A few updates

Not really too much to say....but here's a few tidbits of what's been going on.

FEVER -- well, not exactly of the physical illness type (for which we are very grateful), just good old fashioned cabin fever. The kids are going so bonkers, especially tonight, that Jonathan is actually making them take turns on the treadmill! No joking! Doesn't seem to be doing an awful lot for their energy level but, hey, it's something to do. We look so forward to church services and drs appointments 'cause that's usually when we actually get to get out of the house. Went to church on Sunday but Wednesday night's church was cancelled because of the snow. I was hoping a visit from our friends on Wednesday morning to do some combined school would help curb things but they didn't get to stay long 'cause of the snow and it was just enough to ignite them even more. And it doesn't help that there isn't much activity going on while we're home 'cause Mom is spending most of her time on the couch (more on that later).

MAMAW -- she's doing well since her heart attack but today was very major. She acidentally set a grease fire in her apartment. And then she tried to put it out with a newspaper. The fire department did get the fire out but there was some fairly significant damage to her apartment and she did spend some time in the ER 'cause she singed her hair pretty good and they wanted to make sure her lungs were okay. She's back home as I type but we're all a little worried that this may be a sign of things to come and that she may not be able to stay on her own much longer. Please continue to pray for her.

PREGNANCY -- Okay, so I've been doing some internet digging and talking with women who have irritable uteri and my home care nurse. Something about last Friday's visit just didn't set well with me. I had the gut feeling that things were worse than my OB was leading me to believe. I've had mostly good days this week with some moderate contractions, clearly brought on by moderte activity. Wednesday, when the nurse came, she gave her opinion, which confirmed for me what I had been reading and hearing from these other women. She said she loves the docs at OSU but that it's her opinion that they take things too far sometimes. She says she believes that they try so hard to be "hands off" as much as possible, resisting the urge to overtest and overstress moms, that they often don't take precautions that they probably ought to. Here's what we're thinking: 1, my cervical lengths and funneling aren't exactly as "normal" as my OB would have me think. One chart I finally dug up actually shows that I'm in the bottom 10th percentile of normal cervical lengths at varying weeks in pregnancy. #2, with contractions as strong as the ones I was feeling that Tuesady night, it could be hard to tell when they move from harmless to harmful until it'll be nearly too late. Plus, each contraction causes pressure on the cervix which does cause changes at this stage, even if it is little by little. So, all things considered, even though the OB didn't dictate it, we're kinda going with a stay-off-my-feet-as-much-as-possible plan, just to be safe, especially considering I'm not going to see the dr again until next Friday. Had actually considered insisting that they see me tomorrow for a measurement and check but with the weather, we felt it best to not expose the kids to such drastically cold temperatures if I don't have to. Fortunately, I haven't had really strong contractions at all this week so I feel comfortable knowing that any changes my cervix might have gone through this past week should be minimal. So, I've been changing the kids and feeding the kids (not any meals that require me being on my feet a lot) but not much else. Not been doing any laundry because of the lifting (lifting things bears down even more on your cervix and since I still have a 13-month old that needs to be lifted, we figure it best to not be lifting baskets full of laundry). We're pursuing options as to getting help with things, although we feel like we have a pretty good grip on most things, except for the laundry. It overfloweth at the moment. Jonathan does all he can every evening when he's here and he worked very hard last Saturday as well but there's only so much he can do. I'm still planning on going to church on Sunday mornings and maybe some Wednesday nights, as long as I don't start contracting a lot. But, I'm leaving most everything else to my poor hubby. He's going to try and do groceries on his own this weekend. I'm sure he'll do fine but I'm afraid of forgetting things on my list and having to send him back to the store every time I turn around. While I do shop with a list, I'll often see things on shelves and think we could use it or it's something that should have been on my list but wasn't. (Read: it's a control issue and it bugs me to not be doing it myself!)

So that's about it. Please continue to pray for us, especially this upcoming week while we wait to see what the drs appointment reveals next Friday both for what's going on with my cervix and, too, for what's going on with Lydia's weight. I'd hate to keep preterm labor at bay, only to either have to induce early because she gets too big or risk going into labor close to due date with a baby I can't deliver. I'd really like to avoid a c-section, if at all possible. Thanks! Ya'll go bundle up now!