Thursday, July 19, 2007

The Countdown has Begun!


My doctor has officially set a date and time for the delivery. July 31st at 10:00 am. So, as I write this, I have 12 days to go. To be honest, I was ready to give up on the whole "34 week" idea and I tried to talk my doctor into delivering me next week sometime (which would only have been a few days early, but something about not going another weekend seemed appealing), but he wouldn't budge from our original goal. Even though I have had this date in mind the entire pregnancy, it is nice to have things specifically scheduled to occur. Of course if something goes wrong before the 31st they will deliver me then.

Today I am 32 weeks and 2 days. Once I reached the 32 week milestone, I really felt I could breath a sigh of relief. At 32 weeks, the babies have an excellent chance for both survival and for not having any long term disabilities. At this point, they (the babies) just start putting on some fat. Another really great thing about hitting 32 weeks is that if I go into real labor, they will not put me on the mag!!!! At that point, they would just deliver me instead of putting me through the torture of the medication.

All things considered, I am still doing amazingly well. I continue to have a lot more contractions than they would like (six or less in an hour is ideal---I usually have 8-12). However, the contractions don't appear to be changing anything, so that is good. I am supposed to monitor for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, but instead a typical monitoring session goes something like this: I monitor for one hour, I have too many contractions, they try some different medications and monitor some more, I still have too many contractions, they call the resident down to check my cervix, my cervix has not changed so they decide that I can be taken off the monitor. The whole process takes several hours, which isn't so bad during the day, but can be frustrating during the night, when it takes until 1 or 2 in the morning to decide that I can be taken off the monitor and allowed to go to sleep! Fortunately my day schedule usually allows for me to catch up on the missed sleep.

My husband, Jayson, arrived in Phoenix yesterday. Besides the fact that is wonderful to have him here, it also helps me to breath easier, knowing that if something happens and I need to deliver quickly that he will be here for it. My kids are also really excited to have their dad around.

This past week, Jayson's Aunt Linda and Aunt Victoria have been at our house in Austin unpacking boxes, decorating, and making our house livable. I am so grateful for their generosity!!! Jayson brought pictures of the "makeover" and the house looks great! Before their visit, the house was really disorganized and had boxes everywhere. Now we actually have a beautiful home to return to when the time is right. They spent a lot of time getting Riley and Kaiya's rooms painted, decorated, and organized as well as doing a complete laundry room makeover. I can't wait to see things in person. Now that Jayson is gone, my friend Natalie is taking the reigns to make sure that the builder fixes all the little things that were installed incorrectly on the house. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family!!!!
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26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Rachelle, Your house looks GREAT! Your Aunts definitely have given it a WOMAN's touch, and Jayson has done a fabulous job! Miss Ellis gave her approval of Kaiya & Riley's rooms! WOW!!!!Your house feels like a HOME you will want to come home to. We(all the friends committed to helping)just need to get the baby stuff a little more ready to go, but that needs to be done just before they arrive so it is fresh! I am so proud of you and your God given strength! You go girl! Take one moment at a time at this point! Take lots of photos of that expanded belly! HUGS

Courtney said...

Congratulations on making it to 32 weeks! I know you are probably going crazy but you will be thanking Dr Elliott later for making you stick it out as long as possible. Each extra day in the womb is a major blessing for your babies. Best of luck with everything.

Vivi Peterka said...

Hi!
Your house really looks great!!!! And love is felt everywhere!!!

I've met Victoria and Linda last week and they are amazing!!!!

The visit was supposed to last 2 minutes but we talked quite a bit....

I hope evrything goes smoothly during the last 12 days!!!! I'm also doing the countdown here!!!!

We are going to brazil next saturday but I will be checking the news!!!!!

take care Rachelle!!!! :o)

Melissa said...

Congrats on making it to 32 weeks!! I can't wait to hear the names that you guys have chosen!

holmesfamily8 said...

Congrats on 32 weeks! Do you have names yet?

Meridith said...

So happy to see a picture. You look great! We've never met, but I live here in the Valley and have been following your story and praying for your entire family. Congrats on 32 weeks.

Melissa said...

Oh my word! How is your tiny little body holding all five babies??! I can't believe how amazing you look. I know your family from my home ward in Naperville, and can't believe that you're going through something so amazing. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Congrats, and good luck with everything that is in the near future.

Anonymous said...

wow! you look great!

Anonymous said...

