Counting Down

The c-section is scheduled for July 17th.  I'll be 37 weeks!  I can't believe we've made it this far.  Actually, yes I can.  This is what we've prayed for, and I've felt a peace that everything was going to be okay.  The night before my first scheduled surgery, my brother gave me a priesthood blessing.  To sum it up, I was told that the surgery and pregnancy would go well and that Baby Maggie would be okay.  Then the insurance continued to deny the surgery, and we left Houston feeling deflated.  But Matt and I kept thinking back to that blessing and had faith that things would work out.  And they have!  We've experienced best case scenario in almost every way.  Are we grateful enough?

I'll deliver at University of Utah Hospital, and Maggie will go over to Primary Children's Hospital to be evaluated and cared for by those specialists.  Best case scenario...Maggie can breathe and eat on her own and won't need any immediate surgeries!  Maybe she'll get to go home in 5-7 days!  Maybe I'll even get to hold her after she is born! Maybe she'll be able to lay on her back instead of only on her stomach!  It will be so different than Davey's birth.

Every week I go to a doctor appt.  Boring!  They do an ultrasound and non-stress test.  Our only concern is a pocket of fluid on the brain that is in an unusual place, above the cerebellum.  It seems to have developed in the past three weeks, but doctors are unsure of the cause or significance, and so we'll wait for a CAT scan once Maggie is born.  I try not to worry or think about it too much.

I still spend my days at home.  The stair climbing is limited, although I do cheat and go up and down more than once.  Kate always tattles to Matt, so I can't get away with much.  I walk from room to room and can do small things around the house like make ramen noodles and fix sandwiches.  It's been so long since I've vacuumed or cleaned a toilet!  So the "pregnancy nesting" isn't an option for me which drives me crazy.

The pain comes and goes.  As I get bigger, the internal stretching causes a lot of discomfort.  As with all pregnant women, nights are the worst, and I wake up a lot.

Getting out of the house is a treat, and I'm stuck to my wheel chair to run errands.  It's funny when I'm in my wheel chair and then stand up to reach something or walk a couple steps.  People look like, "Is she faking it?"  I am a grown woman, and I still get embarrassed by the attention and stares from people.  But my wheels are temporary, and I wonder what it's like for Davey to be stared at everyday we go into public.

Speaking of Davey, his 4th birthday was on Saturday.  July is my favorite month because Davey and I have our birthdays and we are surrounded by family who come to visit!  It's fun to be with parents, cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles who we rarely see throughout the year.  And now we'll get to add Maggie's birth to our celebrations.