31 weeks....

I am 31 weeks and 1 day pregnant. woohoo. that is one day longer pregnant than I was with Rowen.I am thanking GOD everyday for the 17p shot (progesterone) that I have been getting once a week since 18 weeks! In the past week I have had a lot of contractions, but nothing that has had any affect on my cervix! YAH! My nerves are shot. seriously.

I had 2 doc appointments the week and an ultrasound which is pretty normal for me.

Good News: Fetal Fibronectin test was negative. This tests to see if any of that gooo, that holds everything is place, is leaking. Soooo.....no gooo leaking! Also: this negative tests tells us there is a 99% chance that within the next two weeks I will NOT go into labor (lets hope we are not that 1% that does)

Good News: baby weighs in at 4 pounds 5 ounces and approximately 17 inches long. (all numbers can vary, but not by much, due to the fact she is still inside me)

Good News: Cervix Closed! (internal one, anyway. external is open)
...................NOTE: did you know that women have 2, yes 2, cervixes. An internal and an external. Weird, huh?

Right now I am home alone. Greg took Rowen out to run some errands. I am breathing and using all the positive energy I can find to relax and be grateful for so much! All that could be wrong, isn't! Inside me is a healthy, growing baby who just seems to want to see her mama and the world. How blessed and lucky we are that Maeve is healthy.

****My sister is expecting that Maeve will come on April 19 (she has some pretty awesome thoughts, so that date seems good to me)

What's your thought on a due date??? It can be anywhere from April 16th to May 27th????

fun in the sun

I love taking pictures. Especially of this little girl! She is so funny. She just loved playing outside with her little red chair and her Nana's necklace!

Rowen found a stick and was playing for hours with that ONE stick.

I love this picture too. She is just waiting for Nana to come get her and she is admiring that beautiful necklace.
Sometimes it's hard to get good pictures when you are required to be seated with your feet up. It was a challenge to say the least to get some good pictures while on bed rest. But hey, it was fun! Mom found a stump just at the edge of our property, and I had to switch lenses a couple of times to get the right shot ( thank goodness for a husband who loves gadgets or else I don't think I would have gotten this picture). Rowen had so much fun last week playing outside in the sun.

This is another favorite. Grandma Beth got us this birdhouse for Christmas. It is sooo cool. It is made out of a gourde. Very hip! Rowen always wants to peek in and see who lives there.

spring....i see you!

taking it easy after picking up some big sticks!

trying to climb the side of the house

She found an acorn...and is very very happy!

Nana showing Rowen ALL those sticks


Oh! tough job carrying that big stick back to the house


since my mom has 'moved in' while i am on bed rest, she gets to enjoy a lot of time with Miss Rowen. One of their daily activities is going outside to play in this beautiful spring weather! Luckily, i as well as my mother come from a line of women who believe its OK if you kids go outside and play in the dirt (its how "DIRT CLOTHES" got invented). Mom got out the patio furniture for me so that i could sit outside as well and watch and take pictures (something, that lately, i feel i haven't been able to do). Here are a few from yesterday. Rowen is picking up sticks and trying to eat them. We had to convince her that's NOT the best way to go GREEN!

what a GREAT day we had.....today we are planning on a picnic in the back yard!!! SOOOO grateful that my mother can come stay with us!

while scrapbooking yesterday...

i found some old books that I bought 5 years ago while on spring break in Wyoming. i know, who takes spring break in Wyoming? people who LOVE the mountains and nature and losing yourself... but anyway, so i was looking through these books trying to find some great quotes for a scrapbook (or 5) that i am starting. i look at all the crazy things i have collected over the years, mom and I rummage through pictures, Rowen sleeps peacefully. it was a wonderful 2 hours!

but i wanted to pass on some of the quotes (because i am a quote girl):

it's not easy being a mother. if it were easy, fathers would do it. -Dorothy (The Golden Girls)

beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it;s the middle that counts the most. try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning , just give hope a chance to float up. And it will..... -Hope Floats

once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, LOVE gives us a fairy tale!

the giving tree

Have you read this?

* i have about a billion times. i love it. the first time i ever read it was Christmas 1987. A Christmas elf left it for my brothers and sister and i. the inscription on the inside was insightful and inspiring. of course it was...an ELF left it! the second time i read it was in 8th grade as an assignment. maybe that's when it left the imprint. either way, its a great book. you should read it and re-read it. sometimes i forget to be so grateful for all the wonderful things and people in my life who are so 'GIVING' to me.

so here's to the people who:

- gave me their shoulder to cry on when things are tough

- gave me their time when they didnt have any of their own

- gave me a home cooked meal when i was too tired

- gave me a smile when i didnt think i deserved one

- gave thier friendship, their love and their support when ever needed

........thank you.

i should post an update

"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place."

* i feel like i needed to start out with that quote because lately i have NEEDED that quote. it's been a long couple a weeks. this being maybe the longest. i should start from the beginning.

** a couple of years ago we didnt think we could have children (some crazy doctor said so due to a surgery i had). before we had Rowen, 2 miscarriages. then 'boom' Rowen...out of nowhere! LOL. everything was going along GREAT!....week 26. contractions started. bedrest started. steriods started. anti-contration meds started. more bed rest. water breaks at 30 weeks. oh shit (yes those were my exact words). laid up in hospital for 5 days being pumped full of a medication that can help with keeping baby rowen in but also could kill me. talk about a life changer there. rowen came out september 7. she was 8.5 weeks early (thats 2.5 months)...tooooo early. she weighed 4 pounds 3 ounces. she couldnt eat on her own. she had trouble breathing (she thought it was voluntary). she was in the NICU for 7 weeks. i cried. A LOT. wouldnt you?
---she is beautiful, she is healthy, she is funny, she is a fighter.

** her sister, Maeve, is turning out to be a little bit the same. everything was going ok, normal. i started my progesterone shot in my 20th week, which helps stop preterm labor. and things were great (unless i ate guacamole) LOL. i even sailed past 26 weeks with no issues. then last week happened. i had some trouble breathing. it ended up being no big deal. but wednesday i started to bleed. uggg....and i got checked. they sent me home saying, 'oh it will clear up...nothing major'. NOT the case. contractions started. I called back fought with the doctor to be seen. HELLO....I have a legitimit concern. i had a 31 weeker. finally...finally...i go to the hospital. monitor on...contractions. hard ones. then pump me full of fluid. contractions still going on. so they try anti-contraction meds. nope they arent working either. so here come the steriods. and more meds. and bed rest. i go back thursday night, same routine. steroids. anti-contraction meds. its week 29.

******* i had a doc apointment today. small goals. lets make it to week 30. I am scared. this baby is smaller than rowen was. and i am scared. did i say that already.

please pray, if you are that type or think happy thoughts or chant....or whatever it is you do. i want a happy healthy baby to come out of me...in like 7 weeks. not next week!

i am scared. and on bed rest.