The Aftermath

How is a woman supposed to begin nesting when part of her nest now looks like this...?

What started-out as a teeny tiny leak at the baseboard here...

turned into this mess...

I'm calling the new design...flood-minimalist.

Thank you to all who left comments on my previous post. It would appear that our area is out of the danger zone...for now. However, we're now in the middle of a March/April blizzard and expecting 6-12 inches of new snow. We're very thankful that we did NOT have to evacuate our home and only sustained damage to our lower level because of (clean) water seepage. My eagle-eyes caught the seepage quickly enough to move back a big rug and C.'s poker table before any of that sat in the water. I'm trying to put a positive spin on the whole ordeal and consider it as a great opportunity for an impromptu remodel!

There are still many in our community that are displaced from their homes and we've been told by the Nation.al Weather Ser.vice that this area may see another river crest once the newest snowfall melts and farm fields drain towards tributary rivers. It is my hope that we won't have to deal with yet another record crest. I've had enough of plugged-drains (can't do laundry or flush), bottled water and being trapped in our torn-apart house.

In the midst of all the flooding madness (including hospital evaucations), I've been unable to reach anyone with answers at the doctor's office. The best they could do for me at this point was to move my appointment up a few days to Wednesday, April 8th. I also requested to see doctor OB on a day when he's NOT on-call. I hope to lay out all of my concerns with him then. Thanks again to all who weighed-in on my concerns with care...all of the ladies (and guys!) that are a part of this community are so wise. I appreciate you!

Sink or Swim

Sometimes it's not such a fun or exciting thing to be the lead story on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN and the Weather Channel.

I'm asking for prayer for our community. We're currently facing record-breaking flooding. Humvees and armored vehicles just poured past our house, and a large residential area just one block west of our home is being evacuated. We've been ordered to plug all lower-level floor drains to avoid getting raw sewage backed up into our basement. The college campus that surrounds our neighborhood has issued a campus-wide emergency, shut down electricity and water, and sent its 3000+ students and staff home or away to safer locations. The community's largest hospital evacuated all patients via helicopter and ambulance last night to other hospitals as far as 500 miles away. My bag, my meds and food for Mr. Duke are packed...just in-case.

Please pray.

Need Your Advice

I am currently very annoyed at the complacency of my OB team. I had my 28 week visit with my OB's nurse practitioner (Dr. OB was unavailable) last Friday the 20th, and after talking with her (she doesn't really know anything about my clotting history or bicornuate uterus), I'm seriously considering asking for a referral to one of the Perinatologist's in this hospital system unless they're willing to start NST (nonstress tests) and grown scans soon. She said they generally don't start NST's until week 34 and only do growth scans if my measurements are off. I'm not scheduled to see my regular OB for another 3 weeks...on April 10th.

My concern? I have not only ONE, but TWO major factors that can cause issues during the 3rd trimester. My thrombophilia puts me at risk for premature deterioration of the placenta and placental abruption...among other things, and my bicornuate uterus puts me at risk for IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) and pre-term labor. Why NOT be overly cautious from here on out? The last ultrasound I had was my comprehensive scan at 20 weeks, and I've been measuring right on-track at each appointment. I'm up a grand total of 15 pounds and my blood pressure, blood sugar, hemoglobin, aPTT (blood clotting test) and platelets are all great. But honestly, I'd really like to keep it that way! I try to do kick counts at least once a day and baby is pretty predictable with his post-meal and pre-bedtime gymnastic routine.

I'm soliciting advice from other high-risk mommies (parents) who insisted on closer monitoring...no matter what trimester you were in. I'm not sure if I should wait until the 10th to address my concerns, or call OB's office and talk with his nurse about a referral. I have NO idea how long it would take to get hooked-up with a Perinatologist. I know the worry and tears these thoughts are causing aren't healthy for me or for the baby. I just don't want to be one of "those" pregnant woman, but I think this warrants some attention. Help!

On a lighter note...quote has been placed above baby boy's crib. I love it and I'm so in love with him. I can't imagine how much that love will grow once I actually MEET our little guy.

I'm Broke-ded!

Like my new jewelry? We had an exciting 5+ hour visit to labor and delivery and the (PACKED!) hospital ER Monday evening/early Tuesday morning. All my coughing from this miserable cold I've been fighting caused me to break a rib. It's official...this body of mine is totally broke-ded.

The good news? Baby Pat is no worse for the wear. My complaints are pretty minor...the meds they gave me for pain (narcotics) make me majorly pukey so I'm trying to get by on Tyle.nol alone and there will be no sleeping on my left side for quite a few weeks.

But I've concluded that as long as my goofy-shaped uterus keeps providing baby with an adequate home, I can live with a broken rib or two.

