AND THEN THERE WERE 4...
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Bed Rest Diaries: Family Pictures 2012
Although bed rest has prevented me from going places, I was determined to still have family/maternity pictures done while I was pregnant with our second child. Our photographer was so easy and willing to do whatever we wanted, that our master bedroom became the backdrop and I have to say it is my favorite setting out of all the pictures we have done. In this pictures I was 28 weeks pregnant which looking back now, was a huge accomplishment considering I had doubted making it to that point in this pregnancy. Hurray for 28 weeks and pictures to mark this accomplishment!\
Bed Rest Diairies: Colton's Playdates
Since being put on bed rest, I have been advised by my oh-so-wise mother in law, that setting up playdates would not only be a beneficial activity for Colton to experience but also give my mom (weekly nanny) a break to get errands done. So with much hestitation (I hate imposing or asking for help) I called our good friends, Emily Kapic (mom of triplets) and my wingman Chrissy Martin. Both were so gracious and generously accepted taking Colton once a week for a couple of hours. And what an incredible blessing they have been in this whole transition. To say Colton has enjoyed both of these special playdates is an understatement. He adores his Chrissy and talks non-stop about going to Chrissy's house and spending time in Chrissy's car. Chrissy has wooed him from the beginning with her adventuresome spirit and her amazing ability and gift to find the neatest tourist places for kids. He and I alike adore and love her. She is also amazing a documenting their adventures with pictures, so here are some I was able to steal from her.
Adventure #1: Sacramento Children's Museum
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| Painting Fun! |
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| Being an active participant in Story Time |
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| Chrissy and Colton |
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| Helping to sort the mail |
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| Dinner time! |
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| A man and his buttons... |
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| Train playtime |
On Thursdays, Colton has loved socializing with the Kapic triplets. They have been so sweet and caring to invite him into their world of ultimate play!
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| Making Chocolate Chip pancakes |
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Bed Rest Diaries: Bible Story Time
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| Working on Mary |
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| Mary |
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| Angel speaking to Mary about her special gift |
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| Joseph the Carpenter and My First Story of Christmas Book (Thanks Gma!) |
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| Colton and Mommy talking about Joseph and his obedience to God in becoming a strong leader for his new family. |
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| So excited to find Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus in the Manger |
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| Much needed water break |
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| The Christmas Story |
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| Love this time with my little man |
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Bed Rest Diaries: The Change
With all of my projects mostly finished, by the time Thanksgiving came around this year, I was feeling quite accomplished. I was simply just down to the nursery. We decided to leave Sacramento on Tuesday and head down to Fresno to get ample time with family throughout the week. With our schedules for the entire week of Thanksgiving full with special activities and dates planned to get ample time with family and friends, the three of us left Sacramento feeling quite excited for the adventure. Oh and the adventure we got! I had been having a healthy 6 month pregnancy up to that point, so it quickly became very surprising to me that something wasn't quite right when I started getting contractions on the drive down. The contractions lasted from 30 seconds to a minute and were about 2-3 minutes apart. After letting it continue for about 45 minutes with no sign of letting up, we called our doctor in Sacramento and he advised us to be evaluated at a hospital. We decided that since we were closer to Fresno then Sacramento, we would be able to get evaluated at Saint Agnes Hospital in Fresno and have family to take and watch Colton for us.
After the long drive, we headed into Saint Agnes Hospital to be evaluated. I knew it wasn't a good sign when seeing four pregnant women waiting in the OB triage room. Boy, was I right! Within the first 20 minutes of us waiting, Michael and I nearly watched a woman deliver her child in the waiting room with no sense of urgency or care from the nurses until we made a fuss about it. After finally wheeling her back to be further assessed, we continued to wait with contractions. We waited a total of three hours before we were seen. Once we were seen, contractions were still strong and set apart by 2-3 minutes. After further assessment and testing, the results of my tests did not come back with what we were quite prepared to hear. I went from having a healthy pregnancy to being at risk for delivering this baby within the next couple of weeks. As a result of the tests given, the doctors decided that they wanted to keep me overnight in the hospital for further observation and testing.
My only response was to cry and cry for many reasons. I missed my Colton that I so desperately just needed to hold in that moment, and grieved about the idea that I could deliver a baby that was a mere 25 weeks old and would be in great need of intensive care. I grieved everything I had expected this pregnancy to be, what I still needed to get done before the baby came, and what God could possibly be thinking or doing in the midst of all of this. But having the incredible husband that I do, we prayed. We prayed for our sweet little baby, prayed for God's plan to be executed and our hearts to be at ease with the end result. By golly, my perspective from that moment on began to change.
