Bedrest #1

I am 26 weeks and 5 days today. I am so excited that I am getting closer and closer to our first goal of 28 weeks! I really do think I will make it at least to the 28 week mark.

These last couple days have been so hard because my contractions have picked up a lot. I keep failing my contraction monitoring tests each morning and night. I am okay if I only have 5 or under in an hour but if I hit 6 or above I have to give myself a bolus of medication, drink lots of water and test again. Usually the extra medication takes me down to 4 or 5 and I pass. The problem is a couple hours later I am back above my max. Today they finally raised the dose of medication so we will see what happens (Although I am monitoring now and not sure if I will pass tonight).

The good news is that I went to the doctor today and my cervix is holding steady at 2.9cm long. I am not dilated at all yet. I was so sure that after two days of nonstop contractions that my cervix would have changed. I guess the terb is at least helping to keep the intensity of them down so that they do not do any "damage." When I called the high risk doctor today to get an emergency appointment the nurse said I should go to Labor and Delivery to get some Magnesium Sulfate. I freaked out and started to cry. I told her I did not want to go to Labor and Delivery so the doctor agreed to let me come to the office. When I saw the nurse I told her never to say the word Mag to me :) I was on Mag last pregnancy and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. I can't even explain how bad that medication is on your body.

So the bedrest is working and keeping the weight off of my cervix which is helping it to hold steady. Although being on my side almost the entire day is taking a toll on my body I know it is only for a short time and it will all be over. Before I know it I will have a little girl in my arms and totally forget everything it took to get her here.

Thanks everyone for praying because I know that they are working! I don't know how I could have 4 or more contractions an hour 24 hours a day and my cervix hold steady! It has to be God!

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A recap of my pregnancy so far!

Hello to all of my blog readers. I took take a break from writing on the blog for awhile but now I am back. I decided that since I am now 26 weeks pregnant and on bedrest I officially have the time to write out my thoughts. I really want to keep a journal of the rest of the pregnancy for my own records as well as to update all of my friends and family on how I am doing.

This pregnancy was a surprised but we are thrilled to be expecting another child. It was just days after Gracie's adoption became final that we learned the news. Although a bit overwhelmed because of my previous preterm labors and early deliveries we trusted that God is in control! The beginning of the pregnancy went just fine. The normal morning sickness for the first 12 to 14 weeks, one spotting episode, but nothing too alarming or serious.

We put our hope in a new progesterone shot that I would get weekly starting at 16 weeks. The studies are very promising and in 35 to 40% of women who had a previous preterm birth it prolonged pregnancy to full term. So we started the shot at 16 weeks. At around 20 weeks the early contractions started to kick in and about 22 weeks we started on a medication called Procardia. Our hope was to stall as long as possible before starting Terbutaline. Procardia didn't work and my cervix shortened to a dangerous length so we started a new medication called Indocin. Indocin is very dangerous for the baby so I could only be on it for 4 days. At the time I went on Indocin I was put on strict bedrest. We asked our friends and family to pray and waited about 4 days to return to the high risk doctor.

The morning that I went to the doctor I was so scared. I did not want to end up in the hospital at 23 weeks. I seriously thought that if my cervix was any shorter I would be admitted and would have to stay hospitalized until delivery. At this point baby was not even viable and we were very scared. When the ultrasound started we noticed right away that my cervix was dramatically longer! I could not believe my eyes. The tech kept saying that she has never seen improvement like that. Mike was whispering, "Its the prayer!"

In the next few weeks the doctors tried and failed to explain why my cervix got so short and then suddenly improved so much. To give you an idea of the change here are my cervical measurements starting at 12 weeks. It should be around 4.0 until later in pregnancy, anything under 2.5 is not good and anything under 1.5 is VERY bad (5.0, 3.4, 3.2, 2.8, 1.8, 3.4, 3.2, 2.9). As you see by those numbers we went down to 1.8 and after the prayer, indocin, and bedrest the number jumped up to 3.4. The doctors can only say that there must have been a mistake somehow but we say it had to be God!

