9/26 Update

Just a quick update and many, many thanks for all your prayers for the baby, hubby, kids and me.

I have had a little more spotting today, and am feeling a bit dizzy when I get up out of bed. The labs on my iron count show that even with three days of iron therapy via an IV drip, my numbers have not gone up. So, the plan is to do an iron therapy today (Friday), Saturday and Sunday and then re-test my blood on Monday. And, of course keeping an eye on the spotting. If my iron comes up to where they want it to be and the spotting stops for more than a few days at a time, I could go home, on very, very strict bed rest. We aren't there yet. And, things can change in the blink of an eye. So, we just continue to take one day at a time.

Baby boy is still doing well. =)

I did get permission for a 15 min. wheelchair ride per day. Woo hoo! I'll finally get to see what is outside my door! I am hoping to get my first ride when David stops by on his way home from work tonight. =)

If nothing changes through the weekend I probably will not update till Monday or Tuesday.

Oh, my *orthodontist sent lovely flowers for me, with large fragrant lilies! Isn't that so nice? David had taken two of the boys to ortho appts on Wed. and the staff had asked about me and so that is how they found out what is going on.

Happy Weekend,
jerri

* For those who don't know, I was in braces for 3 years leading up to extensive jaw surgery for TMJ.

9/24 update

Just a quick note to say things are stable. Hubby brought the kids to see me yesterday. Pardon the totally unflattering pic of me. I don't think anyone can make a hospital gown look good, especially while lying down in bed. lol. And, bed head, argh!




Thank you all for your prayers for me, baby and hubby and kids at home. This isn't easy, but God is getting us through each day. Small prayers, like having a great nurse for the day, to bigger ones like having a great perinatologist as my doctor yesterday. Several people came to visit me yesterday and that encouraged and humbled me.


Even things like getting a better bed and an egg crate mattress on top of it... a "write in" list of things that can be put on the daily menu order (for when nothing on the printed list looks any good), all have blessed me the last two days. And, all your comments and suggestions to "amuse" me bless me too!



I still don't know how long I will be here. My OB gets back from vacation tomorrow, so I hope he will call or come by and he will then be in the "loop" again and we'll start getting some of these questions answered. Until then, things staying calm, baby continuing to do well, are all wonderful. One day at a time...

9/22 evening update

Hi everyone! I have my computer now and as long as I am stable I will be able to update the blog. Many thanks to my sister Jenny for doing updates when I am not able.

They decided I was stable enough to transfer to the hospital with a level 3 NICU, so I got another ambulance ride this morning. I am also now under the care of a perinatologist. He, of course, wants things done completely differently than they were at the other hospital. lol. So, he wanted the Foley out, oxygen off, even the IV drip is off for now (thought I have the PICC in one arm and a heparin lock in the other arm). I was allowed to get up and use the restroom and I did okay with that. I didn't get dizzy or pass out. But, I did have a bit of fresh blood from that brief excursion.

They are holding off giving me a transfusion... rather wait and see (oh boy, does that phrase get used a lot!)in hopes my numbers will start coming up. And, hang onto the blood they have all ready on hand for me if I have another significant bleed. The Peri. had good reasons about doing too many transfusions has a lot of risks, and gets harder and harder to type and match. He seems really smart and good at his job, but he isn't as personable as my OB.

How long I will be here is a "wait and see" of course. If I can make it to 35 weeks, I can transfer back to the hospital my OB is at and where I would prefer to deliver at.

I have gotten my two shots of steroids, so that is good. Baby boy is still do awesomely great. By ultrasound they do not think my water broke...or it has refilled by the time they did the US.

Oh, I'm really hoping they will let me take a shower! Argh! I haven't had one since Sat. morning. A washcloth wiping just doesn't cut it for long.

Guess that is all the news. Thank you all so much for your prayers and words of encouragement!

~jerri

32 Weeks Today!!

And Baby Boy is still safe inside Mommy!!

