Day 11

This was Keifer seeing Kyla again for the first time in about a week.

Mama's girl snoozing on her chest
so precious and tiny

Well, mama and daddy spent time with Kyla angel girl yesterday and again, mama had a hard time leaving. However , Nana Di and Papa Dale were able to stay and give her the 5PM feeding. I'm glad that she got to experience more family members that love her so. CJ and I enjoyed a night with our girl until Papa & Nana came back home.

We were blessed with more food from more friends- from church and my work. My co-worker/friend Nicole brought her 4 year old Joseph with her, and of course, she made it to my blog (*hee hee*). Keifer was overjoyed to see a smaller person in her house, so she was hugging him and initiating play with Joseph. K got a little rowdy and ended up cracking her nose on either the floor of her ball pool or Joseph's leg -either way, the poor boy was traumatized when K had a gushing bloody nose all over. In the midst of this, Mama was crying again (hormones!), so Nicole and Joseph had quite the experience dropping a meal off for us! LOL. K was OK- just a bloody nose- but I think that was her first one so far! Mama does NOT handle blood very well ( I get lightheaded seeing it), so CJ had to take care of that.


Calling into the hospital this AM, I was told our girl has gone up to 6 lbs 3 ounces today and actually took her WHOLE 11PM FEEDING! *happy happy joy joy*. The nurse said she's coming along, as they all do, but this is very promising news. I am so tired and emotional and still experiencing that heartache feeling, so I NEED to have my second angel girl home with me soon. For my sanity and CJ's!

Kisses

Keifer giving her baby sissy kisses through the window :)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

That's my baby sister!

Right before I took this video, Keifer was screeching and said, "that's my baby sister!" so excitedly it made mama cry. Imagine that!



Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Kyla's day 11 + video clips.....

Day 11 of Kyla Whitney - and she's still on that roller coaster. She has improved in her sucking reflex very much: she has a great "hold" on the bottle and is continuing to start out very vigorously at each feeding. She went from 40+ cc's last night, to 15 for us today. Blah. The good news is that she's back to her original birth weight- at 6 lbs 1 ounce. So that is good. My joke is that once her little cheeks get chubby, will we recognize her? (ha- huge joke as she is the spitting image of her big sissy and daddy). The nurse today commented on how much she looks like her daddy (as well as everyone else who sees them together).

Mama is having an emotional day. Today, I've been walking around with this awful ache in my chest - literally "heart ache". We had lunch in the cafe/gift shop today, and there was a group of women and their hubbies, on break from a birthing class. My PG belly at this point would've rivaled all of theirs- and I found myself subconsciously patting my bloat where Kyla used to be. I felt instantaneously sad and couldn't put it into words to let CJ understand. I don't think men will truly understand the feelings ever. Not that he isn't supportive - but it's too hard to comprehend. To him(them?) I'm just hormonal, right?

Anyhoo, enjoy some video clips from when CJ and I were at the hospital late on Thursday night and got to watch Kyla enjoy her bath: CLICK HERE.

I also have some great new clips to upload of Keifer being "reunited" with her baby sister (through the glass window) at the nursery today. Yes, mama was bawling again. And.....our big sissy got her hair trimmed and bangs CUT! YAY! She looks adorable!

10 days old

Kyla did GREAT today with her feedings- of course the one day I didn't get to see her until 3:30 PM and only stayed for one feeding. My heart, my heart! I miss her so!! I have her smell on me from holding her for the few hours CJ and I were there with her, and I keep smelling it, my heart in pieces that she is not with us. But she will be, soon, I know!

She has been taking (on average) about half bottle and half tube since last night's feeding! Then, at 2PM today, she took 50cc's out of 55 by bottle! YEE HAW! When CJ and I arrived, she was sleeping, so I sat next to her and read while she slept. I hope she can "feel "that I 'm there with her. CJ and I were allowed to take her (again) to the family lounge to eat and boy, was she ANGRY with us!! LOL. She got very upset and VOCAL when we changed her diaper and the nurse checked her vitals, which made me SO happy! Someday I'll be complaining about a screeching child (hopefully) but.....today, it made me smile. Her screeching means that her lungs are getting stronger.

