Woo-Hoo for 32!

Thirty-two weeks today!

My sister chastised me for my last couple mirror-selfies.  Apparently I am supposed to look at the camera in the mirror and smile, instead of watch what I'm doing on my phone.  Well, smiling makes me look a little ridiculous these days.  (I'm telling you- my mouth and NOSE swell up when I'm pregnant, and you can tell the most when I smile!)  So, I just don't smile anymore.  Kidding- I do that everyday and my poor family just has to remember that I will look normal again someday.

Anyway, how did I do, Sister?:

Yeah, this baby is GROWING!  I think my tummy has doubled in size since 2 weeks ago!

Right now, my goal is to get to 36 weeks.  FOUR MORE WEEKS!  TWENTY-EIGHT DAYS!  After that, I will muster up the strength to make it another week.  I'm just starting to go crazy...

Let's Play a Guessing Game!

And for the winner...

I will name the baby after you!  (I just hope you have a name I can masculinize.)

Okay, really he already has a name.  BUT, here is the question:

So the only public places I have been in the past 57 days are my doctor's office and the hospital.  Ok, I lied.  I DID go to my boy's last soccer games one day in May BEFORE I was on "strict" bed rest.  Anyway, other than that, nothin.  And you know when a place just randomly pops into your head that you want to go?  Not like a dream vacation to Paris, but a normal-life-everyday place?  So I have one store and one restaurant that keep popping into my head.  They may be the first places I have to go when I am finally functioning again.

Leave a comment and guess: 1) the store, and 2) the restaurant.  (Hint- the store is NOT Wal-Mart!) (More hints... the store is two words and starts with H.  The restaurant is two words and starts with B.)

I Don't Have a Favorite Kid

Really, I don't.  I just have one who probably makes me laugh the most.  :)

I have joked that I wish the doctors could put me into a medically induced coma for the duration of this bed rest.  Then -BAM!- I could wake up and have a baby and this would all be over with!  But really, then I would miss all of Parker's funny faces....

 and outfits...

and props...

and things he says or does...

*The other night he wore an outfit for only a couple hours at night.  Trying to cut back on laundry for Darin, I told Parker he needed to wear those same clothes tomorrow.  I said, "Put them somewhere that you will remember to wear them tomorrow."  So what does he do?  Just keeps them on and puts his pajamas on top.  Corbin told him he couldn't do that, and he said, "But this way I will REMEMBER to wear them tomorrow!"

*When they were driving to the zoo, my dad asked Parker if he knew what the big U up the hill stood for.  Parker said, "Of course.  BYU!"  We teach 'em young.  :)

*When we were at the hospital last week, Grandma Pat was at our house.  Sunday morning, at breakfast, she asked Parker to please hand her Beckham's water cup.  Parker sighed and told her, "No... I just don't do favors this early."

*The other night he prayed, "Please bless lots of good things to happen tomorrow... And just a few bad things to happen."

If I can get a laugh a day outa this kid, I'm good.  I can make it for 37 more days of this.  No coma for me!

The Kids get a Zoo Day and I get a Recoup Day!

Wow... rough weekend.  Saturday afternoon I started feeling yucky and by about 4:00 I knew I had caught Parker's throw-up bug.

Which is NOT good when you're trying not to have contractions.

I threw up at 6:30 and was back at the hospital for trip #3 at 11:30 that night.  I couldn't keep fluid in (dehydration triggers contractions), and my contractions were 4 minutes apart.  (I'm sure they were also triggered by the gut wrenching heaving I had going on.)  So, in went the IV to hydrate me.  They also increased the frequency of the meds I've been on.

For me, things were calming down by morning, but just as the nurse was taking my BP, we got a text from Grandma (who was at our house) saying that Beckham was throwing up.  The nurse said my pulse shot up.  Gah- I had to calm down and try it again!

With contractions not gone, but under control, we got home before noon on Sunday.  Thankfully, Beckham and I were both done throwing up by that point and just needed rest, and thanks to some awesome neighbors who took the big boys after church, we were ABLE to rest in peace and quiet.  :)

Today the boys are at the zoo with my parents and siblings, and I am resting-resting -resting.

