Oliver is on the way....!!!!

Ok everyone....

We got the lung maturity test results back a lot earlier than expected and the little guy proved one more time that HE IS READY for the party to get started!!!!!

We got a positive result back and we will start induction in a little bit! AHHHHH! Right now we are moving out of my current Antepartum room and down the hall into a Labor and Delivery room.  They'll start me on Cytotec (the cervix softener) and then eventually move to Pitocin.  Like I've said, everything depends on how our little guy tolerates the contractions.  I'm going to be assigned a one on one nurse to make sure that everything is monitored very closely!  That makes me feel a little less anxious about everything!

Jesse and I are happy as can be that Oliver has so desperately proved that in his mind, he is ready for the world! I tell you what, he's done everything in his power to arrive early! We think he kicked out his sac (heheh), he passed his 8 point test with flying colors, and now he showed us his lungs are ready! Every goal we've had for him, he has accomplished!  God has been so good through all of this and has been the main reason why Jesse and I have been so at peace with everything! So, we are anxious now to meet our little son soon and can't wait to see this little determined boy! He sure wanted to make quite an entrance, we know that!

We appreciate all your prayers, love and support every day and feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends! xoxo

What's It Gonna Be?

Well this morning sure has been more of an eventful morning than most! :) I was woken up around 5:00 am to have my blood drawn.  Really? Why was it necessary to do that so early? Come on people! :)  I guess it's the hospital's protocol to do this about every 3 days to update your blood type should you need anything while in the OR.  Who knows why this was the first time they have done that since I was admitted, but oh well... I won't tell their boss! So, what a fun wake up call, hah!

Then around 7:30 am Dr. Eckel came in for his daily rounds and also to collect the amniotic fluid.  They had given me strict instructions to go to the bathroom around 5:00 and then not get up until they collected fluid so that it had time to "pool" and was easier to collect.  It felt like I was going in for my yearly exam...!!! I have to kinda laugh at the whole process because Dr. Eckel was so excited once he found that there was enough fluid.  I think I remember hearing him say, "We have fluid! Wow, it's been a long time since we've seen this amount of fluid!" Sorry for the details, but I guess it's those little things that make a Doctor happy! I was happy too, because they said it sometimes takes an hour to collect if there isn't very much! They sent that off to be tested for lung maturity and we'll get the results sometime this afternoon or tonight.  He and my nurse were thinking that we have a good chance of maturity based on the color of the fluid, so we'll see if they are right! If they are, then the fun and madness will start tonight! (Not gonna lie, it makes me a little anxious to think about...) Since our baby boy has some dips in his heart rate with contractions, they are going to be watching him and I very closely should the Cytotec start making me contract...  I guess there are people that deliver off Cytotec and don't even need the Pitocin! YIKES! It might be a long night! Things could start happening rather quickly if Oliver doesn't tolerate the contractions well... If needed, we could go into an emergency C-Section at a moments notice.  So, I know we don't know anything yet, but if you could say some prayers for our little guy should labor start, it would be so much appreciated! We know he's a tough little one, so that brings us much peace! If someone told me, "Lindsey, it will be hectic for a while but at the end of all this Oliver will be out and everything will be ok and he'll be a happy little clam," I would feel a bit more calm right now.  It's just the unknown of it all right now that scares me a bit! But, like I've mentioned before, I know that God has his hands in all of this and He will be hear right besides us to take care of everything!

Something fun is that my best friend since Kindergarten is going to be induced either today or tomorrow so there is a chance we might have birthday buddies! :) That would just be too fun if that happened! She hit the 40 week mark and never did I ever think it would be possible for her and I to be delivering so close together! :)

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but one of the cutest things and one of my favorites is that Oliver gets the hiccups all the time! I can feel them and then it's fun to turn up the heart monitor volume because you can hear them too! He probably gets them about 3-4 times a day! Little man is probably gulping the fluid in there...

I'll try to do a quick update later on (if I can) to let you know what the results show, but if not, I'll post as soon as I can! Much love to everyone!

Gonna party like it's my birthday...

This year will go down in the books as a birthday I'll never forget!!! Everyone did such a great job in making this special day as special as it could be in a hospital bed! Hah! Even though I wish I could have celebrated the day with my beautiful twin sister, maybe we can work that out another time! I sure did miss her though and am so blessed to share our special day with each other!

