October 19, 2007 - what is my family up to?

Hey...this is Noah here.

Something was happening last night at my house!

As soon as Seth got home from football practice everyone got together in the

family room, which was weird because usually

they all eat first. I was hungry too. I think they all forgot about me.....I heard something about big white

envelopes from the First Presidency and then all I could hear was the camera beeping over and over.

They all took turns asking questions and I could hear Aaron and Jacob saying "yes" or "no" like it was some kind of a game. Something about Aaron going to Melbourne, Australia and Jacob going to Sapporro, Japan and the "empty sea" on January 30th.

Someone said that at least I should old enough to be able to go drop them off.....

What is going on?

October 18, 2007 - 29 weeks 5 days

We had an ultrasound yesterday to see if all the contractions have been making any changes and things are basically the same. That is such a relief! It would be nice if I could keep working long enough for my insurance to still be in effect when it is time to deliver.

Noah measures in about the 65% and the doctor estimates that he will weigh about 8.5 lbs. That would be a miracle for me since my smallest so far has been Aaron at 9lbs 4oz. Of course, a lot can change in 8 weeks. Seventeen years ago, I was told that Seth would weigh around 8.5 lbs and be soooo much smaller than Jacob and he came out just .5 oz smaller at 10 lbs 3.5oz!

The placenta hasn't moved up anymore....it seems to like where it is at about 3.5-4 cm above the cervix. Unfortunately, when I go into labor that isn't enough space to dilate fully without the placenta separating from the uterine wall. We have another ultrasound scheduled for about 5 weeks from now to see if it moves anymore, but if not, Noah will arrive via C-section.

My niece, Karen, got to come with me to the ultrasound. She had never seen one before, so we had a great time asking the technician lots of questions and checking Noah's heart, organs and growth. Technology is so amazing! We didn't get a good look at his face though because he was laying sideways, on his face, with his feet pointing down. It looks like I finally am getting a baby that likes to lay on his stomach right when "the authorities" say that they need to sleep on their backs :) My ribs don't think Noah actually ever sleeps though....

October 13, 2007 - 29 weeks

We have had a nasty stomach flu run through our family this week....I was the last one to get it. We were all hoping that it was going to pass me by, but we were not that lucky. I had been feeling yucky all week, but had no way to know if that was just because my iron was low. Friday morning seemed worse, so I had only had some pop to try and settle my stomach when it hit me. Unfortunately, I guess I was already dehydrated and so contractions started again and we called the doctor, spent several hours in the hospital again and got re-hydrated. They also controlled the vomiting with meds and I had more terb. At least I got to come home last night and Darren and I hit the pillows in our own bed about 12:30 am. Between the vomiting and several hours of contractions that were 2-4 minutes apart, I am pretty sore. Noah dealt with the contractions well and was very active. I have an ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday and will have more information about any cervical changes from this round of contractions.

We tried to isolate our family during this flu, but if we pass it on to any of you...I am sooo sorry! Stock up on crackers and ginger ale....

October 8, 2007

I saw my doctor today and got the results from the tests that were run last week. I have actually seen her a few times since the last timeI posted, but I just haven't had time to update. Here's everything that's been happening....

• I still more"contractions" than what the doctor wants to see, but the telltale sign of whether it is pre-term labor or Braxton-Hicks (false labor) is cervical change. She doesn't want to check that too often because just checking can stir up more contractions... so I have another ultrasound within this week.
• My iron is low (31 and they want it between 36-42) so I am dealing with anemia and get to take lots of extra iron. I told Darren that I need to go to Black Angus for steak more often too!
• The test for gestational diabetes came back with great results...I got a 60 and normal is all the way up to 130. I am so glad that I don't have to prick my finger and test my blood sugars 3 times a day this pregnancy! Maybe this will be a normal size baby too...
• Noah is still breech....there is still time for him to flip before he runs out of room so send thoughts of him flipping our way. I am still hoping to avoid a C-section!
• My due date has somehow moved by 1 day to Dec 29th. The doctor didn't have a good explanation for it, in fact she was a little puzzled by the two dates both being written in my chart.... hmmmm. But I guess it is now Dec 29. We are still looking at two weeks before that, so I'm not complaining!
• The blood test for spina bifida came back negative... yea!
• The ultrasound will check placenta placement and see if that pesky blood vessel has gone away too.
• Last, but not least, we hired a leave replacement long-term sub for me last week! She came and met my students today and spent the day with us. Her father is a pastor for a Deaf congregation so she is a great signer having grown up around Deaf and attending a Deaf church all her life. She has her teaching certification in K-8, but has also had experience with high school. She seems great!

Thanks for all the prayers. I know they are making a difference! Check back in about a week...