The Vertical Version

I'm full-time vertical now.

It feels really good.
I'm enjoying performing the normal tasks of being a mommy.

Here is how my week has been...first week off of bedrest:

MONDAY: Successful procedure reversal at the doctor's office. I was really thankful to have Grandma Demarest along to take care of Hope because I ended up staying at the office for a long time! They again noticed a low heart rate, so we monitored for about an hour to see if we could establish a base line. They were a little concerned when her heart rate continued to fluctuate. Then my doctor was consulted and she said it was fine. When I see her next week, I'm going to ask her why it is that this little one has a heart rate that tends to be fast, then slow, then fast, then slow...

TUESDAY: Full day at home alone with Hope. First time that has happened since February! I posted some pictures from our day--it was almost 100 degrees that day. We went on a walk and swam, all before 10 am. After that it was just too hot. I was really sore and tired by the end of this day. Hope is wearing a hat in the stroller picture above. She picked it out and didn't want to take it off. Cute.

WEDNESDAY: I was excited to attend the last BSF meeting for the year. I had started going to this Bible study back in the fall, but have been gone for 10 weeks. My small group has been faithfully praying for our family, and provided some good food for us. I was anxious to thank them in person, and to take Hope to play with the nursery ladies for the last time. Well, we got there at 9am, and there was no childcare. I decided to take Hope to Target for an hour, then we came back to hopefully catch the ladies upon their dismissal from large group testimony time. They found me, and we were all really happy to praise God for how far I had made it. It was really fun to walk around Target with Hope...I wasn't inconvenienced.

Wednesday night was our last Jr. High meeting at church. Luke and I volunteer with the middle schoolers. It was a really bittersweet night. I was so happy to be able to come back and see my girls that I have been investing in for three years now. I've always felt a deep care and concern for them over the years, but haven't always been able to be there with them full-time. They've seen me through three months of bedrest total, and one month of maternity leave. So, my heart was overjoyed to celebrate our time together, but also sad that I had missed out on large portions of time with them. Three of my girls were former students of mine. It was especially fun to get to continue a relationship with them through Jr. High church fellowship. I'm happy to know that most of them will be continuing in high school ministry next year, and that I'll see them at church.

THURSDAY: Well, that's today. We are having a good day. Tonight Luke and I will leave Hope with Grandma while we go to the hospital to take a free class.

My prediction for May 30 still stands, and Luke's for May 16 does too. He has to be out of town for work on the 16th, so I'm hoping he's not right. As of Monday I was dilated to 2cm. I've felt more contractions this week, but nothing regular, so I can't say that anything will happen soon. We'll see.

Praising God for His help!

Bedrest Blogs Week 10

Week 10?!?!?!
Week 10????!!!

Wow, we made it.
I cried a little on Feb. 27, at 26 weeks, when I realized I had 10 weeks of bedrest ahead of me. My mind was racing thinking about what we would do with Hope, how we would eat every day, and how Luke would manage being mom AND dad in many respects. I honestly disliked the thought of being so dependent on others, and that I would need to talk to people a lot more. Ha! That sounds bad, but it's true.

It's been hard to not be as active in Hope's life. It's just been plain hard, but I made a conscious decision to not speak poorly of bedrest. I hope I succeeded most of the time.

Bedrest was God's provision for us; our road to sustaining this pregnancy, and I was thankful for it. I practiced my faith throughout bedrest. I read this today about faith: "Faith does not say, 'I see this is good for me; therefore God must have sent it.' Instead, faith declares, 'God sent it; therefore it must be good for me." That is how I tried to view bedrest...OK God, here we go, thank you for your goodness and help.

"When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."

Psalm 94: 18-19

But we have made it!
Praise the Lord!

"Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

For the Lord is the great God,

the great King above all gods...

Come, let us bow down in worship,

let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,

the flock under his care."

Psalm 95: 1-3, 6-7

So, today, Cinco de Mayo, we are 36 weeks along.
Little baby girl can come anytime.
On Monday, May 9 at 10am, I have an appt. to reverse the procedure I had done in December. After that is done, I can walk, drive, pick up Hope, prepare all meals, clean, do whatever I need to do. I will be incredibly tired and sore for a while, but it will be good to hopefully build up some muscle again before labor/delivery.