And crossing my fingers and toes for a less eventful week this week!

Be of Good Cheer

“Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you…” (D&C 68:6)

 With God’s help, good cheer permits us to rise above the depressing present or difficult circumstances. It is a process of positive reassurance and reinforcement. It is sunshine when clouds block the light.  (Marvin J. Ashton)

Who wouldn't be of good cheer when your boys are all working outside, and they come in to show you that they are thinking of you even as they trim the rose bushes:

Recently, I came across an article on Facebook that I totally loved.  I couldn't even pick a favorite quote from it because I loved the whole thing so much!  And the thing that I love about these positive thoughts is that they can be applied to anyone and anything, in any phase of life.  I read through it thinking of bed rest, and there are so many literal applications.  But then I can read through it thinking of someone else facing a different challenge, and it applies to them just as much.  So whoever you are, READ THIS!

http://www.marcandangel.com/2014/01/08/8-things-to-remember-when-everything-goes-wrong/

Here are a few favorites from it:

"Every time it rains, it stops raining.  Every time you get hurt, you heal.  After darkness, there is always light- you are reminded of this every morning, but still you often forget, and instead choose to believe that the night will last forever.  It won't.  Nothing lasts forever... Just because you're stuggling doesn't mean you're failing... Just because life isn't easy at the moment, doesn't mean you can't laugh.  Just because something is bothering you, doesn't mean you can't smile."

I am the first to admit that the words of encouragement I type or quote on this blog are as much for me as they are for anyone!   I don't think that I am NATURALLY a very optimistic person- it takes effort and constant reminders for me to keep my head up.  I know that there are many people going through worse things than bed rest right now, and in my life I will likely face more difficult challenges.  So I never mean to sound like I am complaining that this is the worst thing ever, or that I am professionally overcoming the biggest challenge of my life.  I am simply trying to remain positive, faithful, and hopeful!

So here's to the next 6 weeks of bed rest!... And the ensuing life adjustments that are bound to follow... :)

Yesterday's 3 Hallelujahs!

#1)  No sick kids!  (I'm knocking on wood as I type.)  Parker stopped throwing up Wednesday morning and was better by that evening.  So far, no one else has it... here's to hoping that stays the case.

#2)  Good news at the doctor!  My weekly outing is to go get my progesterone shot, and every other week while I'm there I see the doc.  Yesterday was my appointment, and things look good.  The meds and rest are keeping me from dilating!  This is the point that I actually went into labor with my last pregnancy, so I figure it's great that I'm doing better than I was at this same point last time.

#3)  Corbin did NOT pee his pants in the car!  Be grateful for the little things, right?  Yep, that's what this is a picture of:

After the doctor appointment, my mom and I picked up the kids and headed to her house for the day (I haven't had a change of scenery in WEEKS!).  By the time we got off the freeway, Corbin was about having a panic attack.  My mom looked for the closest fast food restaurant and headed for the parking lot.  Before she even stopped the car, Corbin was trying to get out.  He wouldn't have made it into the restaurant, so in desperation, I told him to "just go on the grass over there."  In my defense, there WAS a tree, which I thought perhaps he would gravitate toward, but nope- he went straight for the fence.  So my awesome mom got out and "guarded" him as best as she could while I sat in the car laughing and taking pictures.  See what I mean by "serene chaos?"  Bed rest is supposed to be calm and stress-free... whoever came up with that idea?  

...and we are on throw-up #10

My poor Parker!  He is so sick!  Really- what's a bed rest mom to do with sick kids?  We just get through hour by hour and hope that the stress doesn't put me into labor. Thankfully, friends and neighbors are still helping with the healthy kiddos!

Thought for the day by Joseph B Wirthlin, from "Come What May and Love It"

"...In spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result….If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness….Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job-training.  These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others…Sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome."

Stitches Anyone?

