Tummy Time

The whole "back to sleep" campaign has apparently caused lots of babies to develop flat heads. So, doctors recommend periods of "tummy time" each day. I must say that since Violet has accidentally hit or kicked Linus several times WHILE I WAS SUPERVISING, putting him on the floor, on his tummy has not happened very often. The vulnerablity scares me. Needless to say, Linus' tummy time occurs in the late evening after all sisters have been safely tucked into their respective beds.

An Introduction to a Bouncy Seat

Last night, Linus got to sit in the bouncy seat for the first time. He was 24 days old and he noticed and played with the toys immediately! Amelie and Violet were weeks older, if I remember correctly, before doing this. Needless to say, this mama was highly impressed!

Walking in the Forest

an attentive Amelie on the tram ride
Violet was slightly stressed by the tram ride, so she went to sleep as a defense mechanism.


Yesterday, we had our first "just because" outing as a family of five. Amelie has had a desire to "walk in the forest" for quite some time, so we decided to visit the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. They have a visitor center surrounded by trails. They also have a tram ride that you can take to learn more about what goes on there. It was a great time and at a 10 minute drive and a total cost of $7 for the tram ride, we decided to be frequent visitors of this facility. Amelie's already asked to go back.

Twenty-three

Today, Linus is twenty-three days old. Does that number ring a bell? Twenty-three is also the number of days I spent in the hospital BEFORE Linus was born ( I was there for another four after he was born). For some reason, this past twenty-three days has gone by much quicker than the twenty-three days prior to Linus' birth. I wonder why =).
Recovery is going well. Linus continues to thrive. He's still not up to his birth weight, but he's gaining at an appropriate rate. Here's a summary--
On September 5th upon discharge, he was 7 lb. 11 oz. He lost a full pound in the hospital.
On September 7th, he was 7 lb. 13 oz.
On September 11th, he was 7 lb. 15.5 oz.
On September 19th, he was 8 lb. 6 oz. (which was my birth weight!)
Amusingly, Linus birth weight (8lb. 11oz) at 36 weeks, was more than either of the other two babies from church born this past week, both PAST 40 weeks. One was 8lb. 1 oz and the other 8lb. 8 oz. Duncan and I got a chuckle out of that one.
I've been essentially on my own with the three kids since Wednesday. It's probably a tad too soon, but I am just so ready to be back to normal. What used to seem like such a chore (loading and unloading the dishwasher, cleaning up after meals, changing Violet's poopy diapers etc.) is honestly such a joy. I am simply reveling in having my home and my family back. I look forward to being up for laundry and general cleaning. My house is returning to a semi-tidy state, slowly but surely.
I can't even express how full of thanks my heart is right now. I'm just so content and pray that I'll be able to keep things in perspective on a long term basis.

Linus' Original Birthday

Here's my Linus today, at 20 days old on what was supposed to be his birthday. Although, as far as God was concerned, it was never supposed to have been today. Hmmm. Deep thoughts.
All three kiddos in one photo--not an easy feat.
Linus on my shoulder. Duncan loves the position of his hands.
My first attempt of all three together. Not so successful. And I love my knees in the picture.
Ah! What have I gotten myself into?


So today, September 18th, was Linus' original birthday. The really funny thing is that the two women at church who were pregnant with me, and both due last week, are (were?) both in labor at the same hospital as mine with the same doctor as mine, today. Duncan asked if I was jealous. The weird thing is, in some ways I am. In other ways, NOT AT ALL!

First Day of Pre-School

The only tears shed were my own. I'll chalk it up to hormones. She had a great morning.

Tomorrow it should be Linus VICTORY!!!

On Monday, an "unhooked" Linus--finally we can see his sweet face!
It's rough being a baby! (I'm a sucker for yawn pictures.)
This was on Sunday when I nursed Linus for the first time.
On Friday, Amelie and Violet hanging out in the hospital waiting area.
On Saturday, Amelie and Birdie Grandpa (Duncan's dad) coloring at the kitchen table.


Tomorrow, well later today, as I check the time, Linus is expected to be discharged from the hospital. We are so excited at the prospect of being a whole family for the first time since August 6th. I'm ready to sit on the couch and nurse my baby. All this running back and forth to the NICU seems to have made my recovery speed up. My pain level is so low that I don't even feel the need to take my pain meds. However, the swelling is still pretty bad in my legs, which will get better once I can keep my feet up a bit more. Hopefully, that will be possible after tomorrow. I wish I could show you how big I'm smiling at the thought of Linus HOME with the rest of us.

