Rest rest rest

My beautiful little boy, before his recent hair cut..



I wish I had done a better job of recording the contractions I was having throughout my pregnancy with Elijah. I know they started at about the same time, around 17 weeks. Then I remember that around 25 weeks they increased in frequency and at 29 weeks the really really scary contractions began. I've only been getting around eight per day (at almost 21 weeks), and I wish I knew if that was about the same as last time. Last time, no one was concerned until 29 weeks when I went to the hospital after having a scary episode where I was having contractions every three minutes.

I think the doctors are being extra cautious with me this time, given my history. I have a feeling that if this were my first pregnancy I might not be on restrictions right now. Yesterday I got my cervical length checked and it looked good (4 cm), but it was 1 cm shorter than it had been at my check two weeks ago. That shortening, combined with my history and the few contractions I am having, is their basis for putting me on complete bed rest.

The earliest a baby can survive outside the womb is 24 weeks. Even if a baby is born at 24 weeks, the prognosis is not good, but at least there is a possibility of survival at that point. So the goal is for me to do as little as possible up until then and re-evaluate my situation. Right now my body is responding really well to rest. As long as I don't move and as long as I stay hydrated, I'm not having many contractions at all (I've had only two so far today). If in four weeks my cervix hasn't shortened any more and my contractions are under control, I can come off bed rest. We are praying hard for this!

I'm really struggling with how different my time spent with Elijah will be now, but I suppose this is something I will get used to as we start a new routine. I'm such a hands-on mom that it kills me not to be able to do a lot of the things that I love doing. I would rather change Elijah's diaper and get him dressed than watch Dan do it. I love to run around with him and I love to pick him up and squeeze him. I'm thinking we will have to start doing a lot of floor play where I can stay lying down. Puzzles, trains, magna-doodle, that sort of thing.

Everything else is going great this week. Dan has found three days of work, which is awesome, and I am doing an excellent job of taste testing ice cream (Ben & Jerry's Americone Dream = HEAVEN!). We had to cancel Elijah's dental visit today, so we will get that rescheduled soon.

Thank you so much for your prayers, everyone! We appreciate all of the kind comments and emails we have gotten. Thank you.