Back at home...

I know that it has been a couple of weeks since the last update, so I will do everything I can to fill in all the gaps. Last Tuesday, when we hit 33 weeks, we were discharged from the hospital! What an exciting day that was! I started off with an ultrasound at Maternal Fetal Medicine, and then waiting for discharge instructions. It was so nice to go home and sleep in our bed, cuddle with Riley, and feel like life was somewhat normal again. I slept like a rock those first few nights in bed and it has been so nice! At the last ultrasound, he was tipping the scales at 5 pounds 8 ounces, so apparently I am not carrying a small child :) Because of that, I believe that I will be induced at 39 weeks if I do not go into labor on my own before that. Chris thinks that I will go into labor relatively soon after I am off of bed rest, but I am not so sure about that. My luck I will have done such a good job of being on bed rest and Wyatt will finally figure out he is supposed to stay put, they will have to induce me :) Either way, it is hard to believe that he will be here somewhere between now and 5 weeks from now!

Yesterday, I had an appointment to check on everything. All is looking good. I am somehow measuring small, but the doctor obviously is not concerned since Wyatt is pretty much a beast! Everything was stable, so that made me feel good. I had gotten so used to seeing Dr. Kerlin every day, I felt like I hadn't seen her in forever. She is an awesome person, so it was nice to catch up. I wont see her again for two weeks (I will be 36 weeks then) so I am sure that my list of questions will be very long by then! At this point, it seems like the plan is start my weekly appointments at 36 weeks, schedule an induction at 39 weeks, but she will strip my membranes at 38 weeks. So that seems to be the plan. On a happy note, Dr. Kerlin delivered some pretty exciting news to me when I was there yesterday-- she suggested that I go to church on Sundays! That was awesome news! I have to go in a wheelchair, but having not been to church in 10 weeks, I will be so excited to see everyone, and one step closer to feeling like a normal person! I have two more weeks of bed-rest and then look out world I am a free woman!

It is official- I think I am going through "favorite nurse withdrawal". When you see the same people all the time, they are the only people besides your mother and your husband that you see on a consistent basis, and you see them several times a week for 12 hours at a time, it is hard to just stop seeing them. Some people have asked who these favorite nurses are, and I must say that Jessica, Sandy, and Amanda were definitely my saving grace when I was there. Jessica and Sandy work days and Amanda works nights. It always made my day just a little bit better to know that one of my 3 favorites would be working on a day... and when I had a day that had either Sandy or Jessica during the day and Amanda at night, well let me tell you, those were the best! So now, I have to find a way to plan the labor around their work schedules! Either that or convince them to come in and deliver Wyatt on a day they aren't scheduled to work!

On other notes, I had my first baby shower on Sunday. It was so nice to get out and have a day about me. My sisters and my mom threw it at the Ruby Pear in Noblesville. The Ruby Pear is a tea-room in an old Victorian house right off the square. It was such a fun day. There were hydrangea centerpieces, yummy little tea sandwiches and scones, and a variety of different teas. There were about 17 family members and family friends at this shower, and boy was Wyatt spoiled! We got so many incredible gifts and with the help of Chris and my mom, they are all assembled, laundered and put away! It is starting to look like a baby will be living here soon. Chris has installed the car seat base into the CRV so that we are ready to go when that time comes. Next on the agenda will be getting the bags packed so we can just run out the door when the time is right! My good friend, Kasie, is throwing my other shower on the 5th and I am looking forward to seeing everyone at that one too! Wyatt has so many people already that love him and spoil him!

Maggie

Maggie and Wyatt are 32 weeks along...

I know it has been awhile since i last updated, so I am going to do my best to update you on all the goings on the past little bit. In good news, I GET TO GO HOME!! In 5 days! Next Tuesday, (should all go well) I will get to go home. I will have an ultrasound that morning and everything will be checked, and then I will be able to go home! This is very exciting. Makes me very excited, but also makes me very nervous. I think that Chris is nervous too. That means he has to be responsible for me while I am at home. At this point, it seems like the plan is to go home at 33 weeks, stay on all medications and bed-rest until 36 weeks and then at 36 weeks, I will be off all medicine and allowed to walk around and enjoy whatever amount of time that is before Wyatt comes into the world. We are SO EXCITED to meet him!

