Family fun on a Saturday night!

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What are you Thankful For???

Here is my short list... share yours!!!!!

1. I am so thankful this baby is stil where he is supposed to be and that he is healthy and active.
2. I am thankful that God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and two other beautiful boys that have been such a blessing in my life.
3. I am thankful for an OB that is understands my need to be home and as recovered as possible for Xmas and that we have a baby no later than date of Dec 12.
4. I'm thankful that I have a mother and sister that were willing to give up their daily lives to come help with my boys while I was in the hospital. Many women had to leave AMA because there was no one at home to care for their children.

The sick house...

Well, we officially all have the crud at my house. I started getting a scratchy throat last night, so I knew it was coming. We had company scheduled, but I called them last night and let them know that we were all germie over here. Oh well... we have plenty to be thankful for, being sick on Thanksgiving is just a small thing. :-)

The Plague has hit my house...

Jeff woke up Sunday morning with a sore thoat from post nasal drip and has been battling a bad cold ever since. Jack came down with it yesterday. Although his nose isn't running, Michael is not wanting to eat, so we can only assume he is coming down with it too. I'm the only one right now that does not have it. Keep your fingers crossed that I am able to fight this one off. I DO NOT need a bad cold right now. UGH!!!!!!!

Pregnant lady cravings...

I just made Hummus in my VitaMix blender. YUM!!!!!

The Belly Explosion

Sorry I missed the last two weeks of pics. Here is my 36 week belly pic and boy has it really POPPED...LOL

Today's OB Appt

Went to the Dr today and everything is still status quo. No changes what so ever, except for my SIZE...LOL I am now offically off bedrest!!!!! I can do anything I feel like doing. Dr even said, "You don't have to tell your husband I said this, but you can even have sex if you want too." BWAHAHAHAHAHA

I am Group B Strep positive, which is no real big deal. They'll just have to give me IV antibiotics when I go into labor so I don't pass it on to Nathan. Evidently about 20% of women test positive for GBS and never know they have it until they get pregnant.

We talked about how if this boy doesn't show any signs of turning soon, we'll schedule a C-Section, especially since he has his feet up over his head also. I don't want to ever try a Version to turn him. It's only about 30% successful and PAINFUL to do. After all we've been through, I'd rather go the path of least resistance. ;) I go back on Monday Dec 1st and we'll do another US.

I was joking around with my Dr about how, after all we did to keep him in, we'll have to evict him to get him out. My Dr laughed and said it was a real possibility. He promised me that I would not be in the hospital over Christmas, so if I am still showing no signs of labor, they'll induce me around Dec 11 or 12. If he is still breech, we'll schedule a C-Section for one of those dates. So I guess we have a "baby no later than" date of Dec 12.

It's getting so close!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!! Now that I know he's safe, I'm getting so excited.

Finally! US Pics...

Here ya go folks!

He's already playing with his toes....



Big YAWN!


Here is where you can see his foot up next to his face.
Plus, proof he has Jeff's chin!

Thursday's OB appt @ 34w4d

Still no contractions and still only 1-2 cent dilated. YEAH!!!! Nathan is now 5lb 4oz and measuring right on schedule at 34w4d when the Dr did the ultrasound on Thursday. I have a few 3d pics to share, I just have to get them scanned. I'm a little far along for them to be very good, but I think he has Jeff's chin. :) He also still has his feet up over his head and is not just breech but butt down breech. I promise to get the US pics up sometime this weekend.

What’s in a Name?

Whether you’re adopting or pregnant, what is one of most the pressing issues at hand? Some might say getting the nursery ready. Others would say baby-proofing the house. For every person insisting on giving you their two cents, you’ll find a different and higher priority. In our experience, what most people want to know after the due date and sex is what we are going to name the baby. From the day we announced to the World that we had finally succeeded in conceiving a child, the pressure was on. Ten long years of assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures pale in comparison to the perils that await the parents who don’t have a name chosen for the child at least four months before the due date. After all, no one wants a child to go into the World without a name. With this horrible thought in mind, we are happy to announce that we have chosen a name for our third son.

I have come to the realization that naming a child becomes more difficult with each successive birth. Once we decided to start a family, we began the search for a name for our future boy or girl. We threw a few random names in the hat, but it quickly became apparent that neither of us wanted to pick some random moniker out of thin air, or some other place. We were not going to choose a name that would condemn our little charmer to the spinning barf-fest that is the inside of a garbage can for most of his high school years. We weren’t going to fall into the temptation of making up some unique name; as is the fad these days. The thought of our child going through life with a name that sounds like the latest female oriented pharmaceutical sends shivers up our spines. We wanted our child to have a strong name; one from which he could be proud and draw character. Giving a child a name of substance definitely ups the level of difficulty.

By the time our first son was given to us, we had already chosen a girl’s and a boy’s name. We had a lot of time in between rounds of clomid, IUI, IVF, EIEIO and all the rest to think about such things. We had chosen the girl’s name with our grandmothers in mind. We chose to name our son after my father. On that wonderful day in Mobile when we were handed our most wonderful gift, we declared our first son to be named William John Lucas, II. Being as I go by my middle name, we thought we would do the same with our boy. John is a popular name on both sides of our family, but the name Jack (a nickname for John) seemed to be inspired.