Unfortunately, the strength didn't last as long this particular feeding. She only took 16 for me and her daddy, before she passed out. But, she took a lot today on her own, and she started out with great gusto, so the sucking IS coming along.

We just continue to pray and hope that soon, this hardship will be a distant memory.

Keifer was overjoyed because my parents picked her up from Elaine's house. Apparently she ran straight to her Papa Dale's arms with joy. They made her day even more complete by hitting Cub Foods where she got to ride in her favorite "Car seat" (the carts with steering wheels), and then they had a great night of eating and bath time. K1 (Keifer) was squealing with joy when daddy and I came home and she insisted that mama read to her good night.

As I was sitting in the rocker, while K was drifting off to sleep, I was imaging how our bedtime routine will be changing when Miss Kyla graces us with her presence at home. Oh, how I look forward to that time.

9 days old!

A great big THANK YOU to my friend Courtney, who was an angel yesterday. She drove down with baby Aidan to pick me up and haul my C-sectioned butt up to the hospital to spend the afternoon with Kyla. She also dropped off a delicious meal for the freezer, complete with brownie cake treats (oye, Courtney, mama don't need THAT! LOL). Daddy is getting burned out from all the running around we have to do (since I cannot drive yet), and I needed some rest, so I slept in and spent the afternoon/evening with Kyla. Daddy dropped Keifer off after daycare with Auntie and Uncle, and he and I were able to do the 8PM feeding together- which hasn't happened since I was in the hospital.

Our Kyla girl was very alert yesterday- which makes me hopeful that a change COULD be coming soon. The nurse gave her a bath, and went over all the steps with us, since it has been a few years since we've bathed an infant (and a small one at that!). It was so fun to watch our girl get bathed, and the wonderful nurse also let us take her into one of the family lounge rooms to 1)bathe her and then 2) feed her minus any type of monitors!!! I think the scenery change did Kyla good: she was alert and looking all over the place the whole time and took 44cc's!!!!! Of course, she still needed the remaining CC's in the tube, but wow, we were impressed. The nighttime report was also positive: at 2AM, our girl drank almost 40 on her own, and then the 5AM she only did 20. But, she's moving along.

I'm off to nap here this AM - I just helped get K1 (Keifer) out the door to daycare, with Daddy off to work. I will nap for the AM, and then daddy is picking me up during his lunch to bring me to the hospital. My parents are coming down again, will pick up K1 at daycare, and bring her home for dinner. We'll get home in time to put her to bed- we try to at least put her to bed these days, since her life is about to get upset by the new sissy.

Thank you for the continued prayers and support- and thanks to our Pastor Joy, who came again to visit yesterday, and spent an hour and half holding a sleeping Kyla and just chatting with me. It was so very nice and peaceful, and Kyla clearly loved it, too, as she was out cold! :)

How is Keifer doing lately?

Keifer has been amazing through the last week and half. Being that I'm an emotional wreck and drained, she is doing wonderfully. She had lots of attention last week during the birth week from both sets of Nanas and Papas, and then this weekend, her and Daddy were best pals. They spent most of Sunday shopping and eating out, and having fun taking pictures with daddy's IPhone.

She gets anxious at nighttime and insists that one of us sit in the rocking chair in her room until she falls asleep, and wakes up early crying out for me ("mama!"), but I think that has to do with her lack of understanding of what the big changes are that are going on around her.

She does know, as I'm mentioned before, that mentioning mama + hospital + Kyla = "Mama, you sad? You crying, mama?". She is too smart for her own good. I just keep reassuring her that I love her so much, and that she makes me so happy and makes me smile so big. I also tell her that mama is sad because we have to leave Kyla at the hospital to get better so she can come home to be with us. She "seems" to get all excited when we tell her that she will have her baby sister home with us.

cuddles with daddy on the couch

Keifer and "her" baby Kyla in their car seat
Daddy took our girl out to eat on Sunday while mama was at the hospital- they had lots of fun with the camera! *and yeah,our girl needs a bang trim BAD*

yeah, cheese grin

this was Keifer as I was frantically getting ready to leave for the hospital- doing her "nails" and pulling ALL the dental floss out of the case- Nice.