We were officially admitted into the hospital at 4:00 am. Although our initial experience into Saint Agnes was not what we had hoped for, the nurses and doctor in the preterm mommy wing were exceptional and everything I could have ever asked for. After getting much needed sleep from the long night, we woke up to greet the day with whatever further testing needed to happen. We were sent for a detailed ultrasound to check the baby and everything surrounding him or her. Our results came back better than expected. The baby looked great and so did everything else, my body was doing exactly what it needed to be doing to keep that baby inside. After 24 hours of no contractions and a good ultrasound report, we were sent packing with medication and strict bed rest for the rest of the time we were down in Fresno.
So I was officially introduced to the idea of bed rest. After getting to our in-laws house, our plans for the week drastically changed. We were so grateful to both our family and friends who were willing to change plans and help in the care of Colton for the rest of the week and weekend. After following the strict instructions of the doctor and nurses, I laid flat on my back and drank more water than I thought humanly possible.
Thanksgiving came on Thursday morning and so did more contractions. While in Fresno, we visited Saint Agnes Hospital 2 more times and were quickly discharged once the contractions subsided. After being discharged from the hospital on the second time, I began to realize that the rest of my pregnancy was going to look drastically different that what I could have ever expected.
We made it home to Sacramento safely on Sunday with the help of my mom to transition us until we were able to see my doctor on Monday. Monday brought the news that I least wanted to hear but was expecting. Bed Rest for the next 14 weeks of my pregnancy. As many of you also may know, bed resting for 14 weeks isn't my idea of a good time. I am a doer to the moon and back. If I am not doing a project, I am dreaming up the next project I can be doing. I am also a social person and have much enjoyed the women's bible study group I have been a part of for the past year, walks with close friends, being a part of a mommy's group, and hanging out with our friends each and every weekend. Although I know those things aren't permanently gone, it has still been a struggle and challenge for me to adjust to this new lifestyle.
I am currently on my third week of bed rest and have absolutely been blown away by how God has more than provided for us in this time of need. We are first and foremost so grateful, to our family members who have been more than willing to help in whatever way they possibly can. But more specifically to my mom, who has taken on the full time job of caring for Colton during the week. She has committed to driving up on Mondays and staying until Fridays to not only care for Colton, but also clean, do laundry and keep our house functioning. Michael has been such an incredible dad and husband by making sure that I stay glued to the couch or bed and in caring for Colton. We have been richly blessed by people who have sacrificed their time and resources to take Colton for a couple of hours a week to give my mom a break. I simply do not have the words to express my appreciation. Last but not least, praise the lord for online home delivery grocery service. Oh how this simple service has allowed me to maintain some level of control in all of this.
As I said earlier, God is good and has used/planned this opportunity to help grow my areas of weakness. It has been challenging as he has revealed my strong desire to not want to ask other people for help or fully depend on other people to help me. My entire life I have never wanted to be an imposition on anyone, so I built of a strong level of independence for myself followed by much stubbornness that left me in a place where I was self-sufficient. Although this is a good quality, I am beginning to realize that I depended on it so much that I had no need to develop a strong sense of dependence on God. Afterall I could solve it all myself ( sounds great in theory, but so not true). God has used this bed resting phase of my life to force me to fully depend on others for help. The only difficult part is it not fun! It requires me to die to my own selfish desires to fully accept Gods. But through practice and much help from all of those around me, I am learning to accept it. I have been completely overwhelmed with the prayers I have received throughout this entire process and feel as though I have no way to repay it back, but maybe that's the point after all. So here is our one and only picture we took during our stay in Fresno over Thanksgiving. Michael and I were trying to find humor in my new form of transportation, the wheelchair, my hospital water jug and overnight bag (that we have become experts in packing).
After the long drive, we headed into Saint Agnes Hospital to be evaluated. I knew it wasn't a good sign when seeing four pregnant women waiting in the OB triage room. Boy, was I right! Within the first 20 minutes of us waiting, Michael and I nearly watched a woman deliver her child in the waiting room with no sense of urgency or care from the nurses until we made a fuss about it. After finally wheeling her back to be further assessed, we continued to wait with contractions. We waited a total of three hours before we were seen. Once we were seen, contractions were still strong and set apart by 2-3 minutes. After further assessment and testing, the results of my tests did not come back with what we were quite prepared to hear. I went from having a healthy pregnancy to being at risk for delivering this baby within the next couple of weeks. As a result of the tests given, the doctors decided that they wanted to keep me overnight in the hospital for further observation and testing.
