They're trying to put me in a bubble...

So last week I blogged about my fall. Well, just as my leg was finally starting to not be the most painful thing ever, I had another little accident. Seriously.

Last Friday, Kraig had the day off. We didn't do much in the morning, but when Kate went down for her nap I ran to town. I was just going to drop Kraig's check at the bank, so I didn't even bother to shower. After finishing up at the bank, though, I decided to run to Target. We had a friend at the hospital in labor and I had a joint baby shower on Saturday (for me and another friend), so I needed some gifts. Not long after I got into the store, a huge storm started up outside. It was so loud even from the inside that you could barely hear yourself think. I finished my shopping and decided to walk around more and hope that the storm would let up if I killed some time. Finally, I'd had enough. It was still raining, but I was ready to go home. My leg was sore from the walking and I was done. I checked out and ran to the car. I happened to have Kraig's car at the time. I threw the bags in the passenger seat and attempted to get in the driver's side. The person beside me was so close that it was a struggle to get my ever-growing belly inside without damaging both vehicles. But I managed.

I left the parking lot and headed home. As I neared the area where we lost our piano during the move, someone in front of me made a last minute decision to turn and came to a very quick stop. No turn signal. I managed to get stopped in plenty of time, but I could see in my rear view mirror that the car behind me wasn't slowing down. Right about the time that the car in front of me turned, the car behind me hit me. I was shocked. I saw it coming, but it was still shocking. I put my car in park and sat there for a few seconds, shaking uncontrollably. The driver of the other car got out to see if I was okay, and we decided to pull off the road into a nearby parking lot. As far as I could tell, I was okay. I didn't recall any of my body parts making direct contact with the steering wheel or anything else. The other driver was okay. His car looked awful, but he was okay. Kraig's bumper is pretty messed up, but that's what insurance is for! I called Kraig when I got into the parking lot to tell him and I also told him that he couldn't come help. I had the keys for both vehicles with me for whatever reason. He called Josh, one of the minister's at our church, and he came over to make sure I was okay and that the situation got handled right. The other guy called the cops. Kraig called my doctor. The cops came eventually and handled the situation. The doctor told me to head to the hospital. I was already having contractions from the accident or the stress of the situation, so I figured it was probably best.

I got to the ER around 4 p.m., after stopping at McDonald's for a snack. I was hungry! I sat for probably 20 minutes before they called me back. The doctor checked my neck and back and they performed and ultrasound before sending me to labor and delivery. The ultrasound looked good--no tearing or damage was detected. Once at labor and delivery, they hooked me up to the monitors where I had to stay for four hours. I was having consistent contractions every 4-6 minutes. They weren't the most painful things ever, but it was a little scary. Half way through the four hours, they checked my cervix. Fortunately, the contractions weren't causing any dilation. Because of this, they finally let me eat dinner. At this point it was like 8:30 and I was beyond hungry. I sat for another two hours and they checked my cervix again before releasing me. The "doctor" on call from my practice was the midwife that I was originally seeing. I love her, so I was very glad she was there. She offered to let me spend the night there since I was still contracting, or she could send me home with a sleeping pill. I opted to go home.

The sleeping pill didn't help much. The next day, I continued to contract. It was exhausting. Once the evening rolled around, they started getting closer together and more painful. I laid down. I drank more water. I got up and cleaned the bathrooms. Nothing was making them let up. Finally, about 10:30, I decided I needed to head back to the hospital. At this point, the contractions were every 2-4 minutes and they were lasting at least a minute each. I had one that lasted four and a half minutes. Didn't know that was possible. I called Sara to come stay with Kate, who was already in bed. Once Sara arrived, we headed out. We got to the hospital a little after 11 on Saturday night. The same nurse and midwife from the day before were there, so it was nice to not have to explain myself again. They checked my cervix again. It was soft, but not dilated. They hooked me up to the machines for another two hours, and the contractions finally started to slow down. By the time we left, they were coming about every 10-12 minutes. Much better! Over the past few days, I've continued to contract, but so far they don't seem to be doing anything. I have an appointment tomorrow for an NST and they'll check my cervix again then. Yay.

I really don't think Jack's going to hang out in here much longer. Kraig's hoping to make it through a week of camp when I'm 37 weeks, but we'll see! At this point, I'm 35 weeks 2 days. We'll see how far we get!

Kate's 2nd birthday

Yesterday, Kate turned two! I can't believe it. Kraig's family was going to come in last weekend to celebrate, but between my allergies and falling, we canceled. I was not up for company. It was a bummer to not have a big celebration, but we still had fun. We didn't do much during the day to celebrate, but after church we had cake and let her open the presents that were here. She had a blast. She woke up this morning talking about her birthday. We're planning to make more of a day of it tomorrow, when Kraig's off. We're going to go to the park to swing and go to the pet store to see the animals and buy a fish. She loves the fish.