Even though we had no idea how we were going to pull off bedrest for 10 + weeks with four children at home we took one step at a time and God has graciously pulled together detail after detail so that our needs are met. First of all so many people have told us that they are praying for us and we know that God is listening. He has already performed a miracle and we are so excited to see what the Lord will do as the pregnancy progresses. Thank you to all of you who have continued to pray. Second, my parents have really stepped in and helped out out a lot. My mom has taken the kids for most of my doctors appointments and kept them many other times. My parents have also sent food, picked up things I need, and even helped us pull of having Christmas at our home. Thank you so much mom and dad for helping out so much. Third, one of my very best friends Amber has taken over as coordinator for my help and meals. She has set up a schedule for having meals brought when Mike is at work and any other care I need. She has also watched my kids, bathed them, come over and done laundry, brought food, and done a lot of the carpooling (that I can't do now). I am so grateful for her! And last but not least we are blessed to have a young girl named Gabi come and be our live in "nanny" when Mike is not home. There is no way I could stay flat and meet the needs of the children without her. She takes care of the kids and cleaning which has helped out a lot! I can see the Godly character that shines through her daily and her fire for the Lord! How awesome that God put a Christian young lady in our home!

So I think I have caught everyone up on the past 5 months. My new entries will be about bedrest, doctor appointments, my kids, etc. Thanks for continuing to pray for us over the next few months. Our first goal is to make it to 28 weeks because at that point about over 90% of babies survive. The following goal will be to make it to 32 weeks because babies born at that point usually are mostly growers and feeders who need much less support and have great survival rates. Thanks again to everyone who has so unselfishly stepped in to help. Every single meal brought to us is a HUGE blessing and we pray for each family who has so generously taken the time to cook for our family.

Sick Kids

Here is a picture of the kids at the zoo last week! Just thought you might enjoy it!

Wow it has been such a week and I have a feeling it could just be the start. The boys ended up with a bad stomach bug and have been very sick the last few days. I hoped it was just a 24 hour bug like the last one but this one seems to be hanging on. I have done more laundry, given more baths, cleaned up more throw up, wiped more bottoms, cleaned more carpets and rugs, changed more sheets, and rocked more kids than I ever have in 3 days. I can't complain though because they have slept all night each night and taken good naps. As long and I get my sleep I can handle it all! I am praying so hard that the rest of us do not get this illness. I might just go crazy if the girls and I get it! Please say a prayer for health over our household.

Lunch time with 2 year olds...

Here is a peek into our lunch time today. Some background information: Micah is allergic to peanut butter so we give him Nutella. Gracie gets the regular PB&J sandwich. I told Micah and Gracie that they need to eat all their fruit, cheese and sandwiches before they can have a couple chips.

I hear Micah crying in the kitchen and Gracie telling him "NO!" When I spy I see her trying to put her sandwich on his high chair and he was not going for that. I walk into the kitchen and see sandwich pieces all over the floor.

"Whose sandwich is on the floor?" I ask.

"Micah's" Gracie says.

"This looks like peanut butter in the bread so it couldn't be Micah's."

"Micah threw it," Gracie says.

"How did Micah get your sandwich?" I ask.

"Me give it to him." Gracie replies.

"Do you remember that Micah can't have peanut butter? It could make him really sick."

"Okay," Says Gracie.

"Now you both finish your food and you can have a couple of chips."

As I walk away Micah is stuffing his sandwich in his mouth because he wants chips and Gracie is trying to figure out how she can sneak Micah the rest of hers. I think I need to move the high chairs a little further apart. This was the one time I am actually glad Micah threw the sandwich on the floor instead of eating it. Such is life when you have two toddlers :)

What to do, what to do?

We are trying to decide what to do as far as schooling for Sierra next year. We have three obvious choices and the Lord has not shut the door on any of them yet.

#1 Sierra could stay at Riverview and have another Christian teacher. There is a 5th grade teacher there that is a great teacher and he is a Christian. He comes highly recommended. We would not even consider this option without her teacher being a Christian. Sierra could still be in cheer leading and continue her speech therapy. They also offer her a lot of extra instruction in the areas that she struggles. She has several neighborhood friends who attend here and our carpool group is very helpful!

#2 Sierra could again be home schooled by her parents. This is where we are leaning at this point but I am not set on this decision. Homeschooling her part of 1st grade and all of 2nd grade was NOT easy. I now have two more children to add to the mix. There are a lot of benefits that would come out of homeschooling her and we are excited about those. We were invited to a mother/daughter tea put on by The Hedge group in Fresno and I felt very comfortable and excited about the possibility of her joining that group. If Mike's schedule gets changed he will have 7 days on and 7 days off which would free us to do a lot of traveling and field trips. These are things that we could not do if she is in school all day.

