BTG

Hello MCbloggies!

This is my first post on our NEW blog, & as many of you know I was usually the voice on our old blog. Like Micah mentioned in his post, we DO have a ton of photo stuff to catch you up on – once I can get our external HD over here I’ll start plugging away at that.

In the mean time though, you’ll probably see more of our life posts, since this is an extremely unique season for us. I’ve been on bed rest for over 6 weeks now, and in the hospital for 5. I realized that October is here now, which means I spent my entire September here in #248, our “home” for awhile.

I started this post mid September, & never finished it. It just kept changing, until I decided I should show you what I see everyday now. I took these pictures the day before we *thought* I might get to go home to continue bed rest there. There are still a lot of pre-term labor signs, so while baby is at a much better age now (29 weeks as opposed to 23 when this all started), I’m staying here for another few weeks. Before this, I had never had to stay in the hospital before, now I’ve probably stayed here longer than most people ever do!

 Our doctors keep telling us that bed rest can be one of the hardest things to ask people to do when they’re expecting – usually you want to do something, but I’ve been asked to “do nothing,” in a sense. Add to that being in the hospital, & it could be entirely possible to be really bored.

BUT….I’m really not dying of boredom as some suspect! It has been tough, since I’m used to being a pretty active & involved person, but I’ve learned to adjust. The first 3 weeks I think we actually had pretty non-stop visiting – which helped make the adjustment easier (plus it was just cool to see everyone!) Some days I think I was visiting/talking with someone for at least 8 hours straight.

Anything that can be done on a computer I can still do – so I’ve been keeping up with “working” that way, & still continue in my blogaholic ways reading through my google reader. I’ve been able to read a lot, & surprisingly haven’t watched TOO much TV yet.

My friend came to teach me how to knit, so I’ve been working on a beanie for micah, beanie for baby, & a baby blanket. Here’s Micah’s take on how I look during the day sometimes…

And now to introduce you to “248” – we have the encouragement wall/window, where I keep flowers, stuffed animals, letters & notes from friends. Nurses & Doctors always comment at how well decorated the room is (& how it looks like we’ve been here awhile) – my high school girls have been writing me letters since bed rest began, so many of the notes are from them!

There’s also the monitor next to my bed – it shows the reading for my blood pressure & any time we monitor the baby’s heart beat. And on the wall we have the thermometer that doesn’t work – I have to remind everyone that it doesn’t work at least once a day!

My bedside desk – always have my ice water & kleenex, easy to reach toiletries, our mac book pro (yay wifi!), & my journal & a stack of books I’m reading through…
Sorry I don’t have a picture of the awesome cot Micah sleeps on – the one that is about a foot too short for him. Thanks to so many friends & family our room is full of flowers, color, cards, & stuffed animals, or in other words, it’s full of love. It makes it feel a lot more like home than a hospital.

My days are marked by when the shift changes are, when my blood & vitals are checked (at least 2x a day), meal times & snack times, & the every other day shower or sunshine therapy. I wear “sequentials” on my legs (they fill with air to squeeze my calves) to protect against blood clots, & my bed is always moving so that I don’t get bed sores. I’ve been told my room is freezing, but I think it’s just right – pregnancy makes you feel warm when everyone else feels cold I guess.

We get to hear baby’s heartbeat at least 2x a day as well, & it’s been fun feeling him kick – as long as he is not kicking me in the ribs! I’ve even felt him get the hiccups, which was rather cute.