Quick Pregnancy Update

I just thought I would quickly update everyone since I have started getting emails asking if I was ok since we haven't posted in a few days. I just went to the doctor this morning and things are looking really good. My blood pressure has been surprisingly low which was the biggest worry before. I guess the pre-eclampsia can go in waves and can change very quickly, but I am pretty happy that things seem to be going well for now. This week will be 32 weeks for me which is a pivotal week for preemies as preemies born after 32 weeks tend to have less severe problems and almost always recover quickly. So, that's a good mark for us to hit! I won't find out the results of my 24 hour protein test until Thursday but I am optimistic that things will look fine. So, still on bed rest, still just holding out until Mags decides she wants to come :).

I will post pictures of my cutie pie kids later--- they have been pretty sweet lately.

Hospital Stay #2

Well, I just returned from the hospital earlier this morning. The other day I started feeling really nauseous and wasn't able to keep anything down. I wasn't sure if this was just a bug or more of the pre-eclampsia (nausea and vomiting are a sign that the pre-eclampsia is moving into the eclampsia stage). So, I went to the doctors office and she sent me to the hospital again.

It was a little scarier this time because they put me in a labor and delivery room and administered magnesium sulfate... which by the way is the nastiest stuff. They give you a huge dose in the beginning and I felt like I was dying. The magnesium numbs the nervous system to prevent me from having seizures. Besides a high blood pressure read during my initial doctor's visit that day my blood pressure was actually looking really good. All my blood work and labs cam back normal as well. So, after a night of observation (both of me and the baby), they sent me home this morning.

Amazingly enough, I am feeling better now than I have for awhile and it seems my blood pressure has settled down a little bit. I still have the pre-eclampsia and will continue my twice weekly appointments, but I sure hope to stay out of the hospital for a few more weeks. Our target goal right now is 34 weeks and as long as all is well until then, we shouldn't have a problem with that but ultimately 37 weeks would be best!

Yard Work

This weekend the big project was putting together flower beds in the backyard. Luckily, Ellie and Owen are around to help out! :)

Update and the Kids Having Fun

First an update on me... I am continuing my bed rest. It is very boring and I wish I could be up doing stuff, but I am being obedient and staying down. This is much better than any hospital. I go to the doctor on Monday and will have my blood pressure checked and all of that but I think Thursday's appointment will be the most telling since my protein lab results will be back. Hopefully we are doing enough here at home to stay out of the hospital. I am still having continuous headaches and I tend to sleep a lot more on bed rest, but overall I am doing pretty well considering the circumstances.

Now some pictures of the kids...

Here is Owen playing in the sink... he is such a helper!

Owen playing at the playground.
Elise swinging on the swings.
The kids love being pulled in the wagon.

Owen playing in the sprinkler. My parents just had a sprinkler system installed this week so that has been fun.
Owen all wet.
One morning my mom took Ellie for a walk in the wagon and she fell asleep (with her baby) just a few minutes into it.

Here is Ellie (and Grammy) putting together Ellie's plant for preschool. Everyday she waters the plant in her class.Holding her plant. This past week Ellie officially started preschool. It was kind of hard for mom to let her go... I have never had anyone else besides a close friend or a relative watch her. But it has been really good for her and has been great for Grammy and daddy to have a little break considering the circumstances.

As you can see, the children are surviving without the primary care of their mother. However, I am still happy to watch them enjoying themselves with other people.

In the Hospital

On Tuesday I went to my normal twice-weekly appointment at the doctors. My blood pressure had been high (which has been the case for awhile now) and I was having headaches. Right when the doctor came in, she announced she was admitting me to the hospital. Apparently my labs (the 24 hour urine) came back and showed increased levels of protein and my blood pressure was still on the rise. She told me that there was no way that I would be getting out before this baby was born so I better get used to being in the hospital.

Of course, I just started balling! I didn't know what to do. I immediately went back to my parents house and cried to my mom. How was I going to leave my babies for 7 weeks!? My mom tried to talk to the doctor but the doctor just told her all of the horrific things that would happen if this wasn't taken care of. So, I was off to the hospital.

Since I was in the hospital indefinitely, Daniel had to make arrangements to do his research from Houston and come help take care of the children. There wasn't really another option, he is a dad and sometimes these things happen and dads have to step up (BTW, my wonderful husband has been amazing this whole difficult pregnancy--- he is so great). The next day he was in Houston. My mom quickly became the main caretaker of my two young children.

Now, they couldn't put me in just any hospital, I had to go to Memorial Hermann SW which is quite a ways away and between tolls and parking it was $10.50 every time someone came to visit. Ridiculous. I was stuck in a 10x10 room, with gross food (they put me on a low-salt, tasteless diet). I desperately missed my babies.