Winter, Baby's Room and The Bump

Tuesday of last week brought a surprise March blizzard to our area and an actual snow day (no way to get to work and no travel advised for our entire area) on Wednesday. Two of our local W.al-Ma.rt's even closed their doors...I know! Wally World never closes! The picture above is a street view (on my way to work) after the snow had been moved from parts of the road on Thursday. The pics below were stolen from my sister's blog. She and her adorable little family live about 12 blocks away. The drifts and the wind were amazing. Some people who lived in neighborhoods with less mature tress than we have were literally drifted into their homes. You're jealous fellow bloggers, I know! Thankfully the weekend has brought us melting temperatures, and the drifts will soon be a thing of the past. (Can anyone say flooding, perhaps?!)


...and a few pics of the progress we've made on baby boy's nursery. The picture with the bookshelf gives the truest view of the color on the walls. The other pics are from my camera phone and make the walls look more blue-green. I'm still waiting for the window treatments to arrive, and I've commissioned one of my mom's best friends to make a slipcover for the glider rocker cushions. I also ordered a fun stencil "decal" from this site to place above the crib. I went with the classic line from the book "Gue.ss How Mu.ch I Lov.e You" and it will read: "We love you right up to the moon...and back." I bawled as I designed it and imagined it above his crib. I've been doing a lot of happy crying lately.

Finally, a 27 week belly shot. How in the world did I get this big?! I think my tummy has finally outpaced my chest. Husband wasn't sure that would ever happen. Har har.

It's Double Digits, Baby!

99 days until my due date. Where has the time gone?!

I had my 25 week appointment last Friday and passed my glucose tolerance test with flying colors! I think my glucose level 1 hour post-test was like 81. Good job body! In my opinion, the secret to passing the screening is to eat a bag of jelly beans over the course of 2-3 days before you have to take your test. After jellybean sugar overload, my body LAUGHED at the 50g of glucose in the drink!

Baby Pat's nursery transition is in full-swing. Walls have been painted light blue. Furniture arrived. New ceiling fan has been hung. There are still a million little details that need attending to...things like trim painting, new window treatments, side table and lamp...but all-in-all it's really starting to look more like a little boy's room and less like this room I talked about in a post here. I'll have some fun before and after pictures to share once things are in place.

Two of the guys in my life (C. and Duke) are sick right now, and I think I'm catching whatever it is that C. is battling. It's been puke, sneeze and snot central at our house for the past week. Yummy, huh?! We've made two trips to the vet with Dukie, and at this point all we can determine is that he picked-up some type of a bacterial infection in his GI tract. We get to give him 5 pills in the AM, 2 at noon and another 5 in the PM. Poor little guy. We see the vet again tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully we're told he's on the road to recovery. I hate not knowing how to make him feel better...if only our furry friends could talk to us, right?

(Duke is keeping all corn and corn-based products far away from me. I still get violently ill when I eat them. What a good gaurd doggy!)

My Very First Nomination

I feel so very special! I just received my very first blogger nomination...the Sisterhood Award from at Heather at Joys in My Life. Heather is such a faithful commenter and always has something positive, upbeat and encouraging to share. I appreciate her so much. She's expecting beautiful twin boys not long after I'm due with our little guy. I'm so proud of you Heather!

The rules for accepting the reward are as follows:

Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate at least 10 blogs (I'm cheating and only doing 5.) with great attitude and/or gratitude.
Be sure to link to your nominees in your post.
Let your nominees know they have received the award by leaving them a comment on their blog.
Be sure to link this post to the person who nominated you for the award.

Without further ado, my five nominees for this award are as follows:

1. My very favoritest and bestest sister at Blessed With Boys. If you visit her blog, beware! There are pictures of two of the cutest little guys on earth. Once you see them, you may very well fall in-love. My sis has been my partner in crime, my shoulder to cry on, my girl-talk confidant and IS my very best girl friend. Love you Tiger Balm!

2. Courtney at Baby Mama Drama. I am so encouraged by Court's trust that God is working in and through her as she waits on Him. She's gonna be an awesome mama some day. I just know it.

3. This one at A Maybe Story. I couldn't be any happier that this girlie is expecting her very first little one after a long...loooooong journey. She always manages to make me giggle when I read her posts. Go give her a hug and a big congrats!

4. Butterfly On My Shoulder. How could I not nominate this fellow clotting-mutant?! She's currently on bed rest and only 19 days away from her due date. She's been an inspiration and a faithful blogger buddy on my TTC journey. I appreciate you so much, girlie!

5. Meg at Life's Little Journey. First of all, I'm absolutely in love with Meg's Great Dane, "Blaze." I'm certain he and Duke would be best giant-dog buddies if they met one another! Meg has had a crazy start to her 2009 (car accidents!) but always seems to remain upbeat and positive. I really admire that about her. Go give the girlie a hug!

And to everyone else who takes time to read or comment...thank you. Your kind words mean more than you'll ever know!