long awaited update

I feel so guilty that I abandoned Blogger, and all of my Blogger readers. I should have at least popped my head in once a month to let you know we were all still breathing at least. Geesh. But a funny thing happened when we brought our fifth child home- our busy life got even busier. But in a good way!

I've only got a few minutes, so I'll just give a short little update on everyone. :)


I said back in February that Davey was going to lose his job because they were outsourcing it. Apparently the outsourcing company had this machine that had been down for 3 weeks, and the company had lost millions of dollars due to it, so they got rid of the outsourcing company and let the Cat employees fix it. They had it back and running the next day. So Davey (for now anyway) is in no danger of losing his job. Phew!


Kadence is growing like a weed. She still wants me to pick her up, but she's just too big! So instead we settle on her snuggling with me on my lap. :) She only has 3 days left of Kindergarten! I cannot believe that the year is already over. Soon my baby will be a first grader! I was so nervous about sending her to school, and being apart from her all day long when the year began. But we adjusted, and she absolutely loves school. She has grown so much this year! A much more mature, taller little girl is walking out my door every morning on her way to the school bus. It's so much fun watching her grow. Oh, and she has 2 fewer teeth since the last time I posted. ;o)





My middle children (ha!) are all doing fantastic. They celebrated their 3rd birthday last month! (thanks for the birthday wishes my blogger friends!) It seems like a lifetime ago that they were little 1-pound babies. Joey is 33 pounds and 37 inches tall, Elijah is 30 pounds and 37 inches tall, and Rowan is 36 inches tall and 27 pounds. (she's my little pipsqueak!) So far age 3, while still very challenging, has been less challenging than age 2. They listen a little bit better, and don't throw quite as many tantrums as they did at age 2. We are contemplating sending them to preschool in the fall, mainly so they can get out of the house for a couple of hours, and so mommy can get a little break to get some things done around the house. It's only 2 1/2 hours a day, so I don't feel too guilty considering that option. I think it will do everyone some good.

Here they are on their 3rd birthday. The boys are looking less alike than they did when they were younger, don't you think?




And then there's my little Benny Bear. :) He's gotten so big since the last time I posted! Amazing how much things change in 3 short months. He is a big little guy! He's 5 months old now, and weighs 18 pounds! He's tall too, 27 inches I think at his last check-up. He's wearing 9-month clothing. :) He rolled over for the first time this week, first from back to belly, which he has now mastered, and occasionally he can roll from belly to back. It's making diaper changes quite interesting. :) He has been saying "goo" for a couple of months, but just this week he also has added "bababa" and "mamama" to his sounds. I know they're not intentional words, but it is sooo cute to hear him say them! He is the sweetest baby I've ever met. He does not cry (ever) unless he's hungry or tired. And when he's tired he'll rub his eyes and fuss, and all I have to do is go lay him down and he goes right to sleep. Amazing. He is happy ALL the time. He is a little blessing in all of our lives, and we just love this little guy to pieces!!





And me? I'm just busy! Trying to figure out how to balance housework and taking care of 5 kids has definitely been a challenge. But I wouldn't trade our "little" family for the world. :)





Sometime in the near future I hope to move my blog to a new website. It will still be through blogger, but the web address will be different, and it will have a new title (we're not Triplets plus 1 anymore!) That and I get so many weird spam comments through this blog and I'm ready for a fresh start. I'll post the details whenever I make the move! (This blog will still be here at this address, I'll just be starting a new one at a different address)


And now, I must go do some laundry. :)

Sick of being sick!

Yes, we've all been sick here. For the past 2 weeks. It started out a double ear infection for Kadence, and the following day she came down with the stomach flu. And ever so kindly passed it on to her brothers and sister. (not Ben though, thank goodness) And while the kids were battling that, Davey brought some respiratory virus home. So the very DAY that we got over the stomach flu, Kadence came down with the repiratory virus and missed 2 days of school. Then I got it. And now Eli, Joey and Rowan all have it. Thankfully Ben has avoided all of the icky stuff that's been floating around our house.


Aside from the viruses that we've been passing along here, things are still chugging right along in the McDowell house.

Davey found out that his job at Caterpillar is being outsourced. The one he JUST finished his testing for last weekend, the job where he JUST graduated to Journeyman. Sometime next month the electrical maintainance department will be completely outsourced. Nice, huh? Davey should have another job he can go back to within the plant. Not sure when we'll find out for sure? Probably like the DAY they get rid of maintainance they'll let him know. They're kind like that. Ugh.




