29 weeks

Wow! I am just amazed that I am already 29 weeks. At times it feels like this pregnancy has gone sooooo slow, but most of the time it feels like it has flown by. I can't believe in less than 11 weeks Asher will be here. I say less than 11 b/c all my meds stop at 37 weeks. When I was pregnant with Noah I went into labor the day after my meds stopped, so if that holds true I really only have 8 weeks left. I have hit a huge milestone in more than one way. First, I am halfway done with bed rest. I got put on bed rest at 24 weeks and I knew it would be over for sure at 34 weeks. 5 down and 5 to go oh yea!!!! The other milestone is just being 29 weeks if for some reason Asher was born now he would be okay. I in no way want him to be born now but if he was there would be no long term effects. I think the hardest part now is going to be staying put and finishing up the last 5 weeks of bed rest. I am trying to get as much done now as I can b/c I know once I am off bed rest those 3 weeks will go by so fast.

I went to my specialist this week to see get a growth report and to see how everything else was going. The best news was that he got the same measurement of my cervix as Dr. E. So, I am actually going the other way instead of my cervix being only 2.5 cm long it is now 2.8cm long. Which is so great b/c I did not know it could close back up. I had not been praying for that to happen and I am so thankful that it did. I love that God went above and beyond what I asked for. The other good news is that Asher is growing like crazy. He is a little ahead in weight at 3lbs. 7 oz. which is about a pound more than normal.

Noah got to come with me this week and it was so funny. There was another little boy there and when he came out of the appointment he had a picture of "his baby." This made Noah very excited and he ran over to my purse and grabbed the DVD I had. He took it over to the boy and said "I have a mobie of my baby brother." It was too cute. After our appointment Dr. P gave Noah the sonogram picture shown above. Noah was so excited b/c baby brother is waving to us. He would not put the picture down and we had to hang it up in his room. I can't wait for Noah to actually meet Asher. I think he is going to love having someone to play with. I chose the name Asher b/c I liked the blessing Moses gives the tribe of Asher. It says 'Asher most blessed of sons and a favorite of his brothers.' I truly do believe Asher will be a favorite of Noah's and I pray that will continue for all of their lives.

I got another fun toy this week. One of the downfalls to being on bed rest is that it puts you at a greater risk for blood clots. I have been having some tenderness in my legs so before it went too far Dr. E ordered me an STD machine (I think that is what it is called). Basically what it does is massage my leg which is nice.

This is the leg sleeve which I had to buy and was very expensive. You attach it to a machine (which I rent each month) that blows air into the sleeve to pump it up. It actually feels like a real massage and is better than the alternative which was to give myself a heparin shot everyday into my belly.

My 29 week belly picture. I think you can tell I am beginning to get a little uncomfortable.

This one is a little serious

NATALIE GRANT - HELD LYRICS:
"Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

If hope is born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held
We'd be held

This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This is what it means to be held....."

This is just a warning that this post may get a little deep. I just don't want to ever forget and since I really want to use this blog to chronicle our family I want to write some things down.

I remember hearing this song in my car on the way to work one day back in 2006. I remember thinking how sad it was (I even cried) because I could not imagine loosing a child. At the time I was barely pregnant with Ethan. Who knew a few months later I would be using this song at Ethan's funeral. Who knew a few years later I would be using it to bring me peace when I was pregnant with Noah. Here today pregnant with Asher I should of known I would need it again. I absolutely love this song and I know God does too. I think it is perfect theology I know some may not agree with me but I have yet to find anywhere in the Bible that says if you follow me nothing bad will ever happen. I love the progression of this song it truly is the grief progression that I went through with Ethan. I could not understand why he passed away while my friends laid their hands on me and prayed. I am a christian right bad things aren't supposed to happen to good people right? Then the part about bitterness yep went through that also but I love how she puts it "the wise hand opens slowly". That is how amazing God is. He did not get mad at my bitterness He opened as slowly as I needed. The chours is soooo true and I think it is what has helped me the most with Noah and Asher. The sacred was torn from my life and I survived and I remember that I didn't really want to but I did. The second part "This is what it is to be loved and to know That the promise was when everything fell We'd be held" When I listen to that part it just reminds me of the gospel. Wasn't God's sacred Son torn from His life b/c God loves us and the Promise of Jesus wasn't so nothing bad would happen. The Promise is when bad things do happen God will hold us b/c He has been there before. I know I still fall into the trap of 'why me' a lot but that is why I wanted to write this in my blog. I remember when I was processing through things and trying to come to terms with having another child I knew I needed to rely on God's promises. The promise I wanted was to find an exact verse that said I God will give you children, a perfect pregnancy, and all will be just peachy keen. Well, I could not find that any where in the Bible =). Once again this song helped me to see what the Bible was saying and again even today God is still using it to open my eyes. I know that no matter what "The promise is when everything falls I will be held" I will be held by an amazing God. Who has used my suffering to birth hope a hope that I can not imagine living with out.

