Making Memories

Last night Jonah found his Dragon costume and insisted on wearing it and chasing Josh around the house. After a good thirty minutes of running around in circles through the living room, the dining room and the kitchen Josh asked Jonah if he wanted to watch one of his favorite dragon movies when he was a little boy (to give Josh a little break!) Of course Jonah said yes so Josh popped in Jack the Giant Killer.

Jonah was so excited about the dragon, the two-headed monster and the green sea monster that he asked Josh to put the movie on his iTouch and this morning the first thing he asked me when he woke up was "Did Daddy add my movie to my phone?" (he thinks his iTouch is an iPhone like Daddy's!) When I told him yes, he ran up to Josh and gave him the biggest hug and said "Thank you Daddy for putting the movie on my phone!"

Watching the two of them last night on the couch watching the movie together made my heart happy! I think it brought back some great childhood memories for Josh remembering when he watched the same movie with his brother and dad and I think he realized he was creating those same lasting memories with his own son.

Meredith in 4D

Yesterday Josh and I had a 4D sonogram. We have almost thirty 2D sonogram pictures of Meredith but we wanted to see what she really looked like and see if there was any resemblance to Jonah as a baby. She definitely has Jonah's eye shape but chubbier cheeks. The first part of the session she grabbed her feet and had them in front of her face. So, they let me change positions and drink some cold water to try to get her to move and she finally cooperated!

As soon as I figure out how to load the video, I will add it but until then here are some of the pictures.

Eyes open and smiling


Big yawn!




Playing Peek-a-Boo!

Capturing life's little moments

I emailed one of my favorite mommy bloggers, OHmommy, over at Classy Chaos because I love her photography and since I'm constantly trying to figure out how to use my camera to take better photos I asked her for some tips. She takes amazing photographs of her kids and their daily adventures. She offered some great advice so I tried to take a few shots while continuing my bed rest over the weekend. I figure this is a perfect time to learn how to actually use my camera! Thanks for the inspiration OHmommy!



Jonah playing with his bathtub crayons


Josh teaching Jonah how to play his new guitar


Playing us a song


Helping Jerod and Lauren repaint the crib


Jonah loves paint!


Enjoying some pizza after a long day of painting!

Growing and Growing....

I had my 31 week sonogram this week and Meredith is growing and growing. Still no blood clots or hematomas and I haven't had any additional bleeding since my last week in the hospital. Whoo hoo! My doctor said I have beat all odds with the placenta previa so I feel very blessed. I'm especially thankful to spend the remainder of this pregnancy at home on bed rest instead of the hospital. I will admit that every day I'm worried that I will start bleeding again and since I'm not being monitored twice a day like I was in the hospital, I'm constantly making sure I can feel her kick and move. Pregnancy is stressful and so unpredictable but every day that we get through this is one day closer to meeting this precious little girl!

I've mentioned before that I am a little bit of a control freak so one of the things this pregnancy has taught me is to learn to let go and let God take control. We have said a lot of prayers and asked that he watch over us through this introduction before a new chapter in our life begins!

We have had to depend so much on family and friends in this situation and I've learned that it's okay to ask for help. Words cannot express how much their support has meant to us! I hope that some day and in some way I can return the favor!

Another positive outcome of this situation is that Josh and Jonah's bond has strengthened and they have become extremely close. Through all of this I have been able to witness what an amazing and extraordinary father and husband he is. His patient, caring and loving side has really shown through. Of course I knew he possessed these qualities. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with him but to see those qualities put into action during a stressful time for all of us has made me learn to appreciate and love him even more!

Next week Josh and I are having a 4D sonogram done so that we can get a glimpse at what Meredith really looks like! We have twenty six 2D sonogram pictures of her but I'm anxious to see more of her features and maybe even see a little smile!

What Not to Wear

Apparently we forgot to check for extra clothes in Jonah's backpack so this is what he was wearing when Josh picked him up from preschool! Nice huh?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Birthday Riley!!

Riley turned 5 years old on Feb 9th!

Home Sweet Home

I am home! I am finally home!

Friday morning my nurse came in and said that she had spoken to my doctor and as long as there had not been any changes overnight and everything looked okay on the monitor with the baby I could be discharged!

My emotions went into overload. I was happy, excited, relieved, scared and nervous all at the same time! First and foremost I was beyond happy, happy to see Josh, Jonah and Riley! I was excited to be back in my own house and my own bed. I was relieved to be leaving the hospital and room 366. But I am scared that something will happen between now and when I have the baby and I will end up back in the hospital. I am also nervous that bed rest at home for the next six weeks is going to be a lot harder than being in the hospital.

I listened to the baby one last time on the monitor. She sounded perfect! Afterwards my nurse brought in my discharge notes which stated "mandatory bed rest with bathroom privileges only." It also included follow up instructions which stated "weekly sonograms with my perinatologist and weekly appointments with my OB."

I couldn't sign my name fast enough!