Jerri had her in-depth ultrasound this morning but is still waiting on the results. She's been moved to another hospital in her area. It's better equipped to care for Jerri and especially Baby Boy. We're thankful that there was time to do the move before birth and that Baby Boy didn't have to be whisked away to this hospital right after being born, leaving Jerri at the previous one.
She should be seeing a high risk specialist this afternoon or evening and is expecting to hear results from the ultrasound then. I'll be sure to pass along the information as soon as I get it.

Thank you again for all your prayers. So far, Baby Boy is doing well and for that we are sooo very thankful. Every day counts and your encouraging words and prayers help to keep Jerri's spirits up.

Breaking News!!!!

Sorry, I know it's not a good sign to be hearing from me at this point but it's Jenny, Jerri's sister, again.

Around 8am today, Jerri started bleeding heavily and had to have 911 called. They rushed her off in the ambulance (also putting an iv line in the opposite wrist of her PICC line. Standard procedures and all). Since she's been at the hospital, the bleeding has pretty much stopped, although she continues to have trickles now and then. She's right on the border of needing a transfusion due to the loss of blood but so far they are not giving her one.

To complicate things a bit more, Jerri thinks her water broke. No labor thankfully and the initial ultrasound still shows water pockets. She is waiting for a more in-depth ultrasound to actually check how much fluid is still there. Because of her trickle of a bleed, they are unable to do the paper litmus test on any fluid leaking out.

She received her first shot of steroids earlier today but has to wait 12 to 24 hours before the next shot.

It is still up in the air whether or not they will have to c-section her at this point. So for now she waits. And she would appreciate your prayers.

Things we are thankful for:
~ Hubby was home at the time of the bleed and was able to call 911 and be there to help.
~ Hubby is off the next few days so there's worry about needing to take time off for the time being.
~ Older boys were home to care for the younger munchkins as mom and dad rushed off to the hospital
~ A freezer full of meals already prepared by families from their Church.
~ Jerri was taken to her "regular" hospital, where they have her records and know her.
~ The bleeding has virtually stopped.
~ No labor has started.
~ There's been time for Steroid Shot #1
~ Baby Boy is 32 weeks gestation tomorrow and apart from having no movement during the initial bleed, he seems to be handling the chaos pretty well.

Things we need prayer for at the moment:
~ Water to have either not broken or that the leak would have self-healed in order to "buy" more time.
~ That Jerri's blood stats would return to normal quickly in case of another bleed, whether that be on it's own or through a transfusion.
~ That there would be no more bleeding and Jerri can remain on bed rest at the hospital for a few more weeks.
~ For the younger munchkins to not be worried or scared due to Jerri's terrifying and abrupt exit. No goodbyes, blood, etc.
~ That things will go smoothly at home for the older boys.
~ That Jerri will have time for as many steroid shots as necessary for Baby Boy's lungs before delivery. And that he will be in good health no matter at what point he is delivered.
~ Wisdom for the doctors (and mom and dad if there are choices to be made)

I will update you all as soon as I get updates. When Jerri's hubby gets the green light to go home for a little bit, he'll return with her laptop and she'll hopefully be able to bring updates to you all herself. We just aren't sure when that will happen.

Thanks for your prayers. It means so much to her. We are so thankful that both she and Baby Boy are being held firmly in the Creator of Life's loving hands. He's in control, no matter how out of control things seem to be.

Sunflower favorite

So, it looks like sunflower picture # 3 got the most votes, closely followed by # 1. Thanks to all of you who voted. It helps amuse me and amusing me helps pass this bed rest time.

And, thank you to the brave souls who signed up as "followers" of my blog. I know there are more of you... don't be shy! I'm thinking of having a contest, possibly involving everyone who is signed up as a follower, by a certain date....hmm, have to think on that some more. It would include everyone already signed up of course. Maybe even extra chances in the drawing for those who sign up BEFORE the contest is announced.... I'm sneaky that way.