Yup-
Something about me being on bed rest tells my boys that it's a great time to get injured!  Here's what happened LAST time I was on bed rest:

Parker was at Aunt Jennie's house and decided to swing from her curtains like Tarzan.  The huge rod ripped from the wall and landed on his head.  Poor Aunt Jennie had to deal with a hysterical big brother (seeing all the blood), her own 3 kids, and figure out what to do with Parker!  Oh the trauma!  He ended up with 10 staples in his head.

And here is what happened yesterday:

Beckham was in his chair for dinner and Parker was pushing him toward the table when the chair tipped forward and Beckham's face hit the table first and then the whole chair went down to the floor.  ALL 3 boys were crying, and I almost was too!  Thankfully this time it was at our house and Darin was home.  He took him to the doc and I called the dentist, and we got the same answer from each of them- let it heal on it's own.  (We could have stitched it up, but we would have had to go to the ER and pay a wonderful $500 copay... and sedate him... )  So we are hoping and praying it heals well.  He kind of looks like he has a bouncy ball in his cheek today, but he's still pretty happy.

My Grandpa Creams Me at Words With Friends

I'm kind of addicted to Words With Friends... my mom told me to download it when I first started bed rest, and I'm so glad I did!  But yes, my grandpa blows me away with his 100+ point words all the time...

In this case, it was the word "shoring," for 101.  And check out his other words that I have no idea what they mean... gox, noddle, sedum... ???  He's a blast to play with!  I love that guy :)

Uplifting thought for the day by Russell M Nelson:

"Whether married or single, you will all have work to do. I hope it will be enjoyable. It’s nice to bounce out of bed each morning eager to enjoy a day’s work, and it is especially gratifying when we can bless the lives of others. But please remember: You work to sustain life; you don’t live to sustain work."

Yep, I would love to bounce out of bed each morning, eager to enjoy a day's work!  ;)  But for now, the work I'm doing is NOT bouncing out of bed, but instead, being an incubator for this little tyke inside.  And I am definitely working to sustain life.  I like that for everyone, though... "You work to sustain life; you don't live to sustain work."  Good for us all to think about.  

30 Weeks!

I am CELEBRATING!  Today marks 30 weeks!  I'm so glad to have made it to this point.  Plus, we are half-way through June today, so with my goal to make it til at least the end of July, I can now say we have a month and a half left, instead of two months.  Counting down...

Here is the last picture I took of my normal self, at about 20 weeks:

...and the most recent picture of my big tummy, taken last week, at almost 30 weeks...

Lovely, right?  :)

Spiritual thought for today from Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

...I learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen—patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn’t appear instantly or without effort.

There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most. 

AND HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

 

When Life Gives you Lemons...

...MAKE GRAPE JUICE AND LEAVE THEM WONDERING HOW YOU DID IT!

I love that.  I first heard it from my young friend Maddie Cook who battled bone cancer a few years ago during her 8th grade year.  She made grape juice for sure.

I don't know if I am making grape juice right now, but I am trying to at least make lemonade.  I'm  not gunna lie- it has been a rough past couple of days.  Tons of contractions on Tuesday.  So I took my meds closer together (yes, the doc said I could) which made me feel like I was GOING TO DIE!  That Nifedipine can be nasty!  Head spinning, chest tight, muscles weak and aching, my legs bright red (who knows why?), and I swear I could lay down and not ever wake up.  Sometimes it's that intense.  So, I had a break-down.  Yup, after 41 days of bed rest, I had my SECOND break-down.  (Truly, I am proud that it was only my second.)  I cried and cried in my room while my husband had a meeting going on in our living room.  Then I told myself I needed to snap out of it.  Next morning, I felt weak, but better... until evening when the heartburn hit.  Oh my gosh.  Nothing was helping it.  And I kind of had another mini-breakdown.  (Can we just tie it in with the second and still say I've only had 2?)  Maybe I can allow myself 2 or 3 more before this baby comes!

ANYWAY, in light of that, I decided I needed to post pictures today of 10 things I have to be grateful for right now!  Here they are:

#10- A Recliner

  So I could sleep sitting up last night!

