Baby Easton Update

Highlights:

1- Who would have thought this singleton pregnancy would kick my butt like it has after such a non complicated multiple pregnancy?
2- My body is done, my brain is even MORE done with pregnancy
3- Bedrest is hard.
4- I'm having Easton this Friday - November 2nd!!! (if not before)

Now, for further details, if your interested....

Oh buddy, I can truly say that I have not once questioned why God put you in our family - maybe I've questioned circumstances surrounding it, but why you have made it this far, never. You have been a total shock, surprise, hard to figure out, blaze your own path kind of kid since the moment you were made. Most things dealing with your pregnancy have not been easy or expected for me. I have many times felt like this was my first pregnancy! I had many, many new symptoms of pregnancy that I never had with the twins (rough reflux, braxton hicks contractions,  morning sickness all day for 17 weeks!!). :( Of the symptoms that were the same, I had them more intensely, longer than I did with the twins (flu like/ cold symptoms in the morning, joints in my fingers popping out of joint from fluid, popping out like a water balloon so early). We have had new experiences together (like kidney's that stopped working, kidney stones, hospitalizations and now preeclempsia) that I would again, not call easier or better. But, my goodness, we have both made it to this point (37 weeks!!!!) where at least we know you will be strong and healthy. I will always have this hard pregnancy far away from home and help to look back on as assurance that you have one majorly important purpose in this world and in our family! :)

So last time I updated on here, I was "taking it easy" the weekend my sister and brother in law came up. The following week, I expected to hear raving reports at my OB since I was such a good little patient! Nope. Wrong Again. The Doctor told me horror stories of Preeclempsia and how dangerous it was to me and how I wouldn't know I was close to a stroke until it was too late...bla, bla, bla.....and then said the "b" word to me: bedrest. I explained I had 2yr old twins at home, a mom and mother-in-law 500 miles away and a husband who needed to work since that is why we are up in this place to begin with!!!! She didn't have any real stress-relieving options so I just sent some emails to friends asking them to pray for guidance and of course called our family members. They all offered to come running to the rescue as I knew they would...but we wanted to see how much we could handle on our own before using up our resources before Easton is even here! So we agreed I would let the twins rule the roost, pull out toys, the kitchen would be a mess, our laundry would measure up to Mt Kilimanjaro and I would just lay there. and lay there. And flip to the other side and lay there. Then switch couches/rooms and lay there. I can't believe I ended up on bedrest with this pregnancy too. So that is what we have done....it helped for about 2 weeks...my bp came down and my proteins stayed the same.

This guy is something else. He is just awesome. I told you all how he stepped up to AND beyond the plate when we had the twins. Most dads don't have to be "full time" from the start doing everything the mom is doing with their own baby in hand (feeding, changing, burping, bouncing, clothing etc...). He did so wonderfully, calmly, thankfully and encouragingly. (that's alot of "ly" words, huh?) Anyway, if I bear the burden of bedrest so does he. He works all day, comes home and does all of the housework plus twin duty you can think of....THEN he gets to work on my nesting list :) Love him. Love him!

So that catches us up to now....on Saturday, I barely left the couch...I felt HORRIBLE. At one point, I wondered if I was in labor / back labor / something! I felt much different all of a sudden - very puffy, very swollen, strong headaches and indescribable fatigue. I even fell asleep while I was home with the twins by myself...NOT good and something I would NEVER do if I was 100%. Well, on Monday at my appointment, she checked me and I was almost 3 cm....hmmmm so something was happening! I have been having stress tests every other day for about a week and a half now and while Easton has looked great on them, I've been contracting on them too. hmmmm ok. Then she pulled up my labs that had been sent off over the weekend. Yep..my proteins had jumped from 211 to 292. NOT good. Basically, at 300, you are sent straight to the hospital to be monitored and possibly induced on the spot. Oh geez. So I have the preeclempsia we tried to avoid, the bedrest isn't working anymore and apparently my Doc doesn't play around with this. She said, "time to induce, pick your day." I asked some quick questions like "is Easton big enough? are his lungs developed enough at 37 weeks etc..." She said the quick answer was "yes" but the real answer was it didn't matter...I was headed towards a bad condition and she was not going to sit around and let me get sick just waiting. She probably would have preferred me go as early as Wed, but I explained I HAD to get help up here and the storm was causing some flight issues where my help was coming from on the East Coast. So....we agreed to Friday at 10 am!