Name game

A few of you commented that you'd like to help us with our "name this baby" problem. Sounds like it could be fun, and amusing. As I have already mentioned today, amusing me is very helpful, even therapeutic, during this long season of bed rest.

Yet, I wonder if you fully understand what you are getting yourselves into? You see, not only have we already used 14 boy names (first and middle names) that we COULD agree on, but we also have RULES.

Yes, we have had name rules since our first was born. Here they are:

1. First name must have more than one syllable.
2. Middle name must be a family name (someone's first or middle name from either of our families).
3. This one is more of a guideline than a true "rule": We usually use more traditional/classic type names. (this one is starting to sound like a home design show.... oh I do love to watch HGTV when I'm in the *hospital!)
4. Prefer biblical names for the first name, but again, more of a guideline, as we haven't stuck to this one each time.

You probably can't begin without knowing what names we have already used, right? So, in alphabetical order, here are the 14 boy names we have used:
Adam, Austin, Bryce, Christopher, Daniel, David, Geoffrey, Isaac, James, John, Joseph, Joshua, Patrick, Paul.

Now, lets also look at the family names that we are thinking of using as a middle name this time around, and there aren't many left, believe me!
Jesse
Emerson

The ONE first name hubby likes and seems to not want to budge from, at least right now, is Liam. To be honest, I was okay with this name several months ago. But, the longer I thought about it the more it just didn't seem to fit with rule #3. Don't get me wrong, it is a fine name, just a bit more "trendy" than we usually go with.

Here are the names I am thinking about:
Andrew (Jesse)
Jacob (Emerson)
Elijah (Jesse)

Are you totally confused yet? Do you see why this is so hard? Argh!

Oh, and while we are at it, scratch the names Dustin, Travis, Benjamin, Samuel, Ethan, Micah and Owen off this list of possible first names. Already been used amongst cousins.

If you haven't already clicked over to watch HGTV online, instead of reading all this post, and I don't blame you, and you have some name suggestions, BRING THEM ON! I mean, leave your suggestions in the comments section please.


* We don't have broadcast or cable TV at home... just use it to watch DVD's.

Seeds planted before my bed rest ...

... are now abloom, in all their glory!

click to enlarge any of these images

I just love sunflowers!

Which is your favorite pic? Number them 1-4 from top to bottom, and leave your vote in the comments section. I'll add up the votes on Saturday morning.

And, while you're at it, sign up as being one of my blog followers. I KNOW you are all out there, even if you don't comment (and that is totally okay with me), because I can see my blog counter go up and up after I put up a new post. It would be fun for me to see all of you wonderful people who grace my blog with your readership. Just click on the "follower" link in the left side bar.

31 weeks

I "celebrated" turning 31 weeks by being in the hospital, yes, once again. I went in on Saturday 9/13, with severe kidney pain, again. Only this time it was not a kidney infection, but a kidney stone. Go figure. I came home Monday afternoon 9/15.

I am very thankful that this hospital trip was for something as "easy" as a kidney stone and not because the placenta previa was bleeding.

For anyone who might be counting, not that I am of course, but this was my 5th hospital trip. Again, thankful these have all been for things not related to the previa. And, baby boy continues to be healthy and strong for which I am also very thankful.

I have an OB appt. this afternoon and hopefully there will not be any surprises. I refuse to take my hospital bag with me today. I just do. I kind of cannot handle the thought of being put back in after I just got out of there yesterday.

On a good note, I did take my fully prepared hospital bag with me when I went in on Saturday, and though I was too sick and in too much pain the first 30 hours or so, when I did start to feel better it was very nice to have clean clothes and my own toiletries with me. Yeah!

About 7 more weeks till the c-section. Still hoping and praying we get that far without any complications from the previa.

On a funny side note, hubby and I cannot agree on a name for this baby. We have never had this much struggle coming up with and agreeing on a name. But, how many people have to come up with 8 different boy names they like? When people ask me if we have a name yet, I say, yes, his name is " Baby Boy". Maybe we will be inspired on a name we can both agree on after we "see" this little boy.