Kadence is doing great in Kindergarten. She's a "great little student" the teacher tells me. :) I can't believe we're halfway through the 3rd quarter. Where has the year gone? Soon my little kindergartener will be in first grade.

Oh, and she has found the boy she wants to marry. :) And apparently she told him so.

I asked her, "so what did he say when you told him?"

"He said, 'Oh no. Nooooo, no, no, no, no.'"

She just giggles when he says that. So cute. :)




Not a whole lot new to report on Eli, Joey and Rowan. They're still just busy being 2! I hate bunching them together in a post, but I really can't think of anything new that they're all doing individually. They're all improving daily on their vocabulary. Rowan is speaking very long sentences now. "No Dad, I told you not to do that. You're in time-out." Oh yes, she's a bossy little thing. :) Elijah is speaking in probably 4-5 word sentences, and Joey is right on his tail with 3 word sentences. I hear a lot throughout the day, "I need it." "Joey's turn now." "Mom, Ben is crying!" (thanks buddy, I know) :) They love playing with play-doh, and love playing in the bathtub. I usually only give baths every other day, but we've been doing it every evening just for something to do. We're so tired of being cooped up in this house!!




(Ben's 1-month photo)

Of course I have the longest update about Ben because he is brand new and is doing new things all the time. He's getting so BIG!! Aside from being 2 months old today (where have the past 2 months gone??) he weighs like 13 pounds now!!! This little boy likes to eat! He is also smiling now, which is soooo cute. And cooing!! His favorite time of the day to smile and coo is first thing in the morning before we get out of bed, after his tummy is full. :) And he is most social when he is laying on our bed. Not sure why, he just likes it in there! Probably because it's comfy and that's where he gets to snuggle with mommy. :) He either sleeps in his bouncy seat placed inside of the pack n' play bassinet, or he sleeps right next to me in bed. He loves to be held, and loves attention from his mommy, and likes to think he is an only child I think. :) He may make our household even busier than it was before, but I cannot imagine our lives without him in it. He is such a sweet little guy, and has stolen all of our hearts.

And me? I'm doing much better! I went through a rough patch there for a couple of weeks where things seemed extremely overwhelming to me, and I was feeling kind of down. But my pregnancy hormones have left the building, and I'm feeling much better now. Well, aside from this respiratory virus. I think I may have bronchitis? Not cool! Especially when you have 5 little ones to take care of. :/


So that is my little update! I found time to blog tonight because the little ones all went to bed an hour early. So I had some free time before I passed out on the couch!! I'm hoping I can start blogging again soon- I miss it! But for the time being, I'm lucky if I get a shower. :)



Their first time sledding! (not Kadence's! but her first time sledding with her brothers and sister!)

Busy Mama Here

I apologize for my lack in posts! I just have zero time to update anymore! I wanted to give you a quick update though and let you know that we're doing just fine here!

Ben came home from the hospital on January 3rd, after 13 days in the hospital. He started to have some apnea/bradycardia so he had to stay an extra week until that was resolved.

Everyone has adjusted to having a new baby in the house just fine! The kids all love him to pieces. They get very concerned when he cries, the first week or so Joey would cry when Ben would cry. Lol! And Rowan always lets me know that Ben is crying by saying, "Baby coy-ing! Baby coy-ing!" I love how she says it, it is so cute. I make her say it even when he's not crying. :) Elijah just loves Ben's little feet and hands, and loves when Ben is awake. "Baby..awake! Baby...awake!" he tells me. :) Kadence loves to hold Ben- it's the first thing she asks for when she gets home from school. She absolutely loves having a little baby in the house! Surprisingly no one is jealous of the baby, not once has one of the kids acted jealous when me or Davey are holding Ben.

Davey and I have adjusted just fine to having a newborn in the house once again as well. It honestly hasn't added much more stress than we already had. Ben is a breeze compared to the triplets! The only difference is I have to get up a few times during the night for feedings. For the first couple of weeks he did have his days and nights mixed up, but now we're back on track and he's sleeping 3-4 hour stretches.

The triplets are getting close to 3, and are such a handful right now. I love them to pieces, but man is it a lot to handle the three of them! They are constantly screaming and fighting, and just plain not listening. I know this too shall pass. Just wish we could fast forward to age 4. :)

Kadence is doing great in school, got all S+'s on her 2nd Quarter report card. :) She was the only one in her class to get all of the questions right on her 2nd quarter test the first time around. So proud of her!!!