We get to have ultrasounds every Tuesday ( and yes, I have an entire photo album of ultrasound pictures). I really look forward to these ultrasounds. Chris has been trying to stay around in the mornings so he can see them as well and see Dr. Dungy-Poythress when she gets to come too. Each time I am amazed that I have that precious little boy growing inside me. It isn't like I can forget he is there... he is VERY active and can kick VERY VERY hard. He always has his hands up by his face (like his mom- my hands are usually up around my head when I am sleeping). He is head down and perfectly content staying there. He likes the left side of my abdomen a little better than the other side... I think that is because there is room since I do not have an ovary or a fallopian tube on that side. Needless to say, my stomach tends to look a little lopsided. We have been able to see all 10 toes, all 10 fingers, 2 eyes, nose, mouth, and all the necessary organs! He doesn't like to always let us see his face, but he has not problem showing off his man parts...those are fairly visible during every ultrasound. I have gotten to know some of the ultrasound techs from Maternal Fetal Medicine in my almost 9 weeks here, and I was able to sweet talk them into a few 3D ultrasounds... and my prediction is Wyatt is going to look JUST like his Daddy! I know that changes, and will continue to change, but all the nurses, family, and friends have agreed... he definitely has Owens genes!

Some other rather eventful things from the week-- I am pretty sure in a 24 hour period of time, I managed to meet our family deductible for 2011! This started with the nurses changing my terbutaline pump settings. I had been getting a large dose of medicine every 4 hours while still getting a continual rate throughout the day. I was having quite a bit more contractions as well as more painful ones so they changed me to every three hours. Roughly 24 hours later, I had a rash on my arms and legs, and itched from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. During the commercial breaks of the Colts game, I was having Chris scratch my back and try to make me feel better. I also started to develop some chest pains. The nurses then ordered an EKG to make sure that my heart was okay. The terbutaline can cause my heart to work extra hard, so we checked that out. My EKG came back normal. The next morning, I had a visit from my OB (she comes every day) and we talked about the itching, chest pains, etc. She ordered some blood work to check my liver enzymes and liver function as well as turned my pump back to every 4 hours-- after reading soem things, itching and chest pain can be a side effect of terbutaline. Those came back just fine. The following day, I was still having periodic chest pain and constant itching, so my doctor ordered cardiac enzym es. Then a hospitalist came and ordered an EKG--remember, I had one less than 48 hours prior-- an Echo of my heart, and a chest X-Ray. Those things all came back fine. I then had a CT of my chest, and an ultrasound/doppler of my legs to check for clots. In those 48 hours, I heard talk about Pulmonary Edema, Pulmonary Embollism, Blood Clots, and various heart conditions. All along, I thought that perhaps it was just a reaction to the medicine (I have developed intolerance to medications in the past). And lo and behold, all results came back just fine and I might just need to be taken off this medication :) I am now having consults from my OB, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Physical Therapy, Dietary, Cardiology and the Hospitalist. All I can say is, I am sure that our insurance company LOVES us!

On another note, I have become a bit famous down in the kitchen/cafeteria. To make a long story short, in my experience, the food here has tasted surprisingly good, especially if it is hot when I get it! The timeliness, however, leaves a little bit to be desired. There motto is that they will have it here in 45 minutes or less... in my almost 9 weeks, I might have received my meal in 45 minutes a total of 5 times. As I have told people here, being pregnant on bedrest and the only thing you can do is go to the bathroom, my food and my sleep are pretty important and the only controllable factors. I let my feelings be known, I know have someone from the cafeteria that comes up a couple times a week to make sure I am satisfied, I have something on my meal tickets that say to make sure my tray is delivered on time as well as I have had a visit from the Director of Food and Nutrition. Since all of that has happened, I have had record times on all my trays. I really do not mean to be a pain or a complainer, but I like my food!

All in all, it was an eventful week. We got to the next milestone of 32 weeks, and I get to go home. My mom and my husband say they are going to tie me down so that I will behave myself when I am home, but I dont think that they actually will! I know that this was a long post, but there was a lot to pass on! I hope that everyone is well and I cannot wait to come home and then meet this little guy!

Maggie

Big News!

Well, I realize now that headline may be a little mis-leading...

Maggie and I have learned that she will likely be going home somewhere between weeks 32 and 34! It of course all depends on how things go over the next 14 days or so. It's good news and I know she'll be ready to go home after more than 2 months in the hospital. She'll still be on bed-rest but at least she can be home and clean off all 50-some Days of Our Lives episodes bogging down our DVR.

We had another ultrasound yesterday and the Doctors are pleased with his development. This whole thing has seemed like an eternity but I'm also trying to grasp that we'll get to meet our little boy in a few weeks!

Outside of the hospital my world has focused on getting the house ready for Maggie (and Wyatt's) eventual return. Although being unemployed currently is not ideal, I've managed to put the time to good use accomplishing things around the house and freeing my time up for them once they are home for good. I've managed to paint everything on the two upper floors and clean out the garage...which is probably only exciting to me.

I'm still working job leads, sending out resumes, interviewing, and continuing the search...just praying for God's direction and placing me in the right place this time.

So, that's it for now...hope you all had a great Holiday Season and we're all looking forward to big things in 2011!

Chris