I don't have any pictures from today, but here are some pics from this past Sunday. She was in quite a fun mood.
Rachel is starting to get pretty handy with a spoon.
I don't know what she's doing here, but I'm sure it was fun.
Rachel found where all the barrettes and ponytail holders were. It's a good thing, because we couldn't find them anywhere. Anyway, she wanted them all in her hair, so I complied.
In. Got it? IN.
Dr. Case came in to see me this morning. My nurse put a bug in her ear that I was hoping for wheelchair privileges again. Sorry. No such luck. But it's not for me. Rachel likes going for rides. Yeah . . . no. Maybe in a week or two. She also said she wants my company until I hit 36 weeks. But Dr. Alumbaugh said I only needed to stay to 34 weeks. Yeah, but Dr. Case wants 36. So my stay could last a little longer than I planned. But even so, Dr. Case doesn't necessarily believe I'll make it to 36 weeks anyway. But she does think that if I go home the baby will come pretty quick.
So I'm really hoping for time to FLY. So far these past couple of days have dragged a little.
This morning my doctor came it to see me. It was the same doctor who I saw yesterday in the office. I had two follow-up questions for her:
1. I asked a little bit more about the condition of my cervix.
2. How confident did she feel that if I stayed in the hospital, that I would make it for three more weeks.
She told me that I was 3-4 cm dilated, which I already knew because she told me that yesterday. The new information that I didn't know was that I was (am) 70% effaced.
She said that she was quite confident that if I had gone home I would for sure have the baby within the next three weeks, which she didn't want, but that if I stayed in the hospital they would be able to intervene quickly to stop labor, and I would likely last for three weeks.
34 weeks is still early, but she feels much better about a 34 week baby than she does a 31 week baby. I can't really argue with that.
Jeff reported to me that Rachel was pretty ticked off that I wasn't home this morning. She was headed down to see me, and when she saw that I wasn't there she flipped. I also heard from Jeff that Rachel wasn't quite as happy today as normally is. She came to see me this evening, so hopefully she knows I'm still around, and she will be a little more cheerful over the next 3 weeks (or so).
I have some pictures of Rachel from this past Sunday. As soon as I get the card reader from home I'll try to get them posted. She was really funny on Sunday. We had a great day.
This morning I had a doctor's appointment. I was actually feeling pretty good, better than either of the two prior weeks. I was armed with questions about maybe relaxing some of my restrictions, you know, like the wheelchair.
Well, she examined me, and without going into the gory details, I will just say that she did not like what she saw, and sent me back to the hospital for three more weeks.
She doesn't want a 31 week baby, but she can live with a 34 week baby, I guess.
My appointment was at 9:40, although I wasn't actually seen until much later than that. Nevertheless, I was in the hospital by 12:00 noon. Since I wasn't planning for this, I didn't have any of my hospital survival kit, namely the computer. I sent a list of needs and wants with my mother-in-law, then waited until Jeff arrived with all my stuff.
Well, that's my news. Not exactly good news, but not terrible either. The nurses and hospital staff all welcomed me back with opened arms.
Jeff mentioned this morning that we should look into renting a wheelchair so that I can go for a walk and enjoy the nice weather. Being the obedient, compliant, submissive person that I am I called my doctor's office to ask A) if it is OK if I took a walk with a wheelchair, and B) where we could rent one.
My doctor called me back and said no. But it's not all bad. She said to ask again at my appointment on Monday, but to take it extremely easy this weekend, meaning STRICT bed rest. It is so crazy because I feel fine right now. Of course I didn't feel so fine this past Monday after my Easter field trip, so I am not inclined to argue with her. But I admit I was a little disappointed that she said no. It is a beautiful sunny day outside today, at least that's what it says on the internet.
Rachel is growing up so fast. She was playing outside with Jeff yesterday, and he took some pictures.
Scout stayed inside with me. I took some pictures of him. Either he is extremely lazy, or he has been watching me and is practicing bed rest too.
Here is another picture of Rachel from several days ago. She's wearing my shoes.
