Today I am 32 weeks 1 day pregnant!

This is my 5th official day on bedrest and it's been pretty uneventful so far. The weekdays go by pretty slow because I am alone all day until Tim gets home. My sisters have been coming over at night to keep me company and Ashley cooked dinner for us last night, which was really nice. We also had a couple of our friends and their daughters over Friday and Saturday nights too. It's been really good to see people here since I'm limited on going anywhere right now.

I've had mild cramping every day still, but not as often as before - so maybe that is a sign that staying off my feet is working! We'll see Friday when we go back to the doctor for another exam. Karys is still very active and moves around constantly. I believe she has dropped a little because I feel more pressure when I walk around than I did a few weeks ago and several people have commented on how low she looks now. Obviously she is ready to meet the world! If she can stay in at least another 4 weeks though, we'll be happy! Although 4 more weeks of bedrest sounds horrible at this point....I've been keeping myself busy with some puzzles, scrapbooking and tv. I've also been able to watch some of my soaps again which has been nice :) These are all things I normally would not have time for. But the days still go by really slowly...

Last night Tim and I had our first childbirth class. It went pretty well. They showed a video though of an actual birth! Tim said it was funny to see my facial reactions as well as some of the other women in our class at certain parts of video. Some of it was a bit terrifying and I didn't really like the fact that the nurse teaching it kept insisting that childbirth is the most painful thing we'll experience - I could have gone without actually hearing that over and over :) I called my mom afterwards and told her I wasn't sure I could do this. She told me it was a little late for that! :) The class itself lasted a little over an hour and she gave us a good book about the stages of labor and newborn care, etc and also some good handouts for dealing with the pain and other things we'll need to know. Next week we're going to go over breathing techniques so we're supposed to bring pillows. That should be interesting!

We also pre-registered at the hospital on Saturday. We'll go sign the final papers on Friday after the doctor appointment and we'll be all set as far as that part is concerned. That will make me feel a little better. My family also moved up my shower a week to January 27th in case little Karys decides she is coming early! Luckily my aunt lives in the next neighborhood so I'll be able to go there without a problem. Most days I don't get to leave the house so that will be a lot of fun! :) Hopefully by that time the doctor will clear me to move around a little more so I can set up some of the things we'll get at the shower.

I'll update more after Friday's appointment. Thanks to everyone for your emails and phone calls! We're really lucky to have people in our lives who care so much!

Love,
Steph & Tim

I went back to the doctor to have my second steroid injection today. This one hurt much worse than the one yesterday. I'm so glad that is the last one I will have to have!

I was also able to ask the doctor and nurse a few questions that I didn't even think to ask yesterday since I was still in shock about everything that was going on.

When she says I'm on bedrest - that's exactly what it sounds like apparently. No cooking, no cleaning, no stairs, no walking around...I am to either lay down or sit at an angle so that my cervix doesn't receive any pressure to dilate further. I am to take all measures to stay off my feet no matter what. Those of you who know me, know that this is going to drive me absolutely nuts!! I'm really hoping that I can get set up to work from home soon to help me pass the time!

Dr Patronella told me that it was fine for me to take the childbirth classes that start this coming Monday but that she recommends that I not take the Maternity Facility Tour that was scheduled for the 17th because it's an hour walking tour.

I also asked how far along I should be before they feel "safe" about delivering Karys. They really want me to try to make it to 36 weeks. She said 37 weeks is ideal and that 35 weeks is even okay but they would be comfortable if she was at least able to make it to 36 weeks. So I guess we shall see what she decides to do!

I want to thank everyone for your warm thoughts and prayers. Hopefully those prayers will keep her in my belly for at least 4 more weeks! I'm sure I'll be updating this journal more frequently as things progress and seeing that I have a lot of time on my hands right now. I will go back to the doctor next Friday, Jan 12th, for another exam and she will decide at that time whether to put me on medication to stop the labor if the bedrest itself isn't working.

Tim and I will need to register at the hospital as well sometime this weekend and get all that in order in case anything else happens.

We hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Love,
Steph & Tim

Well my doctor appointment today was by far a surprise!! I told my doctor about the painful contractions I had been having since around New Year's Eve and she said she would like to examine me to make sure I was not dilating already. I honestly didn't think anything of it. While she was doing the exam, I saw her face and knew something wasn't quite right. She said I was indeed dilating - and I'm only 31.5 weeks along! I am dilated at approximately 1cm as of right now. She said from then on, I am not allowed to go to work - not even for half days or to finish out this week (I asked about both)! She said I can drive myself only short distances to my appointments and such, but other than that, I cannot travel or go far from home. She also said they were going to give me a steroid shot - one at that appointment and another in 24 hours. She said this is perfectly safe for the baby and it is to help the baby's lungs develop faster in case she is born too early.

She said if Karys was born right now that she would be put in NICU because her lungs are not fully developed. Dr Patronella also said she wants to see me every week now rather than bi-weekly in order to monitor me more closely. She said if not working does not slow down the dilation, then she will have to put me on medication to stop the preterm labor. She does not want me doing any strenuous activity, including walking or exercising! So I go back tomorrow at 2pm for my second steroid shot. And then I will go back the following Friday for another exam to see if I have dilated any further. It seems little Karys has decided she is going to come early! Stubborn little one....I wonder who she takes after :) Let's just hope we can make it to February before she decides to make her debut!!

Other than that, the baby is fine and her heartbeat is strong and good. She kicks all day and moves around constantly. The doctor said Karys was not in any danger or anything like that. I asked if there was anything I had done to bring this on and she said no - that this just happens to some women and there is no particular reason for it.

They also took my blood again for anemia - and I didn't even feel it this time because I was so sore from the steriod shot that I wasn't even paying attention!! So that was nice I guess...except that I'm going to be in pain tomorrow for my second shot!

I also talked to my boss when I got home. She was very understanding and made me feel a lot better about not being able to return to work. Hopefully we can work something out to where I can work part time from home so that I don't go crazy waiting for the baby to come. My shower at work also has been called off because I'm not allowed to drive downtown....so I really have nothing to do all day! I'm probably going to go insane with boredom.

Either way, it looks like little Karys will be coming early - we just all pray that it will be in February and that I can make it through January with her still safely in my belly!

Here's to hoping Karys stays in my belly for at least another 3 or 4 weeks!!

Love,
Steph & Tim

Happy New Year!! Tim and I are so happy 2007 is finally here - this is the year we will welcome our baby girl into the world and become parents!! And for those of you wondering, I was indeed able to stay up to ring in the new year, share a kiss with my handsome husband, and then pass out pretty quickly! :)

Today I am 31 weeks pregnant!! It's hard to believe in just another week I'll be 8 months pregnant - we are well on our way to meeting our precious little girl!

Good News!! With the holidays and being off of work, my back has stopped hurting. So since I'm pretty sure the pain comes from sitting at my desk, my resolution this year is to get up and walk around more during the day at work and hopefully it won't come back. It's been such a nice relief to not have that pain the past week or so!!

There have been other changes with me lately though too. For about the past week or so, when I wake up in the middle of the night, my hip area will be sore and I will have to turn over to the other side. I flip all through the night now because laying on one side for too long makes my hip hurt on that particular side. From what I've been told, this is normal at this stage of pregnancy. It's not too bad though and I wake up anyway now about 5 times a night to relieve my bladder. I've come to believe Karys is just sitting on top of it with as much as I use the restroom now though!

My Braxton Hicks contractions have been happening more frequently as well and were actually a little more painful last night and today. They don't last for too long but I can certainly feel them more often than I could a couple of weeks ago. Tim and I cannot believe how hard my stomach gets with them! The "pain" is more just uncomfortable than truly being painful right now though. It kind of starts in the middle of my stomach and then moves to the sides. I just stop what I'm doing for a minute and let it pass and then I am fine. I'm just taking it as a reminder that I'm getting close to the end!!

