Our Lovesong: 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...