Naming our second son proved to a bit more difficult. With the aforementioned strategy firmly in place, we forged on to search for a noble name. Our biggest hurdle was the many names we couldn’t use. The names that came to mind were either too popular, too recurrent in our families or were those belonging to an unsavory character one of us knew personally. With the delivery date of our second son looming just seven days in front of us, we were finally struck with an epiphany. On June 5th at 2:47 pm, Michael Ian Lucas was brought into the World and placed in our arms. The name Michael is that of the patron saint of warriors, law enforcement officers and fire fighters. Ian is a name that Pam had always liked.

For a third time, we are facing the paralyzing fear of a nameless child. With our next son possibly arriving at any moment, we scrambled to find a name. And like his older brothers, we wanted his name to mean something; not just some name pulled out of a book. This time we went through all the names we couldn’t use in hopes of narrowing down the possibilities. We started running names together to see which combination struck our fancy. We even held a blog poll. Thanks for all your input folks! In an act of desperation I sent out a plea for suggestions from just about everyone in my email address book. I received many replies all with various suggestions; some good, some bad. One suggestion struck a chord with me on a very deep level. A friend of mine, whose son had served in Iraq and lost three dear friends, suggested that we use the name of one of the three young Marines who had died in the line of duty. After careful consideration, we have chosen two of those three names to memorialize the sacrifices that the defenders of our nation offer every day, all over the World.

L/Cpl Nathan Windsor

(http://www.iraqwarheroes.com/windsor.htm) was shot during combat operations while acting as a sniper in Al Anbar province, Iraq on March, 10, 2007. He was stabilized in Iraq and transported to a hospital in Germany where he later died.

Here is a picture of Nathan's final journey home.

L/Cpl Blake H. Howey

(http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/howey.htm) was killed during combat operations while driving his HMMWV, in convoy, across an explosive laden bridge in Fallujah, Al Anbar, Iraq.

Both of these men are described as intelligent, loving and dedicated friends, sons and Marines. They made the ultimate sacrifice to help a nation, and her people, change from one of oppression to one where each person has the freedom to choose his or her own destiny.

We know that our baby will have a character and personality that is all his own. We hope that his name will memorialize two men who honorably represent all who serve, have served or will serve or died in defense of freedom all over the World. It is our humble pleasure and reverent privilege to name our third son Nathaniel Blake Lucas.

WE ARE HOME!!!!

YEAH!!! I was discharged today at 1:00pm. We had to stop and fill a prescription and had lunch. Once we got home, I spent the rest of the day with my boys. WOOHOO!!!!

I'll post more later!

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting....

They are going to check me in the morning and if I have not dilated, I will be going home. They stopped my Procardia tonight to make sure I don't start contracting. I have not had contractions since this whole thing started almost 8 weeks ago. They had me on the smallest dose as a prophylactic measure, so here's hoping I don't start contracting out of the blue. They last two or three days have just been an eternity. It's hard to believe I might actually be able to go home tomorrow. I've already made an appt with my OB for Thursday. WOOHOO!!!!!

Just an observation...

It's amazing how time seems to slow down the closer you get to something you have been waiting on for weeks. I had been amazed at how quickly the weeks seemed to go by while I've been here, but this week has been pure torture!!!! It's Friday, only two more days and today is just DRAGGING. It seems like I've been up forever and it's only 9:45am. I am expecting a visitor later today and Jeff will be here tomorrow, so that should help pass the time.

7 weeks...

Yesterday was 7 weeks that I've been sitting in the hospital. It hardly seems real. I hope I get out of here on Sunday as planned. Nothing has changed and I'm just marking time until they release me to go home.

Our big boy...

They did another US for growth today. He's 4lbs 10oz and everything looks good. Being over 4lbs is a stepping stone for getting me out of here. YEAH!!!!!

They didn't give me any pics today. :(

33 weeks...

ONE MORE WEEK! ONE MORE WEEK! Say it with me folks...

ONE MORE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Visiting Mommy on Halloween

Mom and Jeff brought the boys up to ToT at the hospital Friday. It was great to see them and everyone was in a great mood. Jack was very proud of his train costume and Michael made the cutest little pumpkin you ever saw. I guess Jack is finally getting used to me being here. He has asked to talk to me twice on the phone in the last week. He hasn't talked to me on the phone since I've been here. Plus, when it came time to leave, he didn't want to go. Usually he is plenty happy to get out of this hospital room. Here are just a few pics from today...


I'm just not sure why Daddy always has that black thing in front of his face.


You would think this boney man never eats, but you can see the proof of it on his face. :)


Mommy and Michael taking a nap. I think I expend more energy in the few hours they are here than I do in a week. :) (Look at that BELLY! and I'm not talking about Michael's...LOL)

Jack wouldn't stand still long enough for me to take a pic of him in his costume. But he would stand there for Miss Lara, one of Mommy's nurses. (He still wouldn't look at the camera though.)

Tickling brother is fun!!!

Monkey see, Monkey do!

Here's a little smile on our Pumpkin!

There goes Daddy with that black thing in front of his face again.