Progress

Wednesday's doctor's appointment proved to be a little more enlightening!! I have made progress. Right before my doctor checked my cervix she asked if I was tired of hearing "Still dilated to 3, 80% effaced and -2." I told her YES!!!! After checking she said I had made progress and was at a 4 and was -3. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..... Now that is what I want to hear. Especially after yesterday's sonogram that gave us a rough estimate of nearly an 8 lb baby already. So everything looks like it is moving forward. My doctor actually said that she thought labor would be in the next few days and that things looked good. GREAT NEWS!

Most importantly during small group we prayed for labor and a great delivery. Afterwards our worship pastor prayed over us and asked for God's hand in this delivery and that we would go ahead and go into labor. We are ready to see this little guy for sure. Everything looks great with him and he appears to be perfectly ready to come out!

Pray for safety of his arrival and a quick labor.
Thank you so much,
Keri

Splendid Sunday

Praise You In This Storm
I was sure by now

God you would have reached down

and wiped our tears away,

stepped in and saved the day.

But once again,

I say amen

that it's still raining

as the thunder rolls

I barely hear your whisper through the rain,

I'm with you

and as your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise

the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:

And I'll praise you in this storm

and I will lift my hands

that you are who you are

no matter where I am

and every tear I've cried

you hold in your hand

you never left my side

and though my heart is torn

I will praise you in this storm

My all time favorite song is Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns. So much so that when I my new phone came with a free ring tone I looked up the above song to see if they happen to have it and they did. YAHOO! I have been moved by several songs before. Depends on the situation where I am at physically and emotionally. But this song can bring tears to my eyes no matter the circumstances. I can be in the best mood singing The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round with the kids in the car and hear this song playing in the back ground and have to stop and be still. Be still in the fact that I have to refocus my thoughts to the almighty God I serve. He is mighty, he is great and he is above all.

My situation the past few weeks is so temporary. It is but a flash in the life I live. Right now it seems like forever but it is not. It has become all consuming and that is such a sad state to be in. I realized that I have had the best pity party that can be thrown because of things not going according to the pregnancy plan that I have in my mind. There are greater things that I would rather spend my time on. Like helping my friends with a shower for a fellow prego at church. Cherishing Cameron's time off of work. Telling my friends and family how much they mean to me. God has blessed me with a HUGE extended network of friends. They are really family~church family, brothers and sisters in Christ. How much closer can you get than sharing a love of God and your faith? But like I said today was a day to be reminded of all of that.

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Dear God,
Thank you for speaking through Randall this morning. Thank you for being right where I needed you to be. Thank you for providing your Holy Spirit to be with us and shine upon us in times when we need it most. Praise your name in all that I do this week. I praise you for your gentle reminder of patience and peace. I pray for contentment in what you have laid before me. I pray for your will to be done within the next few weeks, for me to accept your plan. I praise you for your mercy that you so graciously give each and every day. God I thank for moving Cameron and I to a church that you wanted us to be apart of. Thank you for making it clear for us and allowing us to be apart of your work. Praise you!
Amen

Wunnerful Wednesday

I left my doctor's appointment with mixed emotions today. Everything checked out just fine and I have made no change. That is good news since I am only 35 weeks 3 days. BUT I also thought that because I was not making any progress that my doctor would deem it safe for me to get off bed rest. Nope. I am still bed ridden~but I get 2 hours a day to do anything I want. Isn't she so generous? That means I get 2 hours to cram in as much stuff as I can. Now actually for the past 2 days I would say that I have been taking 2+ hours a day to do pretty much anything I want anyways but this just relieves the guilt I was feeling.
Things that I can do in 2 hours:
*Go grocery shopping!! I miss Wal-Mart.
*Take my kids to and from school. Cannon got to move up into the next class and I have yet to see him with his new environment. I just take Cameron and the teacher's word for it when they say he is happy and getting into the new routine. I want to see it for myself though.
*Take a shower, blow dry my hair and get my makeup on all in one swoop. I had been trying to be good and only do one thing at a time with a break in between each one so as not to over do it.
*Load the dishwasher and run it and put the dishes away. Although Cameron is a master at being Mr. Mom, kitchen duty is not his strong suit. I have overlooked it just fine though! :)
*Dust the house. This is considered light house work and the dust on my entertainment center is needing to be removed. There are enough little kid prints in it to drive me nuts.
There are many more menial tasks that I can do instead of just exist on the couch or bed. I did go to small group tonight and it was heaven. We have missed the past two Wednesdays and really missed getting to see our church family. I do also plan on going to church on Sunday. Maybe all this going and doing (even within my two hour time limit) will throw me into labor. Not the ooohhhh... I think I feel something labor. I mean the big time-ouch-holy-moly-what-have-I-gotten-myself-into-labor. Because at this point I feel like either my water has to break or it has to be REALLY BAD for me to have the confidence to show my face at the hospital again.

We will see what happens. I have made no further predictions and hope to not think too much about it long term. I am taking it one day at a time and enjoying my time with the kids. Patience is not my strong suit and God is showing me that I might need to try it more often.

