THE DATE IS SET!

Yesterday was a relaxing day at the ol' hospital - surrounded by sunlight and multiple visitors. It was great to see people and have some social interaction! I am settling into this room as if I am at home. My mom was gracious enough to buy me a little fan - for noise and comfort - as well as a huge bag of snacks. She even brought Baby Smith his first Easter bunny (holding a baseball).

The middle of the night was a little more difficult with increased contractions and increased frequency. I have never felt pressure like I did last night. However, wouldn't you know that I had no cervical changes when they checked me at 1:00AM. Dr R ordered me some pain meds so that I could relax during these contractions. No stopping them with IV fluids because I was already on them! Nubain is wonderful ... I was watching the monitor, having contractions, and could not even feel them. It hit me and I was a happy girl! I called April at work many, many times. At one point, we even read about Baby Smith's astrological sign to find out what kind of person he will be - an Aries!

This morning Dr R set the big date ... March 31st! We are going to be induced tomorrow morning at 0400AM, break my water during early morning rounds, and let the fun begin! I am super scared, along with Jason, but am so happy to finally have a date and time. We are truely going to be kissing our lil' man tomorrow .... ewwwww ... I'm going to cry just thinking about it! Today is going to be a great day just knowing that tomorrow is going to be a life changing day for our family and families! I know it is easy to say now, but I am excited to get no sleep - I just want to see our son's face and learn his personality! My prediction - he is going to look like his father - spitting image - and even have his fathers personality.

We will keep you updated ... and hopefully have an annoucement for you within the next 36 hours or so!!! YEA, YEA, YEA ....

Another day with little progress ....

Last night, Saturday night, I was having contractions in the evening, throughout the night, and into this morning every 6 hours. Only problem is that they would go away on their own. Today they got a little closer in time, every 4 hours. I had contractions every 4 to 6 minutes for 2 hours straight - but they stopped with IV fluids. They were wrapping around into my back, which made me think that it was real labor for real. Funny how everyone expects you to know when labor is real labor vs. false labor. If I wasn't sitting in the hospital being monitored, I would have made at least 4 trips to the hospital in the last 3 days - all to find out it was false labor!

Good news ... Dr R stopped by this morning and we had a long discussion. My platelets had dropped slightly again this morning, plus I am anemic. My blood pressure is still a major issue. We finally have a plan ... we are going to take it day by day. If my platelets continue to trend down, blood pressures continue to worsen, or my symptoms continue to get worse - he will begin induction that day. He then assured me that I "would not be pregnant on Friday." So we will be induced no later than Thursday and hopefully be parents no later than Friday!!!!

When he checked me this morning, I was advanced to 2 1/2 cm dilated and unchanged at 50% effaced. He thought we might be having a baby today, but that just isn't the case. Jason says that it will be tomorrow (Monday) night, while April's prediction is Tuesday. We will see - he just isn't sure about entering this crazy world! :) I will keep everyone posted and please continue to keep us in your prayers ...

This week we will be PARENTS!

Hmmm .. where to even start. I went to my second appointment on Thursday, which lead me a direct ticket to the L&D floor to be admitted AGAIN. This time they were going to keep me for 36 hours to monitor my blood pressure, do a 24 hour urine and check my labs. To make a long story short, my blood pressure is high and is staying high - even when I rest. My labs look good, except my platelets are continually dropping. Both signs of preclampsia, which led me to be stuck for observation for a second night.

Thursday evening I started having contractions - starting off tolerable and then getting harder and closer together. They checked me and I was 50% effaced and 1 1/2 cm dilated. They started fluids because the contractions were as close as 1 minute apart. At one point, I had them less than 1 minute apart for 15 minutes. I guess I was just getting a little taste of what I better start preparing for! :) Once the fluids were started, my contractions slowed down, decreased in strength, and finally went away. Since then I have been having contractions here and there, but nothing that could be counted or concerned about.

That leads us to today, Saturday. I was hoping he was going to tell me I could go home, however, he has decided that I need to stay in the hospital until Baby Smith is born. My platelets are 131,000 and trending down. They do not like them any lower than 150,000 and if they continue to drop, I cannot get an epidural if they are 100,000 or below. YIKES! My blood pressure is staying up, even when I am lying in bed doing nothing. So he has officially diagnosed me with mild preclampia. At this point, we are just playing the waiting game. Tomorrow I am 37 weeks - the magical week I needed to reach. When I asked him how long I would be in here, he stated that we would be having a baby this week ... that is the plan! So I will be stuck in here for another few days, have the baby, stay in for recovery, and then go home.

