Prayers for our Miracle, Please....

OK. Breathe. Deep breaths. OK.

X-posted on my mommy boards...

I haven't posted in a while (I know - BAD mommy-blogger...), but I'm kinda freaking. Had my 36 week check with the MWs. I was scheduled for an U/S, NST, and regular appt, all mostly b/c I'm an older mom.

This was possibly the most stressful appt I have EVER had, in all my years of carrying babies. First, I had to wait in line to check in (which NEVER happens at this office), so I was like 10 minutes late getting started. The u/s tech even called the receptionist while I was in line, but I still had to wait....So we go in for the U/S, and the tech is confused as to why we're even doing this (for measurements, growth, and fluid levels), b/c everything in my chart is so perfect. She's about to go ask the mw if it's what they ordered, nut then reads the chart more closely (i'm an elderly 39). And reassures me that everything should be fine, it's just a precaution, b/c I'm older. So she gets it going, and right away, we have a problem. Wee One has decided to flip from head down & anterior, to transverse breech. The head is just below my right ribs. I start freaking, now. Still am, as a matter of fact. But she goes ahead with all the measurements, and once again, everything is measuring PERFECTLY for dates. Perfect amt of fluid, and she estimated weight at 6.5 lbs (although I take that w/a large grain of salt). But so far, I think, smaller than my last DC. We did get some good pics of the face. Little chubby cheeks already... The tech assured me that everything looked perfectly normal, except for the position, and sent me back to the waiting room.

Waited for a while longer, and then they came and got me for the NST. Which was, oxymoronically, VERY stressful. First of all, I have an anterior placenta, so it took her like 10 minutes to find a good HB spot to trace. She started to get worried (different tech), and asked me if I'd had an u/s recently. I answered, "Yes, this morning - about 20 minutes ago." I explained how the baby was lying, and she FINALLY found a good spot. HB nice and steady, in the 140s. But Wee One was asleep. And wouldn't wake up, no matter WHAT we did. 1 cup of water, a pkg of David's gummies (nice and sugary) and the buzzer - no luck. Maybe I have a good sleeper! She called the mw over, after like 25 minutes of baby napping, and they discussed something in the next room - couldn't hear what. At this point, I'm like REALLY upset, all the worst case scenarios are racing through my mind... Sending me over to L&D, and b/c the baby's not head-down..... Serious stress. Serious. So the mw finally comes in the room, and buzzes the poor, sleeping beab again. Nothing. We wait more, and FINALLY, it starts to wake up. I started to push on my side (I'd been doing that, but hadn't had a reaction until now). HB starts to react, and they leave me for 10 more minutes. Finally, I get the ok that they've seen enough, baby looks fine. After ALL THAT.

They start to send me back the the waiting room, but the NST tech must have seen my face, and has mercy on me, and lets me go right into a room (there was an open one). I had to pee (after all that water...), and settled back in the room. The mw comes back after about 5 more minutes, and goes over everything with me. After talking to me, she's not to concerned about the baby's position, b/c it has flipped 3 times in a month, now, and obviously, still has room, and isn't wedged in anywhere. She wasn't too gung-ho on doing an external version, b/c the anterior placenta (in the front) makes it more dangerous. But she did say that, although she didn't recommend it professionally, knowing what she knows, she wouldn't be opposed to my trying labor with a breech baby, as long as it was in a favorable breech position. The only caveat is that many younger OBs aren't trained in breech deliveries anymore (they just go straight to a c-section), and if complications arose.... But she was content to wait it out, and see what happens.Measured 35 weeks, and lost a pound from last week, although it was a different scale - I think I was the same, according to mine at home. Got the GBS test (lovely thing, that...), so I should get that back next week.

So, LONG story short, baby looks fine, perfect, in fact, except for being not head-down. I'm still kinda stressed - Brian has been trying to talk me down all day. PLEASE send all your prayers, PTs, and baby-turning vibes my way. I'll be religiously reading and following all the advice at spinningbabies.com. Again. It could be worse, I know. A c-section is not the end of the world. I know that, too. Kinda.

Thanks for getting this far.

Our miracle in progress...

OK, so I said I'd be better about posting more often. Ummmm - apparently, not so much... *red face* It's amazing how busy the summer can get, even when you're not really doing anything...

But last Friday was a red letter day of sorts in our house. We got to see our Wee One for the first time! Yes, we had the big u/s. And NO, we didn't find out what we're having. Besides the fact that it's only one baby. :~) Everything looks perfect. Measuring right on for dates, resting heartbeat in the high 160s, for anyone who's interested. Such a relief, b/c I'd been truly nervous about that for a while. Because of lots of things that have happened (both to us and to those we love), I now know that healthy babies don't just happen. Each one is a true miracle. And I am truly thankful that at least for now, we have our own miracle - for the 6th time. What a blessing. And one that I no longer take for granted.


Here's a sneak preview of Wee One - profile shot... (excuse the crookedness - scanned pic...)



I just cannot wait to meet our newest little blessing. Is it November yet??????

The Top 10 Things I Learned While on Vacation

Having just returned from 10 days of visiting my husband's family in various parts of WV, I thought I'd share some of the tidbits of knowledge that I gleaned while away from my computer.

10 ~ It is not, in fact, harmful to your children to severely limit their consumption of liquids prior to a 9+ hour car ride.

9 ~ It *IS* possible to refold a slip-n-slide so that it will still fit in the original box. It just may take several tries.

8 ~ It is true that clergy don't actually get vacations. People still die when you go out of town, and your husband will wind up spending the same amount of time on his cell phone as he would have in the office.

7 ~ There are very understanding priests who will go out of their way to make sure your husband doesn't have to leave you alone on vacation to return to do a funeral.