#9- Heaven Is Here

I've read it before, and I'll read it again.  This woman is a huge inspiration to me.  

If she can make grape juice out of her lemons, I can at least make lemonade out of mine.  :)

#8- Cutler's Cookies!

Pretty much my favorite cookies in the world, I think.  Double frosted peanut butter.  Yum!

#7- My Ceiling Fan

I took a pic while it was spinning so you can't see the dust that has gathered on the edges of the blades!

#6- Ice Water!

And my faithful servant who fills it daily.

#5- My New Leachco Snoogle

The birthday present I ordered for myself, which arrived earlier this week!  The mother of all body pillows... 

Of course the boys always want to take it from me and wrap themselves up in it.

#4- Lotion

I LOVE that Parker will always put lotion on my legs for me.  What a sweet boy. :)

#3- My Mom's Laptop

Good heck.  What on EARTH would I do without this thing right now?!  

Indexing, email, calendar, Facebook, Netflix, games, ... this blog!  I'd be bored out of my mind.

#2- My Cleaning Fairy

My awesome mom spends her entire day here every Thursday.  

There is always more work to do than she has time for, especially taking care of the boys, but she always leaves this abode cleaner than when she came.  

***This picture also represents my husband (didn't want to call him a "fairy"), my other family members, and friends and neighbors who are helping us so much!

#1- My Family

Having the boys here does create chaos, but it is much better than sitting confined to my room in lonely silence day after day after day.  The livelihood of these little munchkins keeps me going.  

I love to see them charging down the hall to my bedroom when they get home from baseball or friend's houses.  Their hugs make my day!

Now I can fill my glass up with a little bit of lemonade... I have 49 days of this left to turn it into grape juice.  (Yay!  In the 40's!!!)   

Kool-Aid and Candy

Maybe this is a dirty trick to play on Kirsha (our morning nanny), but I have fun activities planned for the kids to do each day.  She just gets to show up and find out what that activity is (like the shaving cream on Monday.  Yikes!)  Well, yesterday was a KOOL-AID STAND!  Corbin has been talking about doing one since before school got out, and yesterday was the day!  They made a whole $3.00 and spent $2 of it at their friend Tyler's new candy store.  

I'm sure they drank more Kool-Aid than they sold and consumed more sugar than I would normally let them, but really... when you're on bed rest, you just have to sit on the couch and watch them out the window, forgetting about sugar consumption, and be grateful that they are enjoying a childhood summer!   

(I love Parker's bum in this picture!!!  He's in the background climbing up onto the green box.)

  

A Sea of Shaving Cream

I should have stuck with my gut and made the boys do this outside, but I let them do it at the table.  I don't know if Kirsha, our morning-time nanny, will ever want to come back!  She had quite the mess to clean up!

Randomness and Tweezers

Parker is in my bathroom and we hear the clink sound of my FAVORITE pair of tweezers fall...
Me: Parker, please put those away.  That is a $30 pair of tweezers!!!
Parker: They're not in the garbage.
Darin:  Parker, find the tweezers.
(slush slush sound of water)
Darin: Parker, please don't play in the sink.
Parker:  It's not the SINK!
Darin flies off the bed as we both realize we are hearing toilet sounds...
Darin: What are you doing?!  The plunger is not a toy!
Parker walks out frowning, and singing a new song... "I Am not a Family Member"
What?!
Thankfully Corbin found my tweezers in the garbage.

Sunshine

I am grateful for the sunshine!  I am thankful I have a big bedroom window to let the sunshine in, and for the evening breeze at this time of year that comes through that window.  I am grateful that my boys can stay busy while I sit in bed coordinating their schedules (school, baseball, grandma's houses, friend's houses...the fun doesn't stop for them!)  I am grateful for grandmas, family, friends, and neighbors who help us so much.  All of the thoughts, prayers, favors, treats, visits, and meals that come in.  Those things get me through each day!

