I’m 2 1/2 cm dilated and Josiah’s dropped a little. We’ve scheduled an induction for Thursday. I had some fierce contractions since yesterday but nothing consistent. I’m praying my body will decide to go on it’s own.
Much prayers for a safe delivery are appreciated. Also, pray that I am able to make this as least medically invasive as possible.
I’m sure Mark will email when he gets here!
First up, Mark is going to post on our little “visitor” from this weekend…so stay tuned if you like to look at gross pictures!
Here are some new things with this pregnancy that I’ve never experienced before:
1. Very noticeable (at least to me) swelling in my feet, hands, and arms (and I’m sure legs but I can’t see those).
2. Joint pain (especially in the morning or when I’m not using my hands) in my hands and feet and knees.
3. Extreme reflux/heartburn.
4. Painful, itchy rash on my belly! Yikes! This one is most embarrassing because I get scratching fits in public…I know people are wondering why that big woman is scratching her belly!!!
Thankfully, all of these should disappear after little Josiah gets here…the question is when will he get here 🙂
Well, while working on a cute pillowcase dress for Zoe (with a lot of help from Mark’s mom), my sewing machine started skipping stitches. I thought nothing of it until Mark’s parents left last weekend and I tried to finish up the ribbon embellishment I was doing on the dress. It started skipping stitches and then stopped stitching all together. We were all at a loss! I called my MIL and my mom to see if they could help troubleshoot. We gathered several ideas to work on when we had the time and we also had the option of having it serviced (at the cost of $55). So, I was going back and forth with either having it serviced or replacing it with a newer model (mine is over 10 years old and extremely basic).
So, last night Mark took it completely apart and checked all the belts and whistles and then lubricated everything. This morning I tried it with different thread and it still didn’t’ work. So, we took the bobbin case out and cleaned out all the lint and it still didn’t work. I called mom to see if she had a clue as to what I should do…service it with no guarantee it would be fixed or purchase a newer model…mom was for the newer model but suggested I check the sewing machine website and see if they had any troubleshooting ideas.
Lo, and behold, there was a question about skipping stitches which stated that the needle was incorrect (I had checked and made sure it was correct for the fabric I was using). But, it also said that the needle needed to have the flat part facing the back…which mine didn’t! Duh!!
Tada! It’s fixed! Such a simple solution…at least we didn’t pay the service charge to be told I couldn’t install a needle correctly!
No change.
My doctor thinks that I won’t go past 1 cm on my own. We’ll see. I also found out why my belly has been itching so much…it’s a common symptom of the last stages of pregnancy and I have a nice little red rash all over my abdomen…to cure it…deliver!
We go next Tuesday morning and will hopefully have progressed some. My itchy abdomen is really itchy and owie so I’m not sure how much longer I can wait.
We’re praying for progress, etc! Please pray with us.
I discovered this from an HSLDA newsletter (thanks, Ben). Mark and I stayed up too late last night playing it. It’s a treasure hunt that takes you through several states’ histories. There are 13 chapters and each chapter is supposed to get harder and harder. Each chapter focuses on a particular state with the 13th chapter being just for fun. They are having random drawings through September with a grand prize drawing in September for those who have completed the hunt or certain chapters! So, if you’re looking for a way to stay up to date on history or have older kids who would enjoy the games, etc during the summer, check it out!
Zoe has the bug…she’s not acting like she feels too bad. But she’s laying around in my bed right now. She’s actually acting pretty goofy and talking a lot. Some of things that I did when I was sick as a little girl. So, we should have a fever today and tomorrow and then hopefully just the sore throat on Saturday and we’ll all be able to go to church on Sunday (if Mark or I don’t have it).
She informed me that when she gets cold she gets “dots” on her arms.
Mark got in as it was getting overcast and windy and got the grass cut. We really enjoyed playing outside this morning!!! It actually didn’t rain until this afternoon.
Ace has been fever free for the past 24 hours and his throat is still pretty sore. Zoe is showing signs of getting it, however. We all stayed home from church tonight in hopes of not spreading it or getting it anymore. Pictures later…
First off, again, Ace is running a fever this afternoon…not out of the woods with him yet!
This is just cracking me up! All through May we struggled to keep our grass from going completely dead. Then the tropical storm came through while we were on vacation. Last week we had Vacation Bible School in the evenings and so we couldn’t cut the grass (which had grown because of the good yummy rain we had from the tropical storm). Every night last week (except maybe one) it rained! Yesterday, our chance of rain was about 30% so, I thought, great, Mark can work on the grass after the kids go to bed.
So, I asked him at supper if he was going to cut the grass when the kids go to bed and he said he was planning on it. Not even thirty minutes later, I hear rumbling in the distance. By the time we finished supper, it was lightning and thundering all around so the grass didn’t get cut. Mark just called and I told him if he could get home quickly, maybe he could beat the rain. However, I just looked at the weather radar and it doesn’t look like he’ll make it! Oh well, I’ll have to get out and measure how tall it is before he actually gets to cut it.
What a blessing, though! We have been praying for rain and there are still places all over the south who are going through severe drought! We have been blessed with good rain these past few weeks.
First off, Ace is doing good. No fever today. Definitely a viral thing but I’m glad we took him in and Liam in when we did…especially Liam with his ears! We’re waiting on Zoe or Mark or I to catch it.
Here is our plan of action on baby birthing thus far…we’ll go in on Thursday and if there is still no change wait until the 26th to go in and get checked again. If there is still no change, then we’ll wait until the doctor gets back into town (he’s leaving on the 29th and will be back at work on the July 5th). Two weeks should give my cervix plenty of time to do something. If I’ve dilated two to 3 cm, I don’t mind looking at an induction as it would be pretty quick to get me started. However, being induced when I’m only 1 cm and not overdue seems a little bit to be jumping the gun.
I’m not so much fearful about having the baby and getting kids situated as I am impatient and highly uncomfortable. Both reasons, God has shown me are not justifiable in being induced this week. I keep repeating that I need to persevere.
I keep repeating James 1:2-4: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
While this isn’t a trial it does feel like a test for me to see if I can allow God to fill me with the patience I need to have a safe and healthy delivery.
Also, I am looking at this time as an opportunity to spend time with my kids before being consumed with all the newborn needs.
So, please pray for us as we “endure” this waiting time!
Still at 1 cm and still soft but that’s it…we’re going to go in on Thursday and if I still haven’t slept, etc, then we’ll talk about induction. He seems to think a little pitocin and my water breaking would get me through labor quickly…I’m not sure what we’ll do. Lots of prayers! I would love to actually go into labor on my own but if the contractions keep waking me up but aren’t doing anything, then life here is going to be pretty miserable.
More to come…hopefully!!