33 Weeks

Yesterday, on Christmas, Lillian Grace turned 33 weeks! Christmas Eve the boys did a wonderful job following my directions, as well as the written recipe for our traditional overnight baked french toast (recipe compliments of Mary Jane). Seeing as I am currently restricted from the kitchen, it was up to Scot and Canyon to carry out the job of preparing this family favorite. They did quite well, minus one "egg-mergency" as Canyon called it, when he dropped some egg on the floor! The following morning, we were all delighted as we ate our breakfast and opened presents (Lillian even enjoyed herself and expressed it by jabbing me in my sides)!

This was a very un-traditional Christmas for us considering the circumstances, however, it was a good one! We reminded Canyon that this would be his last Christmas as an only child, hopefully he enjoyed it.

The Singing Grandmas

Today's visit with Dr. Christensen was a long one, but so very worth it! Scot and I went in and had what felt like a 45 minute ultrasound appointment - and much to our surprise, the tech showed us our little bundle of joy in 3D.

During our appointment Dr. Christensen confirmed that Lillian Grace is successfully gaining 1/2 pound per week, bringing her current weight to 4 lbs 7 oz. Such a big girl!!! I, on the other hand, have gained a total of 23 lbs. so far...an even bigger girl!

The most fantastic news of all (besides the fact that I am DONE with bed rest in two weeks), was that little Lily has finally turned. She is no longer breech. This, I must attribute to the Singing Grandmas. Just yesterday, Grandma "Macsay", and Grandma "Holmes" sang their loving rendition of The Byrds, "Turn! Turn! Turn!". So moving and heartfelt, Lily actually listened to their pleas and did just that. Thank you Grandmas!!

Nursery Photos Part 2

I sit and observe the process from Canyon's inflatable chair. My mom checks in as well, in between laundry, washing floors, and dusting.

My dad and Scot did an excellent job at putting up the chair rail! My dad went on to put up her blinds and curtain rods, while Scot got other things squared away around the house.

The curtains still need to be ironed, but here is a sneak preview of the coming attraction. I should add that the curtains only look so beautiful because of the new windows that Scot installed.

That is Scot's toy box from when he was a little guy, Canyon's from his "youth", and now it is Lily's! Of course, the television will be going - as soon as we find a new home for it.

Proud Daddy!

32 Weeks

Week 32 brings lots of excitement! I am home to count down another week for the first time in about six weeks, Lillian's room is on it's way to being finished, Christmas is in less than a week, and little Lily's arrival is getting closer! I am feeling great, minus all of the aches and pains of being stuck in a bed going on my 7th week. I think I am going to need some serious physical therapy after this little ordeal is over and done with. My belly is getting bigger, and I KNOW I am about to jinx myself with the next thing I am going to say: Still no stretch marks. My next doctor visit is tomorrow afternoon, I am not sure if she will do an ultrasound or not. I am hoping so, I would love to see how much this little munchkin weighs now, and am keeping my fingers (toes, eyes, arms, and legs too) crossed that she has turned out of her Frank Breech position.


Being on bed rest at home is DEFINITELY much better than in the hospital - hands down. However, it definitely has its challenges. Perhaps I need a little silver bell, but even with that little bell, I don't have the conveniences of the nurses, techs, room service, and concierge. I should however point out that just like when I was in the hospital, my mom comes to sit with me most days during the week. Actually, she doesn't do a lot of sitting. She has kept herself busy cleaning, do laundry, and decorating for Christmas. Scot is busy with work, and when he is home, he takes the time to "fix me up". He is a stickler about me getting up. If there is anyone I have to watch out for, it is him! This morning, Scot, Riley, and I sat in our bed. Scot made a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, whole wheat toast with cream cheese, and homemade hash browns. But here's the tear jerker (for me at least), Scot has never in our 11 years of knowing each other, EVER, put Christmas music on. Well, before he brought the breakfast upstairs, he did just that...and I have to admit, it brought a tear to my eye. What a splendid morning!

PS...Lillian Grace has the hiccups right now. ;)

Baby Update

*This post was originally written when I was about 28 weeks, however, I was having severe difficulty getting the heartbeat sounds to post. It wasn't until after I returned home that my favorite (uber smart) boy, Lily's big brother Canyon, was able to help me.*

Click on the file below to hear little Baby Shapiro's strong heartbeat. I get to hear this four to six times per day. They hook my belly up to this contraption that measures her heartbeat, movements, and contractions for twenty minutes. YOU WILL HAVE TO PAUSE THE CHRISTMAS MUSIC THAT IS PLAYING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE, PRIOR TO PRESSING PLAY ON THE VIDEO. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS, YOU WILL HEAR BOTH MUSIC AND LILY'S HEARTBEAT.

Since I am confined to my hospital room, my resources to "make things work" are limited. So, it is up to my creativity to find ways to make everything work for me. Let me share a story that really exemplifies this. I LOVE the cream of chicken soup they serve here. However, it should be renamed cream of chicken broth, because there is absolutely nothing in the soup except for the creamed broth. The flavor is what really does it though...it definitely tastes chickeny. The first few days of eating it, I was more than fine with this. After about a week, I figured I had to make some changes to their secret Winnie Palmer recipe. I (creatively) looked at their menu and ordered sides of tasty morsels that would help to make a spectacular (in the world of hospital food) cream of chicken soup. Here they are: steamed carrots, steamed rice, and a grilled chicken breast. I have discovered that if I "chop" these ingredients up, and toss them into the soup base...Voila! Homemade cream of chicken soup. An added bonus is that I sort of feel like I am cooking again! Hmmmm....this gives