Napping with Daddy

Cuddles with daddy on Friday when mama was still in the hospital

Monday- playing at my friend Allison's house - I love this picture!

having an afternoon snack with Christian and Jackson

...and Keifer, 2 days before mama had Kyla: showing off HER baby bump.

8 days old

Here is our girl yesterday- at 7 days old, upon my arrival at the hospital. She had burped up some nasty leftovers from her previous feeding -but the onesie was so cute on her and so true: our angel girl (2).

Kyla Whitney is 8 days old today, and status quo on the feeding issues. I spent most of the day at the hospital that past 2 days, and she is a very tired girl. She feeds every 3 hours - so she eats at 8, 11, 2, and 5. Some feedings, she'll suck for anywhere from 5-15cc's, and her goal for each bottle is 55 cc's. So, the remainder of what she doesn't finish is done through her tube. One ounce = 30 cc = 30 ml.

Today, she barely wanted to wake up for us. We are still being reassured that things are OK; she is healthy and will wake up for brief periods here and there, but they are OK if she refuses to even attempt to suck, and let her feed through the tube. Gestationally, she's still only 37 weeks (tomorrow) so we have to wait it out until her little self decides its time to wake up and really EAT!

And, mama is proud. NO tears today (yet). I ache when my arms aren't able to hold my girl whenever I want, but I know she is in the best place, and really, things could be a lot worse for her. For now, she is always in my thoughts every second of the day.

Wordless Wednesday: Part 2: Shopper in training *aka "heaven, she's in heaven"*

FYI: we were at Petco (I've had several questions as to where this is :)

Wordless Wednesday: Part 1: Let's hope this doesn't happen to the REAL baby sister!

Kyla's tube + more pics from today

OK- so here's the story of Kyla and her tube:

Kyla is slowing down in her feeding. The past 3 days, she has continued to LOSE weight, not gain it. The past 2 days, she has had an NG tube (click on for information), which supplements the rest of the formula that she isn't able to take in the bottle. Our girl started out eating strongly her 2nd or 3rd day, but has since slowed down. She just doesn't have the stamina to finish a bottle. As you know, I've been a weepy mess, and hearing this news makes me even weepier. She needs to eat more, so they keep upping her goal of how much to take in at each feeding. However, she keeps eating less, and so they keep having to supplement MORE through the NG tube, which to me, makes the goal that much harder to get to. (*sigh*). The doctors and nurses are fantastic there in the Special Care nursery, so we count our blessings she has a great team working with her.

Here are some pictures from today of Kyla with the tube today. Here is a video clip of her feeding as well. The other thing that worries me is that she doesn't really cry like most babies. She is so very passive, it worries me. Babies NEED to cry to develop strong lungs and muscles, so I encourage her to get mad and cry whenever I see her. Of course, someday I know I'll live to regret saying that, right? Hopefully. Here's praying for Kyla and her continued eating.......

Daddy feeding his K2 girl- she was actually smiling off and on (yes, probably gas, but she was pretty darn alert today with her daddy!)

A picture of daddy holding Kyla & then the tube to her feeding machine- hard to see it, but it's on the edge of the counter, with the very thin tube from Kyla attached.

Our girls gets so worn out eating.

Mama holding our girl's feet. They make me smile- they seem SO big for a baby- with the longest toes ever. I call her legs "old man legs" because they are so wrinkly and skinny- they didn't have time to be completed with the fatty deposits!!

A big thank you goes out to my friend Allison, who took in Keifer along with her own 3 1/2 year old and 2 year old. Keifer (and mommy and daddy) were a bit hesitant about dropping her off, but once she climbed the swing set and slid down their slide in the backyard, we had lost our daughter to fun times. She had a blast, and Allison had a great report that Keifer did wonderfully with them all day. Keifer also requested a nap (unheard of in this house!!!!!!!) from Allison, and slept great for her. Wowza.
Afterwards, K1 reported to us that she was on the swing on her tummy, she kicked a ball, she played with cars, airplanes and "pushed a button". Oh, and she also went pee pee for Allison like a big girl. Of course, she had some meltdowns for us when she got home, but that's what we get,right?