I started my day with a nice hot shower, and believe me people... Showers are a taste of Heaven to me these days! I even got new linens for my bed! Best present ever!!!  Jes had to work for a bit so I took it easy, squeezed in a little nap, our friends Rachel and Bran stopped by with some yummo cupcakes and then Jesse's mom Deb and his grandma came by to spend some quality time here. I took my birthday ride around the 2nd floor and then took another nap!!! Lying around is exhausting people!!! Then our friends Andres and Kobi brought us dinner from Oreganos and holy goodness was it good!!! It was weird cause while everyone was here I felt some cramping and the nurse asked me if I was feeling anything different. She said I was having a couple contractions and thought I should probably lie back on my side. Sure enough that helped a lot! Amazing how some excitement and a little fun can get me going... Sad, but true! Overall it was a great birthday full of lovely people, long distance calls, texts, and face time, and more time for little Oliver to stay nice and cozy in his temporary home! My birthday marked 32 weeks so that was our next big goal to get to and we did it!!! Thanks Little Oli for being a good boy and giving Momma a nice birthday! I was a tad nervous about sharing it with him (I would have loved it, but he just wasn't ready..) 

Cheers to 32 weeks and another great birthday!!!! 

I love this man more than I ever knew I could love someone!

Spoiled rotten!

One lucky lady! Thanks Andres and Kobi for making my birthday extra special! 

For Your Entertainment

When you order pizza and want to keep the extras... Save it in a specimen bag of course!

Our Little Oliver at 31.5 days

My sexy new attire... (Monitors are for contractions and baby's heart rate, leg compressions are for preventing blood clots.)

One of my wild wheelchair drivers

I think she wishes she were pregnant again... Oh Mom!

Room 2024 gone wild! Hey, ya gotta entertain yourself somehow, right? 

Jesse's new bed... Poor guy doesn't even fit on it.

Tomorrow is 32 weeks!!!! We're almost to our next goal! 

I Could Get Used to This!

Ok, so I have to admit that the first few days of being put on strict bed rest was tough mentally.  I doubted everything about myself! I thought there was no way I'd not go into labor soon, no way I could just lie in a bed in the same hospital room without going psycho, no way I could gather up my strength to deal with our new situation and on and on and on.... Well, I proved myself wrong and while at times I still feel like I am kinda going nuts, in the big picture of life, this ain't too bad! :) I know I'm in the best place possible for our little guy to be monitored 24/7 so I don't have to worry about him if I were sent home.  I have room service delivered whenever I want and a personalized snack menu just scheduled for me.  I have the luxury of having new/clean bed sheets every single day.. We have the most gorgeous flower and cookie arrangements in our room to enjoy and scarf down whenever I please, and Jesse is my "on call" foot massage therapist as needed!!!! Really? I have come to realize, I'm kinda getting spoiled and too pampered! Soon, once I deliver those things will probably be gone for a good while... I'll be going into full time Mommy mode, spending much of my day in the NICU for however long and waiting hand and foot on our sweet Oli boy! I'll probably be begging to be put back on bed rest here in a few months when I'm up all night looking like a crazy zombie walking around! So, life is good and I am more than at peace! It's amazing how I've gotten to that point in a week's time when I never thought that was possible! God is humorous, isn't He?

Ok, so update:

- I am 31 weeks and 5 days today! Woot Woot! Chuggin' along.. My baby bump is growing for sure! :)
- Everything has remained the same with Oliver, his heart rate, movement, and my vitals which means we are doing a good job staying away from that nasty infection we don't want!
- No contractions to very random contractions still
- Still leaking some fluid which is obviously still to be expected. BUT people, I am drinking close to 100 oz. of water a day! Doing my best to keep him swimming in there, I promise!
- Dr. Eckel said we will do the Vaginal Pool test on Monday to see whether or not we have lung maturity at that point.  If it's a yes, then let the fun begin.  He said there would be a high chance he would then start me on Misoprotol or Cytotec which is a cervix "ripener." It's given every 3-4 hours to prepare the cervix and then they will induce my labor with Pitocin.  So, that could all go down next week.  I have been preparing for that just in case! Obviously there is a chance his little lungs won't be mature in which case, I'm sure they'll let him cook for a bit longer, probably until 34 weeks (around August 9th) if there are no signs of infection.

