Week 31 Update

Last night I went to my REGULARLY SCHEDULED hospital appointment (read: don't panic everyone) and went to see my doctor this afternoon. I now go to each place every week. Both appointments went well and were largely uneventful. I will take a "boring" visit over a crazy one any day. Dylan's heart rate is 153 beats per minute and he weighs 3 lbs. and 7 oz. He is probably about 16 inches long, which is the average for babies at 31 weeks. He continues to be breech and curled up in a tight ball, so he still looks pretty little to me. He was showing off his flexibility by bringing his feet up to his head during most of the ultrasound. However, he was also not being very photo friendly with his hands in his face and constantly turning the wrong way. These were the best ones we could get of the little stinker:

What a Difference a Week Can Make

Well, it has been an eventful week, to say the least. I am sitting here counting my blessings that Autrey is home now and I am still pregnant. I came very close to having an emergency C-section 24 hours after Autrey came home. After work last Monday I was feeling great as we went to my weekly appointment. (In fact, to show how naive I was to the situation unfolding before me, we were planning on going out to Olive Garden using a gift card from one of Autrey's patients after the appointment was over to celebrate his return.) The doctor put 2 belly bands on me so he could monitor Dylan's heart rate and my contractions. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for quite a while, but they weren't painful and I thought they were completely normal. Oops. Now I know they shouldn't be happening that often at 29 weeks. Dr. Forseter got really serious and told me my contractions were happening every 8-9 minutes. He then discovered that I was dilated to 1 1/2 cm. Also, part of my cerclage stitching came out. We still aren't sure how much, if any, remains entact. I was promptly sent to St. John's Hospital to see if they could stop the contractions.

At the hospital, I was not allowed to eat or drink anything because if the contractions didn't stop I would have had to have a C-section. By the time all was said and done, I ended up fasting for 25 hours until they felt comfortable letting me eat and drink again. Normal delivery was out of the question because Dylan is still breech and too little to turn manually. (He was an ounce or two under 3 lbs. that night.) To slow the contractions, I was given 1 terbutaline shot in my arm that made my heart race, an IV of Magnesium sulfate for 48 hours that burned and made me feel like I was dipped in Napalm, and Indocin pills I am still taking 2 days on, 1 day off so my amniotic fluid levels are not reduced. Before the medicine started working, my contractions got down to about every 5 minutes. I was given 2 painful steroid shots to help speed up Dylan's lung development, should he refuse to wait any longer to make his entrance into this world. (Yes, my son has been given steroids. But keep that fact quiet. When he gets drafted to play baseball, we will tell the officials they were just B12 shots.)

I was hooked up to so many cords and totally confined to my bed during my entire stay. I had my IV fluids in my right arm, my blood pressure cuff that went off automatically every hour on my left arm, and heart rate and contraction monitors on my stomach. If that didn't make it difficult enough to sleep, there was also a lot of noise with the monitors constantly beeping and a steady stream of nurses waking me up at least every hour to check my CO2 levels, heart rate, temperature, and reflexes. My doctor also came to the hospital bright and early to check in with me everyday until I went home on Thursday afternoon. Even as exhausted as I became due to their constant presence, I was grateful for the close care and attention I was given by the hospital staff.

I am also extremely thankful for Autrey, who stayed with me night and day. He went home to get things for me, rented a few movies for us to watch, and even slept in a small, uncomfortable recliner next to me. I am so relieved I didn't have to be in the hospital alone. I was also glad to have the love and prayers of family, friends, and co-workers. Auntie Elaine sent me these beautiful flowers that brightened up my hospital room:

I appreciate mom relaying the updates of my ever changing condition when I wasn't able to. Now that I am home and on a firm bed rest until Dylan is born, feel free to call or visit. I am sure the days will seem longer after Autrey starts up his last clinical experience in Arnold, MO on Monday.

Once again, I realize how blessed I am. Blessed that Autrey is home. Blessed that he is taking such good care of me. Blessed to have wonderful friends and family. Blessed to have the benefits of modern medicine and good doctors. Blessed the contractions are under control and I can be at home. Blessed to have paid sick leave and maternity time off from work. Blessed that Dylan is happily oblivious to the flurry of excitement he caused. Blessed that he is still growing inside me and is not a week old in the NICU. It's amazing to think how my life changed this week...and how lucky I am it didn't change more than it has.

Autrey's Home!!!

Today started out like any other typical quiet Sunday. I went to church, took a long nap, ate dinner, and was just relaxing by myself. All of a sudden the doorbell rang. Strange, since I wasn't expecting anyone. I went to the door and got the best surprise in the world. Autrey came home a few days early from Dallas...and brought flowers and a cheesecake! What a sweetheart! I could just kiss him. Oh, wait. I really can! I can't wipe this perma-grin off my face. Now we can finally be together like a real couple. Speaking of which, I think Autrey and I need to spend some more quality time together right now...with the cheesecake, of course!

Growing Pains

It's official! Tuesday was the start of my 3rd trimester. I am happy to report that my visits to the doctor have been great so far. Dylan has been growing and so have I. I have gained 20 lbs so far -- 3 lbs the 1st trimester and 17 lbs in the 2nd trimester. That's not too bad, considering I was "on vacation" and eating a lot more than I normally would have during the entire summer. It is a surreal feeling to wake up one morning and suddenly realize it looks like there is a volleyball under your shirt.


Me: "My belly's getting bigger. That's so weird!"

Autrey: "Don't worry. It'll GROW on you!"