I cannot explain how depressing and boring this whole process is. Thank God my husband brought me my computer! I know that I love my husband, but I cannot even describe how much I miss him. He has been going home to sleep and taking care of our doggies (whom I want to see sooooo bad too)! Every time he leaves I want to cry, but there is no reason for him to be here all the time - doing nothing. He has been great and extremely understanding! I cannot wait until I can see him holding his son and playing the role of daddy!

I will keep everyone updated, as usual. Right now, we have no set date - but we will be parents before the end of the week! I feel a little selfish for being upset about being on bedrest, but I just want my life back - being with my husband and dogs, holding my lil' man in my arms, and adjusting to all of this like a normal person. Having way too much time to think is a very bad thing for a pregnant lady!!!! :) Please keep us in your prayers this week ...

Week 36 - Appointment/NST Round 1

Since this is the only way for me to keep everyone updated - I thought I would update about my first dr's appointment and non-stress test results for the week. Yesterday was my NST, everything looked great - in fact, she said the strip looked "perfect." He was very active yesterday and did not want the little monitor on him - therefore the student nurse had to stand beside me to hold the transducer to my tummy! Oh how I remember the tasks as a student nurse! :) My blood pressure was 130/70's - which was good news.

Today was my dr's appointment with Dr F. The appointment started out fine, my bp 130/82 and his heart rate in the 150's. The nurse left the room and I sat there waiting for the dr. All of the sudden, I got hot, my ears were burning, I was having trouble breathing, and I felt a headache coming on. And then the little flashes in my vision started. Another nurse had just happened to come in, thinking that I hadn't been checked out yet. I explained to her that I had and asked her to recheck my bp while she was in the room. She asked me if I had been out in the sun because my ears, arms and face was red. Then the bp read that I was 134/93. Within a few minutes, my blood pressure took a leap and I could feel every bit of it.

Dr F came in, checking on me. He then proceeded to inform me that he was going to do the PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension) labs to see if I was going into Preclampsia - which they all seem to think is going to happen at any time. He checked me and I am 50% effaced with no dilation. His head is still down in position - but no other signs of this boy coming out early right now. However, Dr F reassured me today that they would be taking him at 37 weeks, no later than 38 weeks. He said that the baby can have stress all of the sudden so I will be having this baby early. I am fine with that - as long as we are at the 37 week mark where everything is developed and he is healthy!

I am looking forward to Thursday's appointment because I get to see Dr. R, my fav. They are going to have to give me a game plan because I do not have any of my dr's appointments and NST's set up past this week. Week 37 will be on Tuesday of next week! If I could plan it, I would like to be induced on March 30th and have him on April 1st. This is the day that Jason and I went on our first date 9 years ago! Crazy!!!!

Tomorrow is going to be a sad day for Franklin - he is getting part of his manhood removed. We have a vet North of the River that has an RV and he does all the work outside of your house in his RV. He has been doing it for years and I have heard great things about him. So, tomorrow is the big day for Franklin to undergo the knife. I am such a dork because I think I am going to be inside crying, while he is outside getting 'fixed.' I know that some of it may be my hormones, but most of it is just my cheesiness and love for my Bodanki!!! Frank and Daysia have become quite accustomed to mom being home all the time - especially Franklin since he is always my snuggle puppy. He is my lil' sidekick! And yes, he will still be spoiled when our lil' fella enters the family!!! Daysia will have it a little easier tomorrow and will be getting her annual shots and some medication to calm her down. We are going to try Melatonin, per the vet's recommendation, but are going to get a medication that will lightly sedate her. We want to make the transition to bringing our lil' man home as uneventful as possible! She is a great dog, she was just mistreated as a pup and has attention issues! We hope that she can get thru this 'seperation anxiety' so she can relax and not be so skiddish.

Anyways, I am rambling - possibly because I get NO social interaction! :) We will continue to keep you updated. Hopefully we will have a plan of action come Thursday night ... we are keeping our fingers crossed!!! I miss everyone at work and take care of yourselves - I hear the floor has been quite depressing lately ...

