My Amazing Husband

I just have to give my husband some credit for the many wonderful things he has been doing over this past month-and-a-half!  He has had a TON on his plate with having to do everything by himself: caring for Brecken (and me too!), doing laundry, grocery shopping, running to dr. appointments, etc, etc, etc! There are a lot of guys out there who probably wouldn't even have a clue how to run a household by themselves, but thankfully D.J. knows how to do laundry, cook, and do the grocery shopping. He has been doing a wonderful job at keeping up with everything and really doesn't complain a bit. I am truly blessed to have him as my husband, and I wouldn't want anyone else by my side during this journey! This weekend though, D.J. was even more fabulous than usual...not only did he do all of the laundry, take care of Brecken, and prepare the meals, but he finished painting the baby's room by adding the stripes that I was really wanting :) The room was painted baby blue when DJ's parents were here a couple weeks ago, and I had honestly become perfectly content with the fact that the room would probably just stay that way because life was just too hectic right now to add anything extra that wasn't necessary. However, D.J. and Brecken went and bought the paint Saturday morning, and then during Brecken's nap time Saturday and Sunday, D.J. taped off the walls and painted the stripes! It looks awesome (I'll post final pictures soon), and it's so nice to have a little more pizazz to the room than just the classic baby blue! Then after he finished painting today, he made a delicious dinner of BBQ ribs and potatoes on the grill, and NOW he is out at Target with Brecken picking up groceries and a whole bunch of other stuff on the mile long list.

We are also incredibly thankful for all of the help we've received from family and friends! Our moms have been taking turns caring for Brecken, and while they're here they have been helping out with lots of laundry, cleaning, etc. Plus, for about 3 weeks we had meals provided for us from friends which helped out a ton! That way D.J. didn't have to worry about dinner when he got home from work, and our moms could just focus on caring for Brecken and helping out with housework.
Even with all of the help from others, D.J. has still had many, MANY, things to do, and through all of the stress he continues to be an amazing father and husband! He still manages to find quality time with Brecken, and he has been very patient with me and my endless requests (and I know I haven't been the most pleasant person to be around after being stuck in a bed/recliner for almost 7 weeks!)
The summer after our very long and difficult journey with Brecken, the song "God Gave me You" by Dave Barnes came out and it has been "our song" ever since. Since then, a country version has also come out, but I still like the original version best :) It is truly fitting and I just love that it talks about the "ups and downs" because that is really what love and marriage is all about - sticking through the many ups and downs of life. Here is a link to the music video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hQK6GIrpYU

DJ, I am truly blessed that "God Gave Me You!"

Big Boy Bed!

This week Brecken moved into his big boy bed so that we could change the toddler bed back into the crib for baby brother. I don't think Brecken could be any more excited! He has seriously been asking for months when he will get his big bed. He had a hard time falling asleep that first night, but I think it was honestly just because he was SO excited! Other than that, he has done really well with the transition. He woke up that next morning and slid off the end of his bed onto the stool (just as DJ instructed him the night before.) All of a sudden he came walking in our room and said, "I slid down my big bed onto my stool!" Then he quickly added, "That was FUN sleeping in my big bed!" :)

We were thankful that my parents delivered the furniture and helped get it set-up! I don't know what we'd do without all of the help from our families over the past month-and-a-half. Here are some pictures from the big event:

Helping Bucka (Grandpa) Dave

Taking apart the toddler bed

Me supervising from my resting position ;)

Bob the Builder?

A Wonderful Weekend

We enjoyed a really nice weekend...On Saturday morning I drove to the park to meet DJ and Brecken. I can't really do much at the park except sit at the picnic table, but it is still soooo nice to be out and about and at least be around DJ and Brecken because sitting outside at the park sure beats sitting in the recliner staring at the computer screen or TV! Saturday afternoon, DJ and Uncle David took Brecken golfing for his very first round of 9-holes, and they all had a blast.

Sunday was our 6-year anniversary, and I escaped the house for TWO brief outings :) We went to church in the morning, which was an outdoor service, and then in the evening DJ and I went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary.