I'm pumping and feeding him expressed breastmilk with a bottle. He refuses to breastfeed no matter how many times we try. Pumping, feeding him, and taking care of 5 kids is a bit daunting, but I'm still chugging along. Formula would be so much easier, but I'm not quite ready to do that yet. My milk supply typically only lasts 2 months anyway, so probably in another month I'll have to start supplementing. It will be easier for me to switch to formula when I have to.

Ben had his first check-up last week, and he had gained a full pound since birth and an inch. I told him he needs to quit growing up so fast since he's my last baby. He's not listening though... :)

Here is a recent pic of the kids (taken just 2 days ago!), their very first group shot together. Can you believe how big the triplets are getting? They're all losing that baby look and are looking like little people now. And Kadence looks so much older too! I just love this pic of the 5 of them- I plan on getting a big print made of it and hanging it up on the wall. :)


Well, better run. Got one kid naked on the potty chair, 2 in the living room getting into God knows what, and a baby in his bouncy seat crying because he wants picked up. Did I mention I was busy? ;o)

Benjamin David McDowell- His Birth Story

Benjamin joined our little family on December 21st at 11:30pm, weighing 7lbs 3oz., and 20in long. I'm just now getting a chance to post his birth story. Thought I'd better get it done before I get home- I may never have a chance to get on the internet again. :p

Last Monday, I went in for my regular 36-week OB appt. I hadn't been feeling well all week, and my pulse had been really high, especially when I would stand up or walk around. I told my doctor about it, so he wanted me to go have a non-stress test done to see if anything was going on that we should be concerned about. Since we had requested that I have my tubes tied, and St. John's couldn't do it because it was a Catholic hospital, they had me come over to Memorial Hospital (just down the road from St. John's in Springfield) in case I had to deliver- that way they could tie my tubes.

After monitoring me for an hour or so, they took my blood pressure while lying down, then while sitting, then while standing. As soon as I sat up, my pulse jumped up to over 100, and my blood pressure went up as well. Then the nurse had me stand up, and within a few seconds my pulse was in the 140's, and my blood pressure was 163/93. (I also was getting "fuzzy" and would get a headache everytime I stood up) I thought for sure the doctor would get the results and say that it was time do deliver.

After waiting for another hour or so, the doctor finally came in and said that I didn't have pre-eclampsia, so there was no reason to deliver. He wanted to admit me to the hospital- wasn't comfortable at all with me going back to the hotel becaues of my symptoms, but it apparently it wasn't enough to deliver me. By this point I was emotionally exhausted. I literally couldn't handle any more. The past 3 weeks had been so hard on me, and I had done my best to stay strong, and keep it together, but I just couldn't anymore. I just cried and cried when he told me it wasn't time. He tried talking to me, but I couldn't even speak. Davey was not happy at all with the situation. There was obviously something wrong with me, and he was afraid that if we didn't deliver soon, that I could get even sicker. I can't remember his exact words to the doctor, but it was something along the lines of, "You're going to have problems if something happens to her." The doctor (who is a resident mind you) asked Davey to repeat himself. So Davey did. And the doctor walked out of the room. LOL.

The nurse took me down the hall from triage to my room that I had been admitted to, by this point I was still just sobbing. After a bit I finallly got calmed down, and I asked for some water. The nurse told me she didn't think I could have any. What?! She said she wasn't sure why, but she would try and find out.

After an hour or so, they still hadn't let me have water or ice chips. Finally the nurse told us that apparently the doctors hadn't taken the idea of delivering me that night completely off the table yet. I was excited to hear this, but wasn't going to get my hopes up. My OB (the resident) came back in and said that he had spoken with the attending OB, and that the attending was going to come and speak with us.

A very long 2 hours later, which seemed like an eternity (for real), the attending finally knocked on the door.

He started off saying that there really wasn't one reason to deliver me. In order to deliver someone before 37 weeks, there has to be something in black and white. I didn't fit into that category. (at this point we're thinking, ok...they're definitely not going to deliver me tonight..) Then he goes on to say that I'm more in the gray area. I have a bunch of little things (polyhyrdamnios, large baby, classical c-section scar, elevated blood pressure, elevated pulse) that when added together, we enough of a reason to deliver me.

