Every Pregnancy is Different

Our visit went well this morning. They say every pregnancy is different and that has definitely been the case for me, especially with this one. We lost Olivia due a condition called incompetent cervix. While I was pregnant with J.K. my cervical length was always short and we're pretty sure that the cerclage was the only thing that kept me pregnant.

This time around I have a perfectly normal cervical length (4 cm) and show no signs of incompetent cervix. However, now we have that pesky placental bleed to deal with. The bleed is still there and as of 2 weeks ago it decided to split into two different segments. Apparently this is a sign of healing. The bleeds were still there today without much change. My doctor doesn't seemed too worried so I'm not stressing. Baby Chelsea is growing right on track and that's what matters most. So I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and enjoy this sweet baby who loves to dance in my belly, she's definitely her Mommy's daughter! :)

Here's What's Happenin'

I have been a BAD blogger over the past couple of weeks! You would seriously think I'd have more time for blogging being on bed rest and all, but I haven't stopped working..from the couch that is. So since I checked in last the following events have occurred:

The pregnancy pillow did survive and is now back in bed with me each night! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who's attached to her gigantic pregger pillow! Speaking of pregger pillows, have any of you seen the ad for the boob pillow? No really, there's an ad in one of pregnancy magazine for a pillow that rests between your boobs at night. Anybody have one?? I'm not sure what I think.

I spent last Monday in the hospital, BUT I'M FINE! I had a few cramps Monday afternoon and I fully expected the nurse to tell me to drink some water and lie down for awhile, but no. They suggested I go straight to labor & delivery. Everything checked out okay while there, but I did have one too many contractions resulting in a dose of brethene, which worked nicely in stopping the contractions and making me feel as though I was running a marathon. I was discharged early the next morning with orders to stick to bed rest and take the brethene as needed.

I'm officially 27 weeks! 28 weeks is our next big milestone and we're only a few days away! Lots of praise for this big step! Oh and speaking of 27 weeks, here's that belly pic I promised (please disregard my haggard look, I only get dressed up or wear make up on doctor's appointment days):



J.K. got to spend some much needed playtime with his buddy Jackson. Here are a few pics:







I'll go back to the doctor this Wednesday and I promise to do my best to take time for a blog update. :)

My Poor Pregnancy Pillow

This is a disgusting, yet true story, at which I have to laugh.

As I mentioned in my last post we are in the process of potty training J.K. It's been going very well and I'm really proud of the little guy, but we had a bit of an incident on Sunday. First let me say that he brought home the dreaded stomach bug from school on Friday and the hubby and I were both ill by Sunday. And no, it's not THAT disgusting.

In the middle of watching a movie Sunday J excitedly tells me that he needs to poop in the potty. He proceeds to run to the bathroom and I drag myself off the couch (the hubby would have gone, but he was much worse than me). We get to the potty and realize that he's already done the deed in his pull-ups. Keep in mind that he was sitting on the potty when I noticed the mess, which was now not only on the training pants but all over his bottom half! So I proceed to plead with him to stay in the bathroom while I went down the hallway to grab some wipes, because tp wasn't doing the trick.

Needless to say, the pleading didn't work. I walk back down the hallway to find my half-naked, poop-covered child on my bed!! I yell something like, "Get your poopy hiney off of my bed now!" After hopping off the bed I finally cleaned him off, but of course completely forgot about the sheets. A couple of hours later, I was feeling horrid and was dragging myself to the bedroom and then it hit me! I looked at the bed, while my sheets were spared, my beloved pregnancy pillow wasn't so lucky! At this point I just wanted to sit in the floor and cry, you have no idea how attached I am to sleeping with this stupid pillow!

In the end my sickly hubby was nice enough to wash my toddler-poop-infested pillow and we shall be reunited in slumbering bliss tonight. I told you it was gross, but pretty funny when you think about it.

25 Weeks & Potty Training

We have passed our huge milestone of 24 weeks without a trip to the hospital!! Hooray and Praise God for this blessing!! Every day last week I was just waiting for the contractions to start, but they didn't! I'm now officially 25 weeks and so happy to be to the point of viability, although I fully hope and expect to make it to at least 36 weeks. The belly is growing significantly and I keep forgetting to take pictures. I'll try my best to remind hubby to take a picture so that you all can see the ever-growing baby bump.