So far I've done really well being up and around a little bit more - pregnancy wise I thankfully haven't really felt any changes with contractions or anything. However, I am starting to notice how weak I've gotten from these SIX weeks of total bedrest. By the time I'm done taking my shower and brushing my teeth, my leg muscles are already shaking! I'm 33 weeks now, so I have 3 weeks left of this bedrest. It honestly seems like it wasn't that long ago that it was just the opposite and I had completed just 3 weeks of bedrest and had six more weeks to go! With only 3 weeks left, I'm definitely starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel :) Plus now I'm much more confident that I'll have a healthy baby :) My weekly pregnancy update e-mail from Baby Center says that now at 33-weeks baby should be over 4 pounds - yay!
And finally I'll end with a funny (well sort of funny ;) Brecken story:
Apparently Brecken is 2 going on 12! We were all sitting in the living room just before Brecken's bedtime, and I told Brecken he needed to pick up the pillows (that he had used for a fort) and put them back on the couch. Well he didn't do it, and a couple minutes later it was REALLY time for him to get to bed and he wasn't going, so DJ told him that he had 2 options...he could go and get a book for Mommy to read, or he could just go straight to bed. Brecken said that he wanted a book. He got off the couch to go get a book, but just before he left, he turned back around, looked at the pillows, and then he said to DJ, "Picking up the pillows wasn't a choice. Now YOU have to do it Daddy!" And then he went down the hall to get his book from his room. I think he might be too smart for his own good! We did get a good laugh out of it though after he was out of sight :) Brecken rarely shows his attitude considering he's a two-year-old, so we were completely shocked by his comment (and that's why it was funny even to us!) However, if this is a sign of what's to come, then we're definitely in T-ROUBLE!!!

32 weeks and more great news!

Yesterday at my check-up, the doctor approved for me to up 2-4 hours a day! YAY - I am thrilled! The doctor said that since I'm at 32 weeks now, I had that negative fetal fibronectin test last week, and I have two precautionary measures in place as well (cerclage and weekly progesterone injections), it's certainly reasonable for me to be up and about some. He made it sound as if he assumed that I had been doing that much already because he said that most people they put on bedrest don't actually follow all of the restrictions. He said if I start having more contractions, then obviously I need to cut back again, but otherwise it's just fine for me to modify my bedrest and be up 2-4 hours a day. I can now go out to eat on occasion (Yay! I can escape my house for something other than a doctor appointment :) He also said we could drive to the park as a family and I can sit down there to watch Brecken play. I will still be spending the majority of my day in bed or in my recliner, but I am SO happy to have a few more privileges...like being able to tuck Brecken in at night :)

I think God must have known that I needed a little boost because this exciting news came at just the right time! After a complete month of bedrest, I have been wondering how I was ever going to survive another whole month of sitting around doing nothing. (I really should have jumped up and given the doctor a big bear hug when he gave me the news :) This weekend was especially challenging from an emotional standpoint - this weekend my dad's entire side of the family (including my out-of-state relatives) were all up at my parents' cabin for the annual Meyer family weekend at the lake, and we obviously couldn't go this year. DJ's parents were down at our house this weekend for a family wedding, and while they were here, they helped paint the baby's room. I am VERY thankful for all of their help and it feels great to finally have that done; however, it broke my heart knowing that I was missing the big family weekend at the lake AND I wasn't able to help paint my own baby's room!

Here are some pictures of the painting that I missed out on :(    



Brecken had to paint a little too



"Bucka" Al helped entertain Brecken after taping the room, and he mowed our lawn too!



Grandma Linda hard at work

DJ

All done! I guess we could've just color-matched Brecken's shirt - he blends right in!



So far I haven't really taken advantage of my new privileges...yesterday I spent the entire morning at the Abbott Northwestern Perinatal Clinic and then also had to run to the local clinic in the afternoon for my weekly injection, so I figured that all of those appointments pretty much took care of my 2-4 hours. Today I didn't do much either, but I am going to sit at the kitchen table here shortly to make a dessert for our 4th of July celebration tomorrow. I am happy that I'm able to contribute something for our little party so DJ has one less thing to worry about (and the other family is bringing food as well). We are very excited that we have another family coming over tomorrow afternoon to celebrate with us, and I am ecstatic that I will actually be able to sit up in a normal chair for part of the time to visit and hang out with them :)
Thank you once again for your prayers and support. We are very happy and thankful to be sitting at 32 weeks, but we're hopeful to make it at least another 4 weeks.

Happy 4th of July! Stay cool!

WAHOOOOOOO!

The nurse called with my fetal fibronectin test results, and it was negative. YAY - Now it's quite probable that I'll make it at least 2 more weeks, which will put me close to 34 weeks!

Hopefully this great news will save me a few gray hairs now :)

Is my hair gray yet? ;)