Inside we were ecstatic. Outside we were very calm, and just shook our heads and agreed with the doctor. We asked when we would be starting the c-section, and he said hopefully at 11:00. I looked at the clock- it was 10:00. Then the nerves kicked in.

The good thing about an emergency c-section is you really don't have time to think about what they're about to do. You're so concerned about the baby (or babies in my case) and if they're going to be ok, that you really can't focus on yourself. This time I did, and let me tell ya, it was horrible. LOL. I thought about the spinal block (not a big fan of getting those!) and them strapping my arms down, and the big blue curtain, and the worst....them cutting me open while I lie awake on the table. YIKES.

They started prepping me, the nurse came in and shaved my underwear line/belly area. They had me sign some consent forms, and then anesthesia knocked on the door. Then I really started to get nervous. It was time. I kissed Davey goodbye, told him I'd see him in a few minutes, and down the hall I went.

As soon as the doors to the OR opened, I got clausterphobic. The room was so small- it totally freaked me out. I scooched over from my bed onto the OR table (which also was extremely small- not very wide at all, I was afraid I wouldn't fit on it. Thankfully I did), and they began to prep my back for the spinal. Ick. After verifying that the doctor was in the building, they stuck the big ole' needle in and numbed my back. If you've had a spinal block or an epidural, you know this feeling, and it's not a good one. It gives me the heebeejeebees just thinking about it. :p Then they gave me the spinal block, and my legs started to go tingly. They laid me down, strapped my arms down, and up came the big blue curtain. I actually was much more relaxed after they put up the curtain. The less I could see, the better.

"I'll go get Dad," one of the nurses said. Oh my gosh, it was really time!!!


Davey came in and held my hand, and made sure I was ok. I assured him that I couldn't feel a thing. We talked back and forth, wondering what they were doing. I told him they would probably tell us when they were about to pull him out. Then one of the anesthesioligists said, "Ok, you're going to feel a lot of pressure now, they're going to be pushing on your belly really hard." I turned to Davey and said, "Ok, the head should be coming out now!" He stood up with the camera and started snapping away. He got the coolest pictures of Ben being born!!! It was absolutely amazing to be able to see those pictures later that night. Neither of us got to see the triplets being born (I of course couldn't see a thing, and Davey didn't make it to the hospital in time) so it was very special that Davey got to see Ben being born, and that we were able to get pictures so that I could see it too. :)


As soon as his little head came out, he started crying. And so did I. :) Finally hearing his cry was an amazing moment. A moment that I had waited for for sooo long. After he was born and taken over to be assessed, Davey went over to check the baby out. They didn't even lift him up over the curtain so I could peek at him! It was at least 20 minutes before they finally brought him over to me- it seemed like an hour. It was agonizing. LOL.

Davey finally walked around the curtain holding our son, and sat down by me and let me kiss his little head, and see his precious little face. Davey and I both cried. It was such an amazing moment. My mom laughs and said it seemed like it was our first baby, not our fifth, the way that we acted when this little guy was born. :)

Ben's initial Apgar scores were 9/10. We went back to our room, and he got to come with us. And for about an hour he stayed in the room with us, and we thought everything was fine. Then the nurse mentioned that he sounded like he was breathing hard, so they were going to take him down the the nursery to get checked out. What we thought would be a couple of hours of being observed wound up being 5 days in the special care nursery. Luckily it wasn't anything major, he just had some fluid on his lungs, which was normal for his gestational age and the fact that he was a c-section baby.

We're hoping and praying that we can take him home tomorrow, it's been a very long week, and we're ready to get this little guy home.



Right before they wheeled me back for the c-section. I was just a little excited. :)



His little head coming out- so amazing!!



It's a boy!







Our beautiful baby boy. ^_^

Pregnancy Week 35

I'm really tired of this drama filled pregnancy. It's exhausting. Thank God it's almost over!

Yesterday I went in for my regular OB appt and growth u/s. Things went perfectly fine until I had my u/s, and they found that the baby hadn't grown at all in 2 weeks. (he was 5lbs 11oz two weeks ago, measured 5lbs 12 oz yesterday) What scary news to receive. There was talk of doing an amnio and seeing if his lungs were mature and just delivering, but they called downstairs to my MFM and he wanted me to spend a night in the hospital and have the baby's heartrate monitored. At about 8:30 this morning we went in for another scan, this time with the same sonographer and u/s machine as they used 2 weeks ago when they measured me, and she measured him at 6lbs 7oz. So according to that u/s, he did indeed grow. His rate of growth has slowed down, but not to a scary level. He's still measuring ahead about 3 weeks. Kadence weighed 6lbs 4oz when she was born at 38 weeks, the average is 6lbs 3oz I think. So he's already bigger than that at 35 weeks. This is all according to u/s of course, they can be off +/- a pound.

