silly baby, continued

Last post I mentioned that the doctor found some elevated levels of protein in my urine and I was instructed to go home and drink a ton of water, then return to the doctor the next day to be checked again.

12-5-12

Went home, drank loads of water, returned to the doctor, "you're protein levels are even higher today, we are going to admit you to the hospital."

Like now?

"Yeah, now.  Is there someone that can take care of your son?"

Umm I'll call my husband, and run home to get some stuff then come back

"okay.  oh, let's check your blood pressure"

I love when doctors give you crazy news then ask to take your blood pressure.  I managed to almost pass.

So, Oliver and I leave.  I make a few calls, and go home to pack up a few things.  Jim meets us at home then we all head back to the hospital together.  Blood pressure tested every 15 minutes, urine collected, baby monitoring, blood drawing.  Blood test, pass.  Pressure, borderline.  Urine, high levels of protein.  Baby, doing great.  Those results equal "you're going to be here for 24 hours of monitoring, and we'll decide what to do with you tomorrow."

The challenging part is that, since I've got a kid with me, they think I've done this before.  I find myself asking a million questions and mentioning over and over that this, indeed, it my first go at it.

We shall see what tomorrow brings....

12-6-12

Slept a bit.  Another blood draw at 5:00am, similar results as yesterday.  As of midnight I was banned from eating or drinking, just in case they decide to flip baby and induce, or have a csection.  By 10:00am I was asking for water, my doctor came in and said I could keep eating and drinking until 11:00am, how kind.

Also talked about options of what's next, but it really all depends on what is found in my urine.  I've never though or typed so much about urine in my life! 

Up next, silly baby's arrival....stay tuned.  

silly baby

For the most part pregnancy has been fairly uneventful, or maybe it's just that nothing since the great rash of August seems to be nearly as bad.  The pregnancy induced carpal tunnel causing most of the fingers on my right hand to go numb, not a problem.  Heartburn, take a tums, or three or four or...  Swollen feet and lack of ankles, just plain funny. 

However, today's weekly visit to the OB was not as fun.  I had an ultrasound to check baby's size.  Baby is measuring about 3 days ahead and about 7lbs, 4oz, organs look good, but baby is head up.  Head under my ribs then curved around my left side like the letter C, butt down, and feet wrapped up the right side.  Silly baby.  Next week I go back for an ultrasound to check the position again and make a plan.  The doctor assured me that whatever the plan ends up being they will keep checking position before doing anything drastic.  Luckily baby is still surrounded by enough fluid, but not too much, so turning still seems possible.  

Also, my urine sample (pregnancy is so glamorous) yielded news of protein.  Probably not an issue, just didn't drink enough today.  So back to the doctor tomorrow after I drink a large amount of water to make sure I don't have pre-eclampsia, which I probably don't since my blood pressure is still good.  Or it could be some kidney issue, which I also hope it's not since kidneys seem important.

So drop a little prayer that baby gets where it needs to be and the protein does the same. 

Lots more points for adoption, lots.  

christmas, oliver edition

Here is our Christmas gift list for Oliver, in case you're looking for inspiration.  I was reading, on Oliver's birth board, what people were getting their three year olds and it was a tech stuff.  I'm not ready for that yet...I still want him to interact with us!  HA! So, here's what we got him. 

 

                                                                           ukelele

cd player 

6 different books that come with CDs

sound bingo 
lego fire station 

lego base

elephant & piggy books

some new pieces for his train set

 

3 years

Thanksgiving marks the anniversary of our blog.  The anniversary of our online adoption announcement.  Wow, what a difference 3 years can make.  Let's talk top three...

Top three posts.
1. Thanks to pinterest this post featuring some glow in the dark easter eggs flew into the lead.
2. Also thanks to pinterest a post about bathroom mirrors takes second.
3. And the always sweet and ever so perfect Oliver introduction post.

Top three countries where you readers are reading
1. Right here in the US (of course)
2. Canada
3. Russia

Top three reasons I blog
1. Blogs helped me during the adoption process
2. It's like scrapbooking but without all the cutting, gluing, and clutter
3. It has helped me "meet" a ton of awesome people

Top three things we are looking forward to this year
1.Celebrating 2 years home!
2. Baby!
3. All the adventures that we don't know about

So thanks to everyone who follows along, all 91 official followers and those who stalk in secret.  Thanks for your comments and encouragement.  Cheers to another year of blogging. 

too stressful

Let's back up to last night.  I think "oh yeah I need to sign Oliver up for a sibling class, I think he would enjoy that." I go online and see when it's offered, oh it's offered on Tuesday evening, great.  Jim's going to be home late from a trip to Texas, so I'll take Oliver. 

I drive to the exact address where it says the class is held.  Oliver and I run in because it's 6:25 and class starts at 6:30, and I can't be late.  The lady at the desk has no idea what I'm talking about or where the class is.  She calls security, they give directions, doors are locked, up stairs, down stairs, huffing and puffing as I drag Oliver around.  We finally locate the class at 6:40, and I hate being late.  How did these other people find it?

The instructor is nice and informative.  However, there is a slightly obnoxious 4 year old who is winning Oliver over to the dark side.  He manages to make it through without too many issues.  We tour the hospital, we see a baby in the nursery, and I note how to leave the place so we can get out easier then we got in!

Class ends, we leave, we stop at the bathroom, and suddenly everyone is gone.  I walk to the door to get us out of the basement and up to the main entrance, it's locked.  Try the elevator, it's not going anywhere.  We walk on and finally make it to the outside world sadly, this part of the outside is NO where near where we parked.  We wander for about 20 minutes trying to locate the car.  I keep Jim on the phone with me while we walk because I've seen too many episodes of Criminal Minds. 

Made it to the car, hang up, buckle Oliver in, and go.

Down the street a bit (6ish miles) and at a red light.  I reach to my purse to get my phone to call my friend Audrey and complain about the insanity of hospitals, why are they so maze like?  Can't feel my phone, light turns green, starting to feel nervous, pull over into a parking lot, no phone in my purse, no phone in my car, no phone at all. 

Drive back to the hospital, because if it's not in my car maybe it's around where I parked, I mean I was on the phone while standing at my car.  I'm crying, Oliver says "I'm looking mama, I'm looking." We make it back to the parking lot, drive all over very slowly like super creepy folks, no phone.  This can not be happening!  I drive slowly with my high beams on from the hospital back to the place I pulled over, then I give up and drive home praying that I find my phone hiding somewhere in my car. 

Meanwhile, back at home...

Jim's on the phone, a runner called to say he found my phone.  Jim asks where's my wife?  The guy doesn't know where I am, he just knows he found my phone in a ditch and wonders what to do with it.  Jim asks him what intersection he is near.  The runner tells him and that specific intersection is NOT on my way home and not a place I would need to drive to get home.  Jim asks if he can leave the phone at the hospital, and the runner agrees.  However, Jim's in disbelief that the runner found my phone and not me, and wonders why my phone was found about two miles from anywhere I should be, and so he calls the police.  The police haven't seen me.  He calls hospital security and they haven't seen me.

I make it home a sobbing mess, but the news is good for both of us...my phone was found and Oliver and I will not be written into the next episode of Criminal Minds.  Jim drives back to the ER and picks my phone up.







I'll never go to sibling class again, it's too stressful. 

Orphan Sunday

On Orphan Sunday, Christians stand for the orphan. We are a people called to defend the fatherless…to care for the child that has no family…to visit orphans in their distress.

The numbers are staggering, especially when they are counting human lives...even more so when used to describe the lives of babies, children, and teens.  Sometimes you just have to step back from the numbers and focus on the small little thing that you can do...even if your little thing seems so insignificant, they are actually huge!  pray, offer support, or go adopt.

Oliver was one of those millions of orphans.  He was one of hundreds of thousands in Russia.  At his orphanage he was one of 150, with only six caretakers.     

Now, now he is just our special one.

I don't know what the future holds for us.  Will we adopt again?  Will we foster?  I'm not privy to that information yet.  However, what I know right now is that once you've been educated about adoption, or read a ton of adoption blogs, or been to an orphanage, or you've seen a kid's life path completely redirected because of adoption, you can't just keep it to yourself. 

We've been blessed to be able lead a 7 week DVD series called "If you were mine" at our church starting mid November.  It's a comprehensive course going though many aspects of adoption starting with deciding if it's right for your family all the way to welcoming home your child.  

If you live in the KC area and are interested in joining us, let me know and I'll get you all the details!

-----

A little about our "call" to adopt.  

Some people think about adopting when they are kids.  Some couples talk about adopting when they go through pre marital counseling.  Some struggle with fertility and turn to adoption.  Some have 17 sons and just want a daughter.  Some are faced with an empty nest, and aren't ready for that. Many do a lot of research, some research for a year or more.  It doesn't really matter what your reason is but we were none of those people.

We attended a Tenth Avenue North concert in September of 2010, they had a set change and during the change they were encouraging people to support a compassion kid...you know, $1 sends Jose to school, gets him new cloths, food, medication.  We didn't support Jose or any of this friends, but we heard the message, just as we did a million times over at Christian concerts and on TV commercials.  

But somehow something was different, somehow that little and very familiar pitch settled into our hearts.  That night or the next day or something like that Jim mentions "what about adopting a kid?"

"Okay"  "Yeah" "Let's do it"   That's me.  I'm a fast decision maker.  Once I heard adoption I was all over it.  That's what we were going to do. 

That was mid September, late October we traveled home to Massachusetts and told our family and friends we were strongly considering adopting a child from Kazakhstan, by the start of December we were signed on with our agency and things were moving...we were going to adopt a kid.

However, we are teaching this "If you were mine" adoption course because we realize most humans actually like to know what they are getting themselves into and feel educated about the process.
So join us!

halloween

It's not just trick or treating on Halloween night.  It's boo at the zoo, fun at church, a parade at school, a sugar coma, followed by an evening of trick or treating.

fun at the zoo

parade at preschool

pumpkin carving drilling

getting ready to go trick or treating

last year...we were both smaller!