I'm pretty sure this baby is giving me gray hair, and he's not even born yet! ;) Yes, I had yet another frantic trip to the clinic yesterday, but thankfully everything was fine. At lunch time I called the Perinatal (High-Risk) nurse line about a concern I had, but the nurses were at lunch. The receptionist said they would be back at 12:30, and I left a message on the nurse line. Well at 12:45 I hadn't heard back yet, so we (my mom and I) decided to just put Brecken down for his nap because he was starting to fall apart at this point. We had hoped to keep him awake in case I needed to go in because then we could possibly take him to our daycare lady, and he could nap there. I'm not really supposed to drive myself to the clinic in Maple Grove, so I needed my mom to drive me there. (DJ was still in TEXAS!) Shortly after 1:00, I still hadn't heard back, so I called the nurse line again. I connected with my nurse at that point, and she ran my concern past the doctor. The doctor said I should come in for an ultrasound to check my cervix, and that they needed me to be there at 2:00 because the only open time they had was 2-2:30. At this point it was now 1:15, Brecken was sound asleep, and it's a 30 minute drive to the clinic! I quickly called my neighbor who works from home, and she was able to come over to be here for Brecken for a bit until my dad could get here from his work in Coon Rapids. After that big rush to get there by 2:00, I learned when I got there that something had come up between the time they talked to me and the time I got there, and I was now going to have to wait awhile. I finally got in around 2:40, but the ultrasound room that I needed was still busy. They did some other tests and the contraction monitors while we waited for the room to open up. Everything looked fine, and I eventually got into the ultrasound room around 3:30. The ultrasound looked great - no change in my cervix and the stitch is still definitely doing it's job, so they sent me home. One of the tests they did was the fetal fibronectin again to check the likelihood of delivery within the next 2 weeks. I will have those results later today. Same story as the first time I had this test ...if it's negative, WONDERFUL because that means there is over a 90% chance that I won't deliver within the next 2 weeks; however, if it's positive, it's not a very accurate predictor. A positive result just means you have a 50/50 chance of delivering in the next couple weeks. The doctor said she could flip a coin and predict just as accurately. I'll give another short update once I hear the results. DJ came home on his scheduled flight last night - yay! That's a big relief to have him back in town again! I was so thankful that nothing came up any earlier while he was gone. My biggest fear was a scare happening while he was gone and that we'd have to decide if he needed to get an emergency flight back or not. Thankfully by the time this issue came up, it was already within hours of his scheduled return flight, so he really couldn't have gotten home any faster anyway.

Whew! I'm relieved that all of this was nothing serious, but I'm getting pretty tired of these frantic trips to the clinic/hospital. (I think this was trip #5 for an unscheduled visit.)

I'm now going to leave my recliner for a few minutes to shower - my big event of the day - haha! Have a great day, and stay cool! They tell me it's VERY hot and humid out there, so thank God for air conditioning or I would be one REALLY miserable, pregnant lady on bedrest!

Happy Friday - A little encouragement

I came across this video of "In Christ Alone" today on Proverbs 31 Ministries. It was quite encouraging to me as I sit here and think about the fact the fact that I've completed 3.5 weeks of bedrest and still have about SIX more weeks to go (they'll let me off of bedrest at 36 weeks). I know, I know, one day at a time, right? Hopefully you can find this song/video equally as encouraging with whatever challenge(s) you might be facing right now. I especially like the first verse:
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease...
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

Here is a link to the video:
http://youtu.be/bvnpcKUrCo4

Like I said, I found this on Proverbs 31 Ministries. You can "like" them on Facebook to see their posts in your news feed, and you can also sign up to receive their daily devotionals via e-mail on their website: http://www.proverbs31.org/
This ministry is particularly geared towards women, but much of their content is applicable to men as well.

Have a nice weekend and God bless.

30 weeks!

I'm now 30 weeks pregnant (it feels great to be in the 30's!), and I've completed 3 full weeks of this lovely bedrest. Today was my big doctor appointment, and we spent almost 2.5 hours at the clinic. The first portion of the appointment was a Level II ultrasound, where they again checked my cervix and looked closely at baby's organs, bones, blood flow, etc. AWESOME NEWS - my cervix length measured almost exactly the same as it was 3 weeks ago when they put me on bedrest! Praise God! I was quite surprised to hear this after all of those contractions that I've had over these 3 weeks. Everything with baby looked really good too. In fact, he actually measured about 1 week ahead of my dates, and they estimate he weighs 3 pounds, 6 ounces (but that's give or take 8 ounces). We had to laugh when they showed us the breakdown for all of baby's measurements - his femur/leg bones actually measure about 1-2 weeks BEHIND my dates, so I guess both of our boys will have the short legs and long torso that I inherited from my dad's side of the family. Then the poor baby's head measured 2 weeks AHEAD of my dates (we're blaming the large head on Grandpa Al :) On average though, baby's size measured 6 days ahead of my due date, which is wonderful.

From here they will continue to see me every 2 weeks in the clinic, but they're also adding in OB home-care nurse visits so they can monitor my contractions and baby's heart rate weekly without me having to be up and about going to the clinic so often.

This coming Sunday morning, DJ leaves for San Antonio, TX for a work trip and will be gone for 4 days! (They booked his flight just days before I was put on bedrest!) Thankfully my mom is coming to stay with me while he is gone, just in case I need to make another trip to the hospital. Today DJ specifically asked the doctor if he should even be going and what were the chances that he'd be needing to catch an emergency flight home. She said, "You should be just fine. She is stable, and I would expect her to make it to 36 weeks. At that point, we'll take the cerclage out and go from there." So we again got another affirmation that they're still very optimistic about me making it close to term. However, we're of course still very nervous that DJ is going to be that far away given my situation.