My mom moved her ticket up from next Monday the 5th to this Wed the 31st ( I secretly think it had to do with her having to see the twins in their adorable superman/superwoman costumes hehe)...but they had her going through Baltimore. Ummm Baltimore airport is closed thanks to our friend Sandy. So, long story short, about 10pm last night she got a new ticket going through another airport so she will be here Wed night. Hallelujah! Just as He always has...Jesus worked it all out. Now, we are getting ready to have this little miracle rascal join us!

I'm so.very. thankful that we are as healthy and far along as we are. We have had some scary moments from the very beginning. I have accepted the fact that God just didn't make my body to be pregnant without major bumps and major faith testing. I'm ok with that. He didn't heal things to be a easy, carefree, "glowing", expectant time for me...but He has given me two gorgeous kids already and a very didn't-think-it-would-happen miracle coming up on Friday. My body is tired from having 3 kids in 2 years and my mind is ...well, it is just done with wrestling with getting pregnant, staying pregnant etc... I say all of that to be real, but I also say it delicately. You must understand I thank God literally and continually for allowing me to even carry a child...no matter how hard it is, how hard he has been kicking my right side ribs :), etc... I have my hand on my stomach pretty much all of the time soaking up his movements and being grateful for them. It makes NO sense to me why parenthood had to be such an incredible roller coaster of highs and lows for us, but I know I for one learned some pretty stellar lessons I otherwise would not have.

I'll be 38 weeks exactly on Friday....pregnant one week and one day longer than I was with the twins - CRAZY! I'm sitting at 35 lbs gained....a good 8-10 of which is fluid I gained in one week! Boooo preeclempsia! I'm amazed that my belly was as big as it was with the twins. I'm a solid 6 inches smaller around than I was with the twins at delivery. sheesh! It's hilarious how unprepared I am for Easton as opposed to the twins. His nursery isn't finished, I don't have near enough diapers stocked, carseat isn't in a car, I just packed my bag last night and so on... I knew I would be on bedrest with the twins so everything was done by 33 weeks or so! I thought I had some time with this little guy. Ha- surprise again! He has a place to sleep, some diapers and clothes washed....we will make it!

So....pray for us! The doctor thinks things should go well, smooth and quickly on Friday looking at how my delivery went with the twins so fast. I'm not quite in agreement...what makes you think that this child -  a surprise, complicated pregnancy will go smooth, as planned, calm etc... haha! Wouldn't that be some serious irony? Anyway, thanks for your support even from far away! Hope to post some pics of what is sure to be one handsome little boy this weekend!

My view these days....

- Kc

Movie Monday : Masked Jenna

What am I going to do with her? Serious question ! I walked in to find Jenna like this after nap time....

And let me set you up with some things to watch for: those are her pajama pants over her face. Notice halfway through, the debacle she finds herself in when she is trying to put her paci in her pajama pants-covered mouth :) This too was from much earlier in the summer since the Catepillar paci has passed on now too.

Aunt Robin's Gymnastics Academy

oh my word. Even if you guys don't know my sister very well....PLEASE watch these videos. Seriously funny stuff. This was when we were down in NC playing around. If you know my sister at all you know that Gymnastics was NEVER in her future (any of us Thompson girls really) so it's hilarious that she is so into it here. And yes while Jenna has some mad jumps, I think she is lacking the "graceful artistry" and "fluidity" that a Gymnast requires :)

The first video is the Beginner level.




This video is the advanced class and advanced sass. You will see Jenna does NOT like her routine interrupted. Let's all rate Aunt Robin's form on this one too :)

The Snug .... aka Snuggle

So I mentioned on here briefly that we gave Snuggle to a foster family a few weeks ago. Oh my goodness! I felt like I was giving my first born up to strangers on the street! It was not a pleasant experience, but one that had to be done. He is in great hands now with a woman who wants to put her attention into a dog, has the time to do so, and has lots of experience dealing with dogs who are re-homed. If you know me at all, you know Snuggle was truly my "first born" and that God had to majorly change my heart for me to see Snuggle was better off somewhere else. Just like the dreaded minivan in my driveway, I may not be happy about the specific item or situation in my season of life right now, but I am oh so thankful for the reason why (aka my many kids in not many years). :)

So, to go out with happy thoughts....a post on Snuggle, the Snug, Snuggy-Duggy:

Ryan bought Snuggle for me our first Christmas married.

