Baby boy has arrived!

James Robert was born yesterday at 5:59 PM via C-section. He's a healthy 6lbs 11oz and 19 3/4 inches. Both of us are doing well.

I'll post more later when I'm feeling better and have a better internet connection.

Brothers

I had an ultrasound today (30 weeks) and I was amazed how much this baby looks like Bear Cub. The new baby is on the left and Bear Cub is on the right.

Isn't God's handiwork amazing?

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right

Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right

1. Whate’er my God ordains is right,

Holy His will abideth.

I will be still whate’er He does,

And follow where He guideth.

He is my God,

Though dark my road.

He holds me that I shall not fall

Wherefore to Him I leave it all

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The words of this wonderful hymn have been in my head and on my heart this week.

Its been a long and hard week, yet I can trust that God is fully in control of all the circumstances of my life, and all that happens does so in accordance with His providential will.

My husbands aunt, who was a lovely sister in Christ, went to be with Jesus last weekend. Though we are deeply grieving her absence here, we are glad to know the she is home with the Lord. The true gospel was clearly preached at her funeral and we are praying that the predominantly catholic family that was there will carefully consider what they heard.

On Sunday I was sent to the hospital with preterm contractions. It took much longer to stop them than is usual for, but I am very grateful that they did eventually subside with only minimal cervical change. I had to return to the hospital on Wednesday because of an adverse reaction to the meds they sent me home with on Monday, but I am feeling much better now. I am on partial bed rest, which is difficult with a busy 15 month old at home, but we are making the best of it and reading lots of books. It does look like my husband will be able to take a medical leave to be home with us - a HUGE answer to prayer. I'm so thankful that he has a good job with great benefits during a time when so many are out of work and uninsured.

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Updates

Since it's been a month since my last post I though I would start back with a few updates.

First, the baby is a boy!

I'm currently 23 weeks pregnant and getting bigger. I'm enjoying the feel of this precious little baby kicking and moving and growing - what a wonderful blessing. I've been VERY tired, but I'm thankful to have discovered the reason for that - anemia. Bear Cub is completely weaned now and I've been taking iron supplements in addition to the prenatal vitamins, so I'm hoping to feel better soon. The morning sickness is lingering, as it usually does for me. I'm very happy to not be on bed rest yet, and I hope it stays that way. I started bed rest with Bear Cub at 24 weeks and it was at 28 weeks with the Teen, so I'm quickly approaching the time when I usually start having trouble with preterm contractions/labor.

Bear Cub is 14 months old now and is walking well, saying more words everyday and is getting into EVERYTHING. This video was almost a month ago, so he's walking even better now - but I'll share it anyway.

Psalm 127:3-5

³Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

⁴As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

⁵Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.


*Click here to few the video if viewing in an email or RSS reader

Sweet Baby Talk

Peace

It's 11:30AM.

 I'm not dressed, I haven't showered or eaten. I need to go to Target, the bank, Whole Foods, and the church.

Yet here I sit, holding a sleeping baby...

And feeling totally at peace.

It's going to be a good day.



Thankful Thursday

I have so much to be thankful for this week.

-The best husband

-A beautiful baby

-Precious newborn squeaks and grunts

-That sweet baby smell

-Tiny fingers

-Lanolin. Seriously.

-A visit from the Teen

-And our great and awesome God Who made it all possible

Thank you to Laurie at Women Taking a Stand for hosting Thankful Thursday this week.

He's Here!!!

Josef

Born two short hours ago - 6:17 AM

6lbs 14 oz

20.5 inches

Everyone is doing well!

Still Waiting...

The diaper bag is packed...

The changing table stocked...

The bassinet is ready...

But I still look like this!

I was able to lose a lot of water weight over the weekend, which dramatically improved my chest pain. Yesterday my O2 sat was 99% and my heart rate in the 70's so I was discharged from the hospital and allowed to come home OFF OF BEDREST! Mr K and I went out for dinner last night and took a trip to Target - it was wonderful!

Today I have enjoyed doing some nesting while I wait.