Noah and Asher,
It is that hope that has gotten me through. I pray you will know how special you are to me and that you are the result of an amazing God. I want nothing more in life than for you to find and understand the great hope I have in Christ Jesus.
Love,
Mommie (I know it is misspelled but there is a funny story behind it that I will tell you some day)

Brian's 31st Birthday

This past Wednesday was Brian's 31st birthday. Unfortunately, we did not get to do just a whole lot because of me being on bed rest, Brian working all day, and going to church. I wish that we could have done more for Brian. He is such an amazing husband and dad. He works two jobs but always comes home ready to play with Noah. I can't put into words how amazing Brian is and how much he means to me. I wish I could of gotten out of the bed and done more for him.

We did do a little celebrating by giving Brian his birthday card and present.

Noah giving dada his birthday card and present. Since I could not go to the store to pick out a card I had Noah make one. I think it is the cutest thing ever.

The part that was so cute is that he knew what he wanted to draw, he would say what he was drawing, and then he would just scribble on the page.

On Saturday we did a little more celebrating by having the families over for pizza. My mom, sister, Brian's mom, Ashley, and David all came over to wish B a happy birthday.

Brian holding up his birthday cards and Uncle D giving B a hug as his present. Yea, it was funnier in person.

Summer Fun Rewind ~ JULY 3RD & 4TH CELEBRATIONS

This year for the 4th of July we had two different celebrations. The first celebration was on Friday July 3rd. We wanted to take Noah to see the new Ice Age movie because he is very much into dinosaurs and this Ice Age was all about dinos. We also wanted to hang out with my Mom and Sis so it worked perfect for us to head to the Arlington Highlands to watch the movie and then eat dinner. After dinner we were going to go to the downtown Arlington area to watch fireworks. But, as we were waiting to sit and eat we realized they were going to have fireworks there at the Highlands. My Mom lives about 3 minutes from the Highlands so we were like 'Mom did they have fireworks last year'? Her response was 'Yes, but I thought it was b/c it was a new place.' So, thankfully we stumbled apon the fireworks and didn't have to drive to downtown. We sat outside on the patio at Gloria's and ate. The service was horrible and we thought we would be able to see the fireworks from out seats but we could not because the building blocked them. So, while I ate the rest of the fam walked about 6 feet to see the fireworks. So all still worked out well.

Notice the napkin tucked into his shirt. Not sure where this came from b/c I have never done that with him before.

On July 4th we did our celebrating with a group of our friends. We had a cookout and went swimming over at Julia's and Corey's house. We had so much fun and Noah especially liked driving Emma's pink jeep. Once it got a little dark and before the official fireworks started Julia had some left over sparklers and Brian pulled out a little sack of "fireworks" that a drug rep had left at his office.

Noah enjoying his sparkler. I love that smile.

All the kids and adults watching B light the chicken and tank fireworks. They basically made loud nosies and shot fire out the rear. Most of the kids seemed to like it but if you look closely Kylee has her ears covered. Notice all the big kids are at the back and our brave babies are right up front.

All the kiddos laying out to watch the official fireworks.

Summer Fun Rewind ~ SWIM LESSONS

One of the first things we did this summer was swim lessons. Thankfully we have a good friend Jody who does swim lessons at her house. We did these swim lessons a couple of years ago but could only do one week because of vacation. Last year we did not even get to do swim lessons because of our vacation. That being said I was nervous about how he would do in swim lessons. We really have not been in the water much and I am so not a swimmer. Also, we were right in the middle of potty training him. Then, the time of his swim lessons was from 2:20 to 3:00 which is right during his nap. I knew it would be hard especially when on the way to swim lessons the first day Noah asked when he was going to take a nap. Despite all of that, Noah loved his swim lessons. He did great going in and once home he slept like a champ. A couple of times I had to wake him up at 6:00pm! Because of Mrs. Jody's rules I did not get to see what he did each day. I would ask him each time "What did you do today?" He always said "I went pee pee in the potty." So, I don't really know as far as swimming but I was proud of him for using the toilet and not going in the pool. We did get to go on the last day to see how good he did.

