The past 2 days have been quite eventful here at the DeGroff house.  Baby #2 seems to want to join the party, though at 34 weeks, we’re less eager for his arrival.  After having contractions that were 4 min apart early Wednesday morning (we’re talking 1 am) we set off for the hospital.  Long story short, the doctors were able to stop the contractions and send us home.

Through this whole process, I’ve felt an amazing peace.  It may have started out as denial… “I can’t be in labor”, “I’m making this up”, “we’ll probably get there and everything will stop and they’ll send me home”, but in the end I could see God’s incredible provision and faithfulness.  Now that I’m on bedrest, I thought I’d share some of the sweet blessings that have happened throughout this overwhelming time.

First of all, my blood pressure was beautiful while in the hospital.  This is kind of comical to me, as it’s been high at all of my OB appointments for the past several months.  It just takes going into preterm labor for my blood pressure to be normal : )  What a relief!

Secondly, the nurse who cared for me most of the day yesterday was the same nurse that I had when I was in labor with DJ!  She walked in and I said, “I know you!”, and she said, “is that good or bad?” hah!  It was wonderful to see a familiar face and have her as my nurse again.  What a wonderful surprise.

Lastly, after two doses of terbutaline, my contractions kept returning as the medicine wore off.  My OB said their next course would be to try a third dose and then possibly give me magnesium sulfate.  She said the magnesium sulfate would work, but it would also make every muscle in my body relax, including face & tongue, would feel like an elephant was sitting on my chest, and would require being admitted for 24-48 hours.  Ack!  It wasn’t until this news that I broke down and cried.  I of course would do anything to stop the contractions, but it took until this point to realize the seriousness of the situation.  As we’re waiting for the next terbutaline dose, she comes back to say that on Wednesdays, a high risk pregnancy specialist is at the hospital and they told her about me.  She suggested a different medication to relax me, so they would try that instead.  My nurse friend comes in with the dose and tells me it’ll space me out and help me sleep.  I ask, “is it like Nubain?” and she says, “It is Nubain!”, at which I reply, “that’s what you gave me last time I was in labor!”  What a relief!

It was such a blessing that a specialist would be at the hospital the same day we needed it, that they’d recommend a drug that I’d already taken before, and most of all, it worked.  I didn’t need the magnesium or the 24-48 hr stay.  Instead I was discharged within 3 hrs of the Nubain.  Praise God!

Thank you to all of you who have prayed and sent encouraging words our way.  In this time we are trusting God with the timing of our little guy and holding on to his promises.  We recognize that this is out of our control and all we can do is rest and wait and have peace knowing that our lives, and baby’s life, are in His hands.  We covet your prayers as I’ve continued having contractions despite the bedrest.  Nothing consistent enough to warrant another hospital trip, but unnerving still.

Love to you all, and may you find peace and rest in your own storms <3

So we’re having one of those days.  You know, the kind where milk is being spit out after every sip, food is thrown at the end of every meal, every “toy” becomes a frustrating obstacle.  This creates the potential for a very frustrated little boy, not to mention momma!

Today we’ve had our share of “fun or other room”, and had some choices too, “you can swallow your drink or be all done”.  I even got to set some boundaries and say, “Mommy will pick you up when I’m finished eating my sandwich”, just to give myself 5 minutes of peace, to which DJ partially complied.  He gave me peace, I told him I was done and picked him up, at which point he quickly requested “Da Da”.   “Da Da is at work, sweetie”, at which DJ whimpers.  Sigh : )

All in all, I know I have an overly tired toddler on my hands, but it doesn’t make it much easier.  I have my to do list hanging over me, spilt milk and thrown food to pick up, and my little boy wants his daddy, who will be at work till dinner time.  Not much I can do about that : )

What I can do though, is stay in control of me.  Get my 5 minutes of peace here and there, and continue to be consistent with my little one.  Nap time looked like it would never happen.  Our routine of reading books & having a song and a snuggle was completely thrown out the window as DJ squiggled and squirmed, calling for Dada and wanting out my arms.  So I gave him a choice, “Honey, you can read a book with Mommy, or you can go straight to bed”.  Obviously, he still didn’t want to read the book, so into bed he went.  And into my bedroom I went, for some “mommy time”.  Fortunately, without any diaper removal or blanket/stuffed animal throwing (except for Mr “woof woof”) DJ fell asleep, after only a few minutes of protesting.

<sigh of relief>

What peace it gives me to know that he really does understand his choices (regardless of how simple) and that I can still be control of me, even when he is out of control of himself.  I also have to add that this is the first nap since the start of the strike 3 weeks ago that DJ has gotten himself to sleep.  Double victory : )  Here’s to a better afternoon for all of us!