So, I will keep everyone updated with anything new of course! Thanks so much for your continued prayers and love- our hearts are very full and we couldn't do this without our wonderful family and friends' support! We love you all! I'll post some fun pics later on to show you how we are getting into trouble around here and passing the time!

Fun Fact: I asked Dr. Eckel today how many babies he thinks he has delivered.. He said about 7,000!!!!!!! I know he's been down this road once or twice, don't ya think? :)

My daily encouragement: "Your imagination is like a canvas. You can paint on it any kind of picture you choose through your thoughts, attitudes, and what you decide to focus on. Don't let doubt or fear paint on your canvas. Don't let "impossible" or "can't be done" thoughts blur the colors on your canvas." - Joel Osteen

Just Like His Daddy...

So, we've made it to 31.3 weeks already! Hooray for taking it day by day and by baby steps.... literally!  We have gotten to start out our last 2 mornings with a visit from Dr. Eckel and the comforting words of, "You're baby is looking GREAT!" He stops by everyday to check in with us and touch base, which is to say the least, the most comforting part of the day! I can't tell you how much I love this Doctor!!!!  He sits right next to me on the bed and reassures me that everything will be just fine.   He is so patient, answers every single question we have and doesn't ever seem in a rush to get out of here.  In fact he spent about 30-40 minutes yesterday morning watching the British Open with Jes (even after spending 2 nights in a row at the hospital delivering babies)... HOW AWESOME is that? He told us that one of his patient's husbands was playing in it! Which of course got us curious and had us asking who? Well, Duh!!! HIPPA anyone? Poor guy was so awkward and couldn't respond, but did a great job avoiding it, hehe.  To say the least, I am so comforted in knowing that he is with us every step of the way until Oliver gets here!

 A couple new updates:

* I asked Dr. Eckel if Oliver's lungs were mature depending on the Vag. Pool test at the end of the week, would we deliver him or keep him in the cooker until 34 weeks if I remain infection free? He said that he will consult with a Perinatologist at that point because usually if they are comfortable knowing the lungs are mature, the risk of keeping him in there and getting an infection are much more worrisome than the benefits of staying in.  So, basically, it will all depend on the test results and then both doctor's say so.  If I'm not in labor, they would induce and there could be a chance we could meet Oliver in a week or so... We shall see!

* Today I had my ultrasound and they did an 8 point test.  Here is the breakdown on the points:

- 2 points for tone (muscle): They had to see him basically flex his arm forward to shown muscle tone
- 2 points for movement: They had to see him move his body :)
- 2 points for practicing breathing: They had to see his chest rise and fall and practice breathing for 30 seconds
- 2 points for amniotic fluid level: They had to see evidence that there is a good amount of fluid

I am a proud Momma and happy to report that our little guy passed with flying colors! They allow 30 minutes for the ultrasound in order to see everything but we were done in like 5 or 10!!!! I have to laugh because the first test he passed was muscle tone! Of course he was flexing his muscles, the kids' already had steroid shots!!!!!! And then everything else was seen/observed quickly after that.  Last Monday my amniotic fluid was measuring 8.9 cm and today it was 7.5 cm.  So, I was so happy to hear that there is still a normal amount of fluid level considering the fact that I have been leaking for a week.  The ridiculous amount of water intake that has been going on has been paying off I guess! I never realized that amniotic fluid is still being produced by his kidneys at this point and baby drinks what is in the sac and pees it out, and that process repeats over and over! Crazy, right? So, today was a happy and productive day, one to give so much praise to our AMAZING GOD for! This kid is determined, strong, and fearless just like his wonderful Daddy!

I have learned so much through this journey already and am so at peace right now that things are happening just the way that God planned them for our sweet boy.  It's amazing how many silly things worried me while being pregnant, and how our new reality has truly strengthened my mind, body and soul.  The saying, "Put your big girl panties on and deal with it" sure is a new motto of mine! I've put all those crazy little things on my "to do list" aside and realized how precious this little baby boy's life God has given us really is... I am so guilty of taking a healthy pregnancy for granted and wow has this experience matured me!