My c-section has been scheduled for December 28th at 10 am. Makes me nervous that a date has been set! That's only 12 days away! I'm so curious to see if I actually make it to 37 weeks. When the doctor measured my belly yesterday I measured 40 weeks. No wonder I feel like I'm ready to pop. Geesh!

So now I'm back at the hotel, just kind of hanging out for the next 12 days.

If I'm not home by Christmas (I'd have to deliver by this Sunday in order to be home by then) we are planning on postponing (sp?) Christmas until me and baby are home. I told Kadence that I wrote a letter to Santa Claus, and he wrote me back saying that he would make a special trip back to our house when our whole family was together. Such a sweet little girl, she has absolutely no objections to waiting until we're all together.


I went home this weekend to see the kids and that helped sooo much. I feel like a brand new person. Within minutes of arriving home everything was back to normal. I wondered how the little ones would act towards me, if they'd act differently towards me. But other than being a little shy for a few minutes, they were all piled on my lap playing with me and giggling like I was never gone. For the first couple of hours they didn't even want me to get up to go to the bathroom. Lol. Kadence about knocked me over with her hug when she got home from school. I got all teary eyed. My kids are the best. :)


So within the next 12 days I'll be holding my newborn son. That thought alone will get me through the next week and a half. :)

One Day at a Time

I've been in this hotel for a week now. Kind of neat that I've gotten a whole week out of the way. Even if I do make it to that 37 week mark for my scheduled c-section, I only have 2 weeks and 5 days left. In the grand scheme of things, 2 weeks 5 days is nothing. It should just fly by. But being up here alone, away from my family, with nothing to do.. the days drag on. And thinking of spending 19 more days in this hotel makes me want to cry. And sometimes I do cry. ;-)

The awesome thing is all of the NICU time that we're avoiding by me remaining pregnant. That in itself is worth it. Totally worth it. If I can make it until next week, we could have a take-home baby! Especially since I'll have to spend 4 days in the hospital after my c-section- if he does require some hospital stay, I'm hoping those 4 days will be enough for him to come home with me when I get discharged.

I got to see the kids on Saturday, that was so nice! Rowan acted normally towards me, but the boys seemed a bit shy. Broke my heart a little bit, but Davey reassured me that as soon as I get home things will be back to normal. They were just in a strange place and weren't quite sure why Mommy was living here now and not at home. It was wonderful to see them, and totally lifted my spirits to hug them and kiss them and tell them in person that I love them. Kadence was able to spend TWO nights with me at the hotel! It was great! She had so much fun, and was in dire need of some mommy time. Poor little thing cried and cried when she had to leave though. I cried too. I'll see her and the little ones again this weekend. I can't wait.

I take the days hour by hour. Some hours are harder than others. Some days are rougher than the next. I miss my family horribly. And I know they miss me, too. Kadence takes it the hardest, she cries almost every time we talk on the phone. "I just want to snuggle with you." She says that and her little tears just start flowing. Then I spend the next 20 minutes telling her that I miss her too, and that Mommy will be home very soon. Sigh. This is definitely rough.


But like everyone says, soon this will be a distant memory, and I'll be at home, enjoying my 4 kids, and my NEW little baby boy. ^_^ I'm going to be a mommy of 5 soon! I can't believe that, still sounds so strange to me! But I love it. Absolutley love it. Being a Mommy is what I was put on this earth for. :)

Weekend Update

Well since I won't have a computer until Tuesday I thought I would do a little update on how I'm doing.

My contractions have been ok. They've been picking up more again so I'm not sure how long it will be before I wind back up at the hospital. Hoping I can hold off at least a few more days as hospital life isn't fun.

Hotel life is boring. I just sit here in my room all day doing nothing. I talk on the phone some, watch t.v. when I can find something interesting to watch, stare at the walls. LOL.

My spirits are up today because for the first time since Monday morning I get to see my kids!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! I just want to squeeze them and kiss their little faces and never let go. ^_^


Since I won't have a computer until Tuesday, if I have any updates I'll post them via Twitter up in the left hand corner of this page, and also on Facebook.

