Snakes in the City

Zoe found a snake in our house this afternoon! She pointed at it saying "Snake!" over and over. I didn't really take it seriously until Brandon yelled, "There's a snake in the house!" Luckily it was a garden snake. After the herding method didn't work, I got a stick from outside. I was able to pin its head down and pick it up. After letting our kids and neighbor kids touch it, we let it go-away from our house. Lucky for the snake, Brandon didn't get it. He said he wouldn't be able to handle the wiggling and would have killed it. He can kill all the spiders he wants (I can't stand spiders) but a little guy like this wasn't so bad.

Update on Peyton

My fluid is back to normal!!! Hooray! My doctor really thought that I had ruptured my water and was prepared to keep my in the hospital and do an amnioinfusion (inject more amniotic fluid). The risk with an amnioinfusion is that if my water wasn't broken previously, this could break it. Since Peyton's heart rate was doing so well, I told the doctor it would be more stressful for me to stay in the hospital and I wanted to wait until I was at least 34 weeks to do an amnioinfusion. I am sooooooo glad I waited. At 34 (this past Monday) my water was at an 8. They still want me to stay on bed rest but I only have to go to the doctor once a week, rather than 3. It looks like I am going to go to term. I am so happy!

Thank you everyone for praying for my fluid!

Dentist Family Fun

This morning the kids had a dentist appointment and they both did really well. This was Zoe's first visit to the dentist and it was so cute to see her little body in that huge chair. Both of them are so proud that their teeth are shiny and clean. No cavities for either of them which is a huge blessing because Mommy wasn't so lucky.

Last Tuesday I had a root canal. Did I wake up in the morning knowing I was going to have a root canal? NO. I had been having some pain from a tooth I chipped earlier during this pregnancy. I decided to call the Dentist to make an appointment thinking I would get in some time after Peyton was born. I hadn't called the Dentist before now because I thought pregnant women couldn't go to the Dentist. Turns out, you can! Well, they had an opening on the same day, told me I needed a root canal to stop the pain, and said they could do it right then...lucky me. Fortunately, it sounds a lot worse than it is. The actual procedure wasn't bad at all. I was just a bit sore the next day. I was very fortunate to find such a great dentist that had a cancellation on the same day. I am so glad that I don't have any more throbbing pain when I eat cold food!

Peyton News

This past Tuesday I had a routine Ultrasound and things didn't go quite as planned. Peyton is healthy and doing well but for some reason I am not producing enough amniotic fluid. On a scale of 1-10, I am at a 5. I need to be at an 8 or above. The first thing we had to rule out was whether or not my water had already broken. Thankfully, it has not! Next, they thought I might be dehydrated. They kept me over night and pumped me full of a lot of fluid for the following 24 hours. Three scenarios could have happened. 1) my fluid decreased and I would have to be induced to get Peyton out. 2) it would stay the same and I would have to be monitored and on moderate bed rest in the attempt to keep Peyton in until 36 weeks. 3) my fluid would go up, I would be monitored but as long as my fluid stayed up I would be able to go to term. The worry is that as Peyton gets bigger and heavier, he will squish his umbilical cord and not get the oxygen/nutrients he needs. The more fluid, the better he floats.

Well, we didn't get the worst case scenario...thank goodness but, we didn't get the best case either. My fluid stayed the exact same. I am on moderate bed rest. Meaning, I can do a few things but will be spending a lot of time on the couch. I have gotten a steroid shot to help Peyton's lungs develope and I will go to the hospital twice a week to be monitored. If my fluid stays the same I will be induced at 36 weeks (3 1/2 weeks from now). If it goes down, I will be induced immediately. If it goes up, they will keep observing me but let my pregnancy keep going. Basically, the goal is to get as close to my due date as possible.

We know that everything will be ok. This just isn't exactly what we had in mind for this pregnancy. Please pray for my fluid :)

Labor Day Weekend

The Engstrom Family (my cousin Jenalyn and her family) were able to come down from New Jersey and visit us this Labor Day weekend. It was great to have some family time and our kids love playing with each other! On Saturday we packed a big lunch and went to Burba Park here on base. We thought there was a lake there but it is a small man made body of water that is pretty to look at. Our plan was to rent a canoe to take the kids out on the water but boats are not allowed at Burba. Instead the kids went "fishing." Cute little rods and reels with fish stoppers at the end...no hooks. We took our dog Charlie and let everyone run around and play. It was a beautiful day! After the little ones had their naps, we went to a pool party with our church. The party was very gratifying for me because at 7 1/2 months pregnant, I raced two military men and won...twice! It was a lot of fun but I don't think those guys will ever live it down. Everyone had a blast at the pool except Jacob. When we got there we was so excited he ran into another bigger kid and went splat! He scraped his ankle and knee and was unhappy from then on. When we finally got him home, he told me, "Mommy I need to rest!"

We had a great time with the Engstrom's and can't wait to do it again!

Zoe LOVES the water!

32 weeks pregnant

Unhappy Jacob. This is after we doctored his cuts.

Jacob and Adam...best friends!

Nerf guns and ammo belts, what could be better?

A common interest...dirt

Gone Fishin'