My last belly shot

Being that tomorrow, it's been one week since my sudden C-section, I realized that my birthday belly shot of me PG with Kyla was my last belly shot. In our rush to get to the hospital to get the baby out, we completely blanked on taking one last picture of my baby belly. This makes me very sad. I'm so very sad that it was so damn difficult to even GET PG, and now I'm sad that I wasn't able to savor every last minute of my PG with Kyla. Yes, I was miserable with her inside me the last few days, but I was still thankful and blessed to be able to feel her inside me. I just keep walking around tonight, saying "I can't believe it's been a week tomorrow, I can't believe it". Wow.

I'm almost angry (*or is it jealousy?*) that she isn't inside me, growing and developing on a more "typical" track. I now know the feeling that I've heard about from other moms of "preemies", but wasn't able to relate to before. But I know I'm also very blessed that she is here and alive and although she's having issues eating, she is breathing on her own and has a stabilized temperature, along with no infections. So many ups and downs in the past week here in our home. I just wish Post-Partum hormones weren't so damn hard to deal with. I think I could've watered our lawn with the amount of tears I've been shedding since I had to leave our angel girl in the hospital on Saturday.

Here is my last belly shot - and here is Keifer from that same weekend, showing off HER baby belly that Daddy helped her create.

Kyla in pictures

Meeting my girl for the first time!

with daddy! I remember thinking: "she looks like a little doll!"

Daddy cutting the cord

Our girl needed to be under the oxygen for about an hour post- birth
Mommy reunited with Kyla at 5AM - about 6 hours after having her (notice my sweat in my hair? Lovely hormones....) Here she was in her heated bed.... and with her IV's that supplemented her fluids and glucose levels for the first 2 days.

..but she eventually got switched to a 'regular crib" - no heat needed (thank goodness)

Ohh! Is she an Elf?

Mommy loves her girl SO much

Strawberry girl
Daddy is pretty keen on her, too

Don't forget big sissy at home!
Trying to get Keifer to wear the mask : otherwise she can't be in the nursery
It didn't last long that day...so this is the next day- seeing Kyla through the windows- her first reaction to Kyla!
and seeing Daddy is a highlight, too!

I have more pictures, but am exhausted and going to bed.....thanks for the support and prayers...she's still in the Special Care Nursery. As of this AM (Sunday) she had lost another ounce, and was on the Gtube for supplementing the feeding she doesn't finish. Our girl just needs to work on her stamina with eating.....until then, we'll be visiting her daily....

Home again, home again

Home again, but without Kyla.
Mama's heart is in pieces. I've been a weepy mess since 4PM - knowing the 5PM feeding was my last until I had to leave my K2 girl overnight alone without us.
I spent the feeding sniffling into my girl. She was so sweet- cooing to me and all alert, looking me right in the eyes, as if to say "I love you, too, mama".

Daddy and Keifer picked me up and we all said our goodbyes to Kyla- Keifer through the glass. She was perplexed as to why mama was so sad, but very happy to have me home.

We'll be back to the hospital tomorrow- just not sure how we're going to work it- I don't want to let Keifer feel like I'm abandoning her and always gone, and don't want CJ to have to do ALL the work with her. But, what to do?

Kyla has improved her last few feedings- but if she doesn't gain more weight by tomorrow (she lost another ounce today) she will have to have the Gtube inserted into her nose to supplement what she is eating. *sniff*.

I'm off to bed- will upload pics tomorrow when more energy is stored up. Check out facebook if you're a "friend" of mine- I have pics up there.

Friday Night Kyla/Mama Update:

Well, Mama gets to go home tomorrow (Saturday) after living in the bubble called the hospital.

Kyla has been making improvements all around, with a few set backs today.The week has flown by- and I thought I'd share a Kyla update with you.Our girl was on an IV - of glucose something? - up until last night. They were hoping she could come down out of the special care nursery after she was weaned (into my room!!!) , but alas, this AM I was told that our girl had lost "90 grams" - and is down to 5 lbs, 13 ounces, and so they want her to stay one more day in the nursery.