Please pray that everything continues to stay nice and calm while DJ is gone (and also praise God for all of the great news we heard at the doctor today)!

An Uneventful Week :-)

It's thankfully been an uneventful week around here. My contractions have been few and far between, which is awesome! I've also finally been sleeping better which definitely improves my emotional state ;) I think now that school is finally all done, I'm able to sleep better. I pretty much missed the last 2 weeks of school since our kids went through Friday, June 8. (Thankfully I had JUST enough sick leave to cover all 9 of my days.) Since it was so last minute that I found out I needed to be on bedrest, it was difficult to arrange for a sub at the very end of the year like that. I ended up having 3 different subs and wrote 8 days worth of sub plans! Plus I had to do my report cards...I will say that all of this work gave me something to do for a while. However, I did find myself waking up in the middle of the night saying to myself, "Oh no! I forgot to tell my sub..." (this and that). This year I probably had the best class I've ever had so far, so I was honestly quite sad that I never really got to say good-bye to them (and since they go to middle school next year, I won't see most of them ever again :( However, I wasn't sad at all to be missing out on those "wonderful" behaviors that 5th graders tend to display at the end of the school year. I did hear that while I was gone, a couple of my students started a rumor that one of my girls was pregnant, and another day when they were playing outside, 2 boys got in an all out physical fight! My poor subs! Maybe laying on the couch wasn't so bad - haha.

I'm obviously not allowed to care for Brecken while on bedrest, so he spent those first 2 weeks at daycare. Once school was out, we were done with daycare so now the grandmas are tag-teaming his care. He spent the beginning of this week up in Browerville with DJ's parents (and didn't have ANY fun at all - haha! ;) Then yesterday and today, my mom was here to take care of Brecken. We are SO grateful that our moms are able to help out with caring for him!

While Brecken was up at Grandma & "Bucka's" house, DJ got a well-deserved break from essentially being a single dad. It's hard for me to watch him trying to juggle everything on his own, as this situation is definitely very challenging for him as well! Thankfully our families have been GREAT about helping out with stuff around the house, and we've had lots of friends provide meals for us. All of this makes a HUGE difference. We are truly blessed!

Finally, I'll end with a picture of some Mommy and Brecken snuggle time (It of course never lasts very long, but I do enjoy every second I get!)


I have another big check-up on Tuesday, so I'll update again after that. Have a great weekend!

Another Dr. Update

Well after I just HAPPENED to see on MyChart that they had actually scheduled my high-risk appointment/transfer of care meeting for Tuesday, JUNE 19TH, and not for this coming Tuesday, I called back to the scheduling department assuming there was a mistake. The gal still insisted that my file just said 1-2 weeks and therefore June 19th was fine...so then my nasty (protective mama) side came out! I guess it worked because I eventually got an appointment for this Friday (6/8) instead :)

Basically we didn't get much new information at the appointment, and we were pretty much told to just keep doing what I'm doing. Overall though, I did feel a lot more confident about making it close to term when I left there, which was really nice. After having to get the shot last weekend to stop the beginning stages of labor and chatting with my regular OB on Monday morning, I was feeling quite nervous. I think my regular OB was a lot more nervous about my recent changes/issues because she doesn't see it everyday, whereas the high-risk doctors deal with this type of stuff all the time. The gal we met with at this appointment essentially has the same story as me (and she made it to 37 weeks with #2), so it was very encouraging to hear that as well! Her and I decided that there should be a way to do a cervix transplant - haha. She also wasn't too concerned with the fact that I've still been having contractions about once every 1-2 hours quite regularly. They don't like to medicate to stop contractions/labor unless it's regular (4+ per hour) and it's really necessary. They also don't plan to give me the steroid shots for baby's lungs unless delivery looks imminent...again they like to avoid the meds whenever possible.

Don't get me wrong, I was absolutely thrilled to hear that there is still hope for me to make it very close to term; however, reality also hit about being on bedrest until 36 weeks (7.5 more weeks!) Last night, DJ and Brecken were playing in the front yard in Brecken's new pool. I could hear Brecken laughing and giggling away, and I almost had another complete breakdown as I sat inside in my recliner missing out on all of that great play time and memories. I feel like I'm completely missing out on what could be up to 3 months of Brecken's life! BUT, I just have to keep reminding myself that all of this bedrest sure beats the alternatives...being in the hospital on bedrest again or having a tiny baby in the NICU for weeks!

We greatly appreciate your continued prayers and support for our family during this difficult time! We definitely know that no matter what the doctors say about predictions or odds, God is in control of the situation and with Him all things are possible!

"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37 NIV

God bless and stay cool this weekend!