HOPE

Well it has been an interesting week to say the least. I want to start with good news though. First I had such a great weekend. My husband's family came out and visited. They made so much food for us. We do not need to go the grocery store for weeks. I also had my first outing which was fantastic. You don't realize how much you miss the feel of fresh air and sun until you don't have it for awhile. We went to old city in Philly which was really nice. They also brought my dogs. It was wonderful to see them! They have been my "children" for the last 6 yrs so it has been hard being away from them the last month and a half.

I also had a doc appt on Tuesday and Andrew looks great. He wiggled his toes which is a great sign, his ventricles look normal and his cerebellum is looking more rounded (which is what it should look like versus banana shape like it was).  

So unfortunately now for the bad news. At the doc appt they saw my amnio fluid dropped quite a bit. They did some testing and realized my water broke or I have a tear in my uterus neither are good. I have been re-admitted into the hospital, put on permanent bed rest and will stay here until Andrew comes. So no more hotel living.  They are currently dumping a ton of antibiotics into my system to keep any infection away. I'm 26 weeks pregnant now and the goal is to keep Andrew in there until at least 28 weeks. If he makes it past that it is all gravy but the goal is 28 weeks. Even though he will still be so early there are less complications then there are now at 26 weeks. So please please pray we can hold on. All the prayers have kept us going so far. I'm so grateful for all of the love out there and I know Andrew can feel it too. I will try to update the blog as much as possible.  I'm just really trying to put all my energy into staying healthy and keeping him in there. Thank you again for all the prayers! 

I wanted to share a picture of who is coming this weekend!!!!!!!

Hi!

Well I'm three weeks post surgery today. I can't believe how fast time has gone. I'm really surprised because I thought time would be slow with the bed rest but it hasn't been. I am so happy everyday that goes by and I'm further away from the surgery. Each day I feel better and better. Andrew has been moving a ton. Last night I think he thought I was a punching bag. He was jabbing me over and over. As much as it hurts I love it too. It reminds me why I got the surgery.

I had my 2nd post op appointment today and everything looks really good. He really is tough a little guy. My c-section is scheduled on Aug. 8th which is awesome because my lucky number is 8. So his b-day would be 8/8/2011. They did tell us only 30% of the women will actually make it to the 37 week mark. Most deliver early but here is hoping I'm in that 30%.

Other then that there isn't really a lot to update. I have been pretty tired but I'm getting my energy back so I'm going to have to come up with things to do while on bed rest. Luckily I have received lots of suggestions so I think I will manage.

My husband's family is coming out this weekend to visit. I'm so excited to see everyone. They are also bringing my dogs. I have missed them so much! I haven't seen them in a month. So a very fantastic weekend ahead of me!

I hope everyone has a good week! I will update again next Tuesday.

Bed Rest

Hi Everyone,

I haven't updated for the last few days because there really isn't anything to tell which is a good thing. I have just been laying low on bed rest. Bed rest is something I thought would be relaxing but I can definitely report it is not. You get so uncomfortable and I can only lay on my back which gets to be a pain. Although I can't complain because I completely understand why the bed rest is needed. Anything I have to do to keep Andrew in there I will gladly do. Luckily I had friends and family that came to visit to keep me company. Of course my poor husband is here 24/7 to also keep me company but it is nice for him to have other people here to take care of me to get a break. He has been a saint. This is definitely a team thing we have to do. I don't know who has the shorter end of the stick.

Today was actually an exciting day. I got to leave the hotel to go to the hospital for my first post-op doctor appointment. I'm happy to report everything looks really good. Andrew's back is healing nicely, he is kicking his legs around and still has no fluid on his brain. Seeing him look so good makes everything so worth it.

I hope all the mothers out there had a great Mother's Day!

I'm back!

Hi everyone! It is Kelly and I'm so excited to be able to write again. My husband did a great job for me in my absence though. As I mentioned his medical term understanding is definitely better then me. I don't know the meaning of 90% of the medical terms he was using. I just know it hurt..haha. Before I talk about the experience I want to say I would do it again a million times over. Seeing Andrew on his daily ultrasound and his spine/back looking like how it supposed to look made it all worth it. He is doing so well! He has no swelling on the area they repaired and he is moving around a ton which doesn't feel so great for recent stitches but who cares right?? I would much rather see him moving.

Right now I'm writing this from the hotel on my very strict bed rest. I got released from the hospital yesterday which was the best feeling. Although the staff at the hospital was incredible. I had my very own nurse assigned to me the whole time which made me feel very well taken care of. The only downside  is you get woken up every two hours to take pills and get vitals taken so you don't get a ton of sleep. A doctor came in several times a day too to make sure things were going well. As my husband mentioned my body didn't react well to the magnesium. I'm one of those annoying people that complain about having a headache and someone will ask if i want Tylenol and I say no. I hate taking medication. So to have a whole boatload dumped into my system put it on overload. The magnesium unfortunately got to toxic levels and effected my kidneys and lungs. I needed an oxygen mask to help me breath which was a little scary.  The most important thing during all of this was Andrew was still doing well. He was probably wondering what all the fuss was about. The good thing about your body is it makes you forget pain and the first few days after surgery are a blank slate. I think it was scarier for my husband and my mom watching the whole thing. Thank God for them. They had to work in shifts to keep cold towels on my body and my lips wet with a sponge. Anyway like I mentioned none of that stuff really matters because at the end of the day Andrew looks great and is such a little champ.

Again I have to thank everyone. Thank you to all the people that comment on this blog that I don't even know and to the ones I do. Thank you to everyone that sent flowers to the hospital. The nurses loved walking into our room because it smelled so good and like spring. The outpouring of support and love has really been amazing.

To be on the other side of the surgery feels so good. So many things happened this month so to have the surgery behind me feels awesome. Now I just have to follow doctor's orders about bed rest which sounds easier then it is. We find out on Monday what day in August they are doing the C-section so I will be really excited to have a goal to work towards.