Six posts in one day?

It's definitely a record. I'm going home tomorrow. I will be spending time enjoying my girls, my husband, my home and traveling back and forth from the hospital at least until Wednesday. (That's when Linus' course of antibiotics will be over.) I'm alone tonight and know I won't have much time to blog after going home. I so appreciate all of my blogging friends and family and wanted to share as much as possible, while I had the time. I'll update when I can, but can't promise it'll be very often. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your love and prayers through all of this. God is so good.

Just the facts, ma'am.

I'm not ready to share the birth "story" complete with emotions, but I can share the factual details.
*My c-section was scheduled for noon, but they were running a bit behind schedule on Wednesday. I didn't enter the operating room until about 1:00.
*They were unable to start a spinal on me, so I was put under general anesthesia.
*Because I was asleep, Duncan had to wait in the hallway for Linus to be born.
*Duncan said he was born within 5 minutes of my "going under."
*Duncan got to be with him almost immediately and got to trim the cord. (They left it long when cutting it from me.) He's never cut the cord before!
*I woke up in the recovery room and got to see Linus for a few minutes before his trip to the NICU. Duncan went with him.
*My recovery took a while. It took my uterus a while to contract (I got a shot to help it) and I lost a fair amount of blood.
*I got to visit the NICU to see Linus and hold him before I went to my room.
*Linus is amazing and totally worth all of it.
*I am so thankful for modern medicine.

Pictures from yesterday and today...

Amelie LOVES baby Linus. This picture from Friday should prove that! Since the sibling age limit in the NICU is two, Violet hasn't seen him yet. She's pretty clueless about his existence anyway. She did see pictures today and got very excited. We'll see how she feels about his constant presence in our home in a few days.
This is Linus chilling out in his warmer this morning. He has an IV on his foot and a tube in his mouth for feeding and removing air from his tummy. Everything else is external.
This morning, I got to see Linus' eyes for the first time. It was very fun.

What's in a name?

I'm sure some of you are wondering where the name came from. As with our other two children (Amelie Muriel and Violet Ella), Linus' first name is one that we like and his middle name is one of his great-grandparents' middle names. Duncan's paternal grandfather, Maurice Victory Salada, was born on November 11, 1918. For those of you that aren't up on your history, that is THE day that The War to End All Wars, also know as World War I, ended. Grandfather was given the middle name Victory to commemorate the day on which he was born. We thought that was really cool and so we decided to use it. In light off the circumstances of my pregnancy with him and our birth experience with him, I feel it has many meanings, that I'm sure you can imagine.

Why is Linus in the NICU?

Overall, Linus is slightly premature and was born via c-section. These two things combined can be cause for breathing problems. When babies are in a contracting uterus and pushed through the birth canal, they benefit by getting the fluid and mucus in their lungs squeezed out. Since Linus was lifted out of a non-contracting uterus, his lungs were full of fluid and mucus. Often babies in this predicament will struggle with their breathing for an hour or two. If they don't stop "grunting," or struggling, they end up in the NICU. Since Linus' lungs are a bit immature, he's been slow to improve as his lungs develop. So, Linus continues to be in the NICU, but everyone is very pleased with his slow, but steady progress. He started eating today (my breast milk though a tube in his mouth) and once his respiration rate goes down, I will be able to try and nurse him. He's been on "room air" and the amount of pressure to force it in to him has been lowered twice today. This is a great thing! We're so thankful for the wonderful nursing staff that have been taking such good care of him. We'd appreciate your continued prayers for his improvement.
By the way, we are ever so thankful for the decision to wait three weeks to deliver him. Had he been born at 33 weeks, he probably would have struggled so much more. It makes the three weeks I was here SO worth it.

Linus Victory's "Birth" Day

These are some photos from Linus' birth. More later. Promise.

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.

Please forgives these brief posts, with monotonous theme, but I just had to share this new equation that works...for now, at least:

31 weeks pregnant + no eating past 7pm + no nap + extra pillow under head = 2 AWESOME nights of sleep in a row

Praise the Lord!!

I can honestly say that last night was the best night's sleep I've had in a loooooonnnnnng time. Praise Jehovah! Have a good Lord's Day.

Why am I surprised every time when I'm this pregnant and I can't sleep? I just can't get comfortable. I've slept for a few hours, at least, tonight, but now I'm awake and I can't fall back asleep. I'll have to go a try our big, red chair again, I guess...