I'm still having some hard contractions and spotting. The OB assured me that I made great progress on Friday, so I'm hoping things will move very quickly once I get to active labor.

Thank you all for your prayers - last week was very scary and difficult.

I just have to add this:

This cute diaper cake was a gift from one of Mr K's co-workers.

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New this week:

This is a great way to meet new friends in the blogosphere! Head over to Twee Poppets for more details.

Soon.....

Baby should be born sometime today. It's been an eventful week!
UPDATE:
I'm currently trying to enjoy a lull in labor - though the truth is I'm more than a little frustrated by it. I am SO ready to have this baby. Right now would be good.

But since I have to wait I thought I would share what has happened over the last several days.

On Monday my OB Homecare nurse came to give me my last progesterone injection and to monitor the baby for 30 minutes. With only a couple of minutes left she joked about how this was the first time we had had a great strip and she wouldn't need to monitor me longer.

That's when it happened.

I had one long contraction and his heart rate dropped to 70-80 ( he is normally 135-150) and didn't rebound after the contraction ended.

The nurse called 911 and I was off to the hospital via ambulance.

When the paramedics first arrived I was feeling flushed and winded but I thought it was just stress. Then I felt like I couldn't breathe when lying on the sretcher, but it quickly passed.

When I arrived at the Maternal Assessment Center at the hospital they immediately got me back on the monitor and the baby was doing fine, though I was contracting every 3 minutes. Since I was not yet 36 weeks on Monday they gave me more Terbutilene to stop the contractions.

Terbutilene usually causes my heart to race, but this time I felt like my chest was going to explode. When the nurse came in to do an ultrasound to check the position of the baby's head I could not lay flat on my back - I couldn't get a breath at all. The nurse seemed to think it was just me being very pregnant, but something seemed wrong to me.

By that time the first shot of of terbutilene had worn off and I was contracting again so they gave me a second dose. By the time the Dr came in I was in so much pain I couldn't even sit back slightly. If I wasn't sitting completely upright I couldn't breathe at all and the pressure in my chest was almost unbearable. The Dr took one look at me and new something was very wrong. She suspected a blood clot and immediately called the hospital Internal medicine Dr and had me admitted.

As we waited they had me on pulse/oximeter and I had several episodes of my oxygen levels dropping too low and my heart rate spiking into the 140's.

An ultrasound on my leg didn't show anything so they decided to do a CT scan to make sure any blood clot I might have had hadn't already traveled to my lungs.

By the time we got the results it was nearly midnight and we were worried and exhausted, but we finally had an answer. It wasn't a blood clot, it was fluid/inflamation in the sac around my heart called pericarditis. While it was great news that it wasn't a blood clot it still presented a bit of a problem in that none of the usual treatments could be done because of the pregnancy. I was put on 1000mg of Tylenol every six hours and started on telemetry (heart monitor) as well as oxygen and continuous fetal monitoring to make sure the baby was handling my spells well.

Tuesday and Wednesday were a blur of EKG's, discussions between the internist and the OB, countless blood tests, oxygen alarms going off evey few minutes, and trying to figure out how to sleep while sitting upright. The two doctors have been great and really tried to find ways to treat this without having to deliver the baby early, which was sure to solve the heart problem, but it was just too early. A follow up ultrasound on Tuesday revealed that there wasn't as much fluid as they first feared. Both doctors strongly believed that my symptoms were being greatly intensified by the pregnancy.

I finally turned a corner yesterday when I started passing the fluid...lots of fluid. The two doctors also decided to start me on Prednisone to try to get the inflamation under control and a few hours later I could lay back. By last night I could lay down, which was a good thing because the contractions had started up again and were coming every two minutes. The were real, hard, painful, don't-talk-to-me-I'm-contracting type contractions. Seeing as I am now 36 weeks and that Terbutilene would be too hard on my heart right now they just let it go. By 1 AM I was dilated to 2 and spotting blood so they moved me back to labor and delivery.

