10/4/11 33 weeks... Growing like Weeds

    I am so happy to say that I had monitoring today at Good Sam and I got to come afterwards. I was so worried after just being discharged a few short days ago that I was going to be readmitted. My ultrasound went fantastic. All of the babies past their biophysical without any problem. Much to our surprise, the babies have gained a lot of weight since our last weight ultrasound. As of today, Bentley weighs 4#1, Arabella 4#14!!, and Bronson 4#14. They feel like Bentley is probably a little bigger than what he is measuring, but unfortunately he is so low in my pelvis that he's difficult to measure.
    The procardia is working well with contractions only occasionally unless I'm due for my next dose of medicine. We count everyday as a little extra gift at this point for the babies. Only 22 days left until the big day!

Here are a coupe pics to give you an idea of what almost 15 lbs of baby looks like!

A trip to the pumpkin patch

Thought I'd share some photos from a fun day at the pumpkin patch. I stayed home, but Craig, Adalyn, and the Jolly crew had a great time! Amazing to think that next year we'll have 4 little pumpkins of our own!

Nothing like sleeping in your own bed!

   Yaaah! I got discharged from the hospital yesterday and I'm so glad to be home. I missed Craig and Adalyn so much! Things seem to be going really well on Procardia with only a few contractions here and there.
  Craig is taking very good care of me and questions why I'm off the couch every time I stand up:) I'm trying to wrap my mind around doing absolutely nothing for the next 24 days so we can make it to our scheduled c-section on 11/15! I had been so lucky up to this point to be able to get out of the house in a wheelchair off and on, but my last admission to the hospital has convinced me that it's just not worth it!
   Thanks again to all of  you who have been keeping our family in your prayers. We feel very peaceful and know it comes from God alone. Enjoy the beautiful weekend. Looks like a great one for a pumpkin patch!

Steps in the right direction

 I am so thankful to be able to write with more news of God's blessing on us. My contractions responded well to the Magnesium, and despite some headaches, I tolerated the medication very well. After being on the medicine for almost 24 hrs, I feel very fortunate that although Dr. Marcott initially agreed that I would be in the hospital for 2 weeks on the Magnesium,he later decided to turn it off and start me on another medication by mouth called Procardia. The benefit to this plan is that I if my body responds well to it, and the contractions remain irregular, that I may get to go home in a couple days!

  I'm have been doing great on the Procardia so far and have had only seldom contractions. 

(10 minutes later....)  My doctor actually just walked out the door and thinks I'll be able to go home tomorrow!!!! YAAAH! Now the challenge will be to be on my absolute best behavior at home so I don't get myself back in here! 

  God continues to answer prayers and bless our babies. They look great on the monitor and don't seem to mind the extra medication in mommy's system. It is really starting to hit me that it really could be any day now and each day is just a gift! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all of you who have been loving on us, thinking of us, and most of all praying for our family. We know that God knows the day and time of each babies birth and trust that it will happen in his perfect timing.

  I hope to have news that I am at home with my next post! 

10/18/11 Not yet kiddos...

 Oh how I wish I could say that I was writing this post from the comfort of my living room, but unfortunately I'm sitting in a hospital bed at Good Samaritan Hospital. I guess I've know this day would eventually come, but I just  thought sure I was going to dodge the bullet. 

 Yesterday at my scheduled fetal testing and ultrasound I began having frequent contractions. I was hopeful that the contractions would quickly space out and my cervix would not change, but instead they seemed to be getting more intense. My doctor checked me and found that my cervix was beginning to dilate at 1 cm and 50% thinned. After several hours of monitoring, I received Brethine but the contractions continued. My exam revealed that I was now 2 cm and 70% thinned.... a sign that I could be kicking into labor.A medication called Magnesium Sulfate, which I had really hoped to avoid, was started and slowly the contractions started to space out. 

  I am now only contracting occasionally and feeling pretty good. There is no doubt the Magnesium doesn't make you feel the best, but it is working and I'm thankful for that! It's kind of hard to tell what the plan is from here... one doctor thought I'd be admitted for a couple days, and another doctor said 2 weeks, so I'm just going to take one day at a time and pray that the right decision is made for me and the babes! 

 The babies all look great on the monitor and don't seem to be bothered by the magnesium. Please pray for their continued growth and development and hopefully my little uterus... take that back... BIG uterus won't get too anxious to vacate these little ones!

  If you'd like to call my room # at the hospital it is 513-862-6311. Have a great day!

Whitney is home!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to pray for Whitney. She was in the hospital several days and felt pretty awful, but fortunately she was able to avoid having the scope procedure. She was discharged home this afternoon and is so glad to get to sleep in her own bed tonight. Please continue to remember her in your prayers as I'm sure it will take some time to get her strength back and feel 100%.

10/13/11 Another great appointment

  I had an ultrasound and non-stress today and everything is looking great. Dr. Voss seems thrilled with the babies growth and confident that I should make it close to 36 weeks. As I mentioned earlier, my cesarean is scheduled for 11/15 at 11:30! Only 32 days to baby time! I started washing preemie outfits and packing the babies bag... it makes it all so real! They are sooo cute. Now I'm beginning to wonder if they are going to be too big for all this tiny stuff!
 Sorry I'm having a hard time getting ultrasound pictures scanned in. They are so squished in there, it's really hard to get a good picture. Somebody's body parts are always in the way! Have a great weekend!