I came across this quote today and thought it was so appropriate for us right now:

"Our greatest and deepest wisdom is not given to us.  It is discovered as we experience the journey that is ours and ours alone to take." - Tami C. Gaines

Thank you to everyone who is praying, sending warm thoughts and wishes our way, and shows so much love for Baby Oliver! Whatever you all are doing, it's working and we are so grateful! XOXO

Keep on Keepin' On...

Our God is sooo good! It's been almost a week now since I was admitted into the hospital and everything has been staying stable and consistent, just what we are praying for.  I have to admit, when I came rolling in here Monday night I was so sure there would be no way I would make it for long.  Your first pregnancy is full of unknowns anyways, so when they told me that I was having random contractions, I thought things would progress very quickly! Considering that I have been here for 5 nights already, my days have surprisingly been going by fairly quickly! Never did I think it was possible to survive days in a row of being strapped to monitors and IVs, interrupted nights with nurses coming to give me antibiotics and taking my vitals, and passing time by watching movies, reading, talking and making trips to the bathroom.... Oh what fun! :) BUT the good news is that until today, I hadn't even stepped foot outside my room! Dr. Eckel gave me WHEELCHAIR RIDE privileges... Can you believe it? :) Yes, I can take two 30 minute rides everyday! Be still my heart! I was a whole new woman today!

The other thing we were able to do is tour the NICU tonight.  It's something that I wanted to do to prepare us for what will lie ahead, but knew at the same time that it would bring out some new emotions.  Surprisingly, we all held it together and it was more comforting to us than it was scary or sad.  It's a Level 3 NICU unit which is the highest level you could have in Arizona.  Full of Neonatologists, Respiratory Therapists, etc, these babies are in such great, loving hands! There are "pods" for 24 babies and every single nurse I met was just great.  There were a few Moms in there feeding their sweet little babies and all of them said, that it's just wonderful there and it becomes your home away from home.  One Mommy even let us meet her sweet boy Jace who was 31 weeks old, which is right where we are now! What a little God-given moment to be able to see what our sweet boy would look like should be be born soon.  Surprisingly, he was bigger than we thought, but of course still so tiny and way too precious.  We now have a better insight as to what we'll be dealing with after Oliver is born.  It will be an emotional roller coaster I'm sure, but I know God never gives us more than we can handle.

New updates/what's coming up:

* I am 31 weeks, 1 day today... Just truckin' along!
* Doc gave my nurse the go-ahead to take out my IV today which means I also didn't have to monitor/record how much I was going to the bathroom every time!!! :)
* I have very, VERY random and non-painful contractions still.  These are of no concern and I'm still not in labor.. Praise the Lord!
* I'll be getting another ultrasound on Monday to check the amniotic fluid levels.  Ultrasounds will be given every week or so.  Last ultrasound on Monday told us that Oliver weighed 3.14 lbs. so by now he's over 4 lbs.!!!!!! He's also in the 64th%. I guess he knew he would need to beef up a bit!
* I'll be on antibiotics for another couple of days and then will have to stop.  They only like to give antibiotics for about a week or so, because sometimes when you continue them you are at risk for "superbugs" or more serious infections caused by bacteria. But, of course with stopping antibiotics, the risk for infection also goes up... Not my favorite thing to hear of course!
* Dr. Eckel is pretty certain that if I make it till' 34 weeks (around August 9th) infection free, they will outright deliver Oliver at that time.  They'll induce labor if I haven't already started on my own and depending on how Oli does with the contractions, will depend on how I deliver.
* At 32 weeks (next Friday) or I think he will do it Thursday, we will do a Vaginal Pool test where they collect some amniotic fluid and test for lung maturity.  It will basically either be positive or negative.  If they find that Oliver's lungs are mature, then that will be the BEST DARN BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER! I'm sure they'll still leave him in there till 34 weeks, but at least we would know that his lungs are mature.  So, my prayer warriors, say some prayers for that! :) Sometimes little "white boys" my Doctor said are a little slower to develop full maturity in their lungs than girls.  Funny thing he also said is that in the NICU they are known as wimpy white boys because of that... Heheheh! I won't ever tell Oliver that though...

As I write this post tonight, I am so full of gratitude and feel so much love for my ridiculously amazing Jesse, our wonderful families, friends, Dr., and wonderful nurses...