In honor of her birthday, though, here's a little update on all her achievements:
-She talks nonstop.
-In the last two to three weeks, she's started using quite a few short sentences and phrases, rather than just words.
-She knows several long words, like quesadilla, basketball and motorcycle. And she likes to use them.
-She's growing like a weed. I can't wait to see her growth progress at her checkup in a couple weeks.
-She's finally able to climb onto furniture and get back off.
-She's a pro at the stairs.
-She loves to help unload the dishwasher.
-She's very, very polite. She says "thank you" and "please" like a champ.
-One of her favorite things right now is to lift up my shirt, put her hand on my stomach and say, "Jackson's moving?" It's adorable!
-She spent her first whole week away from Mommy and Daddy when we were at CIY and she did great.
-She loves to swing.
-She loves to swim.
-She loves to talk on the phone.
-She's still a great sleeper. Hopefully she can teach her brother.

There are plenty of other things I could say, but that's sufficient. She's getting her toddler bed put together this weekend. Hopefully that will be a smooth transition. We've had a few decent attempts at potty training, but I've given up until we're settled into our new routine after Jackson's born. No pressure.

We've really been blessed with an awesome kid and it's hard to believe she's TWO! Where did time go?! Pictures to come in another post. The camera's upstairs and I don't feel like hobbling up to get it:)

I promise, I didn't fall off the face of the earth...

I just fell onto it.

Last Thursday, I was feeling pretty crummy. After returning from our CIY week in Tennessee, my allergies went on major attack. I didn't feel well and I wanted french fries. I quickly got Kate dressed around lunch time and we headed out the door to go to McDonald's. We got out the door, I locked it, stepped off the front step and...stumble, stumble, trip, fall...I was down. Not really sure what happened, but in the slow motion moment of it all, I knew that Kate's head was headed straight for the concrete sidewalk. It wasn't going to be pretty. My mommy instincts kicked in and, with some serious help from God, I managed to fall in a way that completely protected Kate and Jackson both. I knew I was hurt, but I stood Kate up and checked her for damage. She was clean. Not a single scratch. Then I surveyed the damage on me. My left leg had a little bit of concrete burn. My right hand had three torn up knuckles. My right leg had a seriously large amount of skin missing and there was a large patch of scrapes on my right foot. It was starting to bleed. It didn't help that it was super hot out that day, but I was starting to feel faint and nauseated. Luckily, my cell phone was in reach, so I grabbed it and called Kraig. Apparently, I didn't bother to tell him that the babies were okay, just that he needed to come home because I'd fallen. He headed home and I called my mom to keep myself distracted so I wouldn't pass out. Kate was a trooper. She ran around the front yard and was a very good girl. We sat outside for at least 20 minutes before Kraig got home. It's normally a 10 minute drive, but he got stuck in construction. I sat in virtually the same spot on the concrete as where I'd fallen. I wasn't sure if anything else was wrong, but I didn't think I could/should stand on my own.

Kraig got home and took Kate inside and then he came to get me. Standing was painful. We made it in the house and he checked everything out and got me a washcloth to clean the dirt off with. He then headed to the store to get some antiseptic/numbing spray. It was supposed to be "no sting." It may have been antiseptic and it may have numbed eventually, but it was quite stinging. Eventually, I even got some McDonald's. Kraig stayed home with us for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't sure if I could even get up and down the stairs to put Kate down for a nap. It was miserable. I was feeling decent on Friday, so we went to Walmart to get paint for Jack's room and to grab dinner. By the time we got home, I knew it had been a mistake. The next day I could barely walk. Until yesterday, I'd barely left the couch. I'd gone downstairs twice for a shower. I didn't go to church on Sunday. I hobbled my way to my first non-stress test (NST) on Tuesday. That was about it. Yesterday I finally made it to the grocery store, but I regretted it. Even some random stranger at the store asked me what in the world I did to my leg. It's nasty looking and can't be overlooked. I can't believe how painful it's been. I have an actual doctor's appointment and NST today, so we'll see what she says about it. It's definitely feeling better over the last day or two, but it's got a long way to go.

I'm very thankful that Kate and Jackson were both okay through it all. It could have been so much worse for all three of us.

And about CIY...
It was a great week! After the first day, I realized it was too much walking for me, so I drove pretty much everywhere. That really helped. It was a seriously sleep-deprived week, but it was great. We had four kids get baptized as a result. The music and speakers were awesome. I was so glad to be able to go. Do I wish I hadn't been pregnant at the time? Heck yes.

Home, Sweet Home!

We're home and alive. We had an awesome week:) More on that when I catch up on my sleep!

Oh the drama!

