Thankful Thursday: Placenta Previa & Good Friends

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I’m thankful for a God who answers prayers! At 12 weeks we found out her had a placenta previa. At 16 weeks we were told it was partial. At 18 weeks we were told it was a complete previa. Complete previas come with complications, and are the least likely to move before delivery, making a vaginal delivery off the table, and can lead to some issues. The ultrasound tech at 18 weeks said she would be surprised if mine moved because it, in her words, looked pretty fixed on the end covering my cervix. WELL FORGET SCIENCE AND STATISTICS!! I have been praying that God would work a miracle and move my placenta from a complete previa to a marginal previa (just touching the end of the internal part of the cervix) by this visit. It statistically was a long shot, but I was bold and asked. Yesterday, we found out that my placenta had moved…and wasn’t even marginal, it’s now not touching the internal OS (internal part of the cervix) at all…it’s moved away by .6cm - making it considered a low-lying placenta. It’s still too close to the cervix to deliver vaginally, but as it is now, and the fact that it’s moving, means it should move enough before delivery to allow for that option!! GOD IS SO GOOD!!

I’m thankful for Dunkin Donuts breakfast sandwiches. They are seriously SO good!! ‘Nough said!

I’m thankful for good friends. My girlfriends have helped so much with hospital stay with watching the girls and playdates! It has really been a major sanity saver!!

Ronnie's List:

I’m thankful for a good report from the OB! Mandi's complete placenta previa has moved and they are confident that it will move the required amount to safely have a vaginal delivery. For those who don't know, Mandi is one of those weirdos that absolutely loved giving birth...without even a tylenol to help mask the pain.

I’m thankful for increased lung function. After my first week in the Hole, my FEV1 has increased from 63% to 72%. Now, I'm just waiting for my lungs and body to catch up with those numbers and hopefully spring out of this place sooner rather than later.

I’m thankful for a time and a place. I had a pretty large episode of hemoptysis last night and I'm thankful that it happened here at the hospital. I coughed up around 1 cup of bright red blood (the bathroom looked like a murder scene) and it left me quite light-headed. A rapid response team was in my room in a matter of minutes and took the proper and necessary steps to ensure that I was stable. Glad it didn't happen at home!

What are you thankful for today?

Tune-Up Shopping and Packing List

I was asked last week what I bring to the hospital, or at least what I brought this time, so I thought I would share my "shopping list" and packing list. Let me know what we have in common or what I need to consider bringing next time!

Clothing:

I usually pack around 7 "outfits" and they will last me my entire stay. Worst case, my mom lives in Tucson and is always willing to do a load of laundry for me. I wear nothing but t-shirts and athletic shorts, but always make sure to pack a sweatshirt or long-sleeved shirt in case my room is unusually cold. I also bring a pair of slippers, a pair of sandals and a pair of running shoes. Also have my hat for those crazy hair days.

Toiletries:

Again, I bring the usual stuff like my own toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and comb. Something I bring that others may not is my own bar of soap. Hospital soap sucks. I bring it in a little travel case so I don't have to worry about it touching down in the shower. I also will bring chapstick or vaseline as I always seem to get cracked lips in here.

Not really toiletries, but related, I bring my own bath towels and bath mat. Hospital bath towels are about as absorbent as a duck's back.

Bedding:

I bring my own pillows with pillow cases as well as my own comforter. These get washed as soon as I get home and stored for the next hospital stay.

Electronics:

I of course have my phone, headphones and laptop, but what I bring along that most others don't is a separate monitor to make working easier in the Hole. I use two screens at home when I work, and with what I do, it makes it much easier. Anything I can do to make work easier from the Hole, I will do as it is already hard enough!

I also bring my own single cup Keurig machine to brew my own coffee while here. The coffee that the hospital sends up is always puke-warm and watered down.

Funny thing is that I bring my Playstation 3 but only set it up about a quarter of the time. I never have it set up at home and always think I'll have the urge to play it when I come in here, but it rarely happens. I always bring it just in case.