Dr's appointment #1 - Week 35

Today started my twice a week dr's appointments - and I had a pretty good visit! My blood pressure was lower, but my swelling is increased. No protein in my urine and the baby is in good shape. I am happy to say that he has officially dropped and is now in head down position!!! I have been having contractions off and on, mostly at night. The headaches have become a daily problem, however, my blood pressure never creeps over 150/100's so I just deal with it. At this point, unless things seem different or unusual - I am to stay on strict bedrest and wait for the next 2 weeks! I pushed to try and get a scheduled induction date, but he was hesitant until closer to week 37. He says there is a good possibility I could go early, or things could change to where they would have to induce me earlier. Therefore, my plan continues to be 2 dr's appointments a week and 2 non-stress tests a week.

Today the nurse that did the NST said the baby looked great! Mommy is ready for his arrival, no doubt. However, I would like for him to stay in there as long as he needs to come out healthy - without spending time in the NICU. Mommy is pretty sick of feeling like I've been hit by a truck on a daily basis! Just counting down the days .... :)

A busy weekend with a sad ending

This weekend started off with a bang at 9:00 on Saturday morning. My mom, dad, mother-in-law, and grandmother all came over to get our house in order for our lil' man to arrive. There were so many things left to still get in order and my to-do-list was getting longer by the minute. So we started right away, wasting no time!

We all divided up and worked on separate tasks. We took tags off of his clothes and did multiple loads of laundry, hung up all the things on his walls, rearranged the living room for his stuff to fit, put together the pack-n-play, stroller and travel swing, installed a programmable thermostat, put away all of his gifts from our showers, and took all the necessities out of the boxes and made sure they were clean and ready for use. Goooooo Team!!!

This house has officially been taken over by our lil' man and everyone kept joking about how we were going to have to add on another wing. The kid has so many items that both grandma's are going to get stocked with things too! Jason then made some marinated pork chops on the grill with mashed potatoes and corn.... yummy!

We got a call from a friend that was informing us that one of Jason's good friends had been in a motorcycle accident and just passed away. Jason immediately left the house while my mother-in-law cleaned up the kitchen. Ryan was quite the adventurous soul and was full of energy. He was riding his motorcycle with a few friends, going to pick up their cars, when a van pulled out in front of him and they collided. He was pronounced at the site. Jason went to visit with his mother yesterday, which makes it harder to take in - seeing others close to you hurt so bad. But his mom is a very strong woman and will get through this time the best way possible. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers in this sorrowful time. RIP Ryan.

Sunday was a complete rest day and Jason spent a good amount of time away from the house, trying to gather his thoughts and keep his head as clear as possible. I layed on the couch all day long - having off and on contractions. Every time the contractions get stronger, I think that he is coming - but I guess he is going to continue to be a feisty lil' guy.

I now have to have dr's appointments twice a week and a non-stress test once a week. I have appointments on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. I am hoping that I will have a better idea of when they are going to induce - in fact, I wish we could just set the date - so that we can mentally prepare. The closer it gets, the more excited I get - yet the more anxiety I get that we are about to be parents! That just seems sooo surreal - even with him moving around and keeping me inside my house for the past 2 1/2 weeks. We will keep everyone informed during this adventure!!!

When is this going to end?

Yesterday started off with me sleeping in, for once. I had taken Unisom the night before so I could actually get a good nights rest - however, my blood pressure was causing me to have headaches and spotty vision. I called the Dr's office, as ordered, and they brought me in. Guess where I went next? ... you guessed it - Labor and Delivery for observation! My blood pressure was high - at one point it was 141/105. So Dr M decided to keep me in over night. My headache never went away - even with Darvacet and Viceral (sorry about the spelling).

So I had my first overnight stay in the hospital. Jason, my mom and my in-laws came up to visit me. I sent Jason home for the night since I knew nothing was really going on - so that he could take care of the doggies! :) I kept telling the nurse that I was feeling tightening of my abdomen and she just said "ok, well it is probably just the UTI." However, the nurse this morning did a very thorough assessment (I was impressed) and did a non-stress test on me. I was having contractions every 3-5 mintues, as I had told the night nurse. She notified Dr M, who in turn decided to send me home. He said that I am 34 weeks at this point, so if the contractions get worse at home, come in - they are not going to stop labor at this point, if it were to happen.

My mom brought my Subway for dinner last night and my mother-in-law brought me some Mc Donalds breakfast this morning!!! Am I spoiled or what? Low and behold, to my surprise, my husband showed up at the hospital this morning to tell me good morning! I was so excited to see him - I didn't think there was any way he would stop by before work, since it is hard enough to get him to work on time every day! :) He stayed for a little bit and then off to work. It made my morning to see him. It's funny how you get so used to seeing someone all the time. He was commenting on how he didn't want to go home and go to bed alone because he is now used to me not working and therefore being able to sleep with him. I definately missed him - even though that sounds super dorky!!! :)

So I am at home, in bed, doing nothing - as usual. I cannot even fill out thank you cards without my blood pressure rising. But don't worry ... I will get them done! Thanks again for all of your support, thoughts and prayers ... we only have 2 more weeks for him to stay in there!

