Drumroll Please...

Duncan, Nancy, Amelie, and Violet would like to announce the birth of---


Linus Victory Salada
8lbs. 11.5 ounces
20" long
born at 1:49 pm
on August 29, 2007

It was not and is not the most ideal of circumstances, but mom and Linus continue to improve. More info about a c-section under general anesthesia, Linus' continual stay in the NICU (which as of today is only until next Wednesday! yipee!), photos and a name explanation will come soon. Just wanted to give y'all a quick update. Thanks so much for your continual love and support through all of this. To God be ALL of the Glory!

This is it! 17.5 hours and counting!!

Tomorrow is the big day! Check back within the next few days for a bloggy birth announcement! If you think of it, please pray that all will go well tomorrow around noon. Thanks for all of your support through this experience!

Day 20 or Three Days to Go?

Which way should I look at it? I think I need to consider both. If I've been here for 20 days, I can certainly handle three more, right? I've settled into my new room, which is much smaller. It's more like a regular hospital room. The labor and delivery room I lived in for 17 days was about three times the size. However, I certainly didn't need all of that space. After I have the baby, I should be up on the postpartum floor, unless it's full. The overflow is down here by antepartum. I wouldn't be in this room, however, since it's not big enough to have one of those comfy beds, which Duncan needs in order to stay with me! So, we'll see how it all works out. Other than that, there's nothing much to report.
Thanks for your comments. And tammyo, I haven't read anything except for Harry Potter and some magazines. Concentration is pretty hard. HGTV has been another popular diversion. Although, I'm kind of sick of it. Makes me happy we don't have regular cable.

New Digs

It that even how you spell that? Well the big news today is that I've moved! The hospital decided to open their antepartum wing this afternoon and I get to be one of the very first "guests," as my doctor put it! My room is much smaller than the labor and delivery room I've lived in for the past 17 days. It's more like the postpartum rooms I've visited. So, if you're one of those people that calls or visits me, please e-mail me for my new direct phone number and room number. I pity the poor women that labor in my old room who keep getting phone calls for some lady named Nancy!
Six more days!!

Day 16

Seven days from now, I should be in a lot of pain and holding my little boy. I am so excited to meet him! And even more excited to introduce him to his sisters and to show him where he lives!! (Along with being there myself!!)

A Fresh Perspective

As my little boy hiccups, I'm marveling at the wonders a good night's sleep can do for someone in my situation. I didn't let on yesterday, but I DID NOT sleep well on Saturday night for a few reasons. I was kept on the monitor all night AND they started another IV. The nurse heard something "funny" with the baby's heartbeat and was essentially freaked out by it. Which, in turn, kind of freaked me out, understandably, I think. It turned out to be nothing that lasted, for which I'm grateful, and it seemed to be much more drama than was necessary. The frustrating thing to me was that it never would have been an issue if I were home, since I don't hook myself up to a fetal monitor three times a day while I'm there and it had nothing to do with the placenta previa. (Whoa, major run on.) So needless to say, I feel much better about things today. We're on Day 14 and that means 9 days until the c-section. Hmmmm, come to think of it, things sound better every day. As always, thanks for your prayers.

Negativity

As you all know, I've been trying really hard to be positive in this situation. However, today, I'm feeling pretty down in the dumps. I'm really struggling with feeling sorry for myself. Today is Day 13 and if all goes as planned the baby will be born in 10 days. That is exciting. I just miss my girls, my husband, my home, my life, my responsibilities so much. I yearn to be a whole family once again. It occurred to me, while Duncan and the girls were here this evening, that if all goes as expected, we should all be home together two weeks from today. But, I realized I haven't been here two weeks yet. Not until tomorrow, that is. That is discouraging. Ugh. I feel like such a whiner. I'm sorry to go on and on. If you think of it, please pray for my attitude.

Day 11

Yesterday was such an exciting day. So incredible, I didn't even get to post about it!
1. My doc said I could have wheelchair rides! So when my sister Karen came to visit, she wheeled me around the hospital, inside and out, for an hour. I still can't believe I spent 10 days in this room without leaving!
2. My doc said I can have showers EVERY DAY. You heard right, folks. This is such great news.
3. My c-section was confirmed for Wednesday, August 29th at noon. That's only 12 days from now! I'm nearly halfway there, when considering how long I've been here already!

Thanks for your continued prayers, calls, visits, comments, and overall support.

Roll Call

In no particular order, these are the folks that have called and/or visited me since I've been here.
Thank you, Lord for--
Carol Grace Duncan Amelie Violet Stephanie Mike Barbara Lynn Joy Linda Chelsea Megan Glenda Bob Irma Erin Megan Jen Mom Dad Terri Julie Carla Barbara Joy Diana Jill Suzy Ruth Jean Stef Pam Fix Rachel Heather Jean Becky...

Thanks also for your comments. It's exciting to receive them! It's not official, but my doc's surgery scheduler has requested Wednesday, August 29th as my c-section day. That would be two weeks from today! Hopefully, I'll get a confirmation soon.

Today I had a steady stream of visitors. Some even overlapped a bit. It certainly makes the day go fast! I feel bad I'm not partaking in all of the diversions people have brought for me, but talking to actual people is much better than just about anything else.

Duncan and I were talking about how it's nice to sit and talk with people, with no distractions or responsibilities. I've literally just sat and talked to folks for hours! I never get to do that anymore.

Oh--I finished the last Harry Potter book this morning. If anyone wants to discuss it, let me know!