Food:

This will probably just be easier to list. This doesn't include all of the candy I bring and that is brought to me, but I did include sweets that I "need" in here. I have a major sweet tooth that only amplifies when getting a tune-up.

Dried Mango
Oreos
Walmart Brand Oreos (for a taste test)
Fruit and Nut Medley trail mix
Gummy Bears
Cinnabon Cereal
Golden Grahams Cereal
Boom Chicka Pop (kettle corn)
Jelly Beans
Random Assortment of Candy (Starburst, Skittles, Laffy Taffy, Bottle Caps)
Gevalia Coffee k-cups - Colombian
Donut Shop Blend Coffee k-cups
Green Mountain Coffee Nantucket Blend k-cups
Gallon Jugs or Water for Keurig
Original Coffee-mate Coffee Creamer
French Vanilla Coffee-mate Coffee Creamer
Equal

After I get admitted, my mom and brother always bring by some of the stuff listed above as well as plastic silverware, plastic bowls, coffee cups, little table and table cloth.

When people come into my room their reaction is almost always the same, "Wow, you have quite the set-up in here!"

My response is almost always the same too, "After 35 years of doing this, you learn a thing or too!"

21 Weeks Pregnant!

How far along: 21 weeks pregnant...well on the day this is posted, I'm 21.5...but I took the picture on Thursday, exactly 21 weeks. Due September 3rd!

Gender: Officially a baby BOY!!

Total weight gain: Up 10 lb.

Exercise: Unfortunately, my exercise plans for this pregnancy look very different. Between the subchorionic hemorrhage and now the complete placenta previa, I have been limited to just walking. This week I walked 30.5 miles...and biked a few as well. 

Maternity clothes: This week I got a pair of non-maternity shorts a couple of sizes bigger than normal, so I can button them. They are a bit baggy, but at least they button, and I have plenty of room to grow in the waist!

Miss anything: I definitely am missing my normal workouts! I'm also missing a glass of wine. I drink a glass of wine a handful of times a year (and that may even be rounding up), but this week, after the girls have gone down, there have been a few nights when a glass of wine sounded nice!

Movement: I'm feeling him move all the time, and the movements are getting bigger and bigger. Some nights as I laid in bed this week watching TV (it's where I camp out in the evenings when Ronnie is gone) I would just sit and watch all the movement as well. I love seeing the thumps and bumps from the outside!

Have you started to show: I think I am starting to look pregnant to people I don't know in certain outfits...and especially at the end of the day. I cannot wait to have a big ol' bump!!

Stretch marks: This is a tricky one. I never got stretch marks on my belly with Mckenna. But ever since puberty I've had stretch marks on my thighs, tush, and hips. They are very fine and you only really see them when the light hits them right. So there's a good chance that I got more with Mckenna, I just have no idea. My guess is I may be getting more as we speak, I just can't see them in comparison to what is already there!

Belly button in or out: It's in...and looks like a massive goiter in tight shirts.

Wedding rings on or off: On, when I actually wear them! I take them off for exercise, showers, and sleeping...and with my baby brain and pregnancy brain, I often forget to put them back on!

Sleep: I sleep like any other mom with a 3.5 year old and a 4.5 month old. I have fallen asleep at night and a couple of times during naps without knowing it though, so I must be sleepy!

Labor signs: None. I'm hoping none for a very, very long time. But I am having noticeable Braxton Hicks contractions already. I get them when my bladder is full, during exercise, when he's really active, and for no reason at all...so really, I just get them all the time.

Best moment of this week: Ronnie's been in the hospital since Monday. Friday was the first time we went down to visit him, as the first few days he's usually feeling pretty cruddy. We were supposed to go on Saturday, but we went Friday because Thursday night Mckenna had a breakdown because she was missing her daddy so much. When we got there, it made my heart burst to see how excited she was to see her daddy. And within 10 minutes of arriving, she had gotten him water "to make him feel better"; gave him a hand pound; and massaged his legs and feet. I love her caring, tender, little heart. I love that she has the heart of a caretaker, and that she loves her daddy more than anything!