Jesse has been the most calm, supportive, loving and patient husband through all of this.  He's had to find a way now to balance staying with me and keeping up with his work schedule, which I know hasn't been easy for him.  I can tell it's hard for him to leave in fear of something happening while he is gone.  When he is gone and I call him, he quickly answers with, "Babe..??? Are you ok?"  He has stayed here every night with me even though he barely fits of the bench seat/bed that is in our room. He gives me foot massages, helps me shower, puts lotion on my legs that I can't reach and pampers me all the time with little surprises.  He gets up with me every time to go to the bathroom just to make sure I'm ok and he is quick to go grab a nurse if there is anything I need or have a question about.  I couldn't be any luckier to be married to such an amazing man that will literally do anything for me (like dump my pee every time I go to the bathroom.) I'm sure a big part of my peace and comfort comes from knowing that him and I are in this together and there is NO ONE in the world I'd rather be by my side!

My Mom was able to come Thursday night to stay for a little while and she has just been the biggest help ever! There is nothing like having your Mom around when you are feeling like your world was turned upside down in a matter of minutes.  She has been staying with our puppies and taking good care of them.  I miss them so much already so it helps to know that they have her to love on while I'm gone! She has helped clean our house, made meals for us, grocery shopped, made Target runs to get me some super comfy clothes to lounge in and most importantly she has been such a good bed-side companion! :) I'm not the most exciting patient, but she just sits with me and helps me stay so calm! I am most thankful for her and her being here with us!

I'll leave you with a few pictures from today...

"Pace Yourself, Baby B" cookies from Mountain West Med.  ADORABLE! 

Hooray for making it to 31 weeks! 

Sprinkles Cupcakes always make things happy!

Essentials from Momma Oliver :)

Update on Sweet Baby Oliver

Hi Family and Friends,

For all of you who don't know what is going on, here is the breakdown! You know me, and I'm QUEEN of long posts, but I figured the more details on this one the better!  So, over the past week or so, I've been feeling a little pressure underneath my belly, but from what my Doc described, I would start to feel tightness there from the Braxton Hicks contractions, so of course I figured it was all good and I just went about my business! It was never bad pain, just almost feeling like he was really low and dropped or something! Anyways..

On Monday afternoon, we went to the pool after Jes got off work, laid out for awhile and then swam a few laps..  Felt great to swim and I was a happy camper! We left the pool and headed to the grocery store to pick some stuff up for dinner (hahahha little did we know)! It was weird because I had my bathing suit on still and felt like I was peeing a little. I figured I might just have a full bladder or something or the weight of little Oliver was putting more pressure on my bladder.   It was all good until I was looking for some mozzarella cheese (yes, I find the details necessary, hah) and Jes was over getting some ground beef.  I felt some "pee" come out and felt the need to hold my legs together and almost do Kegals because I couldn't hold it! So I thought it was strange and something (God) told me that wasn't quite right so I meandered on over to Jes and told him, "I think we have to go or I have to pee, or something.." So, he checked out, I peed in the restroom and all seemed and looked normal again.  The weird thing was I didn't pee a full bladder's worth, so that should have kinda told me something about feeling the need to pee so bad but not going too much! 

Jes was on me about calling my Doc, so I did and luckily he was the Doc on call out of the 5 he works with.   So, he told me it didn't seem like it was my "bag of water" but that it was strange that I didn't pee a whole lot.  He told me to head on over to the hospital just in case so they can check it out and monitor me just to make sure I wasn't contracting, or my water broke, etc.  I hung up and kinda got my first nerves that he even wanted me to go to the hospital!!  I even told Jes, "Should I take a shower just in case? What about packing a bag? A million things went through my head but I convinced myself I'd probably be sent back no doubt and to get over it, stop worrying!

