Today's appt.

Today's appt. went well. Calvin is "vertex" (meaning: head down) and occiput posterior (meaning: his arms and legs are right under my belly button versus facing my spine). He is still very active and his heartrate was great. The doc said that at this point we are "in the clear" and that likely if I delivered that Cal would only need a few days of help in the NICU. He is also believing Calvin to be around 6 lbs... which is great and more the weight of the average baby at 35 weeks. I turn 36 weeks on Saturday and am so thankful for God's sovereignty to keep Cal safe and sound in my belly despite his several attempts to come early. I am feeling well and the nursery is basically in order as well as a car seat is in the Pontiac G6 now. I want to go ahead and pack my bags soon, but keep putting it off and taking naps instead due to sleepiness (which I feel fully justified in doing..lol). So we are in the homestretch. Thanks for the support of each of you who have prayed and/or called. I can not count the numbers of people who have called several times per week asking specifically how myself and Cal are doing catching us at mealtime, nap-time, and throughout the day. The support has shown true love to us and we all thank you for the kindness of your support.
As far as everything else going on right now there are a few special prayer requests as we are praying which way to go as far as Jon requests with the military on where to live and/or renewing to stay in at all. We believe God has a path for our little family and it is really just a matter now of seeking God's guidance on what *HE* (God) wants most of all. We covet your prayers regarding that as it is always a question in the military families' mind (with safety/war issues and more) and even more so on years where the prior obligation has been fulfilled and the officer is up for either being able to get out or stay in. The Lord is Sovereign though and we believe he will guide us just as he has done all along on our paths thusfar. It's just a matter of seeking God's face on the issue and doing what is best for our family. We appreciate your support of prayer in this matter and are thankful that God will lead us as his children.

Hold On!

So Cal is still "raring" to go here on some days. This last Thursday I started contracting again (after Calvin "dropped" for the second time) for about 10 hours, but it wasn't so bad this time. They were every 8 minutes apart so not close enough to go to the hospital, but enough to be sore afterwards. They were the same feeling as when I was in the hospital also... so, I am thankful that they did not speed up like before. I have done much of nothing the last few weeks so there is no particular reason for which this happened again and I was reminded that over 50% of pre-term births are unexplainable. See ... the March of Dimes Website. It explains that "Only about half the women who have preterm labor fall into any known risk group." So far this is the category that I fall into right now... the "unknown" group. LOL. Nevertheless, I am thankful that things are better now and I am ultimately feeling well. Also, I am just so thankful that Calvin is still doing well (it seems) and is very active... part of the reason I suspect this is happening. He's just a very active little boy. We'll see. We are getting excited now! Only 5 weeks and a few days left!

Nursery Updates.

Cal's Room

This is the painted product and the beginnings of Calvin's Nursery. Cal says,..."Thank you Daddy for painting my nursery! It is very nice!!".

Not yet!

This weekend was a hard weekend as Saturday morning I noticed some signs of pre-term labor. I called the doc who had me come into the hospital and admitted me for medications. I was dilated 2 cm and Calvin was "engaged" at what we medical people call Zero Station... which just means that his head was already between pelvic joints and ready to birth if I had continued to dilate. Soon, I began to contract every four minutes and was 80% effaced. So, we are quite thankful for modern day medicine and all the wonderful work of the nurses and my doctor who were able to get things to stop. After a good 7 hours of contractions and issues, the medications finally started to kick in and to prevent much further dialation. By the next day I had reverted back to 1 cm and no contractions...so Praise God for the blessing of modern day medicines.

We are prayerful and hopeful that things will be OK, but ask for your prayers that little Cal will remain in utero as long as possible so as to prevent short and long-term disease or fatality. We covet and appreciate any prayer support for our little family at this point and will keep you posted. I am now on modified household restrictions and Lord willing will not have to do all of this again in the next four weeks. I am currently 32 weeks and the doc really wants to get me to 36-37 weeks before I deliver and thus if I begin to have similar symptoms we will have to go back to the hospital and do all of this all over again. Thanks for any prayers. At present I am actaully doing more of a "bed rest" for my own peace of mind...for at least the next week and then will attempt the OB's suggestions for activities of daily living. We are just wanting to be precautious as there is no definitive reason for which all of this began in the first place. On a positive note, Calvin had an ultrasound while I was in the hospital that measured his approximate weight at 4 pounds and 13 ounces...which is a very healthy size for this week of gestation. So that is wonderful and we are so thankful that he is doing well despite all of his attempts to make his way into the world a little too early. It may be that we are seeing a part of his personality already! lol. Thank you for your prayers and if you see me "taking it easy" or if you notice me being "out of commission" and not attending events.. then you will now know why. Thanks for your support. -Amy