Today's Ultrasound

The good news is, there is no change. Cervix is still where it was almost two weeks ago. So, we're still here and our bun is still baking. On a funny note, she also did an abdominal scan to see the baby's heart rate. We caught him sucking his foot...LOL Not his thumb, but his foot. We could also see him trying to breath, so that's a good thing also. He's still active, moving and giving the nurses a hard time when they try to put me on the monitor in the morning. He'll kick the monitor and run deep. They usually have to get the monitor on him and then tie it down tight to pin him down.

They are supposed to do an US for growth early next week. The tech told me they had new machines that had printers with them. Hopefully they'll have them up and running next week and I'll have new US pics to share.

Thanks again for everyone for your continued help and support. We REALLY appreciate it.

Michael's 4mo checkup

Michael's 4mo checkup has been moved from Oct 3 to Oct 17. So we have a few weeks to collect guesses. I see lots of people hitting this blog. Make sure you go to the "Guess My Weight" post and leave your guess.

It will be fun to see who gets the closest.

28 Weeks

Well, today I hit 28 weeks. Jeff just headed home for the week. But, before he left he took another belly picture. Since they are letting me wear my own clothes, you can get a better shot of the belly. I look so happy, perky and attractive...NOT! I guess you can't ask for much more after two weeks in the hospital. Don't expect it to get much better folks...LOL

Anyway, here's the 28 week belly pic for your viewing pleasure.

PS.
Don't forget to go add your guess to the "Guess my weight" post below!

MANY MANY THANKS!!!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank a few people for their help this weekend. I want to make sure I keep up with this before the list gets too long for my feeble memory to keep up with...LOL

Karen-Thank you so much for taking he boys to the picnic on Saturday. You gave my mom a much needed break and gave her a chance to go do some unmolested shopping at Wal Mart.

Kristi-Thanks so much for taking Jack to church with your family this morning. He's such a social little boy and loves being around other kids his age. Just getting him out of the house for a few hours does wonders for him.

Vicki & Jaime-Thank you and your hubbys so much for mowing the yard today. Mom says it looks great and it's one less thing for Jeff to worry about. She also enjoyed the chance to have a few minutes to herself with a cup of coffee and some chocolate pie.

I don't know what we would do without the wonderful people we have in our life.

THANK YOU!!
Pam, Jeff, Jack, Michael & Barbara

Jeff's 2 cents for the day...

Who was the hack who took those soccer pics?
I wonder if our bathroom scale is accurate enough to win the baby weight poll? Hmm...

Small update

Well, not a whole lot that is really new. I'm still here, bun is still in oven, no contractions, bleeding, etc...etc...

When the Dr came in this morning, I asked her what was our goal for me to get out of here. She said that they would check me at 32 weeks and if there were no changes and my OB was comfortable with me delivering at 32 weeks they would send me home on bed rest and Procardia. If I were to go into labor after that, as long as the baby's lungs were mature, they would stop the meds and let me deliver. Evidently the 32 weeks is when the danger of a brain bleed goes away. When I was being admitted to OS Hospital for transfer to USA, my OB actually mentioned me being here until the 34 week mark. So I'm imagining that his comfort level is 34 weeks. So I may be in here another 4 weeks, I may be in here another 6 weeks.

Jack's 1st soccer practice

Jack had his 1st soccer practice. Jeff said he did well for his 1st time out. He was done after about 25-30 min. Jeff was very impressed with Coach Bob and Coach Art. He said that they were very patient and kind with the kids. He also meet Coach Bob's wife Jennifer and said that she was very nice and offered her help in making sure that Jack was able to make it to practice and games. We do appreciate all the kind offers of help we have received.

People have asked for me to share his soccer schedule so I've included it below.

All of these games are at 8am at Freedom Field in Ocean Springs.

10/4-Practice
10/11
10/18
10/25
11/8

Here are a few pictures of our little soccer star.

I can move the ball!

I can kick the ball!

And then boredom set in...