**Edited to add: Just back from my OB appt. Yes, I got to come home! Hooray! My OB is wondering if my severe stomach pain is an ulcer, but there isn't any difference in treatment if we knew that for sure and so doing an upper GI really isn't going to benefit us anything and only add risks to the pregnancy. He is going to up my at home hydration to be sure I am getting enough and I am supposed to work on getting more potassium into me. Darling hubby is at the store right now buying banana's and looking for a sports drink that has potassium in it for me to see if I can drink it and have my stomach tolerate it. My kids were thrilled to see me walk back through the door after my appt. They are getting used to me ending up in the hospital anytime I leave the house. Nice surprise for them, and for me too!

30 weeks

You probably all noticed how I didn't post last week, week 29. To say it was not a great week is, well, somewhere in the ball park of being accurate. I'll try to briefly recap:

* Last Monday night my 13 y.o. son fainted in the kitchen and on his way DOWN hit his head very solidly on the edge of the kitchen island. Off to the ER with my hubby. Son had a concussion and needed 5 staples to close the hole in the back of his head. A tad stressful for all of us.

* Last Tuesday I went for my ultrasound and OB appt. Ultrasound was good, baby is good, if not great: He measured 2 weeks "ahead" on skeletal measurements and estimated at weighing 3 lbs. 6 oz. Yeah! Only a little bit of cervical change... another big yeah! BUT, my urine showed I was dehydrated again/still. So, hubby had to take me to the hospital for another round of 2000 ml's of hydration.

In the meantime, I asked my OB if I could PLEASE have in-home health care and so have my hydration done at home, so I wouldn't have to be away from my family every week for a day (my dehydration issue isn't going to go away before the baby is born it would appear - my stomach is in so much pain and I have such severe nausea if I eat AND try to drink , even with a whole slew of meds they have me on to try to combat it, that giving my stomach a break so I can be somewhat comfortable would be best, and daily hydration at home the best option of all). Home health care was set up, only in order to have daily infusion therapy the patient has to have a PICC Line put in.

* Last Friday I went in to have the PICC Line put in. It went pretty well, with only one wrong turn (in my vein that is) and only one serious bought of feeling like I was going to pass out or throw up while it was being put in. Don't want to do this again anytime soon, but if this line will last, I won't have to be poked again, even for my c-section. This line serves it all, even blood draws and IV mediation needs. Yippee! (if you could see my arm from last weeks "regular" IV, the huge bruises and the pain I had from it, you'd understand why a PICC Line is such a blessing for me)

* Last Saturday the home health care nurse came out and taught me how to start and stop and clean and everything my own infusion therapy. Yup. I have a frig full of IV bags, a little battery operated pump and tons of sterile packs of tubing and such. My infusion takes 4 hours to run, but it is totally protable, so I can go anywhere (technically speaking of course... I am still on bed rest) with it.

* Today, Tuesday the 9th, I had my weekly OB appt and FINALLY I wasn't dehydrated. Woo hoo! So, the infusion therapy is working! Yeah! I am also now in the 30th week, which means I am heading into the most dangerous time for the placenta previa. We discussed with my OB about starting steriod shots in the next could of weeks, as a preventitive measure. I asked my OB what his "gut" feeling was about my previa? He said, of course, previa's are impossible to guess at what they will do, but his "gut" feeling was that I would do okay for another couple of weeks. I'll take that, doc! So, my new goal is reaching 32 weeks without any problems...not that I have ANY control over any of this. It is just a goal.

Notice my belly bump picture? Do you see how far out my stomach is sticking? This baby is doing some serious growing lately, don't you think? I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that it is almost 10 weeks till my actual due date (though the c-section will be in about 8 weeks), with as large as I am feeling already! Yikes! God is so good though, because in the beginning of this whole previa thing one of the OB's concerns was the baby possibly not growing well. Praise God, we can scratch that concern off the list!

Thank you Jesus for your mercies each day!