33 weeks a haircut/color and a little Noah update.

I am officially 33 weeks and I can not believe that I only have one week left of bed rest. I remember from before that this is the hardest week to be on bed rest. I really don't have a lot to report on Asher. I can tell I am getting farther along b/c there was no sonogram at this point I wouldn't be put in the hospital anyway. I was happy and sad about that b/c I really wanted to see how big Asher was but happy that I am far enough along not to worry about my cervix anymore. What I do know is that I only have 3 more 17p shots left and that makes me incredibly happy. I also know that I will be taking my Terb pump out on October 14th. Since, I will be doing that Dr. E wanted to also take out my cerclage on that day. She said a few things could happen. One, once it is out I could dilate right away and if that happened she would take me right back to do a c-section also, my water could break during the procedure and once again if that happened we would do the c-section, or nothing could happen and I go home and wait. So, I figure if Asher doesn't get here on October 14th it won't be too much longer after that.

I did want to a least take a picture of my belly. This is not my typical belly picture but I did it on purpose. On Friday my mom took me to get my hair colored so I did a two in one picture. I have my belly picture and also a before and after. I was supposed to get my hair done the week I got put on bed rest so I have gone 10 weeks with out it getting cut and colored. It was getting very dark and very long. My cousin Cara does my hair and she said that my hair was getting darker with this pregnancy. Oh, that makes me so sad.

Here is the after my hair appointment. I felt so much better with what I consider my normal color (only b/c I was blonde for the majority of my life it has recently begun getting darker and darker) and with shorter hair. So, now I am officially ready to be off bed rest and see people.

I know I just did a blog on Noah's first day of school but I wanted to do a little bit more of an update on Noah. He has really been doing some of the cutest things lately and I wanted to share that. First, he has discovered Brian's and my bellybutton. The best part is he doesn't say his 'T's' very well so it comes out bellybumpin. It is so funny that I laugh so hard every time he talks about it.

Noah enjoying a cookie and making his "cute" face. Another thing Noah really enjoys is dressing up like his favorite super heroes. He loves to pretend to be superman, batman, a power ranger, or being a transformer.

He asked me to take a picture of his cape. He loves this cape and he wants to wear it all the time.

Noah's First Day of Preschool

Thursday (Sept. 10, 2009) was Noah's first day of preschool. Since, I worked the last two years he was unable to go to preschool, which always made me sad. I am so excited to give Noah this opportunity to go to preschool. I know he will really enjoy going as well. Thankfully, with all of the bed rest and hospital stuff that has been going on I was able to be at home for his first day. It was kind of a rough morning b/c Noah doesn't like to get up early and did not want to wear what Dad had set out.

Not as excited about taking pictures as momma was.

At least he smiled in this picture and I look horrible. I tend to gain weight in my face at the end of my pregnancies.

Here is a cute and happy picture of Noah getting ready to get in Grandma's car.

I thought this was too cute of his 'Cars' backpack. He loves this backpack and was very excited about putting it on. It is almost too big =) but it is what he and Dada picked out.

Okay, so I waited to write this post so I could ask him what his first day was like. I was so excited when he got home so he could tell me all about it. Well, I got nothing. All he wanted to do was play but I think that was so he would stay awake. Grandma put him down for a nap pretty soon after he got home and then had to go in a little after 5:00pm to wake him up. He was so tired that he slept for 2 and 1/2 hours.

His teacher did say to Grandma "He is a busy guy isn't he." Uh-oh, I hope that is not a bad thing. After his nap I did get him to tell me that Elmo told them the rules. One was to not yell, something about hitting, walking, and also about spanking. Most of it did not make a lot of sense so hopefully one of these days I will get a little more info from him.

WoW! What a week and a half

I had hoped to not spend any time in the hospital this pregnancy but no such luck. Although I really can not complain too much b/c one week is nothing compared to the 7 weeks I spent in the hospital pregnant with Noah. On Saturday Aug. 27th I was having contractions that were 4 minutes apart so my home health care company sent me to the hospital. I honestly thought I would go and be out in a couple of hours. Unfortunately, that was not the case they could not get my contractions to slow down and Dr. E was worried that my water would break.

The biggest problem (at least to me) was that Brian, Noah, and the grandparents were at NRH2O and I had no way to get a hold of them. I did not want to call NRH2O and have Brian paged b/c I knew he would freak. At some point in time, I decided that I just needed to have Brian paged mostly b/c my contractions were still not slowing down even though they were giving me lots of stuff to slow them down. I was right of course that Brian did freak out. Apparently he drove to the hospital with his flashers going and running red lights. He came running into my room soaking wet with his bathing suit still on. He was so worried he had missed Asher being born.

Since, they could not get my contractions to stop they decided to give the me the worst drug of all time, Magnesium Sulfate. This drug is a smooth muscle tissue relaxer or something like that basically it slows everything down so much you feel horrible, nauseated, and very hot like you are on fire. Thankfully, after 12 hours on this med my contractions got better but Dr. E wanted me to stay until I was 32 weeks.

This is the hospital room they moved me to for my stay. This room was bigger than my room last time but the patio was not as nice. I had a little patio with some green but it was mostly a brick wall. This time I did get a fridge and a microwave.

This is Brian's bed when he stays the night with me.

Noah and I in the bed after he got back from MS. We had already planned for him to go to MS before I was put in. I thought it would be best, it probably was for him, but for me it was awful. I didn't realize how much I needed to see him while I was there.

Here is my 31 week belly picture.


Sweet Asher! He is weighing 3lbs. 14 oz. This is not one of the best sono's of him but the actual sono session was the best one I have ever had. I had been worried about him b/c whatever med's I get he gets. He had seemed a lot slower since the mag. I asked the doctor about it so he did the little thing that gives them a tickle. It was so sweet that it made him stretch and then yawn. The yawn was the neatest thing, I could see his little mouth and lips so perfect. It really made all of the stuff that happened this week so worth it.

The end of week had a few bumps but the best part was that I got to experience the new Mommies in waiting program. I also ended up being on the news offering the perspective of having the program this time as opposed to not having it when I was there before. Hopefully, I will get a CD that I can put on my blog. The program is actually really cool and I would of loved to have had it when I was there with Noah. On Monday they have an education class, on Tuesday they do crafts, Wednesday is rest day (b/c most of us get sonos that day), Thursday is massage day, and Friday is movie day. The best part of the program was getting to meet Missy. She has been in the hospital since she was 23 weeks and is now 33. I felt a little bad about leaving her but she gets out next Friday. It was great to meet someone who was in my same situation and I think that is the greatest benefit of all.

This is one of the crafts we made. It is a no sew blanket. You just take two yards of fabric cut the edges and then tie them together. It felt great to just have something to do but also to make something for my sweet little guy.

This is the other craft we made which was Missy's idea. It is just like the chain that is made at Christmas. I made mine from 31 weeks until 37 weeks b/c that is when I get to take my Terb pump out. It has been so much fun to tear off the links especially for Noah. He asks everyday sometimes twice a day to tear it off. It is good for him b/c I tell him when we get to the last one it will be time for baby brother to come.

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.