Got to Shea Hospital, checked in and went back to Triage where I had a fabulous Nurse who took all my vitals, and then ran a swab test for amniotic fluid.  She came back pretty quickly and said, "Yup, your ruptured, so looks like you get to stay here with us!" OMG, what? Seriously guys, I thought she would say something like, "No, maybe it was just your bladder," or "go home and come back or something.." NOPE! SO, basically, I am here in the hospital on bed rest till this sweet little boy arrives. Oh what fun! :) 

So, here is where we are at.  I was immediately pumped full of antibiotics and will be for awhile.  Main concern is risk for infection obviously since I am leaking, so they are monitoring me like crazy (temp, baby's heart rate and contractions) and I am considered high risk now.  I'm almost to 31 weeks which is still very early obviously so they gave me 2 steroid shots in my butt to help his little lungs progress quicker. One was given Monday night, the other Tuesday night.  After Wednesday night I was considered "In the window" because at that point those steroids would be in full effect and helping Oliver's lungs.  They wanted me to make it to that window so he could benefit from those steroids.  I am not in active labor (which sounds crazy) but at this point, it's just my fluid (well obviously a very important part) but no consistent contractions that I feel yet.  I have some here and there, feel some tightening and pressure, but it's very random at this point and it's not painful.  My Doc did say today that they are noticing a bit of change in his heart rate when I do contract, so there may be cord compression.  That means that since there isn't as much fluid as normal, the cord can become compressed between his body and the uterus, while contracting.  They monitor this closely and any sign that he is in distress, they will deliver him.  Any sign of infection, they will deliver.  If I go into full blown labor, they will deliver.  My doc said that the cord could move around as he moves, so at this point we aren't worried necessarily, but rather it gives us good info.  Should I go into labor, they will monitor him very closely for drop in heart rate and an emergency c-section could be necessary.  Another way to look at it is, if he is having a little bit of deceleration with these inconsistent contractions, having one right after another might put him in a great deal of distress.  My goal is to keep him in here obviously as long as I can, the longer the better for him, should I remain infection free and he doesn't get too in distress. 

They did an ultrasound on me Monday night and he is head down (Praise the Lord) so in case things start happening, it's more of a possibility to deliver vaginally. At that time he weighed about 3.14 lbs and now is a little over 4 lbs. which is so good to hear! He is in the 64th % and has a strong heartbeat and everything else looks good! I had 8.9 cm of amniotic fluid between him and my uterus which is good considering I am ruptured.  I'll be getting an ultrasound every 4-5 days to check the fluid levels too. The crazy thing is that I still produce amniotic fluid and there is a chance the rupture in the sac could sort of come to a halt, but no matter what, I'll be staying in the hospital to be monitored.  

Obviously, there are so many thoughts running through my head right now because here we are in July and I was due in September! I have always had a funny feeling that he would be early, but come on... Not this early! I could go into labor or have to deliver as early as today, or I could be here for weeks.  I am almost positive that my Doc won't let me go past 34 or so weeks due to the rupture and increased risk of infection.  We have been seen by a Neonatal Doc and Peri Doc to talk about what things would be like should he come tomorrow, etc.  It's a lot to take in and right now my focus is staying positive, hydrated, stress-free and calm.  What will come will come and we will deal with whatever it is at that time. There are some things we'll have to deal with that I didn't necessarily foresee coming, but that's ok! I've come to realize that everything happens for a reason and God has His amazing hands in every situation.  He will take care of our Little Oliver and this is just a part of his grand entrance into the world! I knew from the beginning this little guy would give me some sort of grief! 

You know me, I still had a nice long list of things to do before I was planning on having Mr. Oliver here, but...!!!!! Hah, well, I'm just gonna have to get over that, right? My permanent home will be here for who knows how long- could be a week, could be a couple days, could be a couple weeks they said. As for Oliver, he'll be here for awhile... At least until his lungs are fully capable to breath on their own, he eats well, etc.  But, like I said, that's all too hard to gauge at this point... As long as everything will be ok with Oliver in the end, I will be ok and even though this is a very stressful time, it will all be worth it!  I'm telling you, he's already giving his Momma a run for her money! He's been a little stinker from day 1 (sticking his tongue out in the ultrasound, super active and kicks me  A LOT, etc.) How did I know he would? :) He's a happy little boy in there, but my prayers are just that he stays happy in there for awhile longer! 

I'm going to try my best with Jesse's help to keep you all updated on how things are progressing, so check back in from time to time :) We are asking for your prayers to keep our little boy happy and healthy in there for as long as we can! We appreciate all your love, support and sweet words and know that our wonderful God is so good and faithful! 

Our love to everyone!

At least being on bed rest means you get waited on! :)