The IV did come out but the weight drop made them nervous.She is also not eating as well as she had been the last 2 days and is more "gaggy" today (as well as super sleepy). She started looking more jaundiced, which is appropriate right around 3 days, which she 'll be tonight. So she is on track for everything, but has encountered a bit of a "lull" - which is totally normal, from what the nurses and Ped. say. They said the red blood cells in her system, because of the jaundice, are causing her to be so sleepy. Her lungs seem OK.

So we'll find out Saturday how Kyla is doing. Mama will go home, but maybe without our girl :( It makes me sad, but at the same time, we are thankful that it isn't anything too serious for keeping her back. She isn't in the 'NICU" - the Level 2 is a step between the regular nursery and NICU- but still, she could be worse off, and she's been doing well. **she's also been filling her pants regularly, which is great!

**Keifer Lynn didn't want much to do with her on Wednesday but was more open about peeking through the window at her yesterday. At home, she apparently talks about "Mama holding Kyla" - so she's coming around, and Chris spent most of yesterday and all night at home with her. She's been in hog heaven with first Papa Dale & Nana Di spending time with her, and now Papa Jim & Nana Marge spent the day with her. She is going to be SO off her routine - oh boy!

Drophot video links are loaded, and we have to upload more pics....I'm unable to upload my pics here at the hospital, however, if you are a friend of mine on Facebook- you'll be able to see a few of the pics that CJ tagged for me of Kyla :)

Thank you for the continued prayers and support!

Kyla is HERE!

BIG NEWS! Our angel girl #2- Kyla - decided to make her debut last night- Tuesday, May 19! Um, shock!

I have been having issues getting into blogger via the internet access here at the hospital. I'll copy the post I was able to just do on Facebook with our story - but I'm having issues with posting pics of our beautiful angel of a girl- just know she looks almost exactly like Keifer did at birth- just a smaller "doll like" version!

You can see some dropshot video clips on our side bar ----->HERE

Here is the "story" I posted on Facebook:

Hello all- well , here is a rambling version (forgive me, I'm exhausted!) of our Soup baby #2's arrival at 35 weeks and 5 days!I thought that I might be leaking amniotic fluid late Sunday night. I was able to get into the doc on Monday AM, but was told it was not amniotic fluid, and also we found out baby K2 was breech.I went back on Tuesday the 19th in the PM at 4 for my regular OB weekly appt,w here Dr K determined it was amniotic fluid! She said to pack a bag and head to the hospital for my Csection that night!

I rushed home (in tears of nerves and worry), and rec'ed a call en route from Dr K that we were being bumped from the hospital near us up to Methodist, due to overflow of laboring mamas!

I went home, rushed around w/Keifer trailing me, and some wondering puppies. We waited for Uncle Corey to come pick up Keifer, who would watch her until my parents got down to our house from Duluth! Chris and I hopped in the car and drove thru rush hour and were at the hospital around 6:30ish, where they were also becoming quite full of laboring mamas! En route, I also started having contractions of my own!

We ended up having to wait for the doc to be available - and 2 women were in line before me. We sat around for about 4 hours, and I have to say, the nurses were fantastic and fun- keeping us updated on what the plans for the Csection were, etc. Finally, we were ready!

I went into the OR, with the wonderful nurses, and docs. Chris had to wait until the last minute so they could prep me. I ended up getting sick and throwing up about 3-4 times? from the spinal meds they used to block me- when my blood pressure dropped, I threw up what little stuff was in my tummy. Not feeling very glamorous! However, I didn't even REALIZE they had started the Csection until they were almost done- that' s how different this was from Keifer's! I also loved that the doc commented on my ab muscles being "very tight" - YAY!

At 11 PM on the dot, Kyla Whitney arrived into the world, butt first! I got to see her for a few seconds, then they rushed her to the next room for vitals, and cleaning, etc., Chris got to go with he. She apparently had fluid in her lungs, and would go to the special care nursery until that clears up. Within a few hours, this little girl would become so strong and is proving that she is a little strong fighter! She had to be under an oxygen bubble for a little over an hour, but has been breathing with no assistance since around midnight!

Our girl was 6 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches long- even at such an early time- imagine if she had gone full term? oye!