Great-Grandma Hatton bought Rachel her Easter outfit. She was looking for something more frilly, but couldn't find just the right thing. She figured with me out of the way she could dress Rachel any way she wanted. She settled on a pretty dress with pink flowers. She also got her some new shoes. Rachel's last pair of Sunday shoes I bought back in early January, but she has outgrown them. Her new shoes are size 6. They have a real sole. She seems so grown up in them. She really loves shoes. Jeff was pretty dressed up for Easter too.
After church we all (even me) went to Jeff's parents' house for Easter dinner. The little kids had an Easter egg hunt. Rachel caught on right away.
She got so skilled she even figured out "finding" eggs in the other kids' baskets. I think she only managed to get one of two from other kids.
After dinner Jeff and the other guys played cornhole. Jeff's cousin Becky helped Rachel play on the playground. Rachel really hit it off with Becky the first time she met her several months ago when Becky first came home from her mission. I don't know how she manages it, but Becky seems to get Rachel to eat her veggies better than anybody.
Yesterday I had a doctors appointment. I got a phone call early that morning from the office telling me that the doctor with whom I was scheduled was ill, and did I mind seeing someone else instead. No problem. I ended up seeing a different doctor. I've seen all of the doctors in that office because of my time in the hospital, and the doctor I ended up seeing was someone I've actually seen quite a lot. After being allowed a field trip on Easter I asked about being able to go to church every Sunday. I didn't even get out my question all the way before she said "absolutely NO!" She said to ask again when I get to 34 weeks, so four more weeks. I ended up getting my progesterone shot yesterday, which is kind of good because now I only have to go the office once a week. I can get my check-up and shot at the same time. It was kind of bad because it still hurt like crazy.
I had kind of a bad day yesterday. A lot of things were bothering me. My injection site hurt (a lot). My abdominal muscles were feeling pretty beat up (I guess from being up and around going to the doctor). I must have eaten something that upset my stomach because I felt all afternoon an urge to throw up, which I never did. And to top it off my side pain was going like gangbusters. I didn't have a restful morning at all, so I really tried to take it extremely easy in the afternoon. But I felt bad all day. Today I feel better, but I'm not going to push it. I just hope that some day I will be able to be myself again. I guess I must have overdone it on Sunday. No wonder my doctor says no church for me.
I have been on bed rest for eight weeks today. Happy anniversary to me!
I updated my facebook status Tuesday that I was getting my progesterone shot. You know, the one I always complain about because it hurts. Well, the whole thing was a gigantic fiasco. I had gone to my doctor on Monday, and I was expecting to get the shot that day, but I didn't because I hadn't filled the prescription for the progesterone. I thought they would have it at the office. But they didn't. I was supposed to have filled it and brought it with me. I didn't adequately understand my discharge instructions. So I went to the pharmacy to fill the prescription as I left the doctor's office. I was supposed to go to a specific pharmacy because most pharmacies don't have the ability to prepare it the way it needs. So I went to the pharmacy and they told me that they could have it ready the next day after 1:00, but they don't participate with any insurance companies. I decided to try another pharmacy instead. (Again, not clearly understanding my instructions.) I went to Walgreens and they said, sure we have it. Well, not in stock but we'll have it in the morning. Great, I thought, so I left the prescription with them, and I went home.
A couple of hours later I got a call from my doctor saying that Walgreens couldn't fill it, and I needed to go to the other pharmacy. (It's called Art Jacob's Prescription Shoppe.) It would be ready after 1:00 on Tuesday, and then I should go to the doctor's office for the shot.
On Tuesday Heather gave me a ride to the pharmacy, but when we got there there was a sign that said it was closed due to an emergency until 3:30. Well, Heather had to pick up her son at 3:30. I called my doctor and told them what was going on, and they said just come back tomorrow (Wednesday). Heather had another obligation on Wednesday, but she found me another ride with Sister Wilson.
On Wednesday I picked up the prescription, then went to the doctor's office and got my shot.
I was very very bad!
