31 weeks 1 day - May 3, 2011

31 weeks 1 day

Yay!! Mommy has made it to 31 weeks. This past week has been a little scary but the past fews days have been pretty good!

On Sunday, Mommy's whole family came over to see me and daddy (grammy, Aunt Ashley, Aunt Juli, and Uncle Tony) and the doctor's cleared me for "wheel chair privileges" so I could go out and spend some time with all of them together. When they come to visit in your room, you can only have 3 people at a time and no one under the age of 12...which meant Tony could not come in my room. Mommy got all dressed and put on some make-up and got in a wheel chair and daddy wheeled her out of the Maternity floor and out the front door of the hospital to the garden. I cried so much when we got outside. I had not felt fresh air or the sun in 6 days and I was just so happy to be outside. We all sat in the garden for about an hour, talking and laughing about all sorts of things until I had to go back to my room for vitals. After vitals, we all had lunch and then went back outside for another hour or two before everyone had to leave to head back to Lake Placid. When I got to my room, I noticed that I had a little sunburn on my arm...it made mommy smile so much to see her sun kissed shoulders! Daddy stayed over on Sunday and had to leave on Monday morning so he could go back to work. Mommy realized that the cot was more comfortable for her than the hospital bed, so daddy offered to sleep in the hospital bed. It definitely throws the Maternity nurses for a loop when they walk in to check on a pregnant lady and find a man sleeping in the hospital bed!

So, daddy left early on Monday morning which gave mommy her first real day all by herself. This was going to be a big test to see how well I did being away from everyone and not knowing how I was going to feel. Things turned out pretty good though! My mornings tend to be quite busy with doctors and nurses coming in. They all seem to come in at separate times...I think because it's a learning hospital and some of the docs have to learn how to deal with patients one-on-one, so 2 or 3 docs will come in at separate time and ask me the same questions. Nurses come in the morning and do morning vitals. I usually order my breakfast after that and go take a shower. When I come back, my breakfast is waiting and then we do the daily Non-Stress Test (NST). I'm usually all done with everything and ready for the day by about 11am. Yesterday, I finally was able to log in to work and check my email...almost 500 emails had to be read through. So, that kept me busy for a while but then I get tired and have to take naps throughout the day. We also had a visitor yesterday, Anna Sengenberger came to visit. I work with her husband, Mike at Adworkshop. Anna had a doctor's appointment at Fletcher Allen, so she came to visit after her appointment and brought a really nice card and some yummy chocolates. It was really nice to see a familiar face. Anna and Mike are expecting a baby later this fall, so hopefully you'll have a playmate!

The NST today was really successful as was yesterdays and you girls were actually good and didn't give the nurses too hard of a time. Sophie's heartbeat averages in the 130s and Stella's has been averaging in the 140s. The past few NSTs have been so crazy and take forever...mostly because Sophie is squirming all over the place and never wants anyone to find her heartbeat. Mommy has gotten really good at locating your heartbeats for the nurses, though. I can pretty much point to a spot on my belly and it is almost spot on every time! The nurses here are so incredibly nice and helpful and keep mommy company when she needs it. Every day I have a new set of nurses throughout the day. You tend to spend a good 20 minutes with them every couple of hours, so I always ask them how long they've been a nurse and if they have any kids, etc. A lot of them have great stories and have seen lots of different types of people give birth here. They always make you feel special too, because they call my belly by the names of Sophie and Stella without me having to tell them! It feels really nice and I'm looking forward to seeing all these same nurses that have been taking such good care of me when I deliver you girls.

As scary as this journey has been over the last week, I am finding some solace in it. I've been getting lots of rest and lots of time to think about when daddy and I will get to hold you both. I'm learning lots from the nurses and get to see lots of little newborns every day. Daddy and I have got to spend some real quality time together which is nice and does not happen very often. I think this experience will better prepare me and daddy for when "The Day" arrives, too. We will know our ins and outs of the hospital and what to expect from the care, etc. I know what we need to pack and what we really don't need and how the whole operation works, so I'm trying to make this all into a big positive learning experience.

Today the doctor's told me that if there are no changes in my body come Monday, that I should be able to go home. I really hope that you two allow mommy to go home and rest in her own bed with the poocherinos! I can't wait for you to meet the two pups: Desmo and Ohlins. They are such good dogs and I think they will be very curious of you both. They miss mommy a lot and I miss them.

I'm going to wrap this up because Daddy is on his way from Lake Placid. He left early yesterday morning but it feels like it has been an eternity since I last saw him. I can't wait for him to arrive!!! He is going to stay here all day tomorrow and then leave tomorrow night so he can go back to work for a few days. I'm a little worried that he may not make it because Lake Champlain has been flooding like crazy and roads are being closed left and right. Hopefully he makes it over here and is able to make it back to Lake Placid tomorrow night.

Stay put Sophie & Stella. I'm being patient in meeting you...you'd better be patient in meeting the world!

Love,
Mommy