And that's where I am right now. The contractions continued until mid-morning and then tapered off, so we are just waiting. The OB doesn't want to break my water since I'm not 37 weeks. She doesn't want to check my cervix because she is hoping to hold this off for awhile. So now, we wait. She suspects he will come on his own sometime this weekend, but if he hasn't made his appearance by Tuesday (37 weeks) they will take steps to move things along.

My heartrate and O2 sats have been doing well today so the Prednisone seems to have really helped.

In the mean time, my grandfather is having his bladder and prostate removed down at Mayo today. It is a very major surgery and your prayers would be appreciated.

Jail break...

After ten weeks in bed I finally left the house today. I was just getting too crabby and I couldn't take my long, scraggly, out-of-control hair anymore.

So I escaped for just long enough to get a haircut:

Wow...look at that white skin. Can you tell I didn't get any sun this summer?

Now it's back to bed for me....

34 Week Pregnancy Update

I just love OB appointment days. I get to get out of bed, shower, dress, wear make up, leave the house, and see people!

Thirty-four weeks was the goal and we made it. No more Niphedipine. No more Terbutalene.  Which means he could be here soon!

-Weight gain: 18 lbs

-Morning sickness has returned.

-Anxious to meet my new baby boy but hoping it will be at least another week or two.

- Seriously missing the soon-to-be big brother

33 1/2 week pregnancy update and a prayer request

First, the prayer request. My friend was due with her first child 10 days before me. Her daughter Shula was born six weeks ago at 29 weeks gestation. Precious little Shula is having heart surgery this afternoon to close a hole in her heart. Would you please pray for Shula, the doctors, and her family?
**Praise report: Shula's surgery was successful and she is now home with her family after nearly 8 weeks in the NICU.

And now for the update:

(Ok, so this is last weeks photo, but he's just so cute!)

Not much has changed since last week.

-No trips to the hospital this week, although the OB Homecare nurse wanted to send me on Monday. I was contracting every 2-3 minutes while she was here, but they weren't too painful and I wasn't worried.

- Weight gain: 16 lbs

-Morning sickness has returned - yuck.

-Looking forward to reaching the 34 week milestone on Tuesday. I will take my last dose of Nifedipine at 10PM on Monday and if I go into labor after that they won't stop it. I'm still hoping to make it to at least 36 weeks.

-Feeling the overwhelming urge to rid my house of cobwebs and get all those cute little baby clothes put away - must be nesting. Or almost 9 weeks of bedrest is catching up with me. Either way, the cobwebs will have to wait as I'm still stuck here in bed.

-I'm thankful for everyday this precious boy grows in my womb and not in the NICU.

Week 32 Pregnancy Update

I just love those cute lips!

-Weight gain: still holding at 15 lbs

-Still on bedrest

-Dr H says we will stop the Nifedipine in two weeks and see what happens

-feeling very emotional these days

-I haven't thrown up in a week! Could it be that at 8 months I'm FINALLY over the morning sickness?

-Very happy to still be pregnant.

Pregnancy Update - 30 Weeks

Thirty weeks and still pregnant!

Here's the rundown

-I've been on bed rest for 5 weeks now due to preterm labor issues

-Still having some contractions despite taking 10 mg of Nifedipine every four hours

-Trips to the MAC (Maternity Assesment Center) at Abbott Northwestern have been a weekly event, when I have more than 10 contractions an hour for more than two hours. A shot of Terbutalene seems to work each time.

-The baby's heart is handling these episodes much better now

-Despite the contractions I'm still only about 30% effaced - PTL!

-Weight gain: 15 lbs

-No stretch marks yet - Yay!

The nursery is coming together, thanks to my wonderful husband and inlaws:

I've been keeping busy by:

 Working on cross-stitch for the baby's room-

(Not finished yet)

Reading and writing book reviews -

Still working a few hours editing audio on my HP netbook mini:

And spending lots of time praying for my husband!

Thankful Thursday

It's been a really eventful couple of weeks and I've been taking a break from blogging - what better way to jump back in then with Thankful Thursday.

