So what have we decided to do? Well first, let me say that there is one more very important thing that I have to be thankful for. The support of our family, friends, and even of strangers has been such a blessing. Thank you all for the emails, the phone calls, the thoughts, the prayers. We have been strengthened as you have come alongside us with your loving support.
We have decided on the "wait and see" option. The very next day after leaving the hospital "happened" to be the 17th of the month. On the 17th of each month at the 17th hour, our church has a healing prayer meeting. Jason and I had decided to go, and his mom, who had come up to keep me company that afternoon, decided to join us. We told everyone there our story (well at least Jason did while I cried) and then the three of us were surrounded by members of our spiritual family, who prayed for us. They prayed for healing. They prayed for wisdom. They prayed for peace and strength and guidance and faith. And we placed all of it in God's hands. We left there feeling refreshed and hopeful. We hadn't made any definite decisions yet, but I knew something had changed in that time.
The pain has, for the most part, gone away. There are still hints of it here and there, but it is nowhere near what it had been. We did decide to cancel our trip to Mexico this weekend. The risk involved with waiting and seeing is that I could end up needing emergency surgery if things took a turn for the worse. Emergency surgery in Mexico just doesn't sound like a good idea. We are still going to get away for the weekend for our "babymoon"...thanks to the generosity of Jason's parents. We are just going to head to the cool Colorado mountains instead of the beaches of Mexico.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
silver linings (kendra)
Hard to believe it's been almost a week since Jason wisked me away to the hospital. Yet at the same time, it feels like ages ago...or like it didn't really happen at all. The memory of it seems somewhat like a dream. Maybe that's the morphine's fault.
For those of you who haven't heard the story, last Tuesday night just before bedtime I started having a good deal of lower abdominal pain. Jason called our midwife and explained what I was feeling, and she told us that we should go to the hospital...straight to the labor and delivery unit. We did, and a long night of tests and pain and needles and drugs ensued. Jason was super supportive. He stayed up with me, cared for me, comforted me when I threw up for the first time in 7 years or so. It was not a fun night. Painful and scary. But we found out pretty early on that baby was doing just fine. And that was some of the best news we could hear.
They aren't exactly certain what the cause of the pain was. But in the process of investigating, they did find a cyst on my left ovary. At first, they weren't too concerned about that. Smaller, "simple" cysts are actually quite common and can often resolve themselves with no intervention. The plan was to send me home with some ibuprofen and see if the pain subsided over the next day or two. They seemed rather certain that it would.
As we waited to see the midwife one more time before being discharged, we talked about what we might do that evening. But then we continued to wait. And wait. When she finally did come, she told us that the story had changed a bit. Turns out the cyst was larger than they'd originally thought, and that made it more of an issue. Larger cysts are more likely to cause problems than smaller ones. The ob/gyn that our midwife had been consulting with was going to come talk to us about it. So we waited some more.
Soon it became apparent that we weren't going to be doing anything later that evening except hanging out at the hospital. The ob/gyn was rather busy and at one point she was about to come talk to us, but had to deliver a baby next door instead. Finally, she did make it in. She gave us the full story and answered all of our questions. Surgery was an option, but somewhat of a complicated one due to the fact that I'm pregnant. The other option was to wait and see if the pain subsided and check the cyst again in a few weeks to look for any changes in size. There were risks associated with both options. She told us that we were welcome to go home and take some time to think about it. And that is what we did.
We got home between 10 and 10:30pm. We went straight to bed and both slept like rocks that night. We'd gotten some sleep during the day after having been awake most of the night...but we were obviously still exhausted from it all.
Needless to say, it was quite the experience. I'd never spent the night in the hospital before. I'd never had an IV. I'd probably never been in that much pain. But through it all, I had many things to be thankful for. First and foremost, my amazing husband. I don't know how I would have done it without him. I am thankful that baby is doing just fine. In fact, I think baby was pretty oblivious to it all...just kicking away like normal...even the next day when my belly was sore and those little kicks hurt! :-) I am thankful for the timing of it all. If it had to happen, the timing was pretty darn good. It happened when I was home with Jason. I wasn't in FL like I had been 3 nights before. We weren't in Mexico like we would have been a week and a half later. I wasn't even out running errands like I had been earlier that day. I was at home, 5 minutes from the hospital. And Jason was with me. It is true that God does not allow us to face more than we are able to handle. He is faithful to give us what we need to endure. And for that, I am thankful.
