35 Weeks and 4 Days

From the news we received on December 15th, it's amazing that I've made it this far. I had a high risk appointment this morning, which was my last one with them. The appointment went well and both Gavin and I are hanging in there.
He now weighs 5 lbs. 10 oz. and is extremely active. The ultrasound technician and doctor had a difficult time getting good pictures and measurements due to his acrobats. They also said he looks very scrunched. His arms and legs were all smashed! From the looks of it, he's definitely going to follow in his brothers footsteps of being active. Guess I'll get in shape quickly :-)
The doctor took me off of my medication and said he's now comfortable with Gavin arriving whenever he's ready. I couldn't be more happy to hear that. I've been very against all of the medications they've given me and worried about the effects they would have on Gavin. Now, it's up to the little guy. Whenever he's ready, I'm MORE than ready!
I'm beyond uncomfortable with contractions every 2 minutes apart. I can't sleep at night due to the contractions and the need to use the bathroom constantly. I also can not rest during the day. I sit on the couch, but constantly feel the contractions and find more comfort in getting up and walking. I think walking helps me not to focus on the contractions. I'm so anxious to see what this little boy of mine will look like and see what his personality will be.
Hopefully the next time I update, we will have great news of Gavin Michael's arrival! In the mean time, please continue to keep us in your prayers for a safe and smooth delivery.
Gavin's profile

One little foot with all 10 toes

A chubby Momma at 35 weeks and 4 days

A Birthday Party

On Saturday, Braiden went to his friends house to celebrate her 4th birthday. As you can guess, Braiden was in his glory and had a blast! He enjoyed the bounce house, sand table, pinata, and of course... the cake!
Handsome baby heading to the party :-)

The pretty castle cake

Braiden and the birthday princess, Ashlynn

Playing a game

Building something with sand

He was given three swings and hit the pinata each swing!

The highlight of every party :-)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all that read the blog! We hope you had a wonderful time celebrating. Hopefully some of you had a drink for me :-)

This post will be picture less, as we've not had much going on to take pictures of. Since our last post, I have been back to the hospital. I spent most of New Years Eve in labor and delivery. My contractions were 1 minute apart! Of course, the routine was done. I received terbutaline for the contractions and IV fluids, blood was drawn and I was checked for progress. I was still at 3 cm and 50 % effaced. This little guy is just enjoying torturing his mommy.

I had an appointment this Tuesday and all was the same. Still 3cm dilated and 50% effaced. The doctor could feel Gavin's head and said it's just a matter of the contractions I'm having becoming strong enough to cause progress. Progress being, my water breaking or further dilation. Once one of those occurs, he will be on his way! As for now, I just continue to have restless days and sleepless nights. The contractions I'm having aren't too painful, just more annoying. Not to mention the fact that I'm going to the bathroom every 15 minutes.

This Saturday, I will reach 35 weeks! A huge milestone, considering they were prepared for his arrival at 32 weeks. At this point, he will definitely be bigger than his brother was. I'm just really anxious to see his precious face and to see who he'll look like. I had a dream last night that he weighed 6 lbs 2 oz. and was 19 inches long. So, we'll see how close he'll be to that size. If he's going to weigh 6 lbs. I've got a few more weeks left of just sitting around.

If I can hold out until next week, I will have a regular OB appointment on Monday and a high risk appointment on Tuesday. After the Tuesday appointment we will have ultrasound pictures and will have a good estimate of Gavin's weight. I will be sure to update after the appointment.

Thank you for all of your continued prayers, phone calls, and emails.

Not a Typical Christmas

This Christmas was not exactly a traditional Christmas. We were missing family, I was stuck on the couch, and Braiden and Dave were a bit under the weather with colds. However, we were together and I didn't spend it in the hospital!
All smiles after his bath on Christmas Eve

A tradition since Phillip and I were little was listening to my Dad read Twas the Night Before Christmas before bed time on Christmas Eve. The tradition continued with Braiden when he spent his first Christmas in VA with his Pop. Last year and this year, we sadly were not able to be with Pop, so we had to listen to him read the story through a recordable book. What a great thing technology is. Braiden absolutely loves his book and has continued reading it every night since Christmas Eve :-)

Waiting for Santa's arrival

Braiden seeing all of the presents under the tree

All of his presents were transportation related

We are very blessed to have wonderful friends in our neighborhood. Since I was on bed rest, our wonderful friends, Sarahand Don offered to cook us Christmas dinner. They came over and spent the evening with us.

Opening a present from his friends, Lauren and Ashlynn

The girls with a very silly, Braiden

The last Christmas of us being a family of 3 :-)

My sweet baby boy on Christmas

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bed Rest Update

I've officially made it 10 days on bed rest! I have been back to labor and delivery since then and actually spent a few hours there last night. I was experiencing a lot of contractions yesterday, every 2 minutes to be exact. Finally, at 9:00 pm I decided I better call the Dr. Of course, they immediately advise that I head to labor and delivery.
So, yet again, Dave loads my suit case into the car and our wonderful friends, who were actually over visiting stayed home with Braiden. Once I got hooked up to the monitors, what I already knew was confirmed. I was contracting every 2 minutes and they were strong! So, immediately IV fluids were started and a shot of terbutaline was given. The shot didn't stop the contractions like it's supposed to, so another was given. The contractions did not fully go away but became less intense and less often. I was given another bag of IV fluids and at this point it was decided that I needed to be checked to see if I was dilating anymore than I already am. Good news is, I'm still at 3 cm dilated. So, I was able to return home after midnight. I am still on strict bed rest and my medication at home was bumped up to every 6 hours instead of 8 hours.
My goal now is to make it until Monday! I want to be home with my little boy on Christmas day, NOT in a hospital!
The doctor explained that our concern now is dilating. The second I dilate past 3 cm I will be admitted to labor and delivery and will be kept there until Gavin arrives! So, please say some prayers for us. I do not want to end up on bed rest in the hospital, which would also mean I would be hooked back up to magnesium sulfate, which is one of the worst medications I've ever been on. The doctors and nurses refer to it as the flu in a bag. It makes you sweat, causes blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, your heart races, and you must lay flat on your back and be hooked up to a catheter. NOT FUN AT ALL! So, my prayer is, once I start dilating further, I dilate quickly. If I get to 7 cm they will end up doing the C-section. We will do our best to keep everyone updated.
Me and my bed rest buddy :-)

33 Weeks

Cookies for Santa

My biggest fear since being put on bed rest was that something would go wrong and I wouldn't be home on Christmas to decorate cookies with my baby. So, the other night, Dave went out and bought cookie dough and I got to watch Braiden decorate cookies. As you can guess, he enjoyed licking the icing and eating the sprinkles :-)
I think ALL of Santa's cookie were pre-tasted this year!

My baby concentrating on his cookie