Things are really starting to pick up now too! I have another doctor appointment this Thursday - this one will include my anemia test. Then, next week we start our childbirth classes at the hospital and my work is throwing me a baby shower! So there are a lot of exciting things coming up. And it will all just make the time go by even faster! We're just so excited!! It's only 9 more weeks until we meet our beautiful baby girl!

We hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year's!!

Love,
Steph & Tim

Today, I am 29 weeks pregnant. I still just can't believe how fast these weeks have been flying by! Only 11 more weeks until we meet our precious baby girl!

I am feeling pretty tired today - Tim and I have had a busy couple of weekends. Last weekend we had my company Christmas party and this weekend we had a late dinner with some friends of ours on Friday night and then a family Christmas party on Saturday night. We also finished the rest of our Christmas shopping yesterday so we were out and about for awhile then too. It still amazes me how fast I wear out!! No more late nights for me or I am useless the next day! :)

While we were out, we made a stop to Babies R Us to add a few items to the registry. On the way out, Tim said "Let's get Karys something". I had to smile. Everytime we go there for anything, he wants to buy his baby girl something. This time he picked her out a little pink shirt with a cupcake on it that says "Little Sweetie". Just hearing him want to get her something each time makes my heart melt and I realize again just how lucky I am to have him.  He's already an amazing husband and he's going to be such an incredible father too! He's already super protective of her and she isn't even here yet! :)

This weekend my back was bothering me a little and I used a heating pad to help with the pain. It really worked! Sleeping has become a little more difficult lately too since I have to wake up to use the restroom almost every hour! I guess this is just preparing me for the sleepless nights I'll have once Karys is born! :)

We're really looking forward to Christmas though! It seems that Karys has collected quite a few presents under several Christmas trees around town!! It seems that some of the grandparents-to-be and a certain Aunt can't help themselves :)  

And it's only one week left until we see our baby girl at our 3D ultrasound!!

Merry Christmas!!

Love,
Steph & Tim

The appointment today went really well. When we got there I had to drink a sugary substance. It was super sweet, but not bad at all like I was thinking it might be. Then we heard Karys' heartbeat - which is always so wonderful! The doctor told us everything looked good as far as weight and measuring goes. Since she will be out in 2 weeks, we scheduled my next appointment for the first week of January. That will be the appointment where they will have to take my blood to test for anemia again...something I'm definitely not looking forward too! But I have awhile still before I have to worry about that! :)

After the appointment, Tim and I went back to the waiting room. After it had been an hour since I drank the substance, I went back to the lab so they could test my blood for diabetes. She pricked my finger - which was much nicer than taking blood the other way - and put it on a stick in a little machine. The score of 121 showed up immediately. Dr Patronella informed me that I do not have gestational diabetes - I PASSED!! I was very glad for that because that would have meant more blood work had I failed it. A score of 135 or above is failing - so my score was excellent! I was very relieved!!

I'm 28 weeks 3 days today and everything else seems to be going really well. I am still feeling really good - although I'm a bit more sleepy than I had been the past couple of months. Tim has been great helping me around the house - cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, etc. I must say I have the best husband I could have asked for. I don't know what I would do without him!! He's always asking me if I need or want anything and making sure that I'm comfortable. I just can't say enough good things about him...

We put up the wallpaper border in the nursery and posted pictures. It came out so great!! We also got Karys some bookshelves for the collection of books that I'm sure her Daddy will get for her :) We have a few more things to hang on the walls and then the nursery will be finished and ready for Karys!! We're getting really anxious to meet her now too. While we were waiting at the doctor's office today, Tim and I were watching my stomach bounce as she'd kick and move around in there. It's very visible from the outside now!

After Christmas and New Year's go by, we won't have much more waiting to do before our little girl makes her arrival! We're anxious to see her at the 3D ultrasound the day after Christmas. The doctor moved the appointment up to that morning so now we're even more excited!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

Love,
Steph & Tim