gobble gobble

Oh how I love turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. And you know what I love even more?? Being pregnant and having an excuse to eat as much of them as a I want because "the baby needs to be nourished." How could she possibly grow to be big and strong if I deprive her of homemade praline apple pie? I'm pretty sure that has its own line on the food pyramid.

We have had a good week of resting and spending time with family. Our doctors appointment on Tuesday went really well. Basically I have stayed about the same as last week, which is good and means I am not progressing into labor. The doctor reassured us that he does not think I am headed towards more preterm labor in the next week or two, as I appear to have stabilized. They do not know why my body is not holding up, but at least in looks like something that can be managed.

After the doctor did the exam he stated, "Well I think that's about the best we could have hoped to see today." My favorite nurse's response (who was in the room as well)..."Great, so can we just go ahead and hypnotize her until she's 38 weeks and it's time to deliver? Because I'm pretty sure she can't take much more of this." Oh Jeanette the nurse, I love that you understand me!

On Thursday morning, my sister Katelyn and her husband Peter flew in from Florida to spend the week with us, which made sitting on the couch all day so much more bearable! I got a "pass" from my doctor to spend the day at my parents' house for Thanksgiving fun, as long as I laid down the whole day. We did however, briefly get vertical to take some family photos for about 5 minutes. What an awesome way to wrap up a week of giving thanks for God's blessings, keeping Lila safe and warm in my tummy!

Turkey for the girls and turkey for the boys
My favorite kind of pants are corduroys
Gobble gobble goo and gobble gobble gickel
I wish turkey only cost a nickel
Oh I love turkey on Thanksgiving!
~"The Thanksgiving Song" by Adam Sandler

lots of rest ahead

Man, and I thought we were ending all of this eventful, dramatic blog posting. Sadly, our smooth sailing has been suddenly halted. Last Wednesday, I started having some contractions and pressure. I came into my doctor on Thursday and they discovered that I was 1cm dilated and my cervix was shortened.

I was quickly sent up to Labor & Delivery to be monitored for about an hour. My contractions had all stopped at the point and Lila's heart rate and movements were great. They decided to send me home on modified bed rest until I could see my doctor this Tuesday. That means I am only allowed off the couch or bed for bathroom and shower breaks.

As a precautionary measure, they went ahead and gave me a dose of steroid injections to boost Lila's lung developments. This will be critical to her lung development at birth (no matter how early she is born) and can increase her lung maturity by up to 2 weeks ahead of her development. For example, if she was born at 32 weeks, the steroids could potentially have allowed her lungs to develop as if she was 34 weeks gestation, which is a huge difference.

We rested on Thursday night and Friday, but ended up back in Labor & Delivery on Friday night due to some more pressure. At this point, they did a test called a fetal fibronectin test, which showed that I was positive for an increased risk of going into labor prematurely. They decided to measure my cervix again and found that miraculously, it had lengthened considerably since being checked the day before! According to the doctor on Friday night, the only way that could have happened is if it had been measured incorrectly on Thursday. Seeing as how one of the attending Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists had done the measurement himself (and I am pretty sure he has the skills down), we are thanking God for acting in a way that only he could. Based off of those measurements, they sent me back home to rest over the weekend.

I am going back to my doctor tomorrow afternoon to hopefully get some answers and a game plan. At this point, we are not sure what is causing these preterm labor symptoms, or what we can do to stop them other than rest. We also do not know any statistics about how likely we are to deliver early or when we can expect for that to happen.

Both Brian and I are feeling very calm at the moment and just praying that God give the doctor a clear diagnosis tomorrow. We also know that every minute the Lila stays inside of me, she gets stronger and bigger. We appreciate everyone's prayers for Lila and her continued safety and will continue to update as we get more information.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
~Psalm 139: 13-16

worth the wait

We have been having a lot of fun getting ready for Lila this last week. As we work on her nursery, it is so amazing to picture her in the room and imagine everyday things like changing her diaper and rocking her to sleep. We are doing some more work on her nursery tonight, so expect a big picture post later this week!