I called Josh to share the good news and the voice that responded back did not sound good at all. He and Jonah both have the flu! He had a 104 degree fever, couldn't even stand and didn't feel it was safe to drive in the car. While I agreed I was disappointed because I was so ready to leave! Josh offered to have a car service pick me up but I decided to wait until Jerod could pick me up and drive me home.

I walked in the front door to a dark house and my two guys asleep on the couch. Josh looked up with sleepy eyes and said "I'm glad you are home." Then Jonah sat up and with the sweetest smile he asked "Mommy, are you done with your checkup?"

Keeping my fingers crossed....

I had my weekly sonogram on Monday of this week and received some good news though I've been a little hesitant to share because I didn't want to jinx it!

I haven't had any bleeding since Friday of last week and since my sonogram looked clear - no bloodclots, tears in the placenta or hematomas, he said that if I could continue on that path for one week he would recommend that I be released from the hospital on home bed rest. I'm having another sonogram tomorrow to confirm that everything looks good and if so then my doctor could release me tomorrow evening! Whoo Hoo!

As excited as I am to go home and be with Jonah, Josh and Riley every night, I am still nervous because I will be by myself during the day and I'm just worried that something will happen. Of course I will be going in twice a week for sonograms with the Perinatologist and once a week to see my OB to make sure that there are no changes. If there are any changes I will be admitted right back into the hospital where I will stay until I deliver. So, I'm saying a lot of prayers and keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well!

It's a been a long five weeks but it has given me the oppotunity to slow down and evaluate how I live my life and what I can do to be a better wife, mother and overall a better person.

One of the other things I've had plenty of time to evaluate is the pros and cons of hospital bed rest. So here's my breakdown..

Pros – no laundry to wash, taking my time to get dressed in the mornings, all day room service, afternoon naps, not having to watch Noggin 24/7, online shopping, being able to hear the baby’s heartbeat everyday, catching up on facebook, blogs, and email.

Cons – missing being at home with Josh, Jonah and Riley, not being able to go where I want to go, horrible water pressure in the shower, micro mini towels that barely wrap around my body and are apparently not washed in fabric softer or dried with dryer sheets, no bath rug, 1-ply toilet paper, uncomfortable bed (it’s definitely not a Heavenly bed and even with two egg crates, four pillows and a heating pad it’s still uncomfortable).

Slow News Week

It wasn't a slow week in the media but it was a pretty slow week in Room 366. I'm just happy it went by really fast!

Dallas had an ice storm on Wednesday and when we have ice in Dallas the city becomes paralyzed! So, Josh stayed home with Jonah since his school was closed due to the increment weather. After the ice started melting Wednesday afternoon they came up to the hospital and spent the day with me. Jonah is so comfortable here now that he walks around like he owns the place and technically for what our insurance is having to pay for this extended stay we should own it or at least one wing of it. Okay, at a minimum they should name one of the hospital rooms after me! Anyway, the nurses just love Jonah and Jonah loves them. He is also a huge fan of the vending machines and every time he comes to the hospital he wants to go to the vending machine to get Doritos. This is how the conversation goes every time:

Jonah - "Daddy, I want Doritos"

Josh - "Jonah, do you have any money for the vending machine?"

Jonah - "Mommy, Daddy needs money!"

My social calendar was packed over the weekend. My friend Shannon came up on Friday and we hit up the Baby and Mother's boutique on my floor where I have become quite the regular. They have the cutest clothes, blankets and accessories. Then, one of my nurses took me on a shopping trip downstairs to the gift shop. Hey, this girl loves to shop and right now my options are pretty limited! Actually this gift shop has some really nice things!

My good friends Sarah and Jennifer hosted a shower for me here at the hospital on Saturday. Meredith received some adorable clothes and other items! It was a lot of fun to see my friends and so nice to be out of my room! Stay tuned for pictures!

The Junior League hosted a brunch on Sunday so I was able to meet some of my "neighbors" and they were really nice! One is having triplets and one is having twins! I thought it was funny that neither of the girls hosting the lunch from the Junior League had children so I'm sure our conversation about pregnancy and what we are going through scared them so much they may reconsider having a baby. Maybe next year I will join the Junior League committee that hosts these events because now I see how important it is for the moms in here to have that social interaction while couped up in a hospital room. I mean we are girls and girls love to socialize and talk! Vicky came up and brought lunch and we hung out for awhile. Then Josh and Jonah came by and brought Riley! He was so excited to see me and I was very excited to see him. I've really missed him! My friend Cindy also came by for a little while. She was also here on bed rest with her second child so she knows exactly what I'm going through. She brought one of the funniest and best gifts I've received while in the hospital - toilet paper, the soft two ply kind! Such a luxury!

So, now I'm heading into my 5th week here in the hospital and 29th week of the pregnancy. My doctors and I both are hoping for another uneventful week. This is the one situation where the term "uneventful" is actually a good thing!