Much love to everyone,
Keri

Deal or No Deal

Yesterday afternoon I was not feeling too well. Cramping and just overall not feeling well. After much convincing from my family(they didn't have to twist my arm too much) I called the doctor to just talk to her. My OB was not on call so I talked a very sweet doctor who thought it would be better for me to come on in. Mind you we got over 8" inches of snow so for him to say that I needed to come on in was a huge deal. We got the kids settled and went up there around 9:00 to find out that I had not changed enough (still dilated to a 3+) and that although I was having contractions they were not strong enough to push things along. SIGH. I got a shot to stop the contractions and it worked like a charm. I am perfectly okay with this because that means the baby just isn't ready and I have said all along I do not want him here if he isn't ready. BUT it also meant I have no idea what is going on with my body. I mean NO IDEA!!!! When I went to the doctor last Wednesday I could have sworn that we were going to have a baby because I was hurting so bad but no. Last night was even worse and I was told that there was not going to be a baby born.

All that to say that I feel like I have no clue about birth, contractions, pressure~nothing, nada, zip.

Keri do you know when you are going to have a baby? Deal or No Deal?
No Deal!

I want to thank you for your continued prayers, meals, visits, and calls. It has been greatly appreciated. God bless you all.
Keri

pretty good day

I woke up refreshed and feeling really good. I thought I wasn't suppose to feel better until after the baby came. After the doctor's appointment yesterday I was sent back home to hurry up and wait... I got a great report and was told I was a model bed rest patient. It pays to be lazy!!! Anyways we get to continue what we are doing here at home and see how far that gets us. I am happy that we are home at least and everything is good. We did get to see the baby in an ultrasound to check his fluid and everything is checking out great. No changes which is good at this point. Come next week I will be a little more disappointed but for now I am glad that he is staying put.

Cameron is doing great being Mr. Mom. He has assumed all chores and kid responsibilities with no complaints. At least no complaining to me. I know he is bored to death watching all three of us but he is wonderful about it really.

We are in for a pretty good storm I guess this weekend. Figures since I could pop at any moment. Stay warm!!
Keri

Wacky Wednesday

I'm getting pretty creative for my titles because it is just that WACKY! I got an earlier appointment with my OB for today and will go in a little bit. I was suppose to wait until tomorrow but God intervened and everything is happening today instead. I will not bet my life on it but pretty close that when I go we will go on to the hospital. But then again what do I know?? Things are just falling into place and I am hurting pretty good for things to look like us having a baby REALLY SOON! But like I said what do I know??

We are all packed just in case and that will be a first in the history of having babies for us. Probably a good indicator we won't have him now that we are prepared. :) Please pray for a strong baby with excellent lungs. I am 34 weeks 2 days and although that is wonderful it is still on the borderline of being in NICU. If I could have my way we would at least wait one more week but I just can't imagine going another 5-6 days like this.

Take care everyone!!
Keri

Terrific Tuesday

If I say it enough then I will start to believe it right?? It is a terrific Tuesday. One great thing is that I am still home and not in the hospital. I am trying to not get too down about bed rest but it is hard. I MEAN HARD!!! Nothing has changed I guess since Sunday. I am feeling more pressure but it might all be in my head I don't know. I know there is a strong connection between your mind and your body. Contractions are still coming at a normal frequency so that hasn't changed. I have an appointment on Thursday morning to see my doctor. I hate to guess what she will do but I THINK that it will boil down to her having to tell me we are having a baby not the other way around. But we just take it one day at a time.

The kids went to school today so that left me with Cameron alone and he took full advantage of a quiet house. I think after his morning/early afternoon nap he could get used to this! :) It was too quiet and too boring for me but oh well.

Gracie has taken a liking to my scarf. She ties it around her head and pretends she has a ponytail. She will keep it on all day and try to sleep in it if we let her. Which we do! :) But she can't wait for her hair to grow long and have a pony tail just like the scarf.

Cannon turned 17 months yesterday! WOW!!! Where has the time gone? Seems like I was just doing all this~oh wait I was just doing all this! Who needs toys when there are boxes to play with?

We want to thank everyone for the emails, visits, calls, and most importantly prayers that you have all sent our way. Praise God for family and friends. We love you all. Soon we will be posting pictures of a precious little boy instead of hearing how miserable I am!! :) That is way more fun in my book.

Take care,

Keri

Sunday

After a wonderful night in my own bed I am doing pretty good. I am still having regular contractions but really can't tell how hard they are. I would estimate about 3-4 an hour but I am feeling fine. I will see my doctor on Tuesday and get checked again to see if there is any change. I can tell that with activity that the contractions are more frequent. So that is a great motivator to stay on the couch or in bed. Gracelyn is very much the strict girl on making sure I stay down. She will ask what I am doing up if she ever sees me going to the bathroom. I am trying hard to follow orders and let Cameron be in control. He is doing a wonderful job!!! Mom and Dad came out after church to fix him a birthday meal. I hated that he spent his birthday in the hospital with me on Friday but he is a trooper! :)

It is bitter cold here and we are staying cozy in front on the fireplace. Take care everyone!
Keri

Bed rest

I have very limited time to update my blog! I mean VERY LIMITED!!! I am on restricted bed rest and it is hard to stick to but it is so much better being at home than at the hospital.