Have a great weekend. :)

Long Update from the Hospital Hotel

It's been another long week. Monday morning we drove to St. John's in Springfield because I was feeling some pains along my scar, and having an increase in contractions. At first, I think they were planning on letting me go home (after sitting there on the monitors for about 3 hours) and then the contractions really picked up.

I wound up contracting really hard for about 12 hours. They were super intense (on the TOCO monitor they were starting out at zero and going up to the 120's-140's) and were coming every 2 minutes. I think around 7 that night they gave me pain meds. I finally stopped contracting at about 2am.

Amazingly, my cervix didn't change any. Funny how now it seems as though I have a cervix of steel. Could have used that with the last pregnancy. ;)

The doctors are concerned about my c-section scar and these contractions. They don't like the idea of me being so far away from the hospital, so I am now stationed in a hotel right across the street from the hospital until I deliver.

This is tough. I haven't seen my kids since Monday morning. :( I am hoping that someone can bring them up to see me on Saturday. I miss them so much. :(




I'm going to try to answer some questions that some of you have.


Why can't you stay in the hospital? If you're too high-risk to go home, why can't they just let you stay in the hospital?

This we don't quite understand either. The doctors tell us it's because I really don't need 24 hr. supervision in a hospital, so they couldn't justify me staying there. We already checked with our insurance, and we are covered 100% at this point due to meeting our maximum out of pocket this year. I guess the hospital was unwilling to code things so that we could get it covered.


So why didn't you just go home anyway? Why let the doctors tell you what to do?

Well for 2 reasons. 1, we were told that if I leave Springfield, that I would be discharged against medical advice. That can cause a whole lot of issues, such as having to find another hospital, or even getting dropped from our insurance. But even more importantly, the reason I chose to stay was because I honestly didn't feel comfortable being so far away from a hospital either. I know this stinks, and I know it's going to be hard, but my safety and the baby's safety is what's most important right now.


Why can't they just drain some fluid out of the amniotic sac?

The main reason is because it's really risky. Even riskier than my risk of rupturing. It would be done the same way as an amnio is done to check for lung development, but rather than having to drain 2 tablespoons of fluid, they would have to drain a lot of fluid. Which would mean the needle would have to be in there for a long time. Issues that could arise could be rupturing of the sac, infection, and draining that much fluid the baby may not handle it well. There is also no medical data showing that by draining off some of the fluid that it will help slow my contractions or reduce my risk of rupturing. (this is what we were told...makes no sense to us) The only way they will drain fluid off from around the baby is if I have so much fluid build up that it's difficult for me to breathe. Sounds like a lovely side effect doesn't it?


So what's the game plan?

The game plan is to make it to 37 weeks, do an amnio, and do a c-section to deliver the baby. I will be 37 weeks on December 28th.

If I start having strong contractions, I am supposed to have hospital security come and pick me up, and I will stay in the hospital until the contractions stop.

They won't deliver the baby until I'm in true labor. In order to be in true labor, no matter how hard you are contracting, your cervix has to be dilating. So if I go over to the hospital contracting and they see that my cervix is changing, they will deliver the baby.

I will also have regular weekly appt's for the next few weeks until I deliver.



That's all I can think of at the moment. Leave me a comment if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to try to answer them. :)


I have a laptop until Sunday, and I'm hoping I can locate another one to borrow for awhile- I'm going to go nuts up here all by myself without a computer!


Oh, one more thing. At my scan on Monday, the baby was weighing 5lbs 11oz. Can you say holy-big-fat-baby-batman?? He is measuring more like a 36 1/2 weeker vs. the 33 weeker that he is. My fluid levels are up to 32.5cm. The highest they had been previously at 28 weeks was 36cm.

Pregnancy Week 32

Sometimes I totally avoid posting an update because it seems to make the weeks go by faster. Does that sound dumb? Like today I'm posting my 32-week update, but I'll be 33 weeks in two days, so it almost seems like I bypassed this week all together. Well not totally bypassed it. Almost. :p I now find myself counting down the hours, not just the days. Lol.

My week started out very crappy. Lots of issues with my OB in Decatur. After saying he would get ahold of the Springfield doctors this past week, he told us during our appt that there was no need to. And when we would ask him questions, he would have no answers for us. Very frustrating.

My fluid levels are back up to 30 now, an increase of 5cm of fluid in just one week. That's not a good thing. And baby weighed 5lbs 1oz at Tuesday's appt.