This is right after we brought him home....so cute and tiny!

This is my sisters favorite pic of Snuggle...he looks so rabid and fierce:)

You know he was truly mine if he loved the beach and sand...he did!

Snuggle loving the beach house....and oh my, look how young we look!?

Oh yes, I was that Pet Parent...had to get him in the Christmas spirit!

Taking the boat out for a ride

He is very talented with fun tricks

And no, it wasn't always lovey lovey. He frequently managed to find a way to aggravate Ryan somehow.

Doesn't look too thrilled with his Halloween Costume

 

Anytime I worked from home, this is where you would find him. My definition of work/life balance:)

No one told him he was a dog...he thought he was a member of the family around the table too!

He was so very encouraging to others when they weren't feeling well

My Grandma LOVED snuggle! And he always seemed to know that she was extra fragile and would lay right down beside her and be calm, let her stroke his fur.

He was my bedrest buddy before the twins came...kept me lots of company!

And then came the twins...he loved them!

He let them torment him in his crate, locking him in and out, in and out

This was Snuggle's spot when it was bottle time...right in the middle

He kept the twins company by playing with them during blanket time (and yes stealing and destroying some toys)

He was Jenna's dance partner and walking instructor

He particularly loved Caden's backrubs

Jenan was better at the belly rub...

He had no idea how good he had it!

They would often come up to him and give him head hugs while he was perched on top of the couch

 

never too far away from the twins and Ryan

 

 

We miss you Snuggle, but know you are where you need to be and can get all the attention you require. It was a sweet, soft, furry, cuddly, snuggly 7 years!

 

Movie Monday:Got the giggles

I have so many PRECIOUS videos of the twins from my phone-I simply have to share with all of our family, and friends, if your interested. They show a real glimpse into life these crazy days. So I'll spread them out over a few Mondays. Enjoy!!!

The first here is the sound of my sweet boy belly laughing. I can't remember what Ryan was doing now to make him laugh this hard! And yes, this was back in the summer as you can tell from the sear-sucker flip flop dress.

Movie Monday Catch Up: Wee Bitty Wrestling

I'm catching up on Movie Mondays since I got our videos uploaded correctly now. Enjoy! I totally forgot about this video until I was converting all of them a few weeks ago. It is WAY up there in my favorites folder. This is from the summer when they were in their wrestle mania mode. On this particular day, I was able to capture Caden as the aggressor....a very rare sighting! I LOVE how you can hardly deter Jenna's focus from the TV...I've told you guys how much she LOVES watching TV so we just have to keep it off during the day. I also love how, if the roles were reversed as usual, Caden would be SCREAMING for her to leave him alone. Jenna acts like she is just humoring him by playing along. And I LOVE that my kids have each other to wrestle with :) We have already seen his skills in the basketball world, but if that falls through...then check out some of his moves - I'll have to prepare myself the next 10 years mentally if wrestling is going to be part of our everyday sporting events. (!!!)

What a weekend

Yea, we are halfway into this week yet we are still trying to recover from this past weekend. Sorry to be such a blog slacker. I have list of like 9-10 topics to blog about - it simply doesn't make it on the top of the list each day or night. Anyway I'll do my best to catch up on life up here in Ohio before the newest Little man makes his debut (which keep reading...could be earlier than any of us thought!) and hogs the blog.

Here is a glimpse in to our lately:

Last weekend (5-7th): we make our way back to Ohio from our marvelous trip in NC....always sad, but I did great this time! The next few months are filled with family visits, my favorite holidays, seeing my kids experience holidays and traditions and the birth of my little surprise miracle. Ready.Set.Go.