Yesterday, my doctor came in and told me, out of the blue, that my labs came back 100 points lower and she was going to let me go home!!! This was so unexpected and so out of the blue! This was the same doctor that swore up and down that I would be in until I delivered. Of course, I was given lots of warnings that I am to do nothing that requires any sort of getting up or moving around and that I was to always be laying on my back. Who cares!!! I was going home!!!

So, here I am-- HOME! Home with by children where I can hold them and give them lots of kisses. I am aware that I will likely go back into the hospital at some point but I am hoping to keep everything in the low-risk levels for a few more weeks at least. I thought I was going to die being in the hospital for 7 straight weeks.

My status as of right now: I still have pre-eclampsia and will be seeing the doctor twice weekly and continue doing 24-hour protein tests every week. My blood pressure is still high, but not dangerous right now. I am on super strict bed rest and can only drive to and from my doctor appointments. The risk that I will have to go back to the hospital is high, but for now I am able to be home with my family. Daniel is staying since I will be zero help and he will still need to be the main parent during all of this.

Sprinkler Fun

It seems like several of my last posts were pretty depressing so I thought I would post some pictures of the kids playing in the sidewalk sprinklers that are here in my parents' neighborhood. They had so much fun-- I think Owen was less sure about it than Ellie was.
They love being pulled around in the wagon.


As you can see, this looks like lots of fun... I am excited that the kids will have the opportunity to have fun like this all summer long. The pool opens in May and I am excited for that. I just know that Ellie will enjoy the water slide, it looks just the right size for lots of pool fun. The last time Owen went swimming he thought it was great, so I hope he also enjoys the water this summer.

Baby Update

Well, a 3-day trip to Houston ended up being a more permanent move (well at least until August). I went to my new doctor here in Houston and she immediately put me on strict bed rest. My blood pressure has stayed pretty consistently elevated though seems to spike occasionally. After doing a 24-hour urine test (I know, gross) they did in fact find protein in my urine (a confirmation of pre-eclampsia---this link is a great reference and tells you all about pre-eclampsia) though the levels were not so high that they needed to do anything right away.

As it stands now, I am doing the bed rest thing, my mom is now the parent of two wild toddlers, I am going to the doctors twice a week and doing lab work every week. No matter what, I will have the baby at 37 weeks-- which would be fine, that is the point at which I had Ellie. However, they are preparing me emotionally that it might be quite a bit sooner. I am about 29 1/2 weeks at this point which is still REALLY early. We are just making small goals like getting to 32 weeks and then 34... I think 34 weeks would ensure that the baby is healthy enough and ultimately the goal is 37 weeks. That is only about 8 weeks away (only! That seems like awhile on bed rest!). I am just crossing my fingers that it won't get worse and I'll have to be admitted for the duration of the pregnancy to a hospital. As it stands, I already am going to have to deliver at a high-risk hospital.

Daniel is doing his best to take some long weekends until school is out and he can live down here for the summer. That should be helpful and give my mom a much needed break. The kids are fine, they love being with grandparents ... though we are quickly learning what areas in their home need more baby/Owen proofing. The most frustrating part about this whole thing is I feel ok-- but the blood pressure is showing something much different. Well, I will keep everyone posted!!!

Conference Irony

An actual conversation between me and Erin during Elder Ballard's talk on motherhood:

Me: Are you listening to this?
Erin: I'm trying to keep your kids in line!
Me: (laughing) You have no idea how ironic that statement just was.

Funny how the people who really needed to hear Elder Ballard's talk were likely too busy shushing their kids to hear it. Good talk, though.

Owen Enjoying Conference

This is what Owen does during conference. He loves walking around in other's shoes, just so happens he found Ellie's princess shoes.

Owen's "homemade" Haircut

Today was the first day that I decided to try and give Owen a haircut all by myself (I know, I am doing great on my bedrest)... Anyway, it went alright. I really love Owen's hair because it is so blonde. I intended to leave it longer on top so I could comb it over, but it ended up being a buzz cut. I didn't realize the longest setting was so short. I will know for the future I suppose.

He was actually MUCH better than the last time I took him somewhere to get his hair cut. He whined a bit but didn't cry.
This was about when I decided that I couldn't do the scissors anymore because he was moving too much and decided to use the longest setting on the buzzer and it was pretty short.
Here it is all cut. Like I said, shorter than I like, but Daniel really likes it.... probably because it is the same haircut he gives himself. Oh well, it's summer, why not a summer buzz?
Another view of the "do".
Dad and Owen with their haircuts... I think they look a little 'twinny' to me. I definitely think it makes him look more Weber or maybe just notice his Weber features more. The nice thing about his hair being this short is that I won't have to cut it for a long time and that is not such a bad thing. Overall, I think it was a good decision to start cutting Owen's hair myself. Those kids salons are really quite pricey!