The Teen has been busy with baseball. He plays traveling, so we've spent a lot of time on the road lately getting him to his games. It's been so nice to have that alone time in the car with him. This will be his last year, next year will be high school ball. He's come so far since Little League.

We are also getting ready for his big move to his father's house. I really struggled with this for awhile, but I know God is in control and I'm confident that it's the right thing to do.

I did have a scare earlier this week. On Monday afternoon I began having contractions. By that night they were strong enough to wake me up and by Tuesday morning they were come at regular intervals, about 10 per hour. At only 25 weeks it was WAY too early to have this happening. I'm so thankful to have a great OB who was able to get me right in. I was not softened or dilating at all - which was great news. With the Teen I was dilated to 3 1/2 by 28 weeks so I had been very concerned about that. The FFN test was negative, so I was sent home on bedrest. By Tuesday evening the contractions had slowed to only one or two an hour. Yesterday I only had a few contractions, mostly after having been on my feet for a little while. So, it's bedrest for me - but that's OK. I much prefer that to having a micro-premie.

Being on bedrest, I'm very thankful for this:

We've had three dogs for over two years, but never had a fence. That meant leashing them and taking them out several times a day. With a baby on the way it seemed like a good idea to spend the money on a fence.

We found one a Craigslist for $80 and hired a couple of college boys to install it. They came yesterday and had it done in one afternoon.

For the first time ever our beagle girls were able to run free in the yard.

They loved chasing each other and rolling in the grass...and I loved how God provided this inexpensive fence just at the right time. While I knew it was possible I would end up on bedrest sometime this summer He knew how soon it would be.

I'm so thankful for a wonderful husband who has been to kind and supportive and is taking great care of me.

Check out these other great blogs for more Thankful Thursday:

Women Taking a Stand

Welcome to the Nuthouse

More Great Ultrasound Photos of Baby K

Last night Mr K and I had a great opportunity to have an extra ultrasound. I friend of mine from high school sells utlrasound machines and needed a model for sonographers to use in training to do fetal echocardiograms on one of his machines. Since Mr K had yet to see an ultrasound it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

The sonographer doing the traing was very friendly and kind. After doing the heart training she took some nice photos of the baby. Here's a nice profile:

And his face:

Oh yes, I said HIS:

And his cute little hands:

And lots of shots of his heart (the red and blue show the direction of the blood flow):

It was a great evening and we are so glad she was kind enough to take a minute to determine the babies gender.

And it's a .....

BOY!!

The Scariest Thing and the Sweetest Sound

The scariest thing:


I had a scare this week which gave me an even greater appreciation for every precious moment this baby grows within me.

Yesterday afternoon I discovered I was spotting; not a lot of blood, but after two miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy it was definitely NOT what I wanted to see. I would love to say I responded with complete faith, but I didn’t. I freaked out. I cried. I prayed. I begged God to save my baby.

By then it was too late to call the clinic, so I called the after-hours number and the on call OB said to stay down and see what happened; there was not much they could do at this point (12 weeks).

My husband prayed with me and I slowly accepted that all I could do was wait on the Lord.

On the way to the clinic early this afternoon there was a preacher on the radio talking about Genesis 1 “Let Us make man in our image, according to Our Likeness.” That really struck me. This tiny little baby is already an image-bearer of God, and surely God already loves this child as I do; or more.

The sweetest sound:

The first thing the OB did was check for a heartbeat, and it was the most wonderful, glorious, reassuring sound in the whole world. Everything was fine; it was just a broken blood vessel.

On the way home I couldn’t help but think of all the times I nearly lost my son while I was still pregnant with him. Yet he’s now a healthy fourteen-year old. And even though I didn’t know the Lord at the time, God had His hand on my Son. He gave me this boy, an image-bearer of God. We have had some really tough times with him lately, and this was such a good reminder to me that he really is a gift from God.

Thank you Lord, for a little blood spotting to remind me of how great and powerful You are.

It's Real!

It's really, really real!

I heard the babies heartbeat this afternoon.

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being;


you knit me together in my mother's womb.