I've decided Jack is going to be the dramatic kid. I ended up spending three hours at Labor & Delivery last night. So exciting. I've been having mild Braxton Hicks off and on for the past day or two, but yesterday they got worse. They tell you to call if you have more than four in an hour, and I had six. I called the doctor's office a little before 4 and they told me to go to the hospital to be monitored and examined. I quickly packed a bag for Kate and found a friend to watch her (thanks, Erica!) and we headed to the hospital. It took forever to actually get there, but I was still contracting the whole time. They took me right in and hooked me up to the monitors. We did this twice with Kate and both times the contractions had stopped by the time they got the monitors on. This time, however, they just kept going. They were coming between every six and ten minutes at this point. Super exciting. After about an hour on the monitor, the doctor came in to examine me and perform and Ffn. Fortunately, I'm not dilated at all, so they're not productive contractions at this point. The Ffn is a test that can predict preterm labor. It came back negative, which means that I have less than a 1% chance of going into real labor in the next two weeks. That's good. Once that test came back, they sent me home and told me to come back if the contractions got more painful. They still hadn't stopped yet. They also gave me a shot of steroids to help develop the baby's lungs faster, just in case.

Thankfully, things seem to be okay. I'm still contracting, however, which is a little confusing. I have an appointment with by doctor today at 4:15, so we'll hopefully get some more information and I'll find out whether or not they're going to let me travel next week. Travel, you say? Yep. I'm supposed to be leaving with the youth group on Sunday to head to Tennessee for the CIY Move conference. We're going to be in a bad place if I can't go! Kraig and I are the only adults going that are old enough to drive the vans. Yay. Guess we'll see what the plan is this afternoon and hope for the best. I need to do what's best for Jack and I, and I know God will tell us what that is through the doctor's advice today. Good times. I did get Chipotle for dinner at nearly 9:00 last night. That helped make up for the long evening:)

Update coming tomorrow!

Our trip to Ohio

Kate and I went to Ohio last Sunday afternoon to visit my family. It's probably the last time I'll attempt to travel by myself with children for a couple years. The trip out was good. Kate was awesome. The trip home was awful. Not a fun day!

We got there around dinner time Sunday and got to enjoy the evening and all of Memorial Day with my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law and nieces. It was good fun. Dad went back to work on Tuesday and the girls went shopping. All six girls (mom, sis, me, Kate and twin nieces) loaded up in my van and headed to Hobby Lobby. For those of you who don't have a Hobby Lobby, you're seriously missing out. It's the best craft supply and home decor store out there. Unfortunately, there aren't any in Virginia. Going to Hobby Lobby is a must when we're in town. We're decorating Jack's room with a vintage Cleveland Browns theme. I found tons of great stuff there that was football related and brown and orange. It's like they knew I was coming. We ended up with three wall hangings, a light switch cover, an awesome lamp and a cute teddy bear piggy bank. I was ecstatic. I can't wait to get his room put together so I can show off the pictures! After Hobby Lobby, we took the girls to the mall to play in the kiddie area. Kate had a blast playing with her cousins.

Kate loved being able to spend so much time outside. She loved the porch swing, though she was adamant that being on the porch was not outside. She loved playing with the kitties. She loved having the girls to play with. She's talked about nothing else since we got home. We had a great visit, but it definitely didn't last long enough! It had been a while since we'd seen my family, but we'll get to see them again when the baby comes! It's nice to know when the next time will be.

Kate also had her first ice cream cone while we were there. My sister had stuff to do Wednesday evening, so I volunteered to keep the girls and take them for ice cream. It was a blast! Every time I see my nieces, they've grown in some big way. They'll be four in a couple weeks, which is so hard to believe. I promised pictures, so here they are:

Quick update

Kate and I had a great trip to Ohio. I'll post more on that with pics eventually.

I had my 30 week checkup yesterday and finally got to meet my new doctor. She's okay. Not bad, but I wasn't impressed. Anyhow...I'm down 6 pounds from my appointment two weeks ago. Guess the gestational diabetes diet is good for lots of things. The doctor said that weight loss was actually a good sign, because it means I'm losing any excess fluid. I officially weigh less than I did when I got pregnant. Too weird. At my last appointment, I was measuring 31 weeks but was only 28 weeks along. Yesterday, I measured about 31 1/2 weeks at 30 weeks. Seems like things are slowing down, thankfully. We talked about induction. Gestational diabetes babies can have slower lung development, so they won't consider it until 39 weeks unless there are other issues. She did say, however, that once we see how big he is via ultrasound, we'll be able to discuss what we want to do (aka vaginal vs. cesarean). She acted like this was a "we" decision, not a "her" decision. I'm thankful for that. Hopefully the growth will continue to slow down to a normal rate and size won't be an issue. I'm also hoping I go into labor on my own earlier than 39 weeks. Who knows.

My fasting sugar levels when I wake up in the morning are still high. All the others are fine, regardless of what I eat, but not when I get up. It's a hormone thing, I guess. But we tried adding extra exercise, snacks and even eating in the middle of the night, but nothing helped. So, I'm starting insulin tonight. Everyone tells me it's not that big of a deal, I just know it's going to be hard to work up the nerve to actually do it. Prayers, please!

All in all, things are good!