At Long Last, Number 100

Note: Several days ago, I started this list and got up to about 75. I saved it (after it had been auto saved every minute, for hours, by blogger) and took a break. When I returned, I found that only up to 22 or 23 had been saved. I was INCREDIBLY discouraged, as you can imagine, but have decided to have another go at it. These days, I'm working hard at being thankful, in general. Kind of funny to have the previously mentioned experience, while actively striving to be thankful. Certainly stretched me in the area of being full of thanks and NOT complaining...

In no particular order, 100 things that I am thankful for...

1. air conditioning
2. my college education
3. my darling Amelie
4. my sweet Violet
5. my anticipated _ _ _ _ _
6. my incredible, supportive, encouraging, tolerant, helpful, funny, wonderful husband
7. friends with whom I can laugh and cry
8. our church family
9. helpful and supportive parents
10. in-laws that love us and care for us
11. next-door neighbors that were friends before they were our neighbors
12. my washer and dryer
13. my body pillow
14. preventative health care
15. our pastor and his wife
16. Jesus dying for me, a most miserable and wretched sinner
17. comfortable furniture to sit on
18. the internet
19. the grace that the Lord bestows upon me the I DO NOT deserve
20. Duncan's job
21. Duncan's commute (or lack thereof)
22. the solid, Biblical preaching we are privileged to hear every single week
23. my college experience
24. the travels I did in my youth
25. especially my two trips to Honduras which drastically shaped how I view the world and my place in it
26. the Episcopal church I attended in college, where the entire Gospel was preached and people actually believed the Bible
27. the leaders of our church
28. chocolate
29. the fact that my children have 11 older cousins, most of which adore them
30. other peoples' blogs and their encouragement to me
31. the older members of our church that are so encouraging to us
32. the fun that Duncan and I have together
33. the fact that we have a reliable mail system
34. and reliable phone service
35. my refrigerator
36. extended family that are so generous of their time and resources
37. the fact that when I go to the grocery store, the shelves are full
38. e-mail
39. my dishwasher
40. feeling my baby move
41. Duncan's integrity
42. Amelie's sense of humor
43. Violet's developing personality
44. Pine Springs Camp
45. our wedding
46. our marriage
47. Duncan's friends from high school
48. my experience teaching in public school-- the people I met and the experiences I had
49. the incredible woman of faith, who was also chock full of wisdom, that was my teaching partner for two and half years
50. the phrase: "and the world will keep spinning" that she taught me, to keep a proper perspective on life
51. Netflix
52. the ability to stay at home and raise my children
53. the flexibility of Duncan's job
54. the satisfaction that Duncan has from his new job
55. the fact that the majority of my children's clothes have come as hand-me-downs or gifts
56. that when my children need something, I can go the store/go online and get it
57. our backyard
58. my Bible study from this past year
59. my adopted family in college whose home was a refuge to me on more than one occasion
60. Young Life in high school--where I first heard the truth of the Gospel
61. the TiVo that Duncan made (yes made--I was kind of annoyed by the whole thing for a while, but now that it's functional, I LOVE it!!)
62. our first year of marriage in State College and the community we had there
63. our second year of marriage, living with my parents and saving like crazy for this house
64. our 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th years of marriage, in this house
65. our van and its flexibility
66. e-bay and the fun I've had with THE dress
67. Ikea
68. the toys my children have to play with
69. the books my children have to read
70. the public library
71. Chick-fil-A
72. the Bible
73. the Wiggles
74. flavored, unsweetened seltzer
75. running water
76. electricty
77. hot showers
78. heat in the winter time
79. Crocs
80. coffee
81. never having to worry about what I'm going to wear
82. the remote starter on our Malibu
83. the promise of eternal life in heaven
84. tea parties
85. digital pictures and their seeming limitlessness--as long as you back them up =)
86. cell phones
87. Duncan's new goatee that he grew just for me
88. the autumn
89. whipped cream
90. half-caf grande vanilla americanos from Starbucks
91. the color purple (not the book/movie, while they're good, I mean the color)
92. Sandra Boynton books
93. PBS
94. the willingness of others to help me and support me while I'm not very able-bodied during this pregnancy
95. our reclaimed space where our shed once was in our backyard
96. two eyes that see
97. two ears that hear
98. two legs that walk
99. flowers
100. so many things for which I can be thankful...

So, what are you thankful for? I challenge each of you to actively think about it, at the very least.
Here's to the next 100!