Maternity Photos

From the beginning, I wanted to get maternity photos done. However, after seeing how much people were charging to take them alone, I decided to save the money. The further along I got, I kept thinking that this is an opportunity that I may never get again, therefore, deciding to have some photos done for memories to keep! A family members friend took these photos and charged me a mere fraction of what others were charging - plus I got a cd with all the pictures and rights to copy them. I wish I would have taken them a little sooner so that I didn't look so 'swollen', but I like how the belly pics turned out!!! Here are a few for everyone to enjoy! I am really happy that I decided to have these pictures taken because it will always be a great memory to look back on!

This one was a surprise for his daddy - gotta start them early! :)

A book Baby Smith got from a friend of ours ....

Maternity Photos (Continued)

He's a Tiger fan from birth ... my favorite!

My bun in the oven!

Good News from the Perinatologist

We had our appointment with the Perinatologist this morning! I didn't get much sleep last night because of fear of news that we may get today, due to all the complications going on lately. However, God was looking over us this morning and we got nothing but good news!

Baby Smith is measuring on target - actually a little ahead. I am 34 weeks this week, but he is measuring 36 1/2 weeks. He is 5 lbs 10 oz and the dr says he has a big head! Boy, you can imagine how I cringed when I heard this news!!! :) All the structures and organs are appropriate for his developmental age and he had his hands over his face, as usual.

Jason and I celebrated with breakfast and then home I went. We were very happy to get some good news today, since everything has been a whirlwind for the past 2 weeks or so. We continue to take each day at a time and await our dr's appointment on Thursday to get more news and our plan of action!

And back to Labor and Delivery ... again

This morning I woke up at 5:00 with odd pains, nausea, and shortness of breath. Last night, I checked my blood pressure as I was going to bed and it was 150/99. This morning, it was not much better! So after calling Whitney, Apes, and my mom - my mom talked me in to calling the OB office. They got me in for an appointment, which in turn gave me a trip to the Labor & Delivery floor again, without passing Go.

I am having contractions, but luckily they are irregular at this point. My blood pressure in the office was 120/101 - the worst bp I have had thus far. They observed me for 3 hours, drew labs, started my 24 urine that I will complete at home, and sent me home with a prescription and orders. It seems that I have the beginning of a UTI and was sent home with a prescription to take for 7 days.

I am officially on strict bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy - no exceptions! I have to see the dr's in the office two times a week - getting regular labs too. Today, my labs had a pretty significant increase in uric acid, another decrease in my platelets, and trace of protein in my urine. Dr R said that he is certain that we will be having this baby at 37 weeks - if not sooner. He said that women in my condition can turn a corner for the worst very quickly and become sick. At this point, they are going to continue to monitor me very closely. I had a mere meltdown in the dr's office - thank God for my mother who can calm me down and get me back on track!

They are concerned with my platelet decrease because this can mean that I am going into HELLP sydrome, a symptom consistent with Preeclampsia. The protein in my urine is just another signature symptom of preeclampsia. At this point, Dr R in not diagnosing me with Preeclampsia, but my labs results on Wednesday may change all of that. Each time I am observed, my labs and bp's are getting increasingly worse.

So the plan for the week is to go to the Perinatologist tomorrow morning, get my labs drawn on Wednesday, and go for another dr's appointment on Thursday. And they say I'm on bedrest!?!?! As always, I will keep everyone informed of what is going on. I am somewhat miserable at times, but at least he is in there and healthy. Only 3 more weeks to go (if not sooner)!!!!

Celebrating Baby Smith in MU Style

The 4H work crew celebrating at the Granfalloon!!!!

.... and another!

Me and my girly, Apes

The yummy Tiger cupcakes

The placemat of questions ... very creative!!!

On Sunday, I was able to leave the 4 walls of my living room to attend a baby shower thrown for Baby Smith (and I) by my wonderful co-workers! I had a blast!!! The shower was MU themed and we had a couple of fun games - that I must mention will always be remembered! Funny that Noah, the only male attendee, tied to be the winner of the string game to see how round I was! Gooo Noah!

