combat momma - i think not!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! we've had a busy two weeks with family and puppies rotating in and out for the holidays - all the while i've been holding down the couch and keeping Dillan safe inside of me. We've just about made it to 35 weeks - more then ever seemed possible 12 weeks ago when i started bed rest. Dillan is now large and strong and developed enough to come into this world, but we are praying he hangs out until February.

at our last check-up, the doctor said we can expect him to be about 8 pounds at terms and everything is going just as it should. today he's somewhere between 5 and 6 pounds, abut the size of a tiny, but healthy, newborn.

yesterday the army had a good laugh when they sent me orders to iraq. report date of march 8, 2009. sent me and luke into a bit of a tail spin (what if I weren't pregnant and really had to go back?), but we know that this is all God's timing. I won't be deployable again until 4 months after Dillan is born and can resign my commission after june 2. so as long as Dillan waits until Feb 2 to pop out, there won't be a window of deployability. If he comes early, we'll just have to trust in God's will and the power of prayer.

new pictures (and possibily a video?) will be up later today or tomorrow. hope everyone has a great new year 's eve!

eight is great!!!

so this is the week of eights. Eight months pregnant. Eight weeks until our due date. I broke 180 pounds (oh yeah...i said 180).

no big changes. still having contractions and feeling pretty tired. getting really really really anxious to have this little guy come out. every time i move, its like a 4 pound bowling bowl rolling around inside my tummy. sounds precious, but really, its pretty uncomfortable. i also official have stretch marks now - just gotta think of them as a badge of honor.

Dillan is still hanging out upside down (the wrong way) and i'm following every bit of advice i can to get him to turn around into whats called the vertex position. hopefully he catches on in the next few weeks so we can avoid a c-section.

on a much more positive note, luke is just about done with this semester of school. he's found teaching pretty challenging but has really enjoyed it. he just got a great review and some really nice presents and notes from his students. he'll be home until late january and then he'll get to take a week or so off once Dillan arrives.

lla nis about 4 pounds (i'm guessing a little more) and about 17 inches long. judging by my indestion, he's going to have quite a head of hair when he's born. he spends his day much like he will when he's born - he sleeps, looks around, explores his hands, pees, hiccups. add eating, pooping and crying and you've got yourself a new born!

third tri is a charm!

get it - third tri? we are in the third trimester...ok, maybe more funny if you spend all day laying around watching tv and knitting (thats right - i learned to knit, pretty cliche huh?).

not really much to update. Dillan is growing like crazy. He is somewhere between 3.5 and 4 pounds and mores around constantly. It was a real treat over Thanksgiving and a few weekends before when both my mom and dad got to feel how strong he's getting.

According to the pregnancy tracker, Dillan is about the size of a purse dog (hopefully not as yappy).

Luke and I finished our birthing classes and learned quite a bit. We were able to write our birthplan and make a lot of decisions on how we want the big day to go (assuming nature gives us much of a choice). We also got a crib and a dresser (used for $300 - way to go Luke!) - feels pretty great know he has what he needs for the first few weeks of his life.

All else is going well. I'm very pregnant and all of the good and bad that comes with that. Still having a lot of contractions but they haven't triggered active labor yet. We continue to pray that our baby bakes for at least another 6 weeks, but are so grateful He has brought us this far and if labor starts early, Dillan will be small but healthy.

We welcome your calls, emails and visits. Hope all is well.

quick update

just a quick update - we went to the doctor's today. despite all of the contractions, i'm not dilated at all. Dillan is perfectly healthy and progressing perfectly. looks like Dillan has at least few more weeks before he makes his debut!

We also put up new belly bump pictures - enjoy!

Bedrest survivial kit

luke has figured out how to get me through the next 9 weeks of bed rest - red roses, peanut butter cups, beef jerky and about 20 hours of movies to choose from. he is really working so hard to support me and get Tubs to bake long enough to be healthy.

we are doing great. he's still working hard to work his way out, but it won't be today! 26 weeks into our pregnancy, our focus is starting to shift on to the delivery and first few months of being parents. its getting pretty exciting!

Tubs has a tentative name - Dillan Thomas. We may still change it a few times, but i love this name and think we may stick with it. This week he's refining some of his senses - especially sight and sound.

please keep us in your prayers and start planning your next visit.

getting ready for Tubs!

i'm starting to nest and its really a wonderful way to start bonding with Tubs. his dresser and closet are ready to go. Jamie is here this weekend and she's going to help me purge and organize to make room for all the new baby stuff.

Speaking of new baby stuff, our registries are started at Babies R Us and at Target (Amazon). Neither one is complete yet, but feel free to start spoiling Tubby anytime. Mostly I just need to add some big ticket items that I want to go to the store and see first (crib, breast pump and decorations, ect.)

Bed rest is going well. I manage to stay off my feet enough so that I have as few as 3-5 contractions a day (down from about 20 or 30). Bored as can be, but visits from Howie and Jamie have helped a lot.

Tubs is now about a foot long and weights between 1.5 and 2 pounds. he just developed his sense of balance, which means he knows when he is flipping in circles and keeping his mommy up all night (can't spank him for it yet).

Ultrasound pictures are up!

Finally added the new pictures of Tubs. Scroll down to the bottom of this blog to see. Not the greatest pictures, but you can see how big he's gotten. We also posted new belly shots.

I other news, Tubby definitely knows Luke's voice and continues to react with kicks, twists and turns when Luke talks to him. It's the sweetest, most amazing experience to watch them playing already.

The contractions haven't completely stopped yet, but seem to only come on when I'm on my feet for too long or walk up stairs/hills. I'll keep off my feet for a few more days to see if they can go away all together. Please keep us in your prayers that these contractions stop or at least continue to be non-labor inducing. Tubby needs to stay in for at least another 14 weeks or so.