Another major part of the week has been sorting through boxes filled with baby clothes and toys. Talk about a blessing! Our friends Kristy and Todd have a two-year old daughter named Reagan. When they heard we were having a little girl, they told us to come on over so they could give us some of Reagan's baby clothes. Little did we know they meant 7 boxes of clothes, newborn through 2T, toys, playmats, blankets, etc! We have been having so much fun going through all the adorable baby girls things, laughing and talking, until we got to this one...

As I pulled out this onsie, both Brian and I teared up and sat there for about a minute just thinking about all the tears, prayers, anger, sadness, anticipation, shots, and doctor's visits that have gone into this precious little girl. We forget sometimes how long we have waited for her, prayed for her, and imagined what it would be like to have her in our lives. And now, as the waiting draws to an end, all we can do is thank God that she will soon be ours.

It's all about you, Jesus

And all this is for you
For your glory and your fame
Its not about me
As if you should do things my way
You alone are God
And I surrender to your ways
~"Jesus Lover of My Soul" by Passion

buy buy baby

This post will be of no interest to anyone but my local mommy friends. Breaking News: a brand new baby store called Buy Buy Baby is opening up next week on Nov. 17 in Durham. It is very similar to Babies R Us in prices, but has a much bigger selection. I went to the one down in Charlotte and they had styles and colors of some products that I didn't even know existed!

And the best part of all...you can use Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupons on almost all of their inventory! Since it is owned by the same company, they honor coupons for most items, except for furniture and some major brands. That means 20% off lots of baby items, since you know you get those big blue coupons in the mail like 12 times a week. Holla for baby deals!

Shopping is a woman thing.
It's a contact sport, like football.
Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds,
the danger of being trampled to death,
and the ecstasy of the purchase.
~Emma Bombeck

future Mia Hamm

We have had so much birthday going around, I feel like we need a whole post about Miss Lila! The most exciting news is that Brian finally got to feel her kick on Sunday! I have been feeling Lila move around for about a month, but due to her positioning (further back by my spine) my doctor had told us it could be weeks before she was strong enough to be felt outside.

On Sunday morning, Brian was laying in bed talking to my tummy (he likes to tell Lila stories) and had his hand laying on my belly. All of a sudden she kicked really hard and Brian literally jumped off the bed! He was shocked and asked me if I had made my stomach do that. After explaining to him that no, I could not make my insides move independently of my body, and yes that was the baby, he freaked out. He kept talking to her and for about 10 minutes she just kicked away for him to feel and see. I am so excited he finally got to feel this beautiful little life growing inside me!

We have also been working very hard on Lila's nursery and almost have it cleaned out. Next up, we (meaning Brian and my mom) will be painting some stripes in the room, touching up her bookshelf and dresser, and rearranging furniture. I am on the hunt now for a fun rug on Craigslist, my favorite website ever.

Speaking of Craigslist, Brian and I scored an almost new Simmons crib mattress for $25 yesterday! I love finding awesome baby deals. And now, Lila is finally starting to have as much stuff as us in her room...

Let them be little
Cause they're only that way for a while
Give them hope, give them praise
Give them love every day
Let them cry, let them giggle
Let them sleep in the middle
Oh, let them be little
~"Let Them Be Little" by Lonestar

birthday love

So much birthday love for Brian! We have had a very busy weekend celebrating Brian's 28th birthday and had so much fun getting to hang out with all our favorite people.

On Friday night we went out with a bunch of friends...16 friends to be exact! We had such a great time getting to hang out with all of our friends, eating lots of yummy food, and just catching up with everyone all at the same time. Also at this party were the Four Mommies! There are four of us at church that are all expecting our first babies next spring. In fact, we are all due within 5 weeks of each other!