We got a ton of great things from everyone! We got our Rainforest Jumperoo, bathing gift set, a handmade photo album made by Danica, a monitor, high chair mat, bumbo, books, toys, and more!!! Jason's favorite was the shark bath set that had the matching hooded towel and bath mitt that Kelly gave us. He was sooo excited about this gift when we were registering!!!

My mom attended the shower with me, so that she could meet the people that I talk about - not to mention that I sometimes spend more time with them than my own husband! Thank you Apes and Emily for a wonderful shower! And thank you for everyone that attended .... I had a great time being surrounded by such wonderful people - truely! And thank you to everyone at work who put in to get us the group gifts - we cannot wait for our lil' man to use them!!!!

I work with a great group of people and it was good to see some familiar faces! I got an update on some of the patients and changes going on at work! Funny that you dread going to work, but when you are not allowed to - you actually want to - even if it is only one day a week! I miss my social interaction and seeing how our patients are doing. We get really close to the patients and families on our floor, since we see them so often. It is really hard to go from seeing them all the time, to being updated from time to time by co-workers! But I know it is all in the best interest of me and our lil' bambino - he needs to stay in there for 3 more weeks!!!! :)

THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!!!!!! I miss you guys! :)

Better results this time around ...

So I went in today for my follow-up appointment from the events occuring after my appointment on Tuesday. I feel much better today, still with increased shortness of breath, but otherwise in great spirits. I'm sure the weather had some to do with that! My blood pressure was improved at 128/84. Still a little high, but decreased from where it was.

I finally got some answers to my questions today. They are wanting to make sure that my blood pressure stays below 150 systolic (upper number) and below 90 diastolic (bottom number). If either one of these numbers are higher than the above numbers, I am to call the dr. Right now, I am in the clear. They kept me on strict bedrest until next Thursday's appointment and we will reassess at that time. I was given the okay to go to my work baby shower on Sunday and the okay to go on a date to Target, with my husband tonight. Otherwise, I am stuck on the couch with my feet up! They also made an appointment for me to see the Perinatologist on Tuesday to make sure the baby is growing appropriately. I am losing small amounts of weight again and an issue that may arise from my current events is that the baby could not be growing appropriately. She doesn't seem to think that this is necesarrily a concern, but wants to make sure we check on the lil' guy!

And I have to take a moment to brag about my wonderful husband! I cannot say how great he has truely been. He is keeping me calm, waiting on me when I need something and assuring that I am staying off of my feet, as ordered. He has been my rock and kept me in check! :) Last night while watching the MU game, I was getting a little too excited and he reminded me that I needed to stay calm. Again, when watching the KU game - another reminder to remain calm. He is concerned about his wife and his lil' man's health. Every day makes me realize how much he is going to be a great father - truely! We are in this as a team and he is doing all he can to make sure that I am okay and comfortable whenever possible. I cannot express how much I love this man (although I know at times it is trying)!!! :)

I will keep everyone updated. Sorry that I have posted 3 new postings today, but what is a girl stuck on the couch supposed to do with her time? I am getting all the little things done before our sweet baby comes into the world!!!

Shower for Baby Smith

Christina (shower hostess #1) showing off Baby Smith's gifts

The cupcake tree with polka dot cupcakes and lil' baby cupcakes!!!

Alexis (shower hostess #2) preparing the finishing touches!

Jason trying to figure out what a 'boppy' is and how it actually works .... funny times!

A personalized onesie made by Rhi for our lil' MU Tiger! Another said 'My mom is a nurse' and for daddy 'I love my Nike's as much as my daddy'!

Regardless of the 4 inches of snow that we received last Saturday, we were able to have a Baby Shower for Baby Smith! The shower was thrown for Jason and I by my best friend, Christina, and another close friend, Alexis. These girls did a great job - everything was perfect. I have to mention that they even incorporated polka dots for me ... they know me all too well!!! Jason was apprehensive about going to the shower, but I thought it would be an excellent experience and was important for him to be there. We were able to open the gifts, enjoy playing the games, and enjoy everyone's company as a team! All in all, I know he enjoyed himself after it was all said and done.