6 ~ Kids LOVE water guns. Most adults, however, do not, unless suitably attired, and equipped with much larger weapons.

5 ~ A 2 year old can spend HOURS in the sand, happily playing by himself and staying out of ttrouble. *Note to self - must get a sandbox for the deck.....

4 ~ A child will do ANYTHING for a ride on the 4-wheeler with grandpa.

3 ~ I love the midwest, but I sure do miss the Appalachian Mountains... *sigh*

2 ~ According to some people, 2 platefuls of salad will give a 2 year old an upset tummy, but 2 platefuls of chips are just fine....

And the most important thing I learned while on vacation was....

1 ~ Crocs, while not the most attractive footwear, make the most excellent shoes for a trip to an amusement park. Even if the most exciting thing you can do is ride the carousel....




I hope to post a bit more frequently, now that we are home. I almost died without internet access for 10 days! We spent 5 days in Huntington, and 5 days in Berkeley Springs, WV visiting Brian's mother, and his father and his wife. And learned all these important lessons along the way.... who knew that a simple roadtrip could be so educational??????? :D

I am DONE!!!!!!!

Wow. What a long month! I have finally completed the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt. For one month, twice a year (May and November), those of us who love all things CD (and who have nothing better to do) scour the web looking for diaper icons (which, I think, bear a slight resemblance to owls). Then, if you find them all, you get entered in a drawing for all kinds of cool stuff. The hunt is great, b/c it introduces you to a wonderful world of WAHM products - way more than just diaper stuff. Although there is plenty of that, too. This is the 4th hunt I have done, and the 3rd I have finished succesfully. I didn't complete last May's, b/c Brian was graduating, we had guests, job interviews, and lots of packing to do. (sigh) Oh well....

For a taste of some of the cool stuff out there, check out the SPONSOR LIST. And just click randomly. :-) Many sites also offer discounts during the month of the hunt. So in case some of you were wondering where I've been.... Now you know.

And I'll be gone again in November...

My Garden Secret

I am not a gardener. If you have any doubt about that, simply ask my mother. She used to punish me by making me weed. Ick. However, for some strange reason, I LOVE gardens. So I guess it's a good thing that the man I married loves to putter in the yard. It's also a wonderful thing that the house that we bought last summer is a gardener's paradise. We have 3 established fruit trees (apple, white peach, and pear), a fenced veggie garden which includes a strawberry patch, rhubarb, raspberry bushes, and many flower beds. The tulips and daffodils of early spring were lovely, and right now, the irises and the peonies are breathtaking. I simply adore peonies ~ their warm, spicy scent, and the way the bouquet arranged on my kitchen table greets me as I wander through the house attending to my daily chores.

The kids have helped Daddy plant the veggies. My role has been merely to choose the varieties that we will be harvesting. Fortunately, they seem to have inherited their father's love of dirt and order outside. I have also already conned them into doing all the weeding, pleading my growing belly. They actually enjoy it, though, and fight to be the one tapped to water the seedlings each evening.

So, now, all I have to do is supervise, and wait (impatiently) for those first fruits to ripen, and enjoy all the fresh bounty of my garden.

At least I know he was listening!

I apologize to all my message board ladies, because I have already posted this. But it's just too cute (or something ! ) not to post here...

Last week, David was being fussy, which is unusual for him. So I took him over to the side-light by the front door and showed him the robin's nest that had appeared on the brick column of our front porch.

"See," I said, " There's a mommy bird. She's in her nest, sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. Soon, the eggs will hatch, and there will be baby birdies in the nest!" He studied it for a while, and went back to playing.

Later that afternoon, I had gone upstairs to transfer a load of much-neglected laundry from the washer to the dryer. Fortunately for me, just at that very moment, the 4 older kids came in the door from school, and yelled for me. Apparently, in the mere 2 minutes I had been gone, David had taken the eggs out of the fridge, removed 5 of them from the carton successfully, brought them into the family room, placed them on the chair, and was sitting on them. He pointed to the eggs and said, "Chicks!"

If you can believe it, the only 2 eggs that broke were still in the carton. We have VERY squishy family room furniture...

I guess he was just trying to be a good mama bird! Sometimes I just love two-year-old logic. Precious!

I've been tagged, Again!

Now, my friend Lori, wants me to reveal 7 weird things about myself. Here goes.... Once again, in no particualr order...

1) I have webbed toes. Two on each foot. I guess that makes me part duck or something...

2) I have pointy ears, like an elf, or a petite blonde version of Mr. Spock.

3) I hate spiders. One of the main reasons I got married was so I would have a resident spider-killer always on hand. And I am only partially kidding...

4) I do not like being pregnant. Shocking, yes? I love having babies, but the 9 month journey to get there I could do without. Now, if I could do this without being sick for 9 months, and without becoming a weeble, and without tearing my rib muscles, now THAT would be a different story. But alas, God has blessed me with a body that is as fertile as nobody's business, but is very uncomfortable during the whole process. But it's all SO worth it, in the end... *sigh* *smile*

5) I hate peanut butter. Ick. I can tolerate it accompanied by chocolate, but only in small amounts.

6) I sort my candy by colors before I eat it. And I eat my least favorite flavors first, saving the good ones for last.

7) I actually enjoy the newborn baby stage. You know, when they don't do anything but eat, sleep, and poop, and you're so tired you could just scream. There are people who swear that the wee ones have no personality, but I beg to differ. There are few sweeter things than the cuddling time with your new baby.

OK, as I re-read through this list, I am sure that I must have forgotten LOTS of stuff, or that I am just brain-dead at the moment. Because this list doesn't even begin to cover my quirks, of which there are many. I probably should let my DH read this and comment...

Or not..... *vbg*