Thanks for the support

Pam and I are very appreciative of the wonderful visit we had with my DO/Flight Commander, Capt. Apilado. Rarely, in the past, have we had a visitation from the unit; especially the "head shed". Even when one of us was at Keesler Medical Center. Sir, thank you for taking the time out of your weekend to drive an hour away from your wife and girls to visit us. It was nice to talk with you and keep the hangar doors closed for a while.

Guess my weight!!!

No, not MY weight! Michael is going in for his 4mo checkup and vaccinations on Friday and I thought it would be fun for folks to guess his weight. He was 11 pounds 13 oz at his 2mo checkup and he has grown by leaps and bounds since then. Here's a quickie snapshot Jeff took of Michael today. Please leave a comment and guess Michael's weight.

Slacking, I know...

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. There has just been NOTHING to report. Bun is still baking, no contractions, no changes. These are all good things. I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. Someone who's been through all this told me the 1st two weeks are the worst. Well, I've made it through the 1st week, 2nd week ends on Wed, Oct 1st. The good news is, we have almost made it to the 28 week mark. We hit 28 weeks on Sunday.

It occured to me the other day that Michael is almost 4mo. I have to call the Pediatrician's office on Monday and make an appt for his 4mo checkup and vaccines. I'm hoping to make the appt for Friday the 3rd. It's a down Friday, so Jeff can stay home w/Jack and mom can take Michael to his appt. I normally take Jack to Michael's appts, but he doesn't need to see Michael get his shots. Jack is such a sensitive soul, seeing Michael hurt like that would just do him in.

Since our goal is to keep this little bun in the oven until at least 34 weeks. I hope to be in the hospital until at least Nov 11th. This means I will be here on voting day. I called the voter registration office in Gautier and they are going to send me an absentee ballot. I have my polictical views on who I think needs to be President. I won't dicuss it here, as it's not the forum for that type of discussion. But I will say, no matter if you vote for McCain or Obamam, VOTE! If you don't get out and vote, you have no right to complain when things don't go the way you would like them to go.

Jeff promised me her would take pictures of Jack at his 1st soccer practice tomorrow. They went out today to get cleats and shin guards. Could not find ANY soccer cleats anywhere. Jack is such a little guy, the typical shin guards would not fit him. They were able to find somethig that will work and Jack still needs some tube socks to keep them on, but at least his little legs will be protected. As soon as I get a chance to put them up, I'll share the pictures here.

It's almost 3am, so I'm going to TRY to get some sleep now.

Good Night~~~~~~

Soccer Season is starting

I enrolled Jack in the 3yo micro-soccer league at the YMCA. His 1st practice is Saturday. Jeff is going to take him to get his cleats and shin guards on Friday. It's going to be SO CUTE. I hate, hate, hate missing it. :(

Your offers of help are greatly appreciated!

Thanks to everyone that has offered to help and support us during this difficult time.

I've had several people ask what I needed here at the hospital to pass the time. Right now I'm in pretty good shape. Having acess to the internet gives me unlimited access to games, puzzles, magazines, chatting with friends etc... I have a new book to read and snacks. There is even a DVD player attached to the TV in here. So I am set for now at least. After, the 4th, 5th, 6th week, I may be tired of this computer and looking for some new distractions. I was telling a friend that it's times like this I wish I was crafty and knew how to knit or something. I do know how to crochet, but it has been FOREVER. I guess cross stitch is always an option, but again, FOREVER.

As for things we need at home. We are fine on meals right now. I had already started freezing a lot of stuff and had already planned a trip to Dream Dinners in Mobile. Our good friend Karen picked those up for us last weekend. Since I hope to be in here a good long time, I'm sure at some point my mom will appreiciate someone bringing in a meal so she does not have to cook.

With the ever changing uncertainty of our situation, I'm sure other things will come up and I promise to ask for help when we need it.

Thanks again!!!!

About This Baby Naming Thing...

I prefer Nathan Blake over all the rest myself. I have some very personal reasons that Pam has strictly forbidden me to discuss in the blog. Something about undue influence and getting honest input from you guys blah, blah, blah... I say, if you have a ringer bring it to the party. But, I fear the pregnant chick.
Thank you all for supporting in all this. I so wish I could take a sabatical and be with her more.
Love you, Darlin'

Mom brought the boys today...