My First Cake

Yesterday my sister sent me the Demarle products that I ordered from her, so I thought I would take the opportunity to make my first cake (first cake where I make an effort for it to look nice).

And, of course, my helper.
Here is the finished product. To be honest, I got really tired and lazy. The frosting was melting and I didn't really care, but it gave me an idea of how to do a few things. Hopefully my future cakes will look a little better. It was fun anyway.

Taking It Easy

Yesterday was the start of some not so fun medical problems that I have been anticipating with this pregnancy. In the morning I wasn't feeling real well, my hands were swollen and my headaches were worse. So, I decided to check my blood pressure and realized it was pretty high. I continued to check it throughout the day and it remained high. I called my doctor here in Austin and I went in to have my blood pressure checked and they told me if it got to 150 over 100 then I would need to come in for evaluation. They also started me on the 24 hour urine collection that I am oh so familiar with from when I had Ellie.

This is a picture of my blood pressure last night... awfully close to having to go in! Luckily, it started declining throughout the evening. While still high, it was lower than it had been. Also, my heart rate has been really high. It has stayed steady above 100 beats per minute which is really high. So, I am on bed rest. This seems like a silly concept to me when I have two very small children to tend to. But, I am doing what I can to take it easy.

We are going to monitor things this weekend and really watch to see what my blood pressure does. If it continues to stay high and I have to continue taking things easy, then I might need to go down to Houston early with the kids so my mom can help me out. Hopefully it will improve and we will be able to stay at home for the rest of the month. While it has been high today, not dangerously, so we are just praying that this baby can make it at least to 34 weeks to guarantee she would be alright. Since this is pretty much the same from when I had Ellie, I am anticipating just having her at around 37 weeks, but that just depends if the blood pressure stays in check and it doesn't fall into full blown pre-eclampsia.Yesterday I brought out a toy that we had saved for a time when it was needed-- yesterday was that day. So, the kids enjoyed playing with this race track. It is a very noisy toy though. It won't run at all if you take the batteries out so I will have to live with the noise.They also enjoyed playing with Owen's trains more. Owen, especially, thinks the trains are pretty neat. He often runs around the house with a piece of the train and a piece of track in each hand.
Today I had the kids sit at the table for awhile and work on some projects. Owen colored a Mickey picture (though most of the coloring was on the table). I love the Internet because there are just so many free resources for kids these days. I downloaded some coloring pages from the Disney website to get this coloring page for Owen.
Elise worked on a tracing workbook I got for her. It is great for helping her make straight, curved and bending lines that will help her when she writes her letters on her own in the future.

Ellie's Preschool Work

It has been awhile since I have posted any of Ellie's preschool work. Here are a couple of things she did this week. Here is some tracing that she did. She has gotten pretty good at this since she started doing school books every day while Owen naps.

And here is a little art project that they did on Tuesday. They were learning all about traffic signs and signals. She made a stop sign as well. Lately she has been trying to make octagons with her fingers (since stop signs are octagon-shaped).

Preschool Stuff- surprisingly stressful

One of the things that I have been frantically trying to do this week is set up preschools for Ellie. We had hoped that she would get into the UT Lab School preschool, but the wait list is just too long and it doesn't look like that will happen. That's alright, it was going to be quite inconvenient getting her to and from there each day.

Today we registered her for preschool in the Fall at the Pecan Street preschool which is run by the First United Methodist Church. I was actually quite impressed with their routine and everyone there was SOOOO friendly! I feel really good about it. I had the option of putting her in on Tuesdays and Thursdays or Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I opted for the MWF program because I think it will help her to have more of a routine and since she has a need for constant attention and something to do, I thought it would be better for all of us. It should be good for all of us since three kids are definitely going to change things up a bit.

Now I am onto figuring out a preschool for this summer. Since we will be in Houston this summer I wanted to find something she could go to a couple times a week to keep her busy, learning and happy. I found a Montessori school that I will be touring next week with her that is near my parents' house. I hope it works out buy I am going to research some other options as well. I thought about just putting her in some gymnastics or ballet classes but I think a preschool atmosphere with a bunch of other kids that she can become friends with will be better.

All of this preschool stuff really will be good for Owen as well. I worry with Maggie being born that he will not get as much attention (mostly because he is an independent kid who really doesn't demand it like Ellie does). So, having Ellie doing other things a couple times a week will allow me to spend some one on one time with Owen. These days his favorite things are playing chase, playing with his cars, jumping on the furniture and cuddling with mom.

Here is Elise "holding" Owen. He wasn't real into it.