Lots of Updates- 34 Weeks

Let's start the middle of last week...

Wed. Dec. 16- My doctor appointment went well. We scheduled David Noah's delivery for Friday, January 29th, and he weighed in at 4 lb 12 oz on the ultrasound.

Thurs. (33 weeks)- I took Austin to work with me, which would have been a fiasco in itself... however, I also came down with some form of the flu- body aches, shakes, low grade fever, weakness, etc. I was pretty well bedridden once we made it home from work.

Fri.- continued sickness

Sat.- Our 5 Year Anniversary- sickness, plus contractions- Joseph put me on bedrest for the day, but by evening, I was getting contractions every 3 minutes or so apart. We called some friends from church to watch Austin and headed to the hospital. It took all night for the nurses to slow down my contractions, which came as close as 2 minutes apart at times. Believe it or not, morphine was what finally did the trick. Who would have known that morphine could be used for such a purpose.

Joseph's parents came up late Saturday night to take over caring for Austin while we were at the hospital. We got home about 4 am on Sunday, and I spent Sunday and Monday on bedrest. Donna stayed with us until Tuesday night when my Mom came up to take over the task of caring for Austin and housework. I worked Tuesday morning and a little bit today, but otherwise, I have tried to rest as much as possible. Thankfully, bedrest has helped with the contractions. I am 34 weeks pregnant today, so we are at a safe place for having this baby- however, at least three more weeks would be ideal for David's optimal health.

I don't seem to be showing any signs of preeclampsia through all this, so that is good. Hopefully, I can just rest for the next few weeks and keep this baby inside a bit longer. He measured good last week, so he should be over five pounds by now. Babies usually gain about a half a pound a week from here until delivery, so he should be a healthy size by the time he is full-term.

So, Joseph and I didn't have much of an anniversary celebration this year. Instead of going out to eat, we spent our evening in labor and delivery triage. However, it all turned out ok. I'm so thankful to still be pregnant, and I am slowly gaining my strength back. Between the sickness, the pre-term labor and the effects of the morphine, I have been pretty weak. It has been a blessing to have family in town to care for Austin and the housework, though. Joseph has been working extra shifts at work this week because of peak season at UPS, so we couldn't have managed without our moms' help.

The rest of my family is coming up tomorrow for Christmas. It will be a nice visit. They are bringing their beagle dog, so Austin will be thrilled. If I am feeling well enough, Joseph might take me out to dinner tonight for a late anniversary treat. Mom is here to babysit, and it would be nice to get out of the house for a little bit.