What an absolutely amazing blessing that you are 32 weeks with your little ones. Keep up the great work. We are praying for you here!

Kage said...

Oh my my my....I know you probably feel like a cow (one does with only 1 baby in there!!!) but you look absolutely stunning....congrats for making it this far.

Anonymous said...

Ya gotta love that smile!!! You are beautiful! I did not see the photo earlier today. AMAZING!!!

Sarah H said...

Love the picture! You are doing great. It's been so fun following your story!

Anonymous said...

As a NICU nurse, I am amazed at your progress!! YEA for you!! Hang in there!! YOU CAN DO IT!! 34 weeks presents so much less risk than 32 weeks and you can do it!! ONE DAY REALLY MAKES HUGE DIFFERENCES IN THE LAND OF PREMATURITY!!! You go girl!! You have my prayers and thoughts and so many others!!! CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!! :)

Anonymous said...

Wow you look great!!I can not imagine the pains you must be feeling. Have you talked with the other mom that has 6 babies? I saw the end of there story today. I can't wait to hear about your babies on the 31. Hang in girl you can do it. FAITH IN THE LORD

Rebecca said...

You really do look great. I thought about not posting that seeing as so many others did too. But, you really look phenomenal. My face always retains so much water, yours looks perfect! Good luck with your babies...will be thinking of you. (I'm a friend of Julianne's in Fort Worth)

Katie said...

Wohoo, Marathon Mama--32 weeks! I called Natalie yesterday to get the update. Last I heard, she'd told me about the miserable mag and so I wondered whether you might have delivered (although of course Natalie would've called me with news that major!)--I was so happy to hear that you'd made it to this major milestone. Counting down days instead of weeks has got to feel great...and pretty soon it'll be counting down single digit days! That's very cool for Jayson's aunts to come decorate your home.

Today, my sister-in-law Debra (the one in Gilbert you know) is sending her 3 girls up to visit us in Idaho Falls. I'm excited for them to come b/c they are such great kids. We have lots of fun "authentic Idaho" stuff planned. Tomorrow we're going on a cattle drive at a local ranch, we'll go swimming at the local hot springs, visit Bear World, pick raspberries at my in-laws and make jam... We'll have a good time and Lennox will love be surrounded by constant entertainment. Well, we'll keep praying for you!

Anonymous said...

Rachelle:

I knew there was something special about these babies. I was also born at Good Sam (Garth).

Love from Andrea and Garth Black

Suzanne said...

WOMAN! you are amazing! you look great and i'm so proud of you for making it to 32 weeks! here's to another easy cheesy two weeks! gosh, so exciting to have the date you will deliver! it's actually/finally going to happen! ;)

lltanderson said...

hi, rachelle! it's great to hear how well you are all doing. you look amazing! i can't wait for 7/31 to see pics of the babies and find out who they are!

-lori

Anonymous said...

Hi Rachelle,

Just to let you know we are out here thinking of you guys and of course praying for you. I am amazed by your strength (and by your apparent celebrity status. Is it crazy that perfect strangers are obsessed with your story?) Tell Jayson hi.

take care,
The Walpoles

Unknown said...

We have been following your blog since your story appeared in Meridain. I just wanted you to know that there are many people out here that you don't even know about who are remembering you in prayers. My daughter has had four premies, which included twins, so we have been down that road. Every day you make it is worth it. I am so glad you took a picture. You will be glad you did. Rest up! You have some tiring days ahead :-) Thanks so much for sharing your story with all of us. You are an inspiration.We will continue the prayers and look forward to the updates.

Kelly said...

You look great! Best of luck to you!

1+4+1 said...

Rachelle,
congrats on going so far! My 4 were born at almost 34 weeks and were in 12 days; I think you will have at least a little time to recover after delivery!
Hope your delivery is smooth!
Diane
MOST
and out of state MAMAs

nurse jen said...

Go go go!!! You are doing great!! I am amazed at your progress! Those babies like their cozy abode!! :) Keep your spirits high, Mama! You are amazing!!
God Bless Your Family! Prayers from an Ohio NICU nurse,
jen

Elizabeth said...

You look fantastic!! I hope that you feel well and refreshed, or at least as much as you possibly can, for the next leg of this journey. I'm praying for you.

Anonymous said...

Okay Rachelle, I know I haven't seen you in awhile, but you truly don't look like you are carrying quints! Maybe twins or triplets... You look amazing!