Luke told me last night his guess for a delivery date is May 16. That is one week after bedrest is over. It is also Hope's half birthday. My guess is May 30. I think it will take a little longer.
I need to pack a hospital bag, narrow our name list, pick out clothes for our baby to wear home, get a bag ready for Hope, and rearrange my 'bedrest room'.

Dr. appt. : This week's appt. was routine. Things are going well. Wonderful!

Best: My last full day of bedrest will be Saturday! It will be hard for me to stay down that day. I was given premission to go to church and have lunch out on Sunday for Mother's Day. We will probably also do some grocery shopping since our fridge is empty, and we want to have dinner options in case the baby comes swiftly.

Worst: Nope.

We're so thankful for your prayers and support and help!

Bedrest Bright Spot

I think this little beauty looks just like Hope.

We continue to try to find a suitable name for baby #3. We have many ideas. It is our custom in life as a Demarest family to make decisions at the final minute. There has been much talk and debate, but we will hold off on the final decision until we can hold her, most likely.

As is apparent, today we had an ultrasound to check the baby's kidneys. This has been an on-going issue with our wee one. She has had some extra fluid in her kidneys indicating a problem with draining. Today we saw that one of her kidneys is measuring perfectly, but the other one is still a little large. Our doctor said we need to let our pediatrician know after she is born, and within a week they will do an ultrasound to check the size again. If it continues to be a problem there will be a surgical procedure when she is 4 or 5 years old. 499 times out of 500 the issue resolves itself. We are thankful for her wonderful health otherwise, and the fact that this complication is no worse.

We found out she is 5.6 pounds right now. She is no longer breech. So great to be able to see her.

Bedrest Blogs Week 9

Today I am enjoying some pictures from our fabulous Easter weekend. The Roushes, Demarests, and Smiths were together for food, games, and fun. We have some funny memories to connect us, as now we will have many, many miles in between us.

Last weekend was especially fun for me. I was able to attend the church Easter egg hunt, which was very similar to locusts devouring a corn field. I also had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings with the Roushes, and Amanda pushed me around in a wheel chair at Target. The Target experience might have been my favorite. I loved that time with Amanda. She is a fun shopping partner. I got some newborn-sized diapers, and some too-cute-to-pass-up outfits for Hope and the new baby.

The next day I went to church. It was great to share that part of my world with so much of my family.

What a great weekend! I wasn't able to host exactly like I wanted to, but my mind was at ease knowing that they were there to just be with us, and didn't mind having to get their own food and towels.

So today we are 35 weeks along!

Whew!

It could be argued that at this point it would be fine for me to get up and going. I have reservations though, because of the surgical procedure I had done back in December. All threat of malfunction with that will be nonexistent on May 9, so until then I will behave. The Debrest countdown stands at 10 days!! Woo hoo!

Today I had my last P17 injection. 20 out of 20 shots under my belt feels good! Basically that shot is to hold off labor. Glad to say that they have been doing their job.

I just want to say, I didn't think I'd make it this far. I honestly was never fearful; I had a confidence that this baby would be ok, but I had doubts about how long she would actually wait to come into this world. To now be at the end of April feels amazing. All credit and glory to God who has sustained us and cared for us in our time of need!

Dr appt. this week: Even after a very eventful and active weekend for me, pregnancy conditions are great. There was no change. God is good.

Best: Family fun. Hilarious company and fun at the church Easter egg hunt, Target, eating out, watching Inception, Liz and Andy deep clean the house, fun interactions with Hope, and 10 DAYS LEFT!

Looking forward to watching the wedding of William and Kate tomorrow morning! Also tomorrow morning: an ultrasound in Sioux City to look at the baby's kindneys again. It will be good to see our little girl, and to check her progress.

Worst: Liz and Andy, Judah and Asher are gone. Come back!

Bedrest Blogs Week 8

Hope and Judah seize the opportunity to sit in my chair while I am away. They were probably watching Sesame Street.

This week I've had a case of the 'sick-of's'. As in, "I'm sick of this, and I'm sick of that". So, it's been an emotionally low week at times, but I really do prefer it this way, given my options. I'm hoping for an ending date of May 9, then possibly a family weekend on May 13-15. It would be fun to do something together that weekend, not too far from home though...just in case.

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can...