From the right, we have:
Lindsey (she and her husband are expecting their son Sam on Feb. 16)
Jen (she and her husband Evan are expecting their daughter on March 3)
Me (expecting Lila on March 7)
Casey (she and her husband Joey are expecting their daughter on March 30)

It is so much fun to have other new moms to talk through pregnancy symptoms, share fun stories, nursery advice, baby books, and showers with. And come February/March, we will have a whole little playgroup for the babies!

Another awesome part of the weekend was dinner with Brian's family in Greensboro. We got to eat at Lucky 32, one of our favorite restaurants. Brian also got an adorable bib for Lila to wear...telling everyone what a great daddy he is!And a great dinner gift certificate for the grown-ups dinner after Lila comes. It was so fun to see Patti and Benny and Brian's brother Patrick for the night!

Last fabulous part of the weekend, a new Xbox 360 for Brian!! Talk about getting spoiled on your birthday! Brian was so excited to get this surprise gift from my dad and what a great way for him to get a little pampering after how much he does to take care of me and Lila :-) Happy birthday Brian! We love you!

The secret of staying young is to
live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.
~Lucille Ball

best papa ever

Happy Birthday Brian! I am so excited for my sweet husband's birthday this year. Since its the Year of the Papa. And his last birthday without little Lila on his lap helping him blow out the candles. We have officially started the birthday celebration for the week, kicking off with a sushi dinner with my parents in Durham last night. We had a great time, opening fun presents, talking about Lila, and enjoying the evening at one of our favorite restaurants Mt. Fuji at Brightleaf Square. Big shout out for buy-one-get-one-free sushi rolls!


We have several more birthday celebrations coming up this week, with a fun group birthday dinner tomorrow night and a dinner with Brian's family on Sunday in Greensboro. We do birthdays big, if you haven't noticed.

Funny story about this pregnant lady here. I usually will get up early on Brian's birthday and make him a home-cooked breakfast in bed. However, I am fully aware that I am too much of a hot mess to even attempt that idea this year. Instead, I set my alarm clock early, knowing that Brian would not be getting up since he has the day off today. I slipped on my sweats, put the dogs in the back yard, and jumped in my car to go buy him some breakfast. Just so you have a complete picture: I was wearing a flannel nightgown, Carolina sweatpants, and slippers with my hair in a pony tail.

5 minutes after I pull out of the driveway, Brian calls me, "WHERE ARE YOU????" My poor husband had woken up, realized I wasn't in the house, noticed my car was not in the driveway and freaked out. I explained to him that I went to get him breakfast, but poor thing thought something had happened to his pregnant wife and I couldn't wake him up or something! He asked me politely to never try to surprise him again...at least not by leaving the house at dawn while pregnant and not telling him. Sorry sweetie!

Thanks to modern medical advances
such as antibiotics, nasal spray, and Diet Coke,
it has become more routine for people
in the civilized world to pass the age of 40.
Sometimes more than once.
~Dave Barry

one man's junk, another man's treasure

We have had a nice restful week after our little reminder to take it easy last Monday. Most of our nights last week were spent laying on the couch. We did get a chance to catch up with our friends Jen and Evan, who are expecting a little girl 4 days before us, for a pizza night on Friday. We also got to see some cute trick-or-treaters on Saturday night at my parents house in Cary. Cutest kid of the night award goes to a little Batman, who after asking if he could take a piece of candy for his sister, sniffed the air and said "Have you been cooking something??" So adorable!

Saturday was also spent cleaning out the nursery, which has been filled with piles of yard sale stuff, boxes of junk we have been carting around for 4 years, and lots of pre-maternity clothes. All of that is now piled and ready to go for our yard sale this Saturday! Anyone who lives in this area, feel free to stop by my parents house at 8am on Saturday for some awesome treasures. Once we get the last part of her room cleaned, I will start posting some pictures of the work in progress.

I always clean before the cleaning lady comes.
If not, when I come home, I can't find anything.
Cleaning ladies are always hiding
things you leave out.
~Celia Cruz