Mom brought the boys up here for about an hour. It was nice to have them here. Jack just crawled up on the bed and had a grand 'ol time and ate half my lunch when it was delivered. Which is fine, because I usually only eat half of it anyway. You can tell poor Michael is confused. I know Jack misses me, but Michael is the one I'm worried about the most. He is so young and was such a momma's boy already. But I guess you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

They are "patterning" my blood sugars once a week for 24 hours. Because of my Gastric Bypass, I am unable to drink the sugary liquid that is used during the Glucose Tolerance Test. So we are just going to keep an eye on my blood sugar levels. As long as they are normal, we'll only test them once a week. If they start going up, they test more often and treat me for Gestational Diabetes.

Things are pretty much the same as they've been. No contractions, no bleeding, no leaking fluid etc...etc... Baby boy is still active, moving and running from the monitor for fun.

Thanks again for all of the offers of help. We really appreciate it!!!!

A few bright spots...

Get 'em where you can, right?

1. They are letting me wear my own clothes. No more wrestling with the hospital gown all night long and no more flashing my behind at everyone that dares to walk in the room when I'm not in the bed.

2. I spoke to a lactation consultant today. After checking my insurance she told me that if my baby was put in the NICU, my insurance would pay for the MACK DADDY electric breast pump at 100%. Those run $300+ a piece and since preemies aren't able to eat on their own, it's a medical neccessity.

3. I have a great support system of women through a play group that Jack and I joined last Dec. Folks are going out of their way, offering to bring meals and help take care of the boys to give my mom some time. With Jeff working 10 hours days and spending his off days with me, that leaves little time for my mom to relax a bit. Thank you ladies!!!!

4. I have family willing to drive/fly cross country to be here and stay for the duration.

5. Jeff's work has agreed to put him back on dayshift as of today. YEAH!!! This will make life easier on me, him, the boys and my mom.


I'll continue to add to this list and things come to me and the bright spots reveal themselves.

Baby Name Poll

The baby name poll has been added. Please go vote for your favorite!

27 week belly pic

Jeff just left to go home to the boys. Since I'm going to be in here for the long haul, he needs to go back to work also. We are hoping that he will be able to transition back to day shift so he will be able to help my mom out with the boys. Anyway, before he left, he took my 27 week belly pic. The hospital gown doesn't show off the belly as well, but you work with what you got. It ain't purty, but at least I'd had a shower. he he he

He was also kind enough to take a picture of me with the huge Brontosaurus Rib they gave me for lunch. It was pretty tasty for hospital food and HUGE.

Fun with baby...

Otherwise known as "Interactive Fetus". The nurse comes in and puts me on the monitor for 30 min a day to monitor the baby's heartrate and to see if I am having any contractions. Well our little man DOES NOT like those monitors at all. What was supposed to be a 30min test turned into almost an hour and a half of chasing him around my belly. She'd find him and by the time she had everything tied down, he'd be gone. I've said all along that we have been so blessed with how good natured Jack and Michael are, and it's going to the this one that will give us all the trouble. Looks like I was right, huh? :)

Up again, Up again

At least I waited until 6am to wake up this time. However, Jeff and I sat up until 2ish watching comedy central. UGH! I'm starting to have some side effects from the Procardia. I'm HOT HOT HOT! I'm having horrible hot flashes and wake up from it regularly. Not NEAR as bad as the Mag Sulfate, but irritating all the same.

Jeff's leaving today to go home for the week. I want him here as long as possible, but I also I want him to leave early enough to spend some time with the boys. It will be good for him and for them. We're having a hard time getting the web cam to work behind the hospital firewall. Some suggested using Yahoo instead of MSN Messenger so we are going to try that today. If I can get my web cam working, I can spend a little time with my boys every day. I need that desperately.

I've included a couple of snapshots of my sweet beautiful boys above. Jack is getting so big, he looks so grown up. Michael is getting to be quite the chunky monkey and is not going to be a little peanut like Jack was, at all.

