29 Weeks Completed!

We had our 29 week appointment today. There is nothing new to report. Everything has stayed about the same. The start of our 30th week marks a big milestone. The UT NICU has over a 98% survival rate with babies born after the 30th week. Babies typically do very well once they get to 30 weeks. Obviously I would like to get much further than this. Trey seems to think I'll go to term and need to be induced. That would be my luck! I just want to keep her in as long as possible. Our doctor informed us today that if we make it to 35 weeks she'll take me off bed rest. This means I'm stuck on my tush for six more weeks at the most!

I'm so excited about this weekend! My family from Nashville is coming in town! I haven't seen them since Christmas! I typically make a trip to Nashville every month or so but have obviously been unable to do that lately. They are in for a shock when they see how much I've grown since December!

Here's a look at what's going on with little Natalee this week...

Your pregnancy: 30 weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

The 29 Week Tummy Update!!

Growing by the minute!

Memorial Day Weekend

Marley after a long swim. His face says it all!
Such a good swimmer

My boat leaving without me... how sad :(

Trey landscaping while I sat in a chair and watched.

The only time I'll ever get away with that!!

After being stuck in my house for a month I managed to make it out to the lake for the weekend. The doc told me as long as I stay seated I was okay to leave the house. I actually think I do better staying on my tush when I'm out of the house. It's so hard to sit at home and see all the things that need to be done. At the lake there's nothing to do but relax. A few of our friends were able to come out for the weekend. It was so nice to be able to hang out with friends and enjoy the sunshine! I think my dogs were as happy as I was to be out of the house. I've never seen them run so much!

We go back to the doctor tomorrow for our 29 week appointment. I always get so nervous the day before our appointment. I never know what kind of news to expect. I've been feeling relatively good but how I feel hasn't proved to be a good indicator of how things are going. I've got my fingers crossed for good news. My doc seems to think I'll be lucky to get to 35 weeks. That number just gets closer and closer. I can't believe that's only 6 weeks away. I hope we're ready!!

Congrats Libby and Chris!!

Happy Birthday Tripp! One of my closest friends welcomed her first baby into the world yesterday. Daniel Christopher Phillips III (Tripp) was born at 1:17 a.m. on May 22nd weighing 8lbs 5ozs. Both mom and baby are healthy and doing great! I'm so happy for them.

It's hard to believe a large portion of the girls I grew up with are having babies! It's surreal to think we are next! Luckily I'll have a lot of people to turn to for advice!

Our First Baby Shower

Here are a few pictures from the baby shower. I must warn you of how HUGE I look in all the pictures. I didn't realize how big I was until I saw these! I can't imagine how I will feel in a couple weeks.

Marley located my pregnancy pillow during the shower

Me and my Mommy

Me and Ashley. She is due in October. Our Moms were also pregnant with us at the same time!

Me and my great friend Kristy

Me with Liz and Nikki. Thank you Liz for throwing an awesome shower. Thank you Nikki for flying in from Chicago! Next time I see Nikki she'll get to meet Natalee!!

All of my wonderful friends! Thank you guys for making it such a special day!

Natalee's first personalized outfit. Thank you Nicole!

We Survived the Weekend

We made it through another week! I was so nervous about going to the doctor today. I just had this terrible feeling I would be sent back to the hospital. I DO NOT want to go back there for a long time!! Everything looked about the same as last week. They said no change is a good sign. I just have to stay off my feet and continue taking the medicine. The doctor seems to think I'll be able to make it to June. That would put me just over 30 weeks. It's incredibly scary and overwhelming to think of having this baby in the next few weeks. We are so so so far from being prepared! I'm still very optimistic that we will make it further than everyone thinks.

The highlight of my weekend was the beautiful baby shower Liz threw for us. So many of my best friends were able to make it. For one day I was able to forget about the scariness of preterm labor, hospitals, ect. and focus on celebrating this pregnancy with the people I love the most. I can already tell Natalee is going to be one spoiled little girl. She got so many cute outfits. We also got many of the nursery essentials which makes me feel a little more prepared for her arrival. I can't wait to see how everything looks in the nursery once we get it finished.

Speaking of the nursery... we (I mean my mom) almost has the painting completed. Trey and his dad set up the crib and unpacked the glider. We have the changing table, bookcase and night stand sitting in the garage waiting to be painted. The weather has halted us from finishing that project. We have most of the basics. The only thing left to get are the cute little accessories. I can't wait to see the finished project! I just wish I could play more of a role in the process. This bed rest deal has really screwed up my plans. My big project will be organizing her closet. I'm weird and enjoy that kind of stuff! I've already started washing all her clothes and putting them on hangers. After smelling Dreft for the first time the reality of having a baby kicked into overdrive. Now I just want to be done with all the preparations...like yesterday! I guess this is what nesting feels like. All I feel is unprepared!

Hopefully we will have a low key week. I know we all have our fingers crossed.

Home Sweet Home

I finally made it home! I am so happy to be home in my own bed! It's amazing the lack of sleep you get while in the hospital. I feel like I can relax and get some much needed rest now. I have strict guidelines to go by now that I'm at home. They told me I can either follow orders at home or end up back in the hospital for the rest of the pregnancy. I pray this week was my last hospital stay until the baby is ready to make her debut. I've told little Natalee that she has to stay in my tummy for at least another 5 weeks. Hopefully she'll listen. The labor and delivery floor is a scary place when you're only 27 weeks pregnant. I have faith that we will get to where we need to be. We're just taking it one day at a time. Lots of positive thinking!

Here's a look at what's going on this week...

Your pregnancy: 27 weeks

How your baby's growing:This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Here We Go Again...

Well... I'm back in the hospital. The 27th weeks starts off with a little chaos. I went in for my routine appointment yesterday and things weren't where they needed to be. My doctor immediately sent me up to labor and delivery and hooked me up to every machine possible. They have changed my medicine in hopes of stopping the contractions. Things were touch and go last night but seem to be looking better today. The contractions have slowed down. They will most likely keep me here until Wednesday or Thursday just to be on the safe side. The doctors also decided to go ahead with the steroid injections to speed up the baby's lung development. This will get the lungs to the 30 week stage. The really great news is that the fetal fibronectin test came back negative again which gives me a 99% chance of not going into active labor in the next 2 weeks. This was a huge relief. I just have to keep this baby in for another 5 weeks minimum! This has already been such a long road. 

I'm so thankful my mom was with me yesterday at the doctor. Of course it's our luck for Trey to be out of town until next Saturday. So far I've managed to have a very dramatic pregnancy! I plan on explaining to his boss that he is not allowed to go out of town until I deliver this baby, haha. Hopefully that will be later rather than sooner. We are just trying to stay positive and not get wrapped up in all the what ifs. I pray this is my last trip to labor and delivery before I'm actually ready to delivery the baby. 

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. We can't explain how much this means to our family. I'll try my best to keep everyone updated. I know we've got so many people worried.