In other super duper exciting news J.K. is so close to being potty trained!! The child has pooped in the potty twice this week and I never knew I could be so happy about something so gross! We've been very lucky because we haven't had to force the idea. He wants to use the potty and trust me, I know how lucky I am and don't expect this to happen with the second one. The only secret to our success that I have is that I'm not afraid to bribe the kid with M&M's or gummies! We've started out with Pull-Ups rather than going cold turkey to big boy underwear. For those of you with PT kids, when did you know to make the move to the big boy/girl underwear?

A Lesson in Humility

It's weeks like this that make me so grateful to live near my parents. Hubby headed to Vegas for a conference yesterday, which would normally be no big deal. I'd stay home, take care of J.K. and stick to our schedule. That's not so easy when you're on bed rest. So my wonderful parents came to the rescue and invited me & J to move in with them for a few days.

It's weeks like this that make this pregnancy a very humbling experience. When you have no choice but to stay off of your feet you learn to accept help with every aspect of life. Not only did my parents invite us into their home, but they've given up their bedroom so that I don't have to go up and down the stairs. Last week a sweet friend came over for lunch. Before she left she emptied my dishwasher and took out my trash just so my hubby would have one less thing to worry about when he got home from a long day at work. We've had countless friends bring food so there's no need to worry about cooking. Our friends and family have been beyond generous and we are forever grateful to all of them. Accepting these wonderful acts of kindness is easier said than done. As my friend was emptying my dishwasher I kept telling her that she didn't have to do it. As my parents were telling me to sleep in their room I tried to convince them that I could handle the stairs once a day. Why is it so difficult to just accept the help being offered? I'm not sure what the answer is, but I have learned a lesson in humility and I hope to pay it forward when I'm back to life in the real world.

Baby Girl Has A Name

It's official, baby girl's name is Chelsea Hope! We both really liked the name Chelsea and we felt Hope was the perfect middle name for our sweet girl. After all we've been through over the past 3 years, Hope just seemed right. God has given us much hope, peace and happiness despite the loss of Olivia and the roller coaster pregnancies with J.K. and Chelsea.

I'm sorry I've been such a stranger latley. I have been working all day everyday, don't worry I can work from the comfort of my couch! I just haven't had time to blog or read blogs. I have a lot of catching up to do this weekend.

As for how Chelsea and I are doing, we went to my OB on Wednesday and got another great report. The bleed measured longer, but my doctor reassured me that it was healing. Apparently as it heals it can change shape, much like a bruise. So we are still feeling very confident that I'll carry to term. I'll be 24 weeks tomorrow, which is a big milestone week for us. I delivered Olivia at 24 and was in the hospital having contractions every 2 minutes with Jeffrey at 24. So I'm just praying to get past this week with no complications. I feel great and don't anticipate any problems, but it's always in the back of my mind.

Oh, and one last thing, I finally remembered to take a CD to save the pictures from our ultrasound last week. Of course sweet Chelsea absolutely refused to give us a profile picture, but we did get a sweet picture of her little face.

Our Follow-Up High Risk OB Visit is Today - UPDATED

UPDATE: Our visit went very well! The bleed continues to shrink, it's about half the size it was a month ago, which indicates that it is healing. Baby girl is growing like a weed and continues to be in the 52nd percentile for growth. I have been released from the high risk OB's care and will only see my regular OB for the remainder of the pregnancy. Thank you for your prayers. He's giving us peace with each passing day.

I just wanted to write a quick post to let you guys know that we have an appointment this afternoon with the high risk OB at 3 p.m. central time. I'm feeling much more at peace about this appointment than I did before my last one, but I'm still praying and would love for you guys to remember us in your prayers today as well. If everything looks good then we will be released from her care and will only see my OB every 2 weeks. Our baby girl has been moving and kicking like crazy, which never gets old and always gives me even more peace. I have been praying that God will heal this bleed and if I'm being honest that's a big step for me. I've really never been one to pray for healing, but through this process I've realized that it's okay to ask and it's okay to believe that He can and does provide healing. I guess this is one of the many lessons that He'll be teaching us throughout this pregnancy.

I'll be sure to update you guys this evening on how our visit goes.

Thanks for all of your love and support. It means so much!