Jack will be starting soccer soon. We registered him for 3yo soccer and the first game is Oct 11. It's going to be so cute. A field full of 3yo's running up and down the field, chasing a ball. Sounds like T-ball on steroids. I was so looking forward to watching him play. Lots of pictures and video, lots and lots and lots. Good things data is cheap, huh? :) I make sure to post a game schedule once we have one. I'm looking forward to getting him into T-ball in the spring also. Nothing cuter than T-Ball...LOL

I'll get Jeff to take another belly shot before he leaves today. The last one was last Sunday, so I guess we'll make it a Sunday ritual to take a pic before he goes home for the week. I actually have the shirt and shorts I was wearing when we took the last picture here at the hospital. I'll wait until after I have my shower to spare you all the sight of my greasy hair and oil/sweaty face.. Sounds PREEEETTTTYYYY doesn't it? Hopefully we'll have 7 or 8+ more of these pictures before this little man makes his appearence.

We're still working on a name for him, so make sure you go to the "Baby Name" post below and add you suggestions to the comments. When we get a few more, we'll start a poll and see which is a favorite. Make sure you suggest the 1st and middle name combo.

I guess I'm done for now, but I'm sure I'll be back sometime later today. Keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming!!! We need ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET!!!!

Just had Dinner... yum...

Meat Loaf, mashed potatoes w/gravy and green peas w/mushrooms. It was actually the tastiest meal I've had since I've been here. You know I'm getting bored already when I'm giving a food update...LOL

The Dr came in this afternoon and the put me back on the Procardia. I'm still not contracting, but she wanted to put me on it because a)I really don't know what contractions feel like, b)I was feeling pressure, which is what brought me to the dr in the first place and c) "YOU HAVE NO CERVIX." =:0

It's really scary to have the high risk OB look you in the eye and tell you that one. It's just one more thing to drive home the fact that I will be sitting here in the hospital room until this baby is born. Hopefully that will be at least 7 weeks. That would put me at 34. After that they should send me home to deliver at the hospital there.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks to everyone who has offered their help. It means a lot. I'm sure over the next several weeks we'll be taking you up on your kind offer.

Jeff is leaving to go home tomorrow, so I will be spending next week here alone. :(

I will definitely be on here posting useless drivel while he's gone. :)

4:30 am and I'm awake

I've been lucky that they aren't doing vitals on me throughout the night. But sure enough, I am usually up around 4am to go to the bathroom. Once I'm up, I'm hungry, once I've eaten a bit, I'm AWAKE. At least I get to sleep anytime I want during the day. Also the support hose they make you wear are driving me INSANE. I'm hot natured anyway. Throw in being pregnant and wearing elastic support hose and I just can't sleep. I took them off so hopefully I can get some more rest tonight, er... this morning. I'll just have to promise them I'll put them back on.

Jeff is going home tomorrow so he go back to work on Monday. The immediate threat of delivery is gone, so no point in him staying here 24/7 right? It'll be strange here by myself.

Anyone feeling froggy and want to drive to Mobile to visit, COME ON!

Fetal Fibronectin was positive

fFN was positive. That in and of itself is not really an indicator of preterm labor, however the US tech was in here doing a cervical length and it's pretty much open on the inside. :(
I'm still only fingertip dilated, and no contractions that I can tell. Of course I've never had contractions, so I don't know what they feel like. But really, I've not felt anything pretty much since I was admitted.

However, since we live an hour away, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. :(

Mom and Sis are coming up here with the boys today. :-D So that's a bright spot for today.

This will probably be my entertainment for the next two months. So come back often! Don't forget to add you suggestion for baby names to the pot.

Thanks for the prayers and positive thoughts. Keep them coming, this bean NEEDS to stay put.

Baby Names

Jeff and I figured since this little one may come sooner than planned, we need to get on the stick with picking out a name. We have a few in mind, but figured we'd ask for input from friends and family. We already have two boys named, William John (Jack) and Michael Ian, so those names are out. We also do not want to use Joseph, Harry, James, Edmond, David, Patrick, Jacob, Brian, Lewis, Louis, Francis, Steve Or Phelonius. No offense to folks with these names, we just already have close family with those names already. Just add your suggestions to the comment boxes below. Please give a 1st and middle name and once we have several we'll set up a poll for folks to vote.