Monday morning: waltz into my 34 week appointment and start it off with a bang! The scale says I've gained 9 lbs in 2 weeks.....ummmm scuse me? Yes, I enjoyed my southern vacation and home cooked meals, but not 9 lbs worth...nope no way. In fact, now that I think of it, one night in NC, I told my parents my hands and feet had blown up! I even went so far as to go to the Rite Aid and check my blood pressure in the  machine thing. It all seemed ok so I went on thinking it was the lovely NC heat. Well, they check my BP and tell me to go lie down on my left side in the exam room. Apparently it was quite high. Anyway, the doctor comes in saying my other labs have come back bad too so she is sending me to get a work up of other labs to rule out PreEclampsia. WHAT? Not cool. At least those 9 lbs are mostly fluid and not extra Casey. But I leave thinking it's all ok and we will just role with these punches too. Besides...when is the last time ANYTHING with Easton was not a surprise? :)

Thursday: I send Ryan out to do some grocery shopping for our guests coming in (my sister and brother in law!!!) He comes home hours later...never made it to the grocery store. Ryan witnessed a car accident where two teenagers were hit crossing the street. He was one of the FEW (what is WRONG with people these days????) that stopped to help. The young girl he went to go help died on the scene. Understandably, he came home and had a tough time shaking the events of the evening.

Friday: Day of Doom I have dreaded since I found out I was pregnant with twins....not Easton....the twins. I always thought that with the demands of twins, I would have to giveaway my firstborn, my dog Snuggle. But my parents stepped in and did waaay too much keeping Snuggle for a YEAR at their house while we figured out life with two kids all of a sudden. Snuggle did so great with the twins I thought we had made it! Then he had a spell around Christmas where he acted out a bit into some bad marking habits. Then we moved up here to Ohio and I could barely get off the couch during my pregnancy sickness...anyway, the amount of time I could give to Snuggle went into the negatives. I forgot if I had fed him, let him out, many times I forgot I let him out and therefore didn't remember to go let him back in! He continued to be the best dog I could have asked for with the twins...they LOVED him and he let them show that love in very rough ways :) However, he got to the point that anytime I was dealing with the twins and not showing attention to him...he would go act out in aggression and pee on something. It was really like having 3 kids in diapers...pee.all.the.time!  Anyway, more on that later, but this day was the day the Foster family we found for him was ready to pick him up. I wept like I haven't done in a long time off and on all night. In fact, I think I'll move on from this topic now.

Earlier in the day, my doctor called back with my labs...across the board not good. The sum is that my kidneys aren't working properly anymore. This could be tied to my kidney infection/stone incident earlier or it couldn't. Helps alot, doesn't it :) I was 60 "points" away from being diagnosed with full blown PreEclempsia and being hospitalized. If it continued to climb, they would induce and take Easton. My orders were to take it easy for the weekend. What a great day! I cried over this too - overwhelmed with the task of taking care of my kids outside the womb while needing to rest and "take it easy" to take care of my kid still inside the womb. ugh.....all of a sudden, I'm not doing so great again up here away from countless willing friends and family.

Saturday - Monday: My sister and brother in law fly in! Divinely, they made arrangements back in the summer to come this weekend. It was perfect: they played and watched the twins so I could rest and put my swollen feet up. We had a wonderful weekend playing, giggling, eating, and being together. Caden breaks out in hives off and on all weekend - we still can't figure out what he may have come into contact with or what we have done differently around here lately. ugh.

Monday: I go in for my BP check. I have to go in twice a week now so they can keep an eye on things. Thank the LORD - it is down to an "ok" level. Still higher than it ever was with the twins (!?!) but not on-the-way-to-the-hospital high. I get to stay on the twice a week schedule for now. whew! So Aunt Robin, Uncle Brad and Ryan get an A+ in keeping Casey pregnant another week. Monday night: Jenna throws up 4 times...all over our carpet and Ryan.

Now it is Tuesday: Jenna threw up again this morning. The carpet still smells like throw up (yes, we cleaned it up last night) and I have changed 6 very disgusting runny diapers as of lunch time.

And that was our weekend. We will appreciate your prayers on any topic listed above. Aren't we nice like that? Providing multiple areas of prayer for you? giggle, giggle. :) Anyway, here are some pictures from Aunt Robin and Uncle Brad's save-the-day visit:

Watching some Thomas the Train....shirts vs skins style.

We went back to the Childrens Science museum, Cosi, where they were having a huge Lego attraction. The kids could build things with jumbo sized legos.

We went to a local farm / pumpkin patch and enjoyed some pumpkin doughnuts and apple cider. And yes, it was freezing cold!

I forgot how much I LOVE him in a hat. Adorable.