Dr. appt.: Everything went really well this week. Steady as she goes. The doctor gave me the ok to take a chair to our church's Easter egg hunt, and Easter service this weekend. Saturday morning is the hunt. I'm excited to see Hope and her cousins out and about hunting for eggs. If Saturday's activity goes well, then I'll probably feel comfortable going to church Sunday morning. Nice to be able to get out and do something! I'm kinda concerned about what to wear though. ha! What even fits anymore? I don't know.

Best: Still so thankful for the incredible help from family and friends. Liz and I had a slumber party (with kids) last weekend while the guys were doing fun guy stuff. We watched a movie and made puppy chow, just like old times. We missed our sisters though. We're looking forward to this Easter weekend. The Roushes are coming to visit!!!!!!! and more of this: !!!!!! Pumped!

Worst: Sometimes I get frustrated because I have no idea what's going on in my own house. I can't stay on top of things like I want to. Like, what happened to our Aladdin movie??? I snuck a look at our movies, and was really flustered when I couldn't find our copy of Aladdin. What happened??? That particular shelf looked more empty than it should be. Yes, I know how full the shelf should be. It's still bothering me. I blame it on two months of bedrest.

Bedrest Blogs Week 7

Play-time pictures with Daddy. Hope is immitating everything Luke does. It is pretty cute. As seen here, she joined Daddy's rest time on the floor. She's also enjoyed giving hugs and kisses in the last month. What a joy she is!

33 Weeks today!

Bedrest this week has been very steady. It's been a great week. I've felt about two contractions the whole week (very normal at this stage), and the baby has been kicking and moving a lot. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. About three weeks left...what a blessing! Thank you all for your prayers and help. God is good, and we are really enjoying considering how the Lord might use us to bless the lives of others as we have been blessed.

Dr. appt.: This week's appt. brings nothing new to report. I was happy this week to be able to give God credit while talking to my doctor, and she agreed so genuinely. I want her to know the reason for our hope, mostly because she is so close to the situation, and she sees our reactions. God sees our reactions too, so how wonderful to be able to honor Him by giving Him the credit.

Best: One week closer to the end! Great time with family this week! We all celebrated our nephew's 2nd birthday last Friday night. We pray with Liz and Andy for Judah's health since then; he has caught bronchitis. Also, Hope has been so much fun this week. She really loves her Mommy and Daddy, but especially loves to laugh and play with Daddy. That is a joy to see. This week Liz helped me pull out the little baby clothes. I loved seeing them!

Worst: I really wanted to do some spring cleaning this weekend. Guess it will have to wait. Oh well.

Bedrest Blogs Week 6

Snack Time!

Judah is watching PBS, Hope is watching Judah. This might be the time she was on her last bite, and was watching to see if Judah was going to finish his. Oh, Hope.

32 WEEKS!

Big milestone. We're happy to be here.

This was the first week of having Liz, Judah, and Asher here to play with and talk to. It has been so good and fun. Liz sure is busy, and I truly appreciate her attitude of service. We hardly hear a peep out of Asher, but we really enjoy watching him and talking to him. It is really cute to watch Judah and Hope 'talk' to each other and play, all the while learning about sharing and adjusting to a new 'normal'.

Dr. appt.: This week I was sure my doctor was going to tell me to head to the hospital after my appt. I had been feeling an increase in contractions over the weekend, and was pretty concerned. She was satisfied with how things looked, and was not so worried. So, we're thankful for that. Believe it or not I've been doing even more to stay down this week since I've continued to dislike the amount of contractions. I've been eating many meals without going to the table, and I have stopped changing Hope's diapers and clothes.

Best: Beautiful weather this week!! We've had windows and doors open, and it cheers me right up. Another best: Time with the Smiths! Also, we had a visit from Debra this weekend! It was the first perfect day of spring. We watched out the window as someone moved out of a house, and watched as a lady lost her dog. Yes, we were all "Rear Window" on Saturday. We also watched a baby eagle. What fun Saturday was! Hope had a great time playing outside with Daddy too! She loves her some fresh air and running room. I'm glad b/c she also loves her some Goldfish snack crackers. :) My wonderful friend Stacy K came to visit on Saturday too. Wow, how fun to talk and talk and talk and catch up. I told her about following Jeff Probst on Twitter, and she forgot to tell me about India. :( Last Saturday can feel free to repeat itself over and over.

Worst: Can't complain! We're still here, and the baby's still growing; we are blessed.