Last night at about 11:00 Jeff was getting ready to come down to bed, but as he went into the hallway he was assaulted by an awful smell. He went in to check on Rachel who was lying asleep in a giant pool of vomit. I violated the terms of my parole and went upstairs to help clean her up and take care of her. While I was holding her (bad me!) she threw up some more. I sent Jeff to Wal Mart to buy some Pedialyte and I gave Rachel a bath (bad, bad me). Then we laid down together until Jeff got home. He remade her bed/crib while I held her, and we put her back down to bed. She slept well through the rest of the night, and this morning she seemed okay. I'm still going to keep her on Pedialyte and the B.R.A.T. diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) today. I'm hoping last night was a one-time thing. At least that it doesn't reoccur until I am back, because while I felt extremely guilty for getting out of bed, I would have felt even more guilty leaving Jeff to take care of such a giant mess, and not being there for Rachel. Please don't tell on me to my doctor.
Today is my Mom's birthday
If she were alive she would be 80 today. Happy birthday Mom.
I have now been on bed rest for 7 weeks (tomorrow), and there are no more than 7 weeks of bed rest ahead of me. I've made it half way there.
I had a doctors appointment today. She said that I'm looking pretty good. After checking myself out in the mirror, I had to agree! (Just kidding.) Anyway, I asked her if I could join the rest of the family next Sunday for Easter Sunday dinner. She said I could. She said I could either go to church or go to dinner. Am I a bad person because I chose dinner? I have another appointment next Monday. I'll ask if I can go to church then. As long as I am doing well they will slowly remove my restrictions.
Rachel is getting to be too bold on the stairs. It used to be that she would always approach the stairs with care, and descend backwards. She now likes to go down facing forward, stepping down. I don't like it. She fell down the stairs on Saturday because she is trying to go down the grown-up way. I want to turn back some time (Rachel), but turn forward other time (bed rest). That's pretty hard to do.
Today Rachel became obsessed with the camera. She figured out how to take pictures. Here are some examples of her photography skills.
Here's a picture I took. Surprise, surprise, Rachel is hanging out in bed with me.
A few days ago a friend came over with a craft project for me. You know how I am with crafts (terrible). But I actually managed to pull this one off. First I made a hat for baby Gaby, then I made a hat for Rachel. Can you guess which is which?
Rachel likes hanging out in bed with me (sometimes). How many pictures of Rachel and me in bed do you think I'll post in the next couple of months?
Rachel wearing Daddy's shoes.
We caught Rachel in a not-so-great mood for this picture. She is sitting in Scout's bed drinking milk. Why the sad face? No idea.
I found this awesome Water and Sand Activity Center that I really wanted for Rachel. She loves being outside, but we don't have that many outside toys. She really likes water, so I thought she would enjoy this. It arrived yesterday, and Jeff assembled it (placing 16 screws) between Conference sessions. So far it only has water, but we'll get some sand for it soon. In the meantime, I think she likes it.
I'm home now. I got here Monday evening. Nothing really new has happened. That's why I haven't blogged lately, but I've been getting complaints about my absence. Okay, one complaint. But now you see that each and every one of my readers is important to me.
Mornings are definitely my most difficult time. I am a morning person. Jeff is not. It is really hard for me to watch him try to get everything and everybody ready for the day in a limited amount of time, and I'm not allowed to help. During the rest of the day it's not bad. I stay in bed. I admit that I have succumbed to temptation a couple of times and gotten out of bed for reasons other than the approved bathroom break and shower, but only when I felt that I had no choice. I can really tell the difference when I have done too much. "Too much" doesn't take a lot. So far somebody has brought me lunch every day. That is a great blessing because fixing lunch is not a doctor-approved activity.
Yesterday evening when Rachel came home she kind of ignored me. She knew I was around, and apparently that was enough because she wasn't interested in seeing me. Not so this morning. Jeff's Mom came this morning (makes mornings easier on Jeff), and this morning Rachel seemingly couldn't get enough of me. She was being so sweet too.
Here's a cute Rachel story: Last night shortly before Rachel's bedtime she was in bed with me. I asked her "Where's the baby?" Rachel lifted up my shirt and pointed to my (now extremely large) belly. I said "Can you give the baby a kiss?" She leaned over and gave my belly a kiss.
I don't remember if it was last night or the night before when I asked her to give me a kiss. She came at my face with her tongue sticking way out. It was quite the kiss.