Recap:
Wednesday afternoon I go to my regular OB appointment and tell he doc. that I have been having a few contractions about 5-6 a day that are hurting but everything has been okay. She checks my cervix and I am dilated to a 3 and thinned... So I go and get hooked up on the monitors and have some contractions while there so that gets me a ticket to the hospital. I get started on Magnesium to slow contractions that are roughly 2-4 minutes apart and get a steroid shot of the baby's lungs.
Thursday I continue contractions for the most part and get another steroid shot around 6:00 pm and then have to wait for the Magnesium to be turned off on Friday morning and this plan is to see if I go into labor or slow down enough on the contractions to wait a week or so before we have the baby.
Friday I have no "strong" contractions after the Magnesium is shut off so I get to just wait and see how things go and then get moved to another room to see if I can maintain my status. I am a good girl all day and things are quiet.
Sat. morning after no "strong" contractions all night I get to go home and be on STRICT bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy!! We ultimately want to wait 2 more weeks before the baby is born but Monday is the most crucial day being that I will turn 34 weeks but 35 weeks would be ideal at this point. I am feeling okay and still having contractions but they are hard to detect. I do not take this time to brag but labor is very easy for me and hard for me to tell exactly how hard a contraction is so I have to pay attention to several other more uncommon symptoms of labor. But I am trying my hardest to stay on track to what is going on and keeping this baby inside for as long as we can! He is doing just fine which is a HUGE relief.

We have been so fortunate to have a wonderful extended network of help. From my family and friends who have kept the kids for us to the prayers, calls and visits that we have received. We know that God has blessed us with all of you and for that we are truly thankful. What a wonderful God we serve and look at all his servants that have so graciously stepped up to take care of us. Thank you for your faithfulness to him. He will richly bless you all.

I will try to take a little time each day to update. I will not be able to reply to emails personally because of the time it takes to go through them. WHICH I LOVE BY THE WAY!!!!!! I wish I could but Cameron and Gracelyn are very strict with me~so please check back with this blog for updates if you want them!

Much love to all of you!!
Keri

baby issues and a shower

After our sonogram on Wednesday I was high as a kite! :) It was wonderful to see probably for the last time the little guy before we were going to get to hold him for real. OR SO I THOUGHT! I got a phone call from my OB on Thursday with some MILD concerns about my sonogram. Although the baby is weighing in at a whopping 5.3 lbs the doctor said that the amniotic fluid is also running borderline low. Baby is just fine and there are no concerns that he is not thriving and all that stuff but it just confirms some issues that we will be facing. I had to retake my glucose test to determine if the size increase was due to gestational diabetes. Also I most likely will be having him at the end of January. But that means I have to go into labor on my own to avoid a c-section. Since I had a section with Gracie and a vbac with Cannon I can't be induced. Lots of reasons but the most important is because of the scar on my uterus. If the fluid gets too low then a section is most often the option. So I have two prayer requests. 1. That this baby's lungs will develop and he will continue to grow and be very strong. I really could care less how big he gets as long as he is healthy and his lungs are developed for a 36 week birth. 2. I go into labor on my own when the time is right. When all the factors for a healthy baby are in place. When he is ready for life outside of me and also outside of the NICU. I want to avoid that place at ALL costs!

On a very different note I was able to be apart of a shower for a very sweet girl at our church. Britni and Dylan will be having their little girl really soon. Her shower was so much fun today. She is so appreciative of everything she got and very gracious. It was fun because this is her first baby and she is understandably very nervous. We gave her lots of advice that she won't remember but hopefully she will remember all the hugs and encouragement. I can't wait for Brileigh Matteline to make her debut!

Baby oh Baby!

Today I went for another sonogram and got great confirmation that I am for sure having a boy. Whew! Not that I wasn't sure before but everyone has heard of someone who had a friend that was told the opposite sex of their baby during a sonogram so it was nice to confirm yes we are having a boy. The other information we received is that he is BIG!! :) YEAH!!! Not that I want a huge baby to push out but that he is of great weight and doing really well. It is just an estimate, but the tech said that he is measuring 35-36 weeks along and that he is roughly 5lbs. 3oz. That is of course a rough guess. I know that it is not 100% but it is good to know that he is of good weight. My doctor wanted to know a fetal weight so she knew what she was up against as far as size for this little guy come the end of the month if he decides to make his debut then. It was fun to see him and he moved the entire time so it took a little longer than normal.

All in all this pregnancy has flown by and we might only have about 3 1/2 weeks left to see him. But then again we might have 8 weeks so who knows?? Just God (and I know he has a sense of humor at times) so I am not planning on any certain day. I just want a healthy baby that is not born one second before he is ready!