Evan Jo Lindberg

Thank you to everyone out there who prayed for my brother and sister-in-law last night. Evan Jo Lindberg made it safely into the world at around 9:00 PM Arizona time on January 23. He weighs a sold 6 pounds even and is 19 inches long. They did take him to the NICU right after he was born to monitor him because he is considered a premie, but he's been in the room with Christian and Natalie since early this morning. They will be making it home sometime tomorrow morning.

I'll post pictures when I get some but check out their blog in the next couple of days because I'm sure they will post many.

Prayer Request

I would like to send out a prayer request to those of you out there who are willing. My brother and sister-in-law are currently at the hospital in labor with my nephew who has decided to make his appearance about 5-6 weeks early. (I give a range because based on her first ultrasound he's 6 weeks early but they did move her due date up by a week not too long ago.) Anyhow, regardless of that even 5 weeks is still a little too early so please pray that we get a healthy little baby boy Evan either tonight or tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted.

Who's the Drama Queen?

I'm really not sure if it's me or Little Miss. I took another unexpected, yet uneventful, trip to the doctor today simply because I started having more intense, longer and more frequent contractions. They started last night when I tried to go to bed, which was incredibly frustrating, and started back up this morning and continued intermittently throughout the day. These are much different then what they were two weeks ago, which had me calling to see what they wanted me to do and because of all the hoopla two weeks ago they figured it would be good to have me come in so they could just check me out.

So when the doc came in I just had to ask if I was the biggest pain in the butt patient she had. Before she could answer the nurse came in and told the doctor that the woman next door was asking for pain medication and the doc just rolled her eyes and said "whatever, that's fine, can you get a script ready?" That made me feel better...at least there is one who's a bigger pain in the butt than me...

Anyhow, they did another internal exam to which the doc said my cervix was low (which it has been for the last two weeks) and that my external was a 1 and my internal was closed. She was in a bit of a rush so I called the wonderful Momma Lock, nurse extraordinaire, to clarify for me. She thinks it means the same as I thought, that I am thinning out slightly but I'm NOT dilated which is good. The goal is to stay closed for as long as possible. Stay in child, stay in!

I do have to say though, I think the doctor appreciated my descriptions of what I was feeling! I told her this new "sensation" started out at my sides and tightened inwards toward my belly button until I felt like my belly button was going to explode. She just kind of looked at me with a perplexed look then recovered and said, "yes, that sounds like a contraction." It makes me laugh thinking back on it...I also told her I can't tell sometimes if it's a contraction or Little Miss just stretching out as long as she possibly can and then immediately curling in tight like a ball. (Maybe she'll be a gymnast, not a dancer) This poor doctor probably tells stories about me to others..."Let me tell you what this patient said today..."

It was also funny when she asked me if they were painful. That launched a discussion as to what really constitutes as painful. Honestly, I wouldn't describe what I'm feeling as painful just incredibly uncomfortable. I had to explain to her that I have always been told I have a high threshold for pain...I did swim for 4 years in college with 2 fractures in my back...so is it painful to me...no...but it definitely could be to someone else. It was the same when she asked if I had back pain. "Well," I said, "having fractured my back and having surgery to fix it I almost always have some sort of low back ache, but the aching does intensify with the the tightening if that's what you mean." She said yes, that's what she needed to know. I swear she probably thinks I'm nuts. Here I am, coming in a week before my appointment because my contractions are intensifying but I'm telling her they aren't painful...jee whiz...what else might I have up my sleeve?

Ultimately she said some women just contract a lot...apparently I'm one of them. Although, she did say it was good for me to come in because now I can use these contractions as a reference point. I've decided that, unless I have an appointment, I'm not going to go back unless they are 4-5 minutes apart, last longer than 45 sec-1 minute OR if my water breaks. (Those were the guidelines she gave me and I'm going to stick to em!) They did tell me to keep my appointment for next week so we'll see what they say then, they may want me to come in once a week from here till D-Day...

So that's the latest. Again...who's the drama queen?

Will it be Tap or Jazz

She's going to be a dancer, the question is will it be Tap, Jazz or Ballroom (particularly the Mambo) Haha, Get it? The Marley Mambo?! Okay, in all honesty, I didn't come up with that on my own, it came from the book Marley and Me. But, it is fitting, she wiggles around just like the dog did in the movie :) This little girl is most definitely a mover and a shaker. She's moving around constantly and although she sometimes causes Mommy some pain, it's really cool to feel and watch. It's as if she's saying "Don't forget about me in here." Though now that I think about it...there are a lot of times that I feel her all over...as if she's moving her arms and hands at the same time as her legs and feet...maybe she'll be a swimmer after all!!

AND BOY IS SHE STUBBORN. Our daughter definitely has a mind of her own...does that come more from Mommy or Daddy...I'm not quite sure. When she is wiggling about and causing me pain I'll push or rub on the area and ask her to move, but she won't have it. She stays rooted right where she is and will move more as if to say "HA, I do what I want!" I don't doubt we are going to have our hands full...

