortunately, did not receive great news.

Basically my cervix is still thinning and funneling open. Down to 1.8 cm. My doctor said, "he was hoping that this might have been a little blip on the radar, but it looks like we have a serious problem on our hands". :/

He talked about the reality of viability at this point, which is no news to me. But the reality to me is that I have felt this baby inside of me everyday for almost 2 months...he has a name...he has two parents that love him and want him more than anything...and to me, there is no other reality than him coming home with us.

So, the big plan...

I'm going on 17-alphahydroxyprogesterone injections (had the first yesterday, another on Wednesday and one every week at the office until I deliver.) This will hopefully prevent me from contracting and prevent my cervix from thinning any more. I think this drug was just recently FDA approved, but from what I have read it has pretty good results in at least holding off labor until at least 32 weeks.

I'm going to the hospital today for my first injection of betamethasone. This is the steroid for baby's lungs to mature. I'll go back on Sunday to get the second dose and while I'm there they will do an ffn test. If that comes back positive, then I am likely to deliver in the next two weeks. Negative, Bennett will hopefully chill out for the next couple of weeks.

My doctor is going to send me to a maternal fetal specialist. They normally refer to Northside, but said I could go to Emory if I would feel more comfortable at my own hospital. After thinking about it...if there is a good chance of me delivering really early, I might feel better knowing some of the people that are taking care of him in the NICU....So, I think I am going to try to get in with them. The maternity coordinator will hopefully make me an appointment on Monday to see them sometime next week.

Then on Wednesday, I'll go back for another appointment and to get the results of the ffn test. I was supposed to have my glucose screen, but he cancelled that and said that diabetes is the least of my worries right now...great...

Back to them for another ultrasound and appointment the next week.

I think that's pretty much it. I can't leave the house...a lot of waiting, a lot of tests and a lot of appointments... I had a slight melt down on the way home last night...but I just need to pray and trust that everything will be okay....


"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well."
Psalm 139:13-14

Please, Please, God, continue to knit...