My contractions are getting much stronger when I do have them. I can't even feel the Braxton-hicks anymore unless I happen to run my hand across my belly and then I realize I'm having one. Fortunately they haven't become regular enough for me to make another trip to the hospital, which I'm very grateful for. Lastnight they were coming pretty close for more than an hour, but then they let up again. I don't think it's a good sign that they are getting stronger, and I'm guessing when they do become regular, that I'll be in full-blown labor. And guessing by the size of my belly, I don't think that will be long.

I of course have no way of knowing when I will go into labor. My gut (no pun intended) is telling me that I won't go past 35 weeks. Heck I could go into labor tonight, there is just no telling what's going to happen. But judging by my size, and the fact that my contractions are getting stronger, I just don't think it will be more than 2 weeks. The good thing is that I'm almost 33 weeks. Some babies are take-home babies at 34 weeks. Some may spend a week or two as feeders and growers if born at 34 weeks. I would LOVE to make it 2 more weeks, and then maybe with my 3 day hospital stay after my c-section, we could bring this little guy home with us. Davey said the other day, "I sure hope we have him home for Christmas." It hadn't even crossed my mind that we wouldn't. He HAS to be home for Christmas! If you're praying, say some extra prayers that he'll be home for Chrismas, ok? ;)


I've put my fears of rupturing to the back of my mind since there is really nothing I can do about it. I'm taking it easy, listening to my body, and tyring not to stress about things. That's all I can do. I've been feeling pains along my c-section scar this past week, so I know it's definitely stretching. If it gets any more painful, I'll head to the hospital. It doesn't hurt all of the time. Just every now and then it will hurt for an hour or 2, and I'll have sharp shooting pains.


My Mom has been here for the past 11 days and it was a Godsend having her here! I give all the credit to her for me keeping this baby cooking for almost 2 extra weeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you Mom!! I love you so much! I was so sad to see you go today... but am SO thankful that I got through a couple of scary weeks with my Mom here. ^_^ Sometimes you just need your Mom, and this was definitely one of those times. Can't wait to see you again when baby Ben gets here!!!


I have my fluid levels checked again on Tuesday. If I don't post on here, check my Twitter update on the left sidebar of this page. I Twitter a lot of my updates.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Pregnancy Week 31

I'm a couple of days late posting this, but am happy to report that at 31 weeks 2 days, I am still pregnant. Yay!

Sunday night I wound up back in the hospital with horrible back pain and contractions. My contractions were 5 minutes apart, then after an hour or so spaced out to every 10 minutes, and then when they were 20 minutes apart, they let me go home. No meds or hospital stay needed this time. Thank goodness.

I had another appt with my regular OB in Decatur on Tuesday. Thankfully he seems more on board with what's going on, and is being more realistic that I have some very serious issues here, and that I most likely will not make it to my scheduled c-section at 37 weeks.

We also discussed the risks of going to 37 weeks, and if the game plan should be re-evaluated. With my risk factors of large baby, excess fluid (was back up to 25 this week) and my classical c-section scar, my risk of rupturing is pretty high. Dr. P plans to call the MFM's in Springfield next week and try to come up with a new gameplan. He said it's hard to say when it may be too late to deliver, or when it's too early for the baby. He said if I rupture at home, we'd "wind up with a dead baby, and probably not a good outcome for mom either." Eek. I'm glad he put it so bluntly so Davey could understand how serious of a situation it would be if that were to occur.


We have to weigh both risk factors and try to make a decision. To me it's a no-brainer...if it's a matter of me and baby dying, or baby needing a little bit of oxygen from a nasal cannula for a few days...I choose the nasal cannula. We're not talking delivering at week 25 here, or even 30. If I make it to week 34, I think we really need to make a decision.


Dr. P also told me that at this point, if I'm having regular contractions at all, that I need to come in. If I have to go to the hospital 50 times between now and when I deliver, he said it doesn't matter. I'm to a size now that contracting at all could mean rupturing.


On a side note, I measured my uterus today with a tape measure and I'm measuring 37 weeks. I measure 14.5 inches from the top of my pubic bone to the top of my uterus. The baby is measuring 3 weeks ahead (he should be about 4lbs 11oz today), so that would put me at 34.2 weeks, so the rest must be the extra fluid causing my uterus to be so large.


Still holding out for 32 weeks. After that I'll take things day by day.