My contractions settled down and the doctors are contiuing to give me a small dose of medicine each day as precaution to prevent more contractions. I have felt good these past couple of days and doctors are going to get me as far along as they can. I made it to August!  That was a personal first goal of mine. My next goal is to make it next Friday (around 30 weeks).

I am starting to get tired of being at Baptist. I know I will be here longer and it will totally be worth it, but part of my heart really wants to be at home with Michael and the boys. Jacob told me the other night that he wished I could be home to cook him dinner. And of course, I wish that too!  I think of everyone, this has been a little harder on Jacob. He's my homebody. He is getting a little tired of going to camps and would be content to be home to draw, write & play legos!!

Thanks you for praying & reaching out!

And that, my friends, is why I'm here!

I woke up at 3:15am today with cramping, It wasn't intense, but it was kept me up so I decided after a few minutes to call the nurse. I was having at times 3 contractions per 10 minutes (probably more like braxton hicks), but with my situation any of them that are consistent, are not my friend. They told me that if they didnt calm, then they would deliver the baby today. They gave me procardia & a bag of fluids which calmed the activity down. I've seen the doctor today who said I would continue with procadia as precaution for a little while. It could have been a side effect of magnesium yesterday, mild dehydration or beginning or pre-term labor. Good news is that I am not having contractions now.
I'm not sure how I would have handled the situation if I'd been home, so I was thankful to have immediate access to nurses & doctors!

NICU

I had an IV of magnesium today. I was so nervouse about it!  I have just been "living" here in Baptist and not needing any extra shots or poking or medicines, so the thought of it made me a little anxious. I had talked to my high risk doctor over the weekend and discussed it being a good time to get the IV and one more steroid shot for baby's lungs. The meds are most effective for a 2 week period and she felt like if we get 2 more weeks of baby staying in utero, that we will be out of the zone of baby boy needing as much extra help. They have said that making it to 28+ weeks is a milestone (I'm approaching 29). That 30 would be better, 32 would be great & by getting to 34 they would expect the health of a full term baby (minus a few pounds)! I feel comfort that we took a proactive step. I began to fear a change occuring and not being able to get the medicine he needs quickly enough (24 hours to take effect). My biggest risk at this point is contractions. I don't have a history of pre-term labor, so we are praying this pregnancy will prove to be the same. The doctors tell me the uterus has an amazing ability to hold even when it's very thin.
I also visited the NICU for the first time this weekend. I wanted to prepare myself as much as I could for what to expect when baby boy is born. Baptist's NICU is amazing!!  Now, I don't have much to compare it to, but the technology in there is unprecidented. The nurse to baby ratio is 2:1 and sometimes 1:1. Although it was hard to imagine our little boy being 3 or 4 lbs with a feeding tube, the success and growth of the babies is trememendous and the staff encouraged me that it won't take too long for little boy Purifoy to get to a size that is comparable to full term babies at his same age. It was hardest for me to swallow that, depending on what gestation he is born, I may not be able to hold him for a while. Touch raises their heart rate and therefore makes their heart and lungs work harder when technically, as a preterm baby, they are not ready to be touched. I'm eating up all this information. It is so intriguing to me. Thank you again for all your prayer and support. I couldn't make it as sanely as I have without you!!

Seeing these make it much easier on me to be at the hospital...

VBS

Lego Camp (Camp Brick)

Sweet CeCes with friends



Bowling with on of our awesome babysitters, Mary Ellen

Things are pretty uneventful here. It's been 2 weeks and surprsingly, it is going by faster than I thought. A high risk doctor and general OB come see me everyday. Our conversation is very short as I have literally no other symptoms of anything which is great!!  It does make it harder at times to swallow the fact that I'm here. I feel like I have a one bedroom apartment in the hopsital.
My ultrasounds are uneventful too which is what we want. They did measure baby boy on Monday and he is estimated to be about 2.5lbs. I actually feel my best when I leave the ultrasound because I know for a fact that nothing is going on without my knowing.
What I miss most is being at home with Michael and the boys. I miss giving Michael a hug when he gets home from work. I miss reading the boys books and making them lunch. I also miss cooking. I don't miss cleaning :0 I"m sure Michael misses that!  They've told me the longest I will go is to 34 weeks, so at most, I have 6 more weeks to go! 

1 day = 3 days

I've been at Baptist 10 days. I learned yesterday that every day baby boy stays in my tummy, it's 3 less days in the NICU. So far, we're 30 down :0 I had an ultrasound this morning and he is weighing in at about 2lbs 6 oz. He continues to look healthy. One doctor talked to me about magnesium and how if given even a dose of 30 minutes, can decrease a pre-term baby's risk of cerebal palsey by 50%. I don't think it is likely that he would be born with that at this point, but it is a slight risk and something we are praying for. I told the doctor I love to understand all the information and he's been great with giving me as much info as he can. He also said there are a couple things they would do if we see that delivery is impending like a booster shot of lung steroid and the magnesium). I asked him how we would know if delivery was impending and he gave me a couple potential indicators... nothing is routine or concrete with this type of situation. So, I'm also praying that there would be indicators if needed. It's difficult for me to swallow that this baby could be born any day or could be born in 7 weeks. And of course, I have plenty of time to think about it :)  I am occupying my time fairly well though with visiors and knitting!!

This is a picture of little guy sucking his thumb and the tiny hat I made him at 4am yesterday to keep him warm in the NICU

Some of my favorite visitors!

1 week down... I can't believe it! Thank you so much for everyone visiting, bringing food, helping with the kids, and calling. All of it helps me get through each day and focus on getting baby boy here! My most recent ultrasound was Monday afternoon. I think the goal of them now is that they would be uneventful... Basically as long as they can see that everything is "holding together" then they will let baby keep growing. It is eventful for me though to see this little boy growing. I saw him yawn & suck his thumb which was precious. My mom was visiting me when they came to get me for the ultrasound. They just fit me in, so I never know when they will come. So, mom went with me. That was was the first time she has seen an ultrasound, so it was really sweet. we did see him using his lungs and his diaphragm again which gives me such comfort. Those are two things that are ideal to see functioning for a pre-term baby. My fear right now is the unknown... But even as I think about it, I do feel peace that no matter what, God has me & this little guy in His hands.