Here is a quote I love by Gordon B. Hinckley:
I believe He is saying to each of us, be happy. The gospel is a thing of joy. It provides us with a reason for gladness. Of course there are times of sorrow. Of course there are hours of concern and anxiety. We all worry. But the Lord has told us to lift our hearts and rejoice. I see so many people … who seem never to see the sunshine, but who constantly walk with storms under cloudy skies. Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine. 

Regardless of our circumstances, we have much to be grateful for!

June 6th- "It's a POOP!"

My mom comes to my house on Thursdays.  This last Thursday, my boys of course woke up a good two hours before she came.  I was groggily laying in bed while they watched TV downstairs.  (Yes, I let them watch TV in the mornings before help arrives.  You gotta do what you gotta do.)  I heard Corbin (7) say in his baby-talk voice, "Beckham, what IS that?"  (Beckham is 2).  Then my middle boy, Parker (5) pipes in, "IT'S A POOP!!!"  Corbin calmly says, "Beckham, did you get that out of your diaper?"  Agh!  What's a mom to do?  I hobble out of bed, slightly panicked, to find Corbin leading Beckham up the stairs.  In Beckham's hand is a rock-sized greenish lump... Yep, it's a poop.  He looks at me and scrunches his nose, "Ewwwww."  I'd like to think that in a normal situation, (non bed rest), I would have been observant enough to notice his hand in the back of his pants and avoid this catastrophe.  But, really, who knows?

The Great Toilet Flood

Sometime during the first couple weeks of bed rest, Corbin (7) came running into my room first thing in the morning.  "MOM!  The toilet is flooding for real!"  Well, there's a relaxing thought for ya.  They tell you at the hospital to "AVOID STRESS."  Yup, it's just that easy.  Ok, so I had to get up, turn the water off, and soak up the entire bathroom with every towel in the closet.  Glad we got that taken care of.

NOT.  (Yes, I know that word totally just dated me.)  Well, when I went down to get a little lunch after the kids were gone for the day, I was sitting in silence at the kitchen table and heard a heavy "drip, drip, drip" pounding onto the carpet.  Here are the glorious results of the morning's adventure:

And back to bed I go!  At least I am never downstairs to look at the big patch in the ceiling for the next couple months.

Before this string cheese expires....

...I will be off bed rest!  Woohoo!  (Though it won't really get the chance to expire, because I ate it.)

13 weeks

Moms all know that motherhood isn't for wimps!  We wake up early, make and clean up meals all day long, clean dirty handprints off our walls, sweep the floor 10x a day, kiss owies, settle disputes, keep our washing machines constantly running, wrestle children through grocery stores, read books, find lost shoes, and on and on and on... It's a physical job!  ... Until you get put on bed rest.

Then what?

Then you are forced to sit still and listen to the chaos your children provide.  And at times, you just have to accept the fact that they are making a mess that may not get cleaned up for five days (or ever).  You have to hear them fight, and tell yourself not to stress about it... they'll work it out.  You ask them to empty the dishwasher and later that night you walk into the kitchen to find all of the clean dishes stacked into the Eiffel Tower on the kitchen counters, hanging out amid all of the dirty dishes that never got put INTO the empty dishwasher.  You roll your eyes and shift into survival mode.

And you count your blessings instead of falling into a pit of despair.

That is what this blog is for.  I was put on bed rest at 24 weeks pregnant with this one.  (With previous pregnancies, bed rest started at 34 and 30 weeks, respectively.)  At 24 weeks, my goal was 13 to go!  I have been striving to be positive and keep my head up.  So far, I have made it to 28 1/2 weeks, so I am hoping to hang in there for 8 1/2 more!  Today I had a funny moment that made me decide to create a blog of the rest of my journey, and to document anything funny, positive, optimistic, or hopeful about this bed rest experience.  It is HARD, but if even one bed rest momma reads this and gets a little bit of hope out of it, it will be worth it.  (If not, I will just make my baby read it some day and tell him how "fun" it was to be pregnant with him.)  

Here's to the next 8 1/2 weeks...