The Latest

Thankfully, not too much has happened since my last post. So far, Caden has not been born yet. But, since it has been over a week, I thought I should update those who are following along on our journey. We have been settled in our room now at RMH for over a week now and are pretty comfortable. Sure do miss my own bed though!!! Last Sunday, Greg's parents and sister came over and celebrated Christmas with us and Kyler. We had a lot of fun with them and it was so fun to watch Kyler open his gifts. This is such a great age for it as he seems to get it and understand what it's all about.

On Monday and Wednesday, I had non-stress tests done at the hospital and Caden looks fantastic. I was happy that where they had placed the monitor, it wasn't really showing my contractions. They always make people nervous, so I was glad they weren't showing up because I didn't see any point in everybody worrying about it. Also, on Wednesday, we saw our perinatologist. Greg and I had prepared ourselves ahead of time in the event that she would want to check my cervix. We decided we were not going to let anybody look. They told me when I was in the hospital at 35 weeks that they wouldn't stop labor, even at that point. And, every time someone checks, it puts me at risk of infection as well as possibly speeding up the dilation/labor process. Neither of these are options I like. So, we were prepared to say "no" if the subject came up. However, we were pleasantly surprised that she didn't bring it up.

On Christmas Eve, Greg's sister brought Kyler back to stay with us and my parents arrived to visit for several days. My mom had prepared a wonderful Christmas dinner for us at our house in Sacramento and brought it over to us to share. RMH provided brunch and dinner on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, however, the main dishes had meat in them, and so we couldn't enjoy the whole meal. It was nice to be able to enjoy my mom's cooking and have a taste of home. Natalie left that night to go home and Kyler stayed in our room with us while my parents stayed in a local hotel for 3 nights. Christmas morning, they came back over to RMH and we opened Kyler's gifts. Many toys had been donated to RMH and we were allowed to choose 3 to give to Kyler for Christmas. The volunteers wrapped them and had them waiting under the tree for all the kids in the morning. It was very cute!

Kyler was definitely overstimulated with all the toys he got. And, that is even considering that we didn't buy him anything from us! He absolutely loves his battery-operated quad, his workbench/tools, and most especially his Mack truck from the movie, Cars. It is made of lego pieces he can take apart and put back together and that is by far his favorite gift at this moment. But he has so many new things to play with, it was a little overwhelming for him.

My parents left this afternoon with Kyler and went back to our house. My dad will head back down to Southern CA tomorrow to work at his old dental office for the next week before he heads home to Coeur d'Alene, ID. And, my mom will stay at our house with Kyler. She is planning on bringing him back over to see us mid-week next week and again next weekend.

We have been so blessed to have family helping us out with Kyler. Natalie was so kind to get him enrolled in the day care in the building where she works and take care of him evenings/weekends for 3 weeks. And, it is so great that my mom is now able to take over and have him at home. His therapy appointments (speech, music and occupational) start up again the first full week of January and it will be nice for him to get back into that routine.

As for me... I am having increasing discomfort. My pelvis is really separating and the ligaments are loosening up incredibly! It makes every position uncomfortable. Turning over in bed is quite painful and walking is very awkward. If Caden wasn't so low it might not be so bad, but he is pushing down with all his might. And, every time I get up or down, or turn over, etc., it causes more contractions. Every day it gets slightly worse. I realize it is for a good cause because Caden needs to stay put. But, I am sure "done" with being pregnant! However, I would be happy if he stays right where he is for another couple weeks. I will be 37 weeks on Monday which is great news. However, since he was measuring so small on our last ultrasound, it would be nice if he stays put longer.

This Christmas season, I am so grateful for all our family and friends. We have had so much support, we are blown away by it all. We are also glad that I have been able to stay on bed rest so Caden can continue to grow inside me. With my official due date being January 19, we are hoping we can make it to the first week of January at least. Anything beyond that would be great, but at a minimum we're hoping to make it to January 5. We'll see what Caden has in mind. We have another ultrasound on Monday and hopefully we will see some significant growth for Caden which will help us feel better about his weight. We'll keep you all posted. Thank you for your prayers as we continue our waiting game.