Ha ha. I'm sure it will continue to grow. I am still sporting my innie belly button, for now at least. It is a lot more shallow than it used to be, but an innie still the same. The news for today is that I had to go and drop my drawers to get a RhoGAM shot. Super fun, if you like needles. (I don't, but this one didn't really hurt.) The shot was necessary because my blood is A- and Autrey's is A+. I guess that shouldn't have surprised me. He is smarter than I am and his grades were always slightly higher than mine. For instance, we both took Marriage Prep in college. Autrey got an A. I got an A-. Hence, he likes to kid around and say that his way is always best. I'll let him think whatever makes him happy. I'm getting excited to have him home again soon!

Estes Park, CO

Friday after school, I hopped on a plane and flew to Colorado to spend Labor Day weekend with Autrey and the rest of the Duke crew. We stayed in Estes Park at a vacation home right on the river. After a month and a half of being apart, I was just happy to see Autrey. The fun vacation part with the rest of the fam was just a great perk. On Saturday, the girls went to check out the arts and craft fair downtown. Then we all went mini golfing, including Maggie. She even got a hole-in-one. Me, not so much. I could use the excuse that Lori basically hit it for her, but I don't think it makes the situation sound any better.

Chillin' on the deck while the burgers were cooking:

After our BBQ, we watched BYU pull out a major upset win over Oklahoma on the huge flatscreen down in "our room." (Instead of sleeping separately on the other set of bunk beds in the same room as Crystal and Natalie, we took the top 2 twin mattresses and put them together on the living room floor. I like to think of it as camping indoors.)

Grammy with the babies in the morning:
On a walk with Tommy behind the house:On Sunday, we hiked around Bear Lake. It was absolutely gorgeous, as you can see:



Autrey and Danny decided to climb straight up the side of the mountain and hide to scare everyone else as they came around the corner. Here they are on their descent:

The rest of the family headed back after hiking around Bear Lake, but the 3 of us wanted to hike to Alberta Falls as well. I love this picture of us:

We saw all sorts of wildlife on our trip. The animals were not shy, that's for sure. I set my camera case down to take a picture and this little guy ran right up next to me to check it out:

This big elk wasn't shy either. He is looking at the camera because Autrey decided to get a closer shot and had just stepped on a stick near him, giving him a good startle. Real smooth, I know. I am pretty sure the elk is deciding whether he should come after my crazy husband or not:

We worked up an appetite after all of the walking around. Autrey and I came back and made BBQ chicken, shrimp, and veggies. We grilled pineapples and peaches for dessert. Actually, he did the marinating and BBQing. I just helped with the chopping and skewering:

Autrey takes his grilling very seriously. I apparently broke his cardinal rule by interrupting his cooking to take a picture, thereby jeopardizing the perfection of his culinary masterpiece. The expression on his face should have been my first clue he didn't want to be trifled with. That's why he looks a little bit psychotic. Totally my fault. He didn't want me to post this one, but he can't stop me from down in Texas:

On Labor Day, before we all drove back to Denver to catch our flights back to our various destinations, we went mini-golfing again at a different course and went to look at the various lakes in the area. We stopped at Lake Estes where Matt, Allyson, Autrey, and I rode the buggy/bicycles around it:

We hopped off the bikes to check out the "elks/mooses," as Autrey and Matt were calling them: *shaking head*

This weekend was great. I'm sure it will be our last care-free vacation for a while!

Alaska, The Last Frontier

When your closest relative lives 1,000 miles away and it is necessary for your husband to be out of state during his clinical experiences for 4 months out of the past year, you tend to become very attached to your friends. A few of them end up becoming more like sisters. Rainee and Meggan are two that I have spent a lot of time with and have come to love dearly. So, it is with a heavy heart that tonight I bid farewell to Rainee, who is moving with her husband, 4 kids, and dog back to their native state of Alaska. (I don't know how all of them lived in their trailer for so long without going crazy. The woman is a saint.) This last week the 3 of us spent as much time together as we possibly could. Rainee absolutely loves Aztec hot chocolate, so on Monday night we drove over to a coffee shop after dinner so she could get her fix. Careful, the stuff is addicting! On Tuesday night, a bunch of us went to have a BBQ at the park and let all the kids play...

...Well, the kids weren't the only ones having fun:

Rainee's twins, Aubrey and Chloe:

(They are so much bigger than they used to be!)

Wednesday night we had dinner at Meggan's:

The girls: Meggan Boston, Rainee Pontius, Liz Kearse, me, and Heather Bosshardt

The big kids: Kate Boston with Adelyn and Isaac Pontius

The babies: Aubrey Pontius, Eden Kearse, Chloe Pontius, and Luke Boston
Not pictured: Dylan Duke :)

That brings us to tonight. I came over to help take care of kids while Rainee and Ben were doing some last minute packing. Here we are saying our good-byes before they drove away:

I am going to pause from my sappy-ness to admit that I had the title for this post as "Alaska, the FINAL Frontier" until I took a closer look at the wording on the license plate. Hmmmm, I haven't watched Star Trek in years. Oh well.

Pontius family, I wish you the best! I miss you already!

Week 27 Baby Pics

I went to the hospital after school last night for another appointment to monitor Dylan's growth. Our little guy is not so little any more. He has a heart rate of 147 and weighs 2 lbs. and 7 oz. He is still breech and during the ultrasound was curled up in a tight little ball, but he is probably around the 14 1/2 inch long average that is typical for this stage of development. These are two shots of Dylan from the front. You can clearly see his left eye in both of them. Next week I officially start my 3rd trimester of pregnancy...woo hoo!