My only response was to cry and cry for many reasons. I missed my Colton that I so desperately just needed to hold in that moment, and grieved about the idea that I could deliver a baby that was a mere 25 weeks old and would be in great need of intensive care. I grieved everything I had expected this pregnancy to be, what I still needed to get done before the baby came, and what God could possibly be thinking or doing in the midst of all of this. But having the incredible husband that I do, we prayed. We prayed for our sweet little baby, prayed for God's plan to be executed and our hearts to be at ease with the end result. By golly, my perspective from that moment on began to change.
We were officially admitted into the hospital at 4:00 am. Although our initial experience into Saint Agnes was not what we had hoped for, the nurses and doctor in the preterm mommy wing were exceptional and everything I could have ever asked for. After getting much needed sleep from the long night, we woke up to greet the day with whatever further testing needed to happen. We were sent for a detailed ultrasound to check the baby and everything surrounding him or her. Our results came back better than expected. The baby looked great and so did everything else, my body was doing exactly what it needed to be doing to keep that baby inside. After 24 hours of no contractions and a good ultrasound report, we were sent packing with medication and strict bed rest for the rest of the time we were down in Fresno.
So I was officially introduced to the idea of bed rest. After getting to our in-laws house, our plans for the week drastically changed. We were so grateful to both our family and friends who were willing to change plans and help in the care of Colton for the rest of the week and weekend. After following the strict instructions of the doctor and nurses, I laid flat on my back and drank more water than I thought humanly possible.
Thanksgiving came on Thursday morning and so did more contractions. While in Fresno, we visited Saint Agnes Hospital 2 more times and were quickly discharged once the contractions subsided. After being discharged from the hospital on the second time, I began to realize that the rest of my pregnancy was going to look drastically different that what I could have ever expected.
We made it home to Sacramento safely on Sunday with the help of my mom to transition us until we were able to see my doctor on Monday. Monday brought the news that I least wanted to hear but was expecting. Bed Rest for the next 14 weeks of my pregnancy. As many of you also may know, bed resting for 14 weeks isn't my idea of a good time. I am a doer to the moon and back. If I am not doing a project, I am dreaming up the next project I can be doing. I am also a social person and have much enjoyed the women's bible study group I have been a part of for the past year, walks with close friends, being a part of a mommy's group, and hanging out with our friends each and every weekend. Although I know those things aren't permanently gone, it has still been a struggle and challenge for me to adjust to this new lifestyle.
I am currently on my third week of bed rest and have absolutely been blown away by how God has more than provided for us in this time of need. We are first and foremost so grateful, to our family members who have been more than willing to help in whatever way they possibly can. But more specifically to my mom, who has taken on the full time job of caring for Colton during the week. She has committed to driving up on Mondays and staying until Fridays to not only care for Colton, but also clean, do laundry and keep our house functioning. Michael has been such an incredible dad and husband by making sure that I stay glued to the couch or bed and in caring for Colton. We have been richly blessed by people who have sacrificed their time and resources to take Colton for a couple of hours a week to give my mom a break. I simply do not have the words to express my appreciation. Last but not least, praise the lord for online home delivery grocery service. Oh how this simple service has allowed me to maintain some level of control in all of this.
As I said earlier, God is good and has used/planned this opportunity to help grow my areas of weakness. It has been challenging as he has revealed my strong desire to not want to ask other people for help or fully depend on other people to help me. My entire life I have never wanted to be an imposition on anyone, so I built of a strong level of independence for myself followed by much stubbornness that left me in a place where I was self-sufficient. Although this is a good quality, I am beginning to realize that I depended on it so much that I had no need to develop a strong sense of dependence on God. Afterall I could solve it all myself ( sounds great in theory, but so not true). God has used this bed resting phase of my life to force me to fully depend on others for help. The only difficult part is it not fun! It requires me to die to my own selfish desires to fully accept Gods. But through practice and much help from all of those around me, I am learning to accept it. I have been completely overwhelmed with the prayers I have received throughout this entire process and feel as though I have no way to repay it back, but maybe that's the point after all. So here is our one and only picture we took during our stay in Fresno over Thanksgiving. Michael and I were trying to find humor in my new form of transportation, the wheelchair, my hospital water jug and overnight bag (that we have become experts in packing).
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