An Exercise in Randomness

1. Last month, on June 17th, which was also Fathers' Day and the day we had a 60th birthday party for Duncan's mom, we had our 7th wedding anniversary. I'm not going to say we celebrated it, because we really haven't yet. But the last 2 years, we celebrated in October for various reasons. With this baby boy coming in September, I think it'll at least be October before we celebrate the 7 wonderful years we've been married.
2. I'm nearing week 30 of this pregnancy, which makes me very excited. I'm seriously struggling with wishing the summer away. (He comes the complaining, chrissiek!!) I just feel so useless around the house and with the kids. I have such a hard time doing the littlest things. I very much look forward to being able to run around with the kids and not always needing to sit down after I pick up something off of the floor. I feel guilty for not simply reveling in this time of (relatively) uneventful nights of sleep, doing all things toddler, and just plain being a family of four. Always something to work on, I guess.
3. On July 4th, we bought and set up bunk beds for the girls. Amelie's on the bottom, which is just her old mattress and box spring laying on the floor. You see, it's technically a loft bed. But at the store, they showed a mattress on the floor of the underneath part, so we took that idea and ran with it. Violet will eventually sleep there. Amelie is getting really good at climbing up and down by herself. Once she's perfected it, she can start sleeping on the top. Oh, and we didn't get the tent. With our slanted ceilings, it wouldn't fit well. We were thrilled that this bed was so short that it fits under the slant in their room. A picture of the slant that I'm talking about is above on that pre-Amelie's birth photo of their room.
4. Amelie starts swimming lessons next week. Next week I also have my next sonogram (to check on my placenta--has it migrated?), glucose tolerance test (yuck!), and regular check up with the ob.
5. The week after that, we have our hospital tour. I've been there to visit people, but I've never had a baby at this hospital. I'm very excited, especially with it being half the distance from our house as the hospital where the girls (and their mom) were born.
6. I need to complete Amelie's pre-school paper work and she needs to get her very first school physical! I'm very excited about her having this school experience. Since she's so timid socially, I think it will really stretch her, in a good way.
7. We bought a new sleeper sofa for our t.v. room. Every time I've been pregnant, I've complained about it and every time, we've talked about replacing it...but never have. My sister bought it, second-hand, nearly 20 years ago. The people that she bought it from had to have had it for at least 10 years before that! Needless to say, it owes us nothing. We took advantage of the July 4th sales this past weekend, but have to wait until at least August 9th before it'll be delivered. Exciting to anticipate, at least.
8. Violet has another eye procedure scheduled for August 20th, as long as I'm not on bedrest. This time the doctor will do the balloonplasty and/or insert tubes. I'm slightly anxious about it, but not nearly as much as the last time. I look forward to her living a eye gook-free life. We had a taste it for 2 weeks and 1 day following the first procedure.

So that's it. Eight random things, that I'm sure you've been wondering about. Tee hee. Next up, Post 100.

What Have we Been Up To?

As promised, some photos from our trip up north--


Ducky and Amelie checking out the water wheel at Findley Lake.









Our Cottage--The Silver Lily










Daddy and Violet waiting to leave for church on Father's Day.










Amelie blowing bubbles into the lake.









Being goofy at a local, yummy restaurant called Pie in the Sky.






After being away for a week, we jumped into our church's Music and Bible Camp. Some members of our church developed this camp from scratch and we did it in place of a canned VBS program which always has parts that need to be rewritten anyway. The theme was "Joy In The Gates" and two of the psalms that they focused on were Psalm 51 and Psalm 150. They found some really incredible music to go along with it and it turned out wonderfully. I just helped in the nursery, but it's always fun to be a part of it.

On Wednesday, I had a follow-up sonogram. (My first was at 16 weeks and I am now at 28 weeks.) Duncan was able to make it this time. We were able to see our little guy again--even some of those 3D pictures! I got some unfortunate news, however. Apparently I have placenta previa and am at risk for placenta accreta because of my previous c-sections. The perinatologist will be seeing me for sonograms every few weeks to see if the placenta has migrated (unlikely at this point but definitely possible) and to see if the placenta has started to embed itself into the uterus.
I'm struggling with many things in all of this. A worst-case scenario would be a hysterectomy immediately after the baby is born. And it all just SOUNDS scary. Another is that the doctor indicated he didn't want me out of the area of the hospital. ("You live in Bowie? I wished you lived closer.") So that means no Canaan Valley vacation with my side of the family in August. (We go every other year.) I am VERY disappointed about this!! It brings me to tears when I think about not being able to go. Also I'm struggling with feeling completely useless and will for potentially several months. The doctor did not put me on bed rest and told me not to be an invalid, however he did tell me to take it easy. But I feel very vulnerable and as if I should be very cautious. It all makes one not want to go through this again, I can assure you!
Boy am I rambling. Please just pray if you think of it. Pray that the placenta would migrate and that if it doesn't that accreta wouldn't develop.
I'm working on being thankful for medical technology, that we can know and be prepared--and that the doctors can be prepared. My anxiety is kicking in again and Duncan keeps telling me to "find the joy" in life rather than continuing to focus on the what ifs. I'm trying...

