One month to go.....hopefully!

Well, this last week has been very eventful to say the least. It all began with a trip to my OB last Tuesday. It was my normal weekly appointment where they check to make sure my stitch is in place (it was), give me my weekly dose of progesterone to keep me pregnant (they did) and discuss the course of action as far as delivery is concerned which never really seems to change much week to week. This past week we did discuss my increasing Braxton Hicks contractions and how frequent they had become. We decided to keep an eye on it.

Fast forward to later that night as I am laying on the couch watching TV. My contractions, which usually only occur while standing and/or walking, are now happening as I am lying on the couch and I am feeling mildly crampy with each one. I decide for peace of mind to head to the hospital *just in case*. I call my Dad who comes over to sit here with Jacob who had just gone to bed and off Ian and I go to Jordan Hospital. As I arrive and get hooked up to monitors I have two intense contractions that I can't even breathe through. This was not happening at home! They decide to keep me overnight for observation and Ian heads home to relieve my Dad.

Around midnight a contraction woke me up (again not painful, just tight). I had a few between midnight and 2 AM and when the nurse came in to check on me I mentioned the past few contractions had woken me up. Her response was, "What contractions? There wasn't anything on the monitor." Okay.....

She comes in again at 3:35 AM this time with the doctor and another nurse and they announce they are hooking me up to an IV drip of Magnesium Sulfate and preparing me for transfer to Boston. I ask why and they proceed to tell me that I have been having contractions every 4 minutes for the past 35 minutes. Really?! I didn't feel a thing! At 6 AM, I am transported to Tufts Medical Center in Boston via ambulance for pre-term labor. I spend a glorious 5 days there begging to go home. The first 48 hours I am on the Mag drip and hardly remember a thing. I guess the only way to explain it is to say you feel really drunk and are completely out of it. I remembered a conversation I had with my friend Jessica on my cell phone a few days later and had to question Ian whether or not it was a dream.

While at Tufts, I received the two rounds of steroid shots to develop Gracie's lungs which makes me feel much better about delivering early if and when it should happen. I was sent home on bed rest and I am now just hoping to make it 4 more weeks to our planned c-section around 36 weeks. They did an ultrasound when I arrived at Tufts and she was measuring around 3.5 pounds which is great! Let's just hope she stays in there a few more weeks and packs on a few more pounds!

Busy week....

In baby related news, I passed my glucose test with flying colors! One less thing to stress about during the last seven weeks of pregnancy! The nurse said my number had to be less than 140 and mine was a 26! The bad news is that I am "severely anemic" and now on iron supplements which make me want to vomit immediately after taking them. Add that to my Hyperemesis and Zofran will be in overdrive for the next 7 weeks. I will be 30 weeks on Saturday and at this point Grace should weigh around 3 pounds which is officially more than DOUBLE what Jacob weighed at birth. YAY!

Jacob started pulling up to stand this week! Normally, I would be thrilled (especially as a preemie mom, milestones are extra special with a preemie), but he does one of two things once he gets up:

a.) starts screeching because he doesn't know how to get down or
b.) lets go/knees wobble and he smashes his face off whatever he is using to pull up

Fun stuff! So far this week he has managed to smash his head on his crib rails, land face first on his Crawl and Cruise Musical Jungle and tip his toy box (canvas bin) over on top of him as he falls backwards. I am waiting for the bloody lip or bruises to appear, but so far nothing.

Because he is now pulling to stand I need to buy him his first pair of shoes. I tried to go today and shop the clearance sales and his feet are so small he doesn't even register on the sizing chart. At Stride Rite he came in at a 0 and for Robeez he came in at 1 which is the smallest size they have. Up until now he has been wearing crib shoes and the ones he has now are 3-6 months. Yes....3 to 6 months as in INFANT shoes. I really want to get him good shoes as he learns to walk. He has low muscle tone so he needs every bit of help he can get. I think I am leaning towards Robeez right now. BabyGap carries them and right now they are on sale $19.99 and an extra 25% off. Pretty good deal for Robeez and they are soft soled which will help his foot development.

Jacob's new obsession this month is screaming. Not because he is sad or angry, but because he likes to test the limits on the volume of his voice and hear himself screech. When he does this he tilts his head back and I caught a glimpse of two new teeth coming in! That gives him a total of four!

We went out today Father's Day shopping and picked up a few things for Daddy. We told each other that our very expensive double stroller would be our Mother's/Father's Day gift to each other this year, but I had to get him a little something. Ian loves everything "Daddy and Me" related so we picked up the Mercer Mayer book "Just Me and My Dad", a card and a t-shirt Ian has been wanting for Jacob for some time now. It is from Gymboree and says, "My Dad has SUPER POWERS!" across the front. Since Gymboree is ridiculously expensive and I refuse to pay over $10 for anything Jacob wears....EVER... I have been waiting for it to go on clearance and I got it today for $7. Even though they are little things, I think Ian will be happy considering I am not supposed to be buying him anything. :)