An Update In Bullets

I've been negligent in my updates and I apologize. The past 18 days have been crazy.  We are all okay, though. Just want to make that clear first, so you're not worried.

* We spent about five days on bedrest.  It was hard and I made that obvious in my last post. I wasn't a good sport, but nobody was really happy those five days, so I was in good company.

* On Monday, January 16, I had an OB appt and spoke with him about my condition and his decision to put me on bedrest.  I had not spotted or bled in five days and I asked him if he would be okay with me resuming light activity, barring housecleaning, grocery shopping, sex, etc.  He agreed to it and I promised to get lots and lots of rest.  Yay for light activity!!

*On Thursday, January 19, I had my level ll u/s with my MFM specialist.  Both boys look good, are growing right on track, and are definitely boys!  Baby A has a calcium spot on his heart.  This isn't a cause for concern, according to my MFM doctor.  He sees it a lot in perfectly healthy babies. It won't get any bigger, he won't develop any more spots and it may even disappear before birth.  It does not cause heart defects and will not create murmurs.  It is a weak marker for Down's syndrome, but all other stronger markers were negative. I was offered an amnio, but it was not recommended, so I declined. I have faith that he is okay. It was also discovered that my placenta had already began to move away from my cervix, but was still considered low-lying.  All in all, a great report!!

* On Friday, January 20th, we moved into our new house.  I was on my feet a lot, but did okay - basically just acting as overseer. My sister flew in from Colorado and was there to help get us settled in.  My mom came in the next day from West Virginia and I was so happy to have them here keeping me sane and laughing!

* The last week has been a little crazy.  We've had workers in the house gutting and remodeling an upstairs bathroom as well as other small projects that we felt were necessary to make the house feel more like "home".  They should be finishing up on Tuesday and I'm looking forward to seeing them go!!  The changes are really lovely, though.  I'll try to do some before and after pics!

* Last Wednesday, I turned 31.  That's all I have to say about that.

*I started bleeding again last night. Today, I am on self-imposed bedrest.  It was pretty heavy, but is back to brown. I have to keep reminding myself that as the placenta is being pulled upwards, I will experience this and try not to be too worried. I always have the option of seeing my OB if I need the peace of mind. I also have my doppler and it helps to listen to their heartbeats.

* We are 20 weeks along today!! 28 more days to viability!!!

Why Now? After All This Time Has Passed?

If you're reading this and you've glanced over to the right where it says "Time Line of Important Events," you're probably wondering why we went so far as to permanently make it so that we could no longer have children only to turn around and change our minds. It's a pretty natural thought progression that I have every intention of addressing.  Quite simply, we made a mistake. Read on...

After we had DS2 and built our modest three bedroom home in Fayetteville, WV, we were feeling very settled and happy with our two boys.  Birth control has always been an issue for us. I got pregnant while on one and had a long list of bad reactions to a handful of others.  I knew deep down that I wouldn't take it.  DH had always expressed his desire to get a vasectomy when we were done having children, seeing as how I worked so hard to bring them into this world.  (He's a keeper girls.)  We both felt it was time. Like I said before, we were settled, happy.  So, we took the plunge and it felt good. It was November of 2006.

Fast forward to the early months of 2008 and we were thrown a curve ball of the epic variety. DH's job was transferred four hours north to Pittsburgh, PA.  We didn't have to move. If he wanted to keep his job, however, we did. Employment is good when you have a family. In fact, it's necessary. Kids are 'spensive.  So, we went. Loaded up our things, sold our first real home, and left for the big city.  It was a very difficult and stressful time. Needless to say, it was a change we neither expected nor welcomed.

We mostly relied on our strong foundation of mutual love and respect for one another to get us through the initial adjustment period after we moved. That's a lie. We relied solely on our sense of humor.  Thankfully, we were cut from the same mold when it comes to that aspect of our personalities. We laughed at the Steeler fans. We laughed at the Pitt fans. We laughed at anyone who thought that Pittsburgh was a great place to live. We laughed and laughed that first year. And laughed. And laughed. (Can you tell how much we wanted to be there??)  Fortunately, we were closer to where our families lived in West Virginia by living in Pittsburgh, so we went home many weekends. That helped.  As the first year came and went, however, I felt a shift in myself. One that I couldn't quite put my finger on. As summer faded into fall and all the leaves changed and subsequently fell to the ground, it became clearer to me what was going on.

My thoughts began to change. I daydreamed about when I was pregnant. I found myself walking past baby pictures of the boys and stopping and staring for a pregnant (pun intended) pause.  My dreams were different, too. More times than I can count, I dreamed of baby. A child. In our home...ours.  Deep down, I knew what had changed....my mind and my heart.  I wanted another child.  But, how in he world was I going to bring this up to DH?

To be continued...