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Fetal Fibronectin Test (fFN)

Had this test done this morning...Evidently this is a test they can do where swab your cervix and if the test is negative, they can be reasonably sure that you won't go into labor in the next two weeks. It's a protein that acts a "glue" between the placenta and the uterus. If it comes back negative, I may be able to go home on bedrest. If it comes back positive, it doesn't tell them a whole lot. It just means the "glue" is disentegrating earlier than it should and you could go into labor. It's not a sure sign you will go into labor, but it is a sure sign you will not make it to 40 weeks. So, if it comes back positive, I'm probably stuck here for the long haul. Basically 34 weeks or until the baby is born. I live an hour away, so they aren't going to take any chances of me delivering at my home hospital or on the road trying to get here.

good news is, my cervix has not changed since I was admitted on Wed and I've still had no contractions. YEAH!

Dontcha love the way they wake you at 5:30 am to do these test?

Catch up posts

I have cut and paste these posts from Jeff's website. They pretty much get us up to today's date.

9/18/2008, 5:27 pm
Pam has been moved to the High Risk OB Ward. She is out of imminent danger of early delivery. The doctors are waiting to see how she does and determine if she can leave here maybe Monday. If not, she can stay as long as her 34th week. She's free from all her tubes and wires. She's allowed to get up and do necessary things, but is to stay her rear in bed. Pam's mother and her sister are in town. They're going to take the boys and help when she gets home. Should she come home, she'll be on strict bed rest and have weekly trips to the doctor. I'll be staying with Pam again tonight. At least this hospital has little couches that turn into a decent bed.

9/18/2008, 12:18 AM
Another doctor stopped by to talk to us. He said that the imminent threat of early delivery has passed. They've removed her catheter and given her the OK to eat. She hasn't had any food since yesterday morning; she's hon-gar-ee. Since Pam is doing so well, the doctor is going to stop the Procardia medicine and see if she has any contractions. If she's still free of contractions, they will move her to the high risk OB floor. Doc said that's one step to getting out of here. Pam's looking forward to moving upstairs; the beds are much more comfortable. There is some talk of her going home in a few days on strict bed rest. So, as long as the little bug stays put, we should be in good shape. Thanks for the name suggestions, Dave. Those are awesome names. We've even considered one as the first and one as the middle name. Pam is also throwing around the name Daniel. What do you guys thing? Let us know.

9/18/2008, 9:34 AM
We just woke up and Pam is in good spirits. We were talking to he day nurse and she really nice. There is talk of Pam being transferred to high risk OB ward if she continues to stabilize. The bed I slept was a pretzel machine in a former life. Pam's mom is on here down from Ohatchee, AL and Denise, Pam's sister, is due into Mobile Airport around 2:30 PM. Right now, she is make phone calls and working on the internet. I, on the other hand, am looking for a good cup of coffee.

9/17/2008, 10:33 PM
Pam has been admitted to USA Women's and Children's Hospital. All this weekend she was feel poorly and finally this morning she decided to the doctor's office and get checked out. The doctor discovered the she was a little bit dilated and 50% effaced. Luckily, she's had no contractions. The plan is for her to stay here until she's at 34 weeks or has delivered the baby. She is going to hate staying here for 7 weeks, but she is motivated to do what it takes to have a healthy baby. Thanks Mel for coming to the rescue. Tonight, the boys are with friends to whom we are truly grateful. Thanks Ren and Karen. Her medical staff are really cool. The docs have been fully informative and the nursing staff have bent over backwards to make Pam and I as comfortable as a hospital room can be. Thanks to Drs Varner and Meredith and to Ms. April, Pam's nurse. The room has public WiFi so I will try to be vigilant to keep this up to date. Feel free to email Pam and I. Any suggestions for a name for our new boy to be? Hopefully, we have some time, but we have to come up with a winner in case he arrives earlier than we expect.