Noah is 'monkey walking' which he loves to do.

Kicking those swimmers!

I have tried to get him to do this with me but he will not.

Noah with Mae. Mae was not normally in his class but because of the rain and them going out of town she had to be. Which explains the not so happy face. Her nap time was cut short and it was cold in the water. The kids were shaking from being so cold. Notice that Noah has a treat in his hands. After swim lessons Jody would let them get a treat. The first couple of times Noah chose a little toy but then he found the gum. Noah doesn't understand that you chew gum for an extended amount of time. He would chew it and then swallow, so I let him have gum for swim lessons but that was it.

Noah and his awesome swim teacher Mrs. Jody.

25 WEEKS

I have waited to update because I wanted to write in a happy mood, this has been a rough week.

On Tuesday I went to Dr. Payne's office for my 24 week 5 day appointment. He said the baby looked great and was weighing 2lbs. WOW! I wonder how much he will weigh by 30 weeks. Here are a few of the amazing pictures he took with the sono.

I love this profile picture. You can see him and what he looks like so well.

I did not get to post this right after we found out that we were having another boy. Every time I go see Dr. Payne he says "Do you know what you are having?" I say yes but check and make sure. He printed this off for me and said I don't think there is any doubt.

After he does the sono on my belly he does an internal sono. This is always the most scary and this week I had reason. My cervix had shortened from 2.9cm (the measurement last week at Dr. Emmet's) to 2.5cm. He said my stitch was still holding but there was a lot of funneling. So, he sent me to HEB hospital and said to see him on Thursday. He also mentioned Mag. if you have ever had mag. you know that is no fun. So, I went to HEB and was monitored for a while and I was having contractions so they gave me a shot of Terb. After that shot of Terb. my contractions completely went away. They sent me home with orders for a Terb. pump and a home monitor system.

The first picture is the home monitor. I put the middle part on my belly for one hour twice a day. I then put the middle thing back on and send the info it gathered over the phone. The nurses read it and give me a call. They can tell me if I am having contractions or not. It is quite annoying but it also if very reassuring when they call and say no contractions. The second picture is my Terb. pump. It has a little blue tube that connects to my leg and sends .05ml of Terb. all day. Every 4 hours I get an Auto Dose (pictured) that is .2ml. The good thing is if I need more I can give myself a Demand Dose so, I don't have to go anywhere to get it. It isn't bad and I have already adjusted to the side effects of Terb. The hardest part is not getting tangled up in it.

So, today I had to go back to Dr. Payne and I got a good report. Praise the Lord. I prayed so hard today because he said if my cervix was to my stitch he would put me in the hospital. I knew all my friends were praying and it felt so good to know I was covered in prayer. Dr. Payne said I looked better than I did on Tuesday. My cervix is still at 2.5cm but I had actually improved instead of getting worse. That is such and answer to prayer because I was contracting a lot more today.

Here is a picture of me getting a sono from Dr. Payne.

One last picture, my ever growing belly at 25 weeks and one day.

What we do for free food

One thing the Read's love is free food. Last year my sweet friend Kathy told us about an awesome deal. July 10 is Cow Appreciation day so in honor of that Chick fil a celebrates it by giving away a free meal if you dress like a cow. Here is the best part you don't have to dress up fully to get a meal. All we do is print off the ears, dots, and sign from the website and pin them to us. It is very easy and not to embarrassing. Like Brian always says "You control your own embarrassment."


Noah and Dada enjoying dinner at Chick fil a. The good thing is Chick fil a has enough good things on the menu that you can go for lunch then dinner and have something different each time.

Noah and Gabe before Parker and Cayden arrived.

Noah and Gabe with the cow. Noah is so excited. Can you tell!?!


All the boys.
I spread the word this year of how great this deal is. Cayden, Parker, and Gabe joined us after the movies at Chick fil a. I tried but could not get all of them to look at the camera all at once. We had so much fun. It was a little crazy obviously with five boys and a very crowded Chick fil a. At one point in time the boys started singing 'Old MacDonald had a farm and on that farm he had a cow'. It was too cute and then some lady near us complained that they were too loud. Our reaction was first, they are two and three year old boys what do you expect. The other was if you don't want you lunch loud don't come to Chick fil a on free food day, duh!


Angie and I trying to take a picture of ourselves in our cow stuff. Unfortunately once all five (Gavin was hanging out in his bucket) kids were there we didn't get anymore pictures of the mommies.