Been away for a week. Just got back late last night. Will update soon, with pictures of our wonderful vacation to Findley Lake, NY/Erie, PA. Does this count as a post toward my 100?

How cool is that?

(Click on it to make it larger.)

And I guess at 8:09 pm, we could add "and three hours." Thank goodness for silly things like Lilypie Tickers to make these kinds of things known!

12th Anniversary

Speaking of milestones, I'm pretty sure it was 12 years ago today that I met my sweet husband. "Who's that one with the long hair? He's cute." These were just some of the thoughts that went through my head that evening. We actually met playing elbow tag. (Highly fun, by the way, for those of you that work with youth.) He linked onto me. "Hi, I'm Duncan." "I'm Nancy." And that was it. Later on in that evening, we played a game that required everyone to lay down in a field, parallel to one another. The the first person began rolling over everyone and each subsequent person followed suit. I think it's called steamroller. He apologized to me numerous times after that game, telling me that he must have hurt me at the way I sounded as he went over me. I do remember it being an awfully uncomfortable game, in more ways than one, but I didn't remember any one person hurting me in any particular way. So that's how it began. We were at camp staff orientation, by the way, for those of you who don't know how we met and were wondering why a 19 year old girl and and a 21-year old boy were playing such games.
It would be nearly two and a half years before we began dating and just over five years before me were married. I know he'll make fun of me for remembering this. But I can't help it.

100th, er I mean, 94th post!! Woohoo!!

Recently, I've been building up to my 100th post, which, I thought, would be this one. As I went through my "archives," to get some inspiration for creating my 100th, I realized that I had several "drafts" of posts that were included in the 100. They were actually earlier versions of things that were eventually posted. Needless to say, when I deleted these bogus posts, it brought me down to 94. So, the pressure is off. I have six more posts to go until I need to make a big deal out of posting 100 times. Phew. Now I can go and scrub some toilets without a care in the world.

God is STILL so good...

...even though it seems that Violet's tear duct procedure may have failed. Have any other parents wished so much that their kid "just" had pink eye? She woke up this morning with green crusty eyelashes, reminicent of the morning two weeks and two days ago--and the majority of mornings for the entirety of her life before that. Major bummer. That's what everyone keeps saying, including me. And it is. However, I've been trying to realign my perspective all day long. I've been telling myself all day that this is not a big deal. In the grand scheme of life, it really isn't. Tomorrow, I'll be calling the doctor to find out what we need to do next. Pray for wisdom and pray for healing. I believe God is capable of healing her without more surgery. But regardless of what happens in this situation, GOD IS STILL GOOD. That's my point. And I praise Him for that.
Onto lighter things...some of my favorites of the past weeks:

Here, Violet worked very hard to get into her little seat. You can see she's quite pleased. She can often be seen holding two objects from the play kitchen--a cup and a spoon, a bowl and a fork, or a pan and a ladle (as seen in this shot). She stirs and eats. It's so dang cute.




Amelie and Violet "cleaned out" these cute toy storage bins I purchased recently and then thought it would be fun to sit in them. Violet looks drunk, but I love it because it shows them doing something together, which is getting more and more frequent these days--much to Amelie's delight.





This is the first day at the pool this season. My adorable WHITE family loves the pool. We've already been six times since Memorial day!








Duncan set up the sprinkler on a hot Sunday afternoon and Amelie and William had a blast. Violet, on the other hand, was quite offended at the water that snuck up on her as she played.







These next two are just goofy shots that I think are fun.




Violet shaking the dotters.










Amelie's extremely goofy face. She LOVES her sunglasses.





In other news, Duncan started his new job last weeks and it extremely satisfied. Even better, their moving from Annapolis to Bowie on Monday (a few weeks late, he was supposed to start there)--a twenty minute commute down to five. Rock the house! He'll MAYBE have to fill up his gas tank once every other week--how cool is that?