We played a game where there were little babies in ice cubes and whoever could melt (or deliver) the baby first, would be the winner! Cindy was the big winner and did this in record time. Then we had a game where Jason and I had to dress a baby as a team, using only one hand each. We had to dress the baby in 5 minutes while it was kicking and moving ... I have to mention we did it in 3 minutes flat! Quite the team we will make!!! We also played the candy bar diaper game. Jason and I were able to get every single one right - regardless that he doesn't even eat chocolate. Great grandma Maloney won this game! And lastly, my favorite, was a game where everyone wore name tags that had certain baby associated terms on them, such as: I was 'gas' while others were 'baby', 'nipples', and 'diaper.' The object of the game was to call each person by the name on their name tag - if you slipped up and called them something differently, you had to put change in the piggy bank for Baby Smith! The mothers had a great time with this - it got so loud and exciting at one point that I had to yell over everyone to announce the gift we had just opened!!! Those new grandma's just get soooo excited!!! :) Baby Smith has now started his college fund. We kept joking that this money would be used to send him to college if he wanted to go to KU. If he wants to go to MU, we will pay his full ride tuition!!! :) ha ha ha

Everything went perfect and he got all sorts of great gifts, outfits, and books! He already has a huge library of books on his bookshelf for us to read to him, and him someday to read back to us. Each person that attended the shower brought a book, in lieu of a card - with a personalized message from each guest inside. What a great idea - thanks to my mother-in-law!!! All of his stuff is arranged in his room - taking many shifts to complete since I have been on bed rest since before my shower! It was a wonderful day to celebrate the life of Baby Smith, surrounded by our close friends and family! I couldn't have asked for a better day - regardless of the snow that tried to stop our plans!!!!! Thank you Christina and Alexis for the perfect shower! And thank you for everyone who attended for sharing this special day with Jason and I! As I always say, Jason and I are blessed to be surrounded by such a great group of friends and family!!!!!

Celebration for Baby Drake (& Whitney)

Baby Drake's creative clothes line decoration!

Whitney holding Drake's 'Hunk' bathtowel - can't wait to see the pics of him in it!

The diaper cake and stool I made for Baby Drake (& mom)

Niki, Tiff & Danica (and the back of Aaron) ... a few of the 4H crew at work

Christine and Amanda celebrating Baby Drake

A couple weeks ago, our work crew celebrated the soon-to-be arrival of Baby Drake. The shower was thrown by Emily and Tahisha - great party planners, I must say! The shower was a lot of fun with great food, a really fun game, and the best company! Baby Drake received all sorts of wonderful gifts to welcome him into the world. Whitney, with no surprise, went straight home that night to put all of his new things in their correct place in his room! :)

Whitney and I have become even closer friends throughout our pregnancies - due only 2 weeks apart from each other. Baby Drake is truly a miracle and we cannot wait for his arrival. If all goes as planned, Whitney and I will be off on maternity leave at the same time. We are always joking that we will constantly be together and Baby Drake and Baby Smith will be buds from the beginning, starting with playdates! We have been each others support, complaining companion, and shopping buddy ... it has been great!!!! We know we will be spending even more time together and even crying together, at times. I cannot wait until we both have our lil' men in our arms to love and enjoy!

Another day in Labor and Delivery

Today started off with a bang, having contractions and nausea off and on most of the night. This morning my wonderful mother came over to clean our house. I have a team of people making sure that I am following my strict bed rest rules - my husband, my mom, and my mother-in-law.

I ate lunch with my mom and then off to my follow-up appointment to see how my blood pressure looks. It is a little high at the office, but they are concerned with my increased shortness of breath and some other symptoms that have now reared their head. So, I am sent back to the Labor and Delivery floor for more observation. My mom showed up to sit with me first. I assured Jason that he should stay at work and just come after work, however, after doing this last week - I think he started to get concerned. He was pacing in the room after first arriving!

My blood pressure was anywhere from 138/94 to 145/98 with the baby in good shape. I was able to see my contractions on the monitor, which was pretty interesting. I stayed there for about 3 hours - complete with monitoring labs, starting a 24 hour urine and blood pressure monitoring. I was able to go home to finish my 24 hour urine and rest. The dr stated that she is pretty certain I will not be going back to work before the baby, however, we will take it week by week.

The alarming part of my appointment was them telling me that there is a very high possibility that he will come early - and if we can keep him in there to develop a little longer, they will take him at 37 weeks regardless. I have another follow-up appointment tomorrow - which is when I hope to find out more details. I have a million questions and am simply living day by day. Each day is a day longer, so we will just focus on things day by day. Yesterday I finally reached the point of being scared! All the information thrown at me was a little alarming. But we will work through it and he will come out to be a healthy, beautiful baby boy. Please keep us in your prayers.