Day 8

Well, 3 days down, 7 more to go. 7 sounds like a lot more than 9 did when I last wrote. I am such a weenie! I gotta say, bed rest is just not for me. It makes me angry and lazy and lots of other adjectives I don't like.

Or maybe that's pregnancy? Gosh, hard to tell at this point.

We had a doctor appointment this morning and I would be making a mistake if I didn't ask for all of your prayers in my approach with my doctor over the next 5 weeks (or less!). Lesson learned: when you don't have a good introduction and vibe from prenatal appt #1, go ahead and count your losses and try someone else. Sticking it out to try and be ... Well I don't even know what I was trying to be ... Just not the best idea. If he rubbed you the wrong way that first time, it's just not worth it to try and make up for it over 32 more weeks. 

My doctor came with LOTS of rave reviews for doctors and friends, so I assumed that first meeting was just a fluke. Apparently he and I just go together like oil and water, and I'm afraid that in my moment of sheet agony and pain I will finally blurt out the things I've held in this whole time. So pray I don't do that :)

He did tell me that I can stop taking my medication next Wednesday. Does that mean my bed rest can end that day too and I can resume work 2 days sooner? Now I'm getting hopeful that maybe I really only have 5 more lonely days at home.

I know what you're all thinking (and a lot of you are saying) : enjoy the peace now, for soon you won't have a moment to yourself. Yeah yeah, I know I know. It's just not my greatest strength.

Guess it's time I practice being still and knowing He is God. 

Day 10

Counting down, today is day 10 of bed rest. Yep - that's right - bed rest again. And I should clarify - day 10 is only counting work days, cause those are the worst days. Only 10 this time - not too bad and I'm sure it'll be over before I know it!

Ah, bed rest again. Here we are. On Friday I woke up having fairly regular and somewhat painful contractions. I tried convincing myself I didn't need to call the doctor, but I think that's because I was pretty sure I knew what was happening and I didn't want to face it. 

We went to the doctor and I have to say, I probably liked him more than I have at any other appointment. I haven't been crazy about him but all along I've said 'he comes with rave reviews and was described as the best in my area by 2 doctors in San Jose, so even if I don't like him I know I can trust that when I need him to do a great job he will' -- and I think he has. One day when I needed to see him on a day his office was closed he met me there to be sure everything was ok, and made plenty of time to talk to me on his day off. Then Friday he was the perfect blend of calm, thorough, and clear. 

He did a swab to detect the likelihood of labor within 2 weeks. It tests for a protein which I believe comes at the onset of labor. He said if it came back negative there's a 99% chance that my contractions would not lead to labor within 2 weeks. 2 weeks was a magic number because that would get me to 37 which is full term. So all we needed was a negative.

An hour later we found out it was positive. Bummer.

Positive doesn't guarantee labor is imminent, but it is 'very reliable' (he didn't give me the statistic on that one). So he told me to go to the hospital and they'd track Charles on fetal monitors while administering medicine to calm the muscles and slow it down. It took longer to slow them down than he or the nurse anticipated but eventually they got it down to 2 an hour, and the 2 were very minimal. So I was then instructed to go home on 'partial bed rest'. 

I have medicine to take every 4 hours (same as with William) and I am to be as restful as possible. I told him I'd be goin to church and he didn't argue, but beyond that he said I shouldn't go anywhere unless necessary. I can move around the house if needed, and don't have to be laying all day long, but I need to be as still and calm as possible. 

Wanna know what's torture? Having 10 days all alone in a house that I'm not even allowed to clean! Can you imagine the cleaning and organizing that could happen over the next 2 weeks??? The options are endless. Closets, pantries, cupboards, bedrooms -- I'm almost salivating. Instead it's just torture.

So, as I lay here at 4:30 watching Ellen (the absolute best part of bed rest!!!) I am closing down day 10 of my 10 day countdown. 1 down, 9 more to go. I can do this!!!

Oh - and does anyone think the monster truck show qualifies as necessary? Anyone at all?

What a wonderful William weekend

William and I had a very special  trip to Denver last weekend. It was intended to be a girls weekend for me - a delayed 29th birthday present from last july - but the army has dictated my schedule and broken plans 4 times now. We thought we finally had a weekend picked out, only to find out Austin had to go to the range (translation: play army) 

So - I could either cancel yet again and potentially never go, or I could take William. At the time of the news I was so upset, but it really ended up being one of the best things for both of us.

Friday we headed up to San Jose early in the morning for some chick fil a before our flight.

Why? Well, because 

We had a quick breakfast, found our parking lot and rode the airport bus over to the airport. William behaved like an angel the entire time which was perfect because I was just about maxed out on energy use with the bags and such. Our flight was only 2 hours which was a nice break from our usual 6+ hours of travel to Texas. We didn't even get to finish our movie!

When we landed in Denver I had a lot of bittersweet emotions. I love Denver. Can't deny it. I loved just about everything about our 6 years there and I honestly don't know if I will ever miss a place like I miss Denver. I even got emotional when we passed "the gas station I never had" 

We always wanted a gas station by our neighborhood, and I was so sad when I saw they had built one. (Ok. Maybe we'll chalk that one up to hormones. regardless, it was hard)

I was quite the little tourist on our ride down to castle rock. Taking pictures of gas stations, mountains, and William's birth place.

William determined he loves Colorado and wants to move there. I'm not sure if he's prone to love the mountains, was feeding off the love and energy I had by being back, or if it was just Ms Dusti's backyard - but I kind of think it was the latter. They have a huge backyard with chickens, a basketball court, playground, and plenty of construction vehicles and toys for a boy. He would have been happy staying back there the whole weekend!

Saturday we planned to go to the zoo. However, we failed to plan for crowds and i nearly had an anxiety attack just in the parking lot. So, the aquarium was the runner up and it turned out to be great. It's no Monterey Bay Aquarium, but what do you expect from a land locked state? :)

They also have a train, so you can't lose when you're with a little boy. (Although I was concerned I'd never be able to climb out!)

That night we slept at ms Jodi's house which William loved. Another big backyard AND a giant jacuzzi tub. He has only asked for one about 10 times since then, so I think it was a hit.

Sunday he and I took a drive up to the mountains. He was insistent on seeing snow, but unfortunately we drove about 30 minutes into the mountains and found none. We did find a tunnel and a river, and I agreed to take him to the bass pro shop to make up for the lack of snow, so he was happy.

He doesn't remember, but one of his faaaaaaavorite things to do with oh gosh was to go see the 'fish in wawee'. Time flies, but some things never change.

The rest of Sunday I spent shopping while he played in ms Dusti's amazing backyard again (despite 40 degree temps) and we had dinner with some amazing friends. 

Monday morning William woke me up saying two things:

Hey bed hog!

I miss dada

So, our trip was perfectly timed as my Colorado loving bear was ready to go home. He proudly clung to dada doll the entire day in the airports and on the plane, and took every opportunity to show it to anyone who looked our way.

We had a great time and I think it was a much needed trip for him. And for me. It wasn't what I had wanted, but it was more than I could have ever asked for.  

Until next time Denver, I'll be seeing you in my dreams.