I was cleaned up, stitched up, etc, and immediately wheeled to our room- so fast! I ended up getting the shakes SUPER bad from the meds, hormones, etc., and was finally able to eat something after not eating since lunchtime 12 hours earlier. Again, the nurses were great, and got me anything I needed, while CJ went back and forth to the special care nursery to take care of our girl Kyla.I wasn't able to sleep ALL night, I was so jacked up on meds and adrenaline and love for this little angel girl of ours.

Around 5 AM, I surprised my nurse by asking to get up and walk! I was wheeled down to the nursery where I got to see our girl again for much longer! She is beautiful- a little mini - Keifer at birth! She was apparently doing even better and sleeping when we were there. Her eyes are beautiful - they just gaze at your when you talk to her and she definitely is a "soup family" baby - with her looks! She appears to have a dimple on her right cheek! :)

At 11 AM our girl took her first bottle- like a champ! :) She has since been eating regularly- not much-but sucks down the milk like a pro! She had her bath and is now resting while mama finally calms down to rest! :)

Mama will get to go home on Friday but Kyla most likely will not-- we're not sure of her timeline- it depends on her size and lung situation......Will post pics soon -- the Internet access here at the hospital is being tricky but Chris found a little loop hole here to get on quick to post these notes.

Thank you for ALL the support- we really appreciate it and so thankful to be blessed by so many friends and family who care so much about us all -Love to you all!!

And remember....dropshots!

Oh, what a night.....*breech,baby,breech*

..I'm tired today. Tired, tired, tired. Forgive this post for being a ramble and maybe not making much sense.

So -- Keifer has been regressing lately. She pretends to be a baby when she is with me - complete with fake crying and wanting me to hold her the long way (like a baby) across my chest, which is near impossible with the size of my tummy. Poor Kyla. Going to bed was finally getting really easy with her and then last week, something switched and she's been back to a total nightmare. Screaming bloody murder, sobbing, screaming for me, etc.. once she's put in bed. Ugg. My heart. So, nap time and bed time have NOT been fun. She even has begged me to get back into the crib, but we tell her it's for her baby sister that will be here soon. Saturday, as she sat on the floor sobbing, she told me "me no like baby sister". *my heart*.

Last night, CJ had softball so it took me close to an hour to get her down for bed. Then, around midnight, he woke me up to tell me that Treble was having a seizure. *sob sob sob*. Treble has had 3 seizures now in the past year, that we've known about (witnessed). Last night's was a total fluke that we even saw this happen. You would've thought someone had told me the house was on fire- that's how fast I jumped up and ran to him in his bed, where he lay shaking/seizing. Poor guy. When he was done, he got up and went outside with CJ, and seemed OK. *sigh*. After this, I realized that my PJ bottoms were really wet. I went to the bathroom, where my pink spotting was turning into more of a red, streaky spotting, and my undies and PJ bottoms were completely soaked through with clear fluid. I started to panic - thinking this might be amniotic fluid?

Then, around 4AM or so (?) Keifer woke up sobbing, screaming, etc., so CJ got her and brought her into bed with us. Not a good idea, but we were exhausted. The thing is, when she comes into bed with us (which is rare) she has to be pretty much RIGHTONTOPOFME. I had my back to her, and she had her head pushed as close to me as possible, with her feet against daddy. It was almost comical, because CJ was snoring, and Keifer kept saying "Daddy, no talking!". "Mommy, daddy tooted!" (snorted), etc. etc. LOL.

This AM, I got in the car, called my OB direct line, called the nurse line, and eventually got a call back from the OB on call. He wanted me to come in right away, so I brought K to daycare. When I got daycare, Elaine told me the horribly sad news that her father, who has been in the hospital- his kidneys shut down and it is just a matter of days before he passes. I am so sad for her.

I also very quickly stopped at work to alert everyone of my wherabouts, and to let the team know that I would not be making it to the 2 scheduled transition meetings I had this AM. Oye.

I got down to my OB office, they squeezed me in, and my dear Addie checked me out - after they had to have me lie on my back with my hips propped so they could get a "pooling' of fluid to sample. She also did an internal, and alas, I'm only a fingertip dilated and OH MY GOSH I forgot how painful it is to get internals! OWIE!