Unexpected Happenings

Thanks so much for your sweet and encouraging comments. They are definitely a bright spot in my day, as is any contact with the outside world. Yesterday, my doctor said he doesn't like someone in my situation (a complete placenta previa) to go all the way to 37 weeks, so we're probably looking at 36 weeks. That means that I'm about a third of the way done with my time here in room 220. Have I written about how I haven't left this room since 11pm on Monday, August 6th? That's right. We're on Day 8 now. I'm glad it's an attractive room. It doesn't have a window directly to the outside, but rather a window to the lobby of the building, which has windows to the outside. So, from my bed, I can see what color the sky is. That is an encouragement to me.

And now, I can't say I expected--
* to wear a hospital gown for a whole week. I now have my new comfy pj pants from Old Navy.
* to take a shower using only one hand. My iv hand gets all taped up,with a glove over it so it doesn't get wet. It's pretty impossible to use in this predicament.
* to sit on a bench while taking a shower. The girls arrived during my shower yesterday and Amelie thought this was HILARIOUS.
* to only ever eat in bed. You've heard of breakfast in bed, but who's ever heard of lunch in bed and dinner in bed--every day?
* to get my sheets changed every day. Sheet changing is not my forte at home.
* to shop, blog, e-mail, and surf the internet from a hospital bed. Hence the new comfy pj pants from Old Navy.

I'm sure, as time wears on, I'll be able to add to this list. But that's enough for now.

Still here...

...not much new to post. I'm still here and am thankful to have six days behind me--six more days that the baby's been able to grow and develop and six days closer to when I deliver (whenever that may be!!)
I've had lots of phone calls and visitors, but am ALWAYS happy to receive more.
I had a very little bit of bleeding last night, which FREAKED ME OUT. Thankfully, Duncan was here and was actually able to spend the night. I'm not sure why it freaked me out, I think I just figured: "I'm on bed rest. I only get out of bed to go to the bathroom. I'm taking it easy. Therefore, I shouldn't bleed." But my day nurse was very frank with me today, saying--you've got previa, you're going to bleed. A little bit isn't bad. It's when it becomes very heavy and doesn't stop that it's an issue of needing to deliver the baby quickly. So, my struggle with anxiety continues and learning to rely on the Lord continues, as well.
I had a sweet visit with my girls today. We watched a Barney dvd on the laptop and ate Cheeburger Cheeburger. It was way yummy. Oh yeah, Daddy and Ducky were there too =).
In other news, the maternity p.j.s pants I ordered from Old Navy are in Baltimore and should arrive at the house tomorrow. I'm very excited to be out of the hospital gown. I've decided it makes me feel sick to always be wearing it. I'm excited to actually wear some clothes. I think I get to take a shower again tomorrow. That's exciting.
This post is very boring, I know. Maybe my next post will be about my i.v. That would CERTAINLY be more interesting, I'm sure.

++++Accentuate the Positive++++

Taking a shower for the first time in over four days is an amazing feeling. I don't know that I'll take a shower for granted for a long time. I've been here for just about four days and I'm settling in, I guess you could say. I've got books (including the latest Harry Potter), a cross stitch, a Bible, a Beth Moore Bible study, cable tv, my laptop, a mix cd that my niece made for me, and my cell phone. I've gotten to see my sweet husband and our sweet girls at least once every day. I've had many phone calls and several visitors. I can sleep as late as I want. Can you tell I'm working on remaining positive? Thanks for you prayers.

On being on bed rest...

...I knew it may happen, dreaded it even! This past Monday night, I started to bleed and went straight to the hospital, as my doctor had instructed. I was admitted and the bleeding stopped shortly thereafter. However, I'm here at the hospital, on bedrest, for the long haul...probably 3 or 4 weeks. That is, unless I start bleeding again. At that point I'd have a c-section regardless of how far along I am. I'm 33 weeks right now, so they're hoping to get to 36 or 37.
So, I blog from my hospital bed and am so thankful for my laptop and wireless internet service in the hospital.
*I'm also thankful that we changed health insurance, so that I can be at this different hospital that is only 15-20 minutes away from home, rather than the 30-40 minutes that it took to get to the hospital where the girls were born.
*I'm thankful that Duncan's mom was with us to help while my family was away on vacation. Because she was with us, and had been for four days already, we were able to walk out the door with out even giving her any instructions. We knew we were leaving the girls in good hands. Since she was with us, Duncan has been able to spend the night with me the last two nights. God was so good to have set all of this up for us.
*I'm thankful that the nursing staff here is WONDERFUL and that I've felt their empathy, received their care and experienced their compassion. I'm also thankful that many of them have no problem telling me that I could have it worse...helping me to keep things in perspective.
*I'm thankful for my sweet husband who is so good to me. Words can't even express.
*I'm thankful for my sweet little girls who come to visit me, Violet with her smiles and fingers to "tickle, tickle" my toes and Amelie who is being so brave and kind to me. She insisted on saving bits of her cookie for me, so that I could eat it when the doctor said I was allowed to eat. When I was told I was getting food, she handed each bit to me, only taking a bite of one of them=). She wipes my tears when it's time to say goodbye and sits in my bed with me for the majority of her visit. Man I miss my little girls.
This is just the beginning. I haven't even been here for 48 hours. I pray that God will use this time to draw me closer to Him...to help me gain perspective on life...to glorify Him.
If you're in the area, stop on by. I'm here and probably will be for a while.