And we're still okay!

At the beginning of this pregnancy I was already pretty sad about its end - as we figure that this will be our last time having a baby. I wanted to savor every little thing knowing that I will more than likely never be pregnant again (even though we would love to have more children). And, in a lot of ways I still feel that way. Every little baby hiccup and kick is still amazing to me, and there is the thrill of the unknowns (happy unknowns) - will he look like Canaan? Be big or small? Have red hair? What will his personality be like?

We are so blessed to have this little one on his way, and we feel really confident at this point, in huge part because of all the support and answered prayers, that he will come home to us healthy and near/at full term.

But we are also at the point now where we are ready to be done and move onto a hopefully more calm, normal life for a while (albeit one with of course much less sleep and post-baby physical recovery for me).

So far during this pregnancy (between BJ and I) we have had 3 hospital stays (total of 4 stays this year) and have faced/continue to face preterm labor, anemia, kidney stones (this and the recovery after the birth of Canaan are the two most painful things I have ever experienced), hydronephrosis (compression of the tube between my bladdar & kidney causing my right kidney to atrophy), extremely low blood pressure (in the hospital this week I was at 55/34 - they actually brought in another blood pressure machine because they thought theirs must be broken) and BJ's pericarditis (inflammation around the heart).

Yes, it's getting a little ridiculous! :) With all this drama I'm starting to get a little more nervous about the BIRTH (please not in the car, PLEASE not in the car)! I'm just praying things go smooth since we have a pretty bad track record lately! BUT, no matter what, we have a truly amazing and faithful God who, with each challenge, has helped carry us through. It seems like EVERY time I start to feel overwhelmed and unsure there is suddenly a solution out of nowhere - usually in the form of an amazing friend or family member stepping in to show our family love and support. It's easy to keep coming back to how blessed we are!

Baby Bump Update

Tomorrow I will be... dun da DA!! THIRTY weeks!

This is the milestone I have been so excited for! This whole process for me is like running... which I hate. The only way to keep going is just to convince myself to run to just that mailbox. Then when I get there... just to the light pole, and so on. And pretty soon, before I know it I've run 200 meters ;) (yep, really hate running).

So now that we're here at 30 weeks I can look forward to 32... then 34. Now, with each milestone I am getting some pretty sweet rewards! Each one to me is like Christmas morning. With this one (30), I am allowed to sit up a little more AND try going downstairs every few days and lay on the couch (can't wait to do this tomorrow!!). And as long as I continue to stay stable (ie not dilate), around 32 weeks my doctor will let me start going to church again (in the wheelchair). After nine weeks laying in bed these privileges make the next 8 weeks seem so much less daunting (especially since I know that the closer we get to the end the more time is going to draaagggg). But now that I've made it to the mailbox I know I can make it to that light pole! :)

And another bonus, I passed my 3-hour glucose test! :)

I will leave you now with some adorableness...






A big thank you to Julie for capturing these moments!

All up in there...

Dear Ezra,

Let me introduce you to the underside of my ribs. Just a little FYI, this is NOT an awesome place to hang out. You can just take my word for it. I promise.

Okay, well... so you're pretty much are in control of everything right now anyway... and are putting up with hundreds of contractions... so I guess you can go ahead and enjoy the new-found spot. :) Just this once. And then not again.

Love,
Momma

PS. love you to a million pieces.