#3 Sierra could go to Fresno Christian. We are set on her attending Fresno Christian in Jr. High and/or High School but the plan was to wait until 7th grade. I am sure that Sierra would love it there and make many friends. The drawbacks would be that she would not receive speech through them or any other special services. It would be a pain to have to take her after school hours to speech therapy. It is also a pretty expensive option.

There are so many more positives and negatives to each choice that I haven't listed. I am just thinking out loud here. I am sure next year at this time we will see how God worked and I am sure we will make the right decision. I love looking back when I am out of the clouds and I can clearly see how God had his hand on each decision. Even though I am in the cloud of choices I know that the Lord will open and shuts doors. At this point we have experienced all three options with Sierra. She attended a Christian school in Kinder, Charter like school in first (as well as home schooled), Home schooled in second, and public school in third and forth grades. Each year the Lord has put her where she needs to be and given her teachers that understand her and are a blessing. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for next year!

How God Works!

The Lord has worked in so many ways in my life that I thought I would start journaling about them. I never want to forget the wonderful and miraculous things that the Lord has done. I figured I would start blogging every few weeks about some of these works in hopes that it can be an encouragement to some of you.

I can't wait to share about our newest addition (Gracie) but I will save that for another day. I have a feeling God is not finished with that story yet!

I also can't wait to blog about my precious Mary but we will also save those stories for another day!

Today I want to share a story about something that a stranger did for my husband and I. We were living down in Stockton where my husband was finishing up pharmacy rotations. The year before we had been very disappointed because we wanted to move back home (to Fresno) but I didn't get a teaching job in Fresno that year so we had to finish up Mike's pharmacy school in Stockton. We knew that God had a plan but we just were not sure what it was. I found out I was expecting (Caleb) that year so I knew we were in for a long year. With my difficult pregnancies, teaching, and Mike off to work or school 7 days a week it was going to be tough. I didn't understand why God didn't move us closer to home.

Well the Lord got us though that year. He provided a wonderful couple from our church who basically stepped in and took over as parents to Mike and myself. They took care of Sierra when I was in and out of the hospital and picked her up from school when I was on bedrest. When Caleb finally came premature they were there to help every step of the way. This story is a miracle in itself but I will save that for another day also.

It was about time for us to get ready to move back to the Fresno area. Mike got his dream job at a Children's Hospital working as an inpatient pharmacist. We were ready to be more settled down. I finally was able to stay home with the children! The problem was we didn't know where to live. We wanted to start saving to buy a house but we were not sure where to start.

Well Sierra was in speech therapy and each week I would take her and sit in the lobby. One day I began talking to this lady (total stranger) just sharing about our big move coming up. I told her about Mike's job at the hospital in Madera. The lady looked at me shocked and shared that her husband and her had just bought a new house in Madera and it was almost done being built. She also shared with me that they had planned to move their family there but that God had other plans. Then out of the blue she asked me if Mike and I would like to move into their house! I wasn't sure what she meant at first but then she explained that she felt prompted by the Lord to ask us to move into their new house rent free! I couldn't believe it! Who asks a total stranger to move into their new (never been lived in) home for free????

It didn't take long for us to accept their offer and soon we were packed up and moving. It was such a blessing to be able to save up for our own new home while living rent free for awhile. God knew just what we needed at the time we needed it! He used this wonderful loving family as a blessing to our family. We will forever be grateful to them for trusting in the Lord and being obedient to his request.

Meet our newest Child!

Mutuku Ndanu Rosemary



Sierra has been wanting to sponsor a child for a long time. She finally chose Mutuku! Mutuku is 9 years old (just a month younger than Sierra). She is from Kenya Africa. She lives with her grandfather and her grandmother. She is responsible for carrying water, gathering firewood and helping in the kitchen. Her grandfather is not employed and her grandmother is sometimes employed as a farmer. There are 2 children in the family. For fun, Mutuku enjoys singing and jumping rope. She attends church activities regularly and is in primary school. We sponsored her through Compassion.

It is so easy to make such a HUGE difference in the life of a child. Here in America we have so much. Please consider having your family sponsor a child through Compassion or any other ministry. God is calling us to help these children! It is so easy to turn away and say "not now, someday I will, or when I have more money." Think about what little it will truly "cost" you to give up just $38.00 a month and then think about what a difference your money will make not only to this child but to everyone in his/her family. We want to turn away from the reality that children all around the world are starving and living in horrible conditions. So many of us turn our back and pretend not to notice. If you have children please consider getting them involved and have them pick out a child to sponsor. It can be life changing for them to learn about how these children live and rewarding for them to see how the sponsorship can change this child's life.