Other than that there isn't much new to report. I have a doctor's appointment next Thursday but things have been uneventful, which is excellent. I do still have the occasional contraction here and there and my discomfort is increasing, but then again so is my belly and that's just how it rolls when your pregnant. On another note, I've been finding Lady Bugs all over the house; by the backdoor, in my bathtub, and mostly on the windowsill in the nursery. Well, superstitions say that Lady Bugs are a sign of Good Luck. I'm a fan of being superstitious when it's in my favor, so I'm going to take it as a sign that Little Miss won't be here before March. (Did I just jinx myself, or challenge my daughter, who obviously has a mind of her own, to prove me wrong??) We shall see...

A Little Laugh

I thought that I would share with everyone a little laugh from today. Well, actually, I take that back...I got a HUGE laugh out of it. I was working on my school assessments today and they have to be submitted in a three ring binder. Well I had the binder open in my lap with the rings open because I was putting in page protectors and when I snapped the rings shut I realized just how big my pregnant belly has gotten. Yes, that's right folks, I got my belly pinched in a three ring binder today. And not only that, I thought when it happened that it just got pinched...but oh no...in fact it started to bleed. I'm cracking up just writing about it. It provided comic relief to my whole staff for the rest of the day. Sarah just came home and described it as a "puncture wound." So since I haven't given you an updated belly shot I figured I would and also a close up of the injury sustained during the work day...those treacherous assessments...maybe I'll submit workman's comp...

Brett happens to be very proud of this picture because he caught me completely unaware...I look a bit like a deer caught in the headlights...OMG...there's a baby in there!

Watch out Marley, here comes the three ring binder! You can see it was bleeding so much it really soaked the band aidTHEN, when I was at physical therapy this afternoon they figured out that therapy isn't working on my SI joints as well as it could be because I've developed a bit of bursitis in my left hip. They decided that the only way left to try and put me back together was with tape. Yep, the left side of my body is taped from hip to knee to try and hold it all together. I suppose this isn't quite as funny, but again, I found it truly comical.
It's been a good day.

OY VAY!

So as some of you know, there's been a little Marley drama. For those of you who don't know, don't worry, all is okay for now but oh the stories to tell.

It all started back around New Year's Eve when I thought Ms. Marley was going to try to be the first baby of the New Year! I was having some shooting pain in my lower abdomen, a general achiness all across my belly, a lot of tightening and some pressure, all of which would come and go. I figured it was more than likely she was just growing and things were getting a bit tighter so she was making my tendons and ligaments expand. Well, I was right, to an extent...

After these sensations didn't go away for about 5-6 days I thought "Hmmm, maybe I should call the doc." I had an appointment scheduled for Thursday the 8th, but Brett and I decided it was probaby worth a call on Monday just to make them aware of what was going on. I explained what I was feeling and they requested to see me that day. So I went in Monday afternoon and they did an internal exam (talk about painful, I can only imagine what that's going to feel like in full blown labor). Apparently, some of those sensations I was having were definitely my ligaments and tendons stretching out but others were contractions. AND, they were contractions that were having an effect. The internal exam made us all aware that my cervix had indeed dropped to midline, which apparently is lower than where it should be at 29-30 weeks which is where I was at the time. So that was the not so good news, but the good news was I wasn't thinning out and she wasn't sitting on my cervix.

They did a test called a fFN test to determine if it was likely I would go into premature labor. If the test came back negative it gave us a window that we knew she would NOT come which was good. If it came back positive it didn't really help much except to let us know there was a possibility that she could come within that window. Imagine my shock when I found out the "window" was two weeks! So I was a little anxious for a couple of days thinking we may have a baby before mid-March and waiting for the test results to come back. Sure enough it was NEGATIVE! PHEW, so we knew she wouldn't come before 32 weeks which was good. They put me on "sit status" at work (which is not easy for those of you who know me and what I do), and gave me a few other guidelines, including if I have more than 8 contractions in an hour to call and go to the hospital. But I was, and still am, willing to do whatever is needed to make sure that Ms. Marley doesn't come out early. They told me to come back in a week.

So a week was yesterday, and let me preface by saying things are okay enough that they don't feel they need to see me back again for another 2 weeks, which is the 29th, unless something else doesn't feel right (i.e. an increase in contractions). YAY! However, I am still having occasional contractions and there were still more changes detected during my internal exam. My cervix has dropped slightly lower than where it was last week, and it seems that it's starting to thin out ever so slightly. In addition to that, the nurse midwife said that "something didn't feel right" and she wanted the doctor to check me. Not the best thing to say to an expecting Mom who had drama the week before... It turns out that Little Miss is sitting lower than she was last week and what didn't feel right was likely a body part pushing against my cervix. Whether it is her head, her hand, an elbow, knee or foot they weren't sure. So at this point during the appointment I'm a little worried that they might put me on bed rest, which I don't think I would mind so much except that I'm just not ready for that from the work perspective, but they didn't. They extended my "sit status" at work until my next appointment and they want me to take it as easy as possible, but I'm allowed to move around some.

