Lots of Rest for the Not So Weary

Well, I have officially been put on bed rest. Last Monday, I went to Labor and Delivery at the prompting of my doctor's office because I had been experiencing a lot of pressure, contractions, and trouble breathing over the weekend. When we arrived at the hospital, we were put in a room and I was hooked up to fetal monitors. Emily is doing great. Her heart rate sounded perfect for her gestational age. The monitor showed that I was having contractions, but the nurse referred to them more as uterine irritability. The nurse did a pelvic exam and found that I was dilated to 2cm which is not a good thing at 30 weeks. The biggest concern the doctor had while I was being checked out is that I was having trouble breathing and I had an elevated heart rate which signaled to her that I may have a pulmonary embolism. This is obviously a very scary thing since blood clots can be fatal, so they had a CT Scan done immediately. Praise the Lord: it was negative. I spent Monday night in the hospital for more monitoring and was sent home Tuesday morning with instructions that I was to be on bed rest until further notice.

Most people might think bed rest sounds really great, but let me tell you it isn't. Just as I was being put on bed rest, I feel like my nesting instinct kicked in. My mom has been here helping me with Caroline which is a huge blessing. I am not allowed to pick her up, so having someone here all the time is great.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning which I am really excited to go to. I am hoping she might give me a better idea of how long I will be on bed rest. Frank and I covet all of your prayers. We obviously want Emily to stay cooking for quite a while longer. You can also pray that I don't have to go into the hospital for any more monitoring. We don't have maternity insurance, so everything has to be paid for out of pocket. We obviously put Emily's health first, but it would be nice not to have any more hospitals stay than absolutely necessary.

I should be updating the blog more since I have so much time on my hands. Love to you all.

Snowy Days

Well as strange as it may seem, we had about 3 inches of snow this last week here in Austin. It was crazy! I haven't seen that much snow in central Texas since the big snow of '85. Some of you may remember it. Anyhow, I thought I would post some pictures of Caroline and her daddy playing in the snow.

Recent Pictures of Caroline

I can't believe that Caroline is 20 months old. Time flies. She is a bundle of energy which can be trying at times since I am seven months pregnant. We love her more and more each day, and it is hard to imagine sharing that love when Emily arrives. Here is some recent info about Caroline:

At her 18 month check-up she weighed 26 pounds and was 31 1/2 inches long

She has all of her teeth except her back molars which I understand she will get around age 2

Her hair is finally starting to grow a little--we can now give her a Pebbles style pony-tail on top

She is always increasing her vocabulary, but we haven't made the jump to 2 word sentences yet

As of yesterday, she has attempted to use the potty three times
(I don't know if I am ready for this)

Overall, she is a huge blessing.

Update on Baby Emily

Ok, so it has been forever since I have posted anything, and for that I apologize. We had an ultrasound yesterday to check out Emily's heart now that she is a little further along. Frank was born with a heart defect that was fixed surgically at 18 months. Since heart defects of any kind can be hereditary, all of our babies have to be looked at while I am pregnant. Anyhow, the ultrasound yesterday revealed that Emily's heart looks perfectly healthy and everything else looked good too except that SHE IS GINORMOUS! Emily is currently in the 97th percentile for her size (I should have a child who is in the A range:). She is measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule. What this means is if my doctor allowed me to go to 40 weeks, we would be having a 10 to 11 pound baby. That said, we will either have to induce early or have a c-section. I am a little disappointed that I won't be able to go into labor on my own. I was hoping for that after being induced with Caroline. However, Frank and I just feel so blessed that she is healthy.

More updates to come.

Book Recommendation

I saw a review of what seems to be a great new book for moms. I haven't read it yet, but I plan to as soon as I get a copy. If anyone has read it, let me know what you think.

Title:
Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood
Author:
Jamie Martin

I found the review on SimpleMom.net

Baby Number 2 is...

Caroline is going to be the proud big sister to her new little sister, Emily Kathryn. We found out a few days before Christmas that we are going to have another little girl, and we are thrilled. I used to think I only wanted one little girl but after having Caroline, I am super excited to have another girl. Not to mention the fact that a new girl will be so much less expensive for now due to the amount of girl things we already have. Caroline has already learned how to say her sister's name which comes out "Emmy." I love it!

Christmas Time in San Antonio

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We spent most of the week in San Antonio with my family then headed back to Cedar Park for Christmas dinner with Frank's parents. Below are just some fun shots of Caroline with some of her gifts. My family was so very generous with what they gave Caroline this year. Needless to say, she is set on toys for quite a while. I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating this year.

This is a big giraffe floor pillow that my grandmother got for Caroline. She loves it! She just lounges on her pillow. She is adorable.

My sister got Caroline her very first tutu. It is so girly. I can't wait until she is actually old enough to take ballet.

Caroline's first cell phone courtesy of her Uncle James.

Caroline got her first baby doll for Christmas. She loves it. We are hoping this will help her to practice being "gentle" so that when baby number 2 comes along she won't throw it on the floor.