For those of you who haven't heard the story, last Tuesday night just before bedtime I started having a good deal of lower abdominal pain. Jason called our midwife and explained what I was feeling, and she told us that we should go to the hospital...straight to the labor and delivery unit. We did, and a long night of tests and pain and needles and drugs ensued. Jason was super supportive. He stayed up with me, cared for me, comforted me when I threw up for the first time in 7 years or so. It was not a fun night. Painful and scary. But we found out pretty early on that baby was doing just fine. And that was some of the best news we could hear.
They aren't exactly certain what the cause of the pain was. But in the process of investigating, they did find a cyst on my left ovary. At first, they weren't too concerned about that. Smaller, "simple" cysts are actually quite common and can often resolve themselves with no intervention. The plan was to send me home with some ibuprofen and see if the pain subsided over the next day or two. They seemed rather certain that it would.
As we waited to see the midwife one more time before being discharged, we talked about what we might do that evening. But then we continued to wait. And wait. When she finally did come, she told us that the story had changed a bit. Turns out the cyst was larger than they'd originally thought, and that made it more of an issue. Larger cysts are more likely to cause problems than smaller ones. The ob/gyn that our midwife had been consulting with was going to come talk to us about it. So we waited some more.
Soon it became apparent that we weren't going to be doing anything later that evening except hanging out at the hospital. The ob/gyn was rather busy and at one point she was about to come talk to us, but had to deliver a baby next door instead. Finally, she did make it in. She gave us the full story and answered all of our questions. Surgery was an option, but somewhat of a complicated one due to the fact that I'm pregnant. The other option was to wait and see if the pain subsided and check the cyst again in a few weeks to look for any changes in size. There were risks associated with both options. She told us that we were welcome to go home and take some time to think about it. And that is what we did.
We got home between 10 and 10:30pm. We went straight to bed and both slept like rocks that night. We'd gotten some sleep during the day after having been awake most of the night...but we were obviously still exhausted from it all.
Needless to say, it was quite the experience. I'd never spent the night in the hospital before. I'd never had an IV. I'd probably never been in that much pain. But through it all, I had many things to be thankful for. First and foremost, my amazing husband. I don't know how I would have done it without him. I am thankful that baby is doing just fine. In fact, I think baby was pretty oblivious to it all...just kicking away like normal...even the next day when my belly was sore and those little kicks hurt! :-) I am thankful for the timing of it all. If it had to happen, the timing was pretty darn good. It happened when I was home with Jason. I wasn't in FL like I had been 3 nights before. We weren't in Mexico like we would have been a week and a half later. I wasn't even out running errands like I had been earlier that day. I was at home, 5 minutes from the hospital. And Jason was with me. It is true that God does not allow us to face more than we are able to handle. He is faithful to give us what we need to endure. And for that, I am thankful.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
baby dance (jason)
This morning after we woke up, I placed my hand on Kendra's stomach to see if baby was doing anything. He/she wasn't doing much at first, but after poking and prodding for a little bit, baby was up and kicking like crazy! I've never felt baby move so much! It was like baby was doing a dance on my hand. I think baby likes the attention from me when I poke him/her and they push back on me. A couple times baby didn't just push back at me, but moved their little foot across my hand as well. That was REALLY cool! Babies are so amazing. We are bonding already.
baby's first shower (kendra)
This past weekend, I headed to Delray Beach, FL for the first annual BHS girls weekend. That is, I met up with 4 of my good friends from high school f0r a weekend of fun in the sun. We all came from different places: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Colorado. It was really great to have some time for the 5 of us to get together and catch up...we don't get to see each other nearly as often as we used to! I am the first one to be pregnant so I got to answer all their questions about what it's like to be pregnant and about baby Fraze. Sucharita and Sayward even got to feel baby kick!