SO...where do we go from here? Well, for those of you who don't know, I am very goal oriented. Ultimately my goal is to keep her in as long as possible. So here are my goals in order of priority:
1.) Keep Little Miss cookin' until term (38-40 weeks). This is what we all want right? It's the best case scenario...
2.) If I can't keep her in till at least 38 weeks then my goal goes in week increments. I've been doing a little research and the main thing to be concerned about is her lungs. At 37 weeks her lungs are more developed and closer to mature than at 36, at 36 her lungs are more developed than at 35, at 35 her lungs are more developed than at 34 and at 34 weeks she gets her suck/swallow reflex which is important...for feeding of course.

I don't feel that I have to worry about anything less than 34 weeks because my next appointment is on the day I turn 33 weeks (based on my first ultrasound, which we all know is the most accurate). I'm confident I can get her to term but if she has other ideas I'm more than confident I can get her to at least 34! Plus, I'm not the biggest fan of what the research says about babies born before 34 weeks. It's reassuring, sure, but not ideal of course.

So that's that. In other news, Brett and I have signed up for childbirth classes. We wanted to do the 6 week course but unfortunately it was full and they don't have another day or time available before her due date so we are going to do two 3 hour classes or the abbreviated version. Not ideal but I figure it's better than nothing.

Also, her nursery is just about complete! I'm working right now on how I want to decorate the letters for her name on the wall, but the good news is all it really needs is a good vaccuum because I had to clean up all the Christmas stuff and other things in there before Uncle Lee came for his visit last weekend. We were able to get the computer and the extra furniture out so it's definitely looking more like a room all about Marley.

Other than that, it's the usual 3rd trimester pregnancy stuff. I'm still going to PT for my SI joints which are a quite a bit out of wack, I'm waking up every couple of hours during the night to shift positions or pee, and I'm generally uncomfortable (even though my belly isn't that big). And, sometimes when I sneeze, cough or laugh really hard a little pee comes out. But lets just keep that our little secret :) All worth it to keep her in as long as possible...

So, not all of it is the best of news but I have a good feeling that it's all going to work out just fine! I'll keep you posted...

Where to begin...

So it's been a long time...I know, I know...Where to begin...

I suppose I should limit the suspense and let everyone know that I passed the 3 hour blood glucose test! Yea me!! I actually passed all three hours too so the first test must have been a fluke. Now, I'm not going crazy with sweets. I know that since it went all hokey once it can again so I'm still monitoring my sugars but not as frequently as I was when I failed the test the first time.

Some other exciting news is that we've received some of our first baby gifts! Granny and Pop sent Marley a stroller and car seat travel system, a wipe warmer and a swaddler blanket.

So, on with it...We had a fantastic Christmas! We went down to Williamsburg for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day then we had to make our way back because Brett had to work. Everyone, including Miss Marley, got fantastic gifts! Brett got a huge tapestry of the Celtic Tree of Life that we hung in the dining room, a large speaker docking station for his IPOD, a Longhorn grill cover, a new Dallas Cowboys Jersey from Sarah and Christian and Natalie gave him a "man diaper bag."

Santa also brought Brett a starter set of the Hardy Boys books :) Santa is such a good listener, he also brought me the starter set of Nancy Drew books. Brett and I had been talking about reading them to/with Marley as she gets older.

I got a gorgeous diaper bag, a cashmere robe to wear in the hospital after Marley is born, a new pair of boots, a prenatal massage and a Ansel Adams book from Sarah, and the tummy time activity mat for Marley from Christian and Natalie. Mom and Dad Maz gave us an awesome digital photo frame, that Marley is sure to take center stage once she gets here. It was such a great surprise, I've wanted one for a while!

Marley also got some great gifts! Auntie Em, Uncle John and Kaley got her some really cute clothes, Uncle Christian, Aunt Natalie and cousin Evan to be got her a really cute blue jumper with stars on it with matching blue shoes that will be perfect for 4th of July and the prenatal massage from Aunt Sarah is technically for both of us. Santa brought her a 25th anniversary Cabbage Patch doll with dark curly hair, green eyes, and a dress with a butterfly on it. This was a great gift that I was really excited about because I got one for Christmas 25 years ago when they first came out and my favorite dolls growing up were always my Cabbage Patch Dolls.

Here's the top of Marley's dresser, it's got both diaper bags, the tummy time mat, and the Cabbage Patch Doll. My mom also got us a shopping cart cover at JcPenny for 78 cents! She said it was the best steal of the century :)

Our New Year's was quiet, Brett and I don't really get into it much. We sat at home and watched movies and were in bed before midnight, but Brett had New Year's day off so we were able to hang out and spend time together then. All in all it's been a pretty relaxing break for me filled with not much more than sleeping. Back to work tomorrow...blah...

So here's an updated belly shot, we took it Christmas day so it has been a while but honestly it hasn't changed much. The doctor is still amazed at how well I'm "hiding" her. My belly is definitely bigger, cause all my regular pants I was still able to wear have been packed away but everyone is very surprised when we tell them I'm coming up on 30 weeks...Other than that I've been to the eye doctor and my eyes have gotten significantly weaker, likely from the pregnancy, and unfortunately the doctor said they probably wouldn't go back. I also have an allergist appointment on Tuesday and another OB appointment on Thursday.

More to come but I can't promise when...