Good news: the fluid was not amniotic fluid, but if it gets worse, I'm to call and go back in. I also have my regularly scheduled check up tomorrow afternoon, which I'll keep. The other news (bad?): Kyla is BREECH. Addie wheeled in the portable U/S machine to confirm it, and there it was, clear as a bell- her head is still upwards. No wonder I'm having so much difficulty walking from pressure/cramps. The girl has her feet pushing out towards my pubic bone! I asked Addie if she thought I'd make it until my June 11 scheduled Csection, and she said probably not.

After this, I made it back to work, where I am now, and have kids this afternoon. I'm going to try to "lay low" as much as possible. Now it is a waiting game. Waiting to see what my body continues to do and what Miss Kyla decides to do inside me. Also, deciding what to do about Treble, our beloved Tboy. Do we get him on the anti-seizure meds- but not knowing how often he really DOES seizure? Ugg. My heart is so sad for him. And, my prayers are going out to Elaine and her family right now.......

35 weeks on my 35th birthday!

Growing, growing.......

Happy birthday to ME, tomorrow (Sunday!)

Here I am in my 35 1/2 week PG glory (on my 35th birthday!)--- loving every second that my girl is inside me thriving away, but also wishing she was being much nicer to mama than she has been lately.

I've been spotting since Wednesday night (late) off and on. It comes and goes. Apparently, this can happen when your cervix starts to stretch and dilate, and blood vessels pop. This never happened with Keifer's PG, so it was worrisome to me initially, but now *eh* -oh well. I also have been crampy - like AF cramps- off and on - and am having MUCH more difficulty walking at this early stage of the game. It literally takes me a minute to motor through the action of getting up and moving, and then I move like a slug!

I have been lying around all weekend, as it seems the more I move, the more I cramp and spot. So.....with only 3 weeks left of work and 8 days left of kids, the question remains: will I make it?

For my birthday, CJ and I were lucky to have my parents in town since Thursday night to help with Keifer. Last night, we had some burgers at Red Robin (thanks to my free coupon for MY cheeseburger), and tonight, they watched K while CJ and I had a low key date.

Imagine this: there I was at Red Robin, hitting the bathroom for the 50th time of the day, and realized I was spotting yet again. I get my mom, and there we are, in the big stall, examining my "spotting" to figure out: was it red or pink? Ahhhh , being PG - you lose all sense of modesty! LOL

CJ and I enjoyed dinner tonight at Red Slobster (the cheese biscuits are my downfall) and we went to see the new Star Trek movie. We've been hearing such rave reviews about it, we decided why not. I'm sooooooo not a "trekkie" fan, but found it was enjoyable. Not the best movie out there, in my opinion, but enjoyable enough, and it was nice to spend time relaxing with my sweet hubby, kicked back, snacking, and holding hands :)

My parents took Keifer on her favorite excursion while we were on our date: shopping! Then, they had dinner out and picked up a birthday cake for mama. Apparently Keifer told my mom that it's HER birthday, not mama's, so we'll see how she does when it's time for me to blow my candles out tomorrow on the yummy cake!

As for my PG, Babycenter.com tells me: How your baby's growing:Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Lots and Lots to Post about....

...with Mother's Day being this past weekend, lots of Nana & Papa visits (both sets!), and the big news that I've hit 35 weeks.
Oh : I woke up at 1 AM last night spotting- *gulp* - I'm still spotting this AM so will be calling my OB this AM - I'm going to work but getting nervous that Kyla may be wanting to meet her big sissy sooner than later!?

Pics and updates all to come soon! I promise! (*I've just been soooooooooo lazy/tired/exhausted!*)


*** UPDATE:***

The nurse doesn't think I need to come in since 1)it's just pink spotting and not red and super duper heavy and 2) no contractions yet. I'm at home now , resting, since I barely slept last night and still spotting, but still not super duper heavy or red. I have some cramping, so maybe my body is starting to adjust to getting the baby out sooner than later? We shall see...........off to kick my feet up!

Wordless Wednesday: Reading with my Papa & Nana(s)

I know it's a "Wordless" post, but the drama in this girl's face when she reads and tells stories is priceless!