On Friday night, we were getting ready to head out for a delicious dinner at a Thai restaurant in downtown Delray Beach. It was about time to go (at least I thought it was), but when I walked out of the bathroom the 4 of them were sitting at the dining room table with a little pile of gifts in the middle of it! I was definitely surprised (not the easiest task to accomplish, for the record) and so thankful for their thoughtfulness. I opened the gifts, which included adorable outfits, a little froggie rattle, a couple of books, and a promise for socks knit just for baby by one of my friends! And as if that wasn't enough, they also told me that they'd chipped in for a gift off of our registry and arranged with Jason to have it picked up! When I got home, I found out that they had gotten us the Jeep jogging stroller that I had put on the registry so I could get back in shape after baby is born!
I am so thankful to have such sweet, thoughtful friends. I can't wait to dress baby in his/her adorable new clothes! And I can't wait for the first time that my friends get to meet baby. They are going to be the best aunties ever!
On Friday night, we were getting ready to head out for a delicious dinner at a Thai restaurant in downtown Delray Beach. It was about time to go (at least I thought it was), but when I walked out of the bathroom the 4 of them were sitting at the dining room table with a little pile of gifts in the middle of it! I was definitely surprised (not the easiest task to accomplish, for the record) and so thankful for their thoughtfulness. I opened the gifts, which included adorable outfits, a little froggie rattle, a couple of books, and a promise for socks knit just for baby by one of my friends! And as if that wasn't enough, they also told me that they'd chipped in for a gift off of our registry and arranged with Jason to have it picked up! When I got home, I found out that they had gotten us the Jeep jogging stroller that I had put on the registry so I could get back in shape after baby is born!
I am so thankful to have such sweet, thoughtful friends. I can't wait to dress baby in his/her adorable new clothes! And I can't wait for the first time that my friends get to meet baby. They are going to be the best aunties ever!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
baby check-up (kendra)
Yesterday we had another appointment with our midwife. She said that everything looks like it's going along perfectly. My weight and belly measurements are right on track and baby's heartbeat is nice and strong. Our next appointment is in a month and then we start going every 2 weeks! I can't believe I'm so close to the point when appointments become more frequent. Baby will be here before we know it!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
baby bump (kendra)
I was just looking at these drawings of what a pregnant woman might look like at 8 months:
http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/belly_8months.asp
I'm not there yet, but I would say my belly is looking most like the one on the right...it really sticks out! My chiropractor was even commenting about that yesterday. It's amazing to me how different people's opinions are about my belly...and somewhat amusing that people would have an opinion about my belly at all. :-) Not long ago I still had people telling me that I didn't even look pregnant! On the other hand, I have gotten to the point where people aren't afraid to come out and ask me when I'm due...in other words, it's obvious enough to them that I am indeed pregnant that they're willing to risk the embarrassment of the alternative. I'll admit that it definitely depends on what I'm wearing...some clothes make my belly more obvious than others. But anyone who sees me in a bathing suit better believe that I am pregnant! :-)
It's about time for an updated belly photo, so I'll probably be posting one on here soon so that you can see for yourselves!
http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/belly_8months.asp
I'm not there yet, but I would say my belly is looking most like the one on the right...it really sticks out! My chiropractor was even commenting about that yesterday. It's amazing to me how different people's opinions are about my belly...and somewhat amusing that people would have an opinion about my belly at all. :-) Not long ago I still had people telling me that I didn't even look pregnant! On the other hand, I have gotten to the point where people aren't afraid to come out and ask me when I'm due...in other words, it's obvious enough to them that I am indeed pregnant that they're willing to risk the embarrassment of the alternative. I'll admit that it definitely depends on what I'm wearing...some clothes make my belly more obvious than others. But anyone who sees me in a bathing suit better believe that I am pregnant! :-)
It's about time for an updated belly photo, so I'll probably be posting one on here soon so that you can see for yourselves!
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