26 week curse

So as many of you already know I was put into the hospital this week with contractions. On Thursday morning, while I was feeding Caleb breakfast I started to feel some cramping. I decided to pay closer attention and time the cramps and realized that they were coming every 5 minutes (so not cramps, contractions!). They also started to get stronger and I realized I had to start breathing through them. At that point I decided to call Brian and my OB. The OB said to come in and she would see me first thing. She checked the baby and everything was fine, but she did say that my cervix was soft. Since I have been seeing her all along she knows that our family is not in the area. So she called the hospital and had me admitted. She knew sending me home and telling me to go on bed rest was not going to happen. So Brian picked me and Caleb up and we went to the hospital. They gave me meds to stop the contractions and steroids for the baby's lungs just in case the baby was adamant about coming out. We called a friend and she came and picked up Caleb for a few hours while Bri and I got things sorted out at the hospital. After things started to settle down some Brian picked up Caleb and went home. The night did not go well, after the contractions stopped I started getting horrible constant abdominal pains. The nurses tried to give me meds to help but they did nothing. I only got about 3 hours of sleep. But the next morning I started to feel better. Gradually the abdominal pains went away. The nurses monitored the baby the whole time and he did not seem to realize anything was going on. They just kept commenting about how active he is. Friday early evening my OB came to the hospital to check on me and since my contractions and pains had gone she let me go home. She knew Brian would be home the next 2 days.

I am calling this the 26 week curse because the same thing happened with Caleb at the same time. After a very long work day I started contractions at 26 weeks with Caleb. My OB did not put me in the hospital, but I was put on the same meds to stop them. I was on them for 5 weeks and they made me sick. I was also on restricted activity, I had to teach from a chair, and I was not allowed to do any housework at home.

This time it is a bit harder. The system is a bit different here, they will only give you the meds in the hospital so they can monitor it. I have been put on restricted activity again, which makes sense. I am not allowed to carry Caleb any distance, but I can lift him into the crib, car, etc. I am allowed to cook, but that is about all the housework I can do. I am allowed to go to playgroup, MOPS, and Bible study. But no swim lessons for awhile.

Luckily Caleb decided to stay for a lot longer and ended up coming 4 days early. Hopefully this baby will do the same. I have come to the conclusion that since it has happened twice now at the exact same time I don't think it is the baby. I think for some reason my body decides that at 26 weeks it is done being pregnant and I need to remind it that we still have awhile longer.

Since I left the hospital I have continued to feel better. I have not had anymore contractions and am in no pain. If however they do come back, my OB said I will be back in the hospital.

Brian has been wonderful through all of this! He has fully taken over the housework. He took 2 days off work to be at home with Caleb while I was in the hospital. He has been playing with him so I can have time off my feet. He is such a great father and husband. I am so lucky to have him!

Thanks for all your prayers and support! 13 weeks to go!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

I love a busy week, so last week was wonderful for me! We kept up our normal routine and saw a lot of friends as well!

Wednesday evening my parent's next door neighbor, her daughter, and daughter's boyfriend came down to visit us and Canberra. They were here until Friday afternoon. It was a wonderful visit! Caleb loved all the extra attention he got, especially from another male who was willing to rough-house with him! We took them to Tidbinbilla on Thursday morning and Parliament house in the afternoon. I had not been there yet, it is really nice. We had to go after Caleb's nap, so we got there just before it closed. But they have tours all day long, so we will have to go back sometime. On Friday we went up the Telstra Tower. It was so nice to catch up with old friends!

On the weekend we started birthday celebrations for Caleb. He will be 2 on Thursday! This weekend coming up is President's Day, so we knew people would probably be going out of town. We are not sure if we are yet. On Saturday I baked and decorated my first birthday cake for Caleb. Last year, a really good friend of mine made the cake. She is extremely talented and did an amazing job. My cake did not compare to hers, but I was still proud of myself. I was surprised at how much I remembered from working at Cake's Plus in college!

On Sunday we had a small party for Caleb. We went to church in the morning and then had 2 families over for a bbq in the early evening. Brian grilled chicken and hamburgers. Our grill is very small, so he grilled for about 2 hours! He did a great job, the food was great! It was a really nice day, so we spent almost the whole party outside. The kids loved playing with the rugby ball and other outdoor toys and the parents sat around and talked. It was lovely! Then it was time for cake and presents. I think Caleb enjoyed his party!

Today our playgroup had a little party for Caleb as well! We made brownies, Caleb helped! He put in the ingredients (expect for the eggs, I did that part :) and stirred it all together. This was the first time we cooked together. He did a great job! The other mums brought muffins, fruit, cookies, and bread. One of the the mum's brought balloons, party hats, and noisemakers too! We played ring around the rosy and then the kids played with the balloons and other toys in the playhouse. It was so sweet that the mum's did this for him! My little boy is very loved!

I don't think we will do too much on his birthday. We have swim lessons in the morning and then we will have lunch with daddy at work. I also think we will skype with both sets of Grandparents that day too, so they can wish him a happy birthday.

MOPS starts this week. I am excited to go for the first time! I also have a 26 week appointment with my OB this week. After this week I start going every 2 weeks. It is crazy how fast this pregnancy is going. No news on the name front. It is driving me crazy! 3 months to go!

Finally February

We made it through the last week of nothing and we are looking forward to all that February has in store for us! We went to playgroup on Monday, had friends over on Tuesday, went to the library on Wednesday, swim lessons on Thursday, and Questacon on Friday.

This week I am starting prenatal yoga. I have never taken yoga before but I am excited to try. I am hoping it will help me become more flexible and get me ready for a v-bac. So I will have to get dinner ready early, but then I get 2 hours to be with other adults! Granted we will be talking about babies, but still, I will be with other women and I won't have to constantly looking over my shoulder for Caleb and I won't have to worry about him since he will be with his daddy.

On Wednesday, my childhood next door neighbor is coming to visit. I can't remember this family not living next door to me, I grew up with their kids playing in their house and yard. Their second daughter lives about 5 hours north of us, so I have not been able to see her since we have moved here. But her mom is here visiting and they thought they would come down and visit us! I am so excited! It will be so nice to see a piece of home!

I will be 25 weeks this week, getting toward the end of my second trimester! But as I get closer to the end I start to worry. With Caleb at 26 weeks I went into pre-term labor. I know every pregnancy is different, but I still worry about going into pre-term labor again. I keep telling myself I have a lot less stress during this pregnancy since I am not working and the labor started with Caleb after a 12 hour work day. But I know that there is no use in worrying and that God is in control of this pregnancy and loves this baby more that I could ever love him.

Caleb is a very big cheerleader right now and cheers for me, Brian, or whatever we say. So I will end with a Caleb cheer. Yaaaaay February!!!