Just doing my bed rest routine on this snowy Monday. Dan is doing some work for a friend today and Elijah is at daycare. My contractions have increased a tiny bit over the past couple days, so I'm keeping a close eye on them.

Two of the big things we had planned in February were/are supposed to happen this week. Dan and I were going to take an Elijah-less trip up north to spend this coming weekend together in a cozy log cabin. We had to cancel those plans which is kind of a bummer, but obviously taking care of the baby is priority.

The other big plan for the week is still going to happen as planned, I think. We are set to take Elijah to his preschool classroom on Thursday morning for a visit before his official start date on February 23rd. I really really really want to go along for the visit, so if my contractions are under control that morning, I will go. I want to see first-hand what his classroom is like and I want to see Elijah's reaction to it. I have a lot of emotion wrapped up in this whole preschool ordeal, and I think being able to be there on Thursday will help me with some struggles I am having. We are praying for my contractions to behave that morning!

That's all for now! Thank you for checking in!

Early Saturday morning I woke up feeling like someone was stabbing knives into the right side of my head. After writhing in bed for a bit, I decided to head to the ER to at least get some help with the pain. It was excruciating! The doctor said I had a "raging ear infection." Seriously? I don't think I have any memory of ever having an ear infection in my life. I started some antibiotics and took some Extra Strength Tylenol and 24+ hours later I'm feeling better. I still can't taste or smell anything, which is kind of strange.

Elijah and I are both still making non-stop coughing music around the house. Hopefully this week brings health for both of us. I can't decide if the sickness has made bed rest worse or better, but I'm ready for it to be done.

Dan has a menu planned for the Superbowl tonight and I'm wishing I was able to taste some of his yummy snacks.

An Elijah funny.. Yesterday I told him that Dan would have to fix one of his dvds (that he calls "D-D-Ds") before he would be able to watch it. By "fix" I meant that all of the gooey fingerprints would need to be cleaned off of it. Elijah said, "Fix? Ok!" and walked to the kitchen junk drawer. He opened it and grabbed some tape out and brought it to me. "Tape, Mommy. Fix!" :)

We have been watching WAY too much tv lately, way more than I like for Elijah to watch, but I really don't know of many other ways to pass the time in the situation we are in. We are trying to play a lot of trains and puzzles but we can only do so much of that. This morning Dan took Elijah to the play area in the mall to run around a bit. I hate that I couldn't go along, but I'm glad the two of them were able to get out of the house.

Elijah is napping so I think I will go try to nap for a bit, too.

This is what happens when I'm confined to a couch. I take pictures of the walls. Sorry, no Elijah pics today. Maybe tomorrow.



Friday night is pizza and movie night in our house. Elijah gets excited about going to the movie store and picking out a movie. He was a little too excited about it today. Instead of taking a nap, he said "movie store!" from his bed about a hundred times.



Right now we are waiting for the pizza to cook while we watch A Bug's Life. Elijah stole a few "peppa-nonis" from the pizza and he is munching on those.



As you can probably guess, we don't have much planned for the weekend. Just some more movies and snuggling and couch time.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Last one from this series of photos..



I'm still trying to cough up both of my lungs. I think Not-Zooter is wondering what is causing all of the earthquakes.

Speaking of the baby, I asked Elijah again the other day what we should name his little brother and AGAIN he replied, "Zooter!" I guess he has his mind set on it. :)

Elijah has been so full of imagination lately. This is something that is pretty new, and it is really fun. I heard him calling out for Randall the Monster (from Monsters Inc.) in our laundry room the other day. And for the past week or so we have heard the funniest/cutest conversations coming from his bedroom before he falls asleep at night. He sings songs, talks to people, talks to himself, repeats lines from his favorite books. I just sit and smile at it all. I love that kid.

Bed rest is getting a little bit less tearful. Every time I start to get upset I think about the little person in my tummy and how he NEEDS this right now. Soon this chapter will be behind us and I will be so glad I listened to the doctor. I started doing some work from home this week and strangely, it has been good for me. It's a nice diversion and gives me a sense of normalcy. One of the things I have felt bad about lately is inconveniencing my employer and coworkers, so being able to do some work takes a little bit of that burden away. And again, I have to focus on the baby. Everything goes back to him right now.

Contractions are still doing ok (5-8 per day) as long as I am taking it easy. Dan is still willingly coming home to me. Elijah is enjoying his days at daycare with his girls Molly and Paige. The baby is still kicking and enduring all of my coughing. And right now it is 2:00 so that means it's time for ice cream!

Elijah got croup last night, as I suspected he would. Same drill, same outcome. All is well and now he has a cough.

I'm pretty sure I'm the crabbiest I've ever been in my entire life. I am not feeling like a good wife (AT ALL) or a good anything right now. I feel constantly overwhelmed by a lot of things swimming around in my brain. I'm surprised Dan is still willingly living in this house with me.

My appointment this morning went fine. My cervix is "high and closed," which is excellent. The doctor said I was a "topic" at this week's staff meeting. Of course I was! :) I'm sure I will continue to be from here on out. Anyway, I'm just supposed to continue doing what I'm doing. Laying very low and getting my weekly progesterone shots. My next big appointment is on February 24th and the outcome of that will determine my bed rest fate for the rest of this pregnancy.

Thanks for checking in on us!

This photo is a few months old, but I love it.



Yesterday was the sickest I can ever remember being as an adult. Today is better. The fever and fatigue from yesterday are gone, but the coughing and stuffy nose are still hanging around. Last night I heard a few tiny coughing episodes coming from Elijah's room in the middle of the night, so I have been praying hard today against another sickness for him. Especially this sickness that I have right now.

Some good things I'm focusing on today:

Lost premieres tonight!

I can't wait to see Elijah in a few hours. I was a pretty sick mama last night so I didn't have much energy for interacting. I'm excited to interact a bit more with him tonight.

I have the best, most patient husband in the world. I am so thankful for everything he does for Elijah (and baby) and me.

Not-Zooter is kicking a lot today. I remember loving that feeling when I was pregnant with Elijah and I love it this time, too.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and that means I get to leave the house!

Tomorrow marks one week of being on bed rest. Three weeks to go and hopefully no more than that.

I'm going to start doing a little bit of work from home tomorrow, which I think will help me feel a bit more normal.

We have Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream ice cream in the freezer! :)

I am trying to make as few photoless posts as possible, so I hope some photos from the past few weeks are ok for now. :)



One good thing about the past few days is that I haven't had much time to dwell on my bedrested state. I have been a miserable and sick lady. I think Elijah is starting to wonder who the big lump on the couch is who won't stop coughing and complaining.

It was confirmed again for me that staying in bed/on the couch really helps my contractions. When I was on bed rest with Elijah, not even rest kept them at bay, so this is a nice change. Of course, I'm still only 21 weeks along so maybe that has something to do with it.

Before the sickness struck this weekend, I had a moderate emotional breakdown. I feel like it should be easier than it is for me to focus on the positive aspects of this whole situation. It has been really easy for me to get caught up in the not-so-fun parts. I'm worried about a lot of things, so I'm trying really really hard to take this one day at a time. We have/had a busy February planned, so I'm trying to readjust my thinking about some things.

I keep telling myself that this could be SO MUCH WORSE. It helps when I think of the big picture. What could possibly be better than helping a new little person enter this world? We are making some sacrifices now so this little man can have a place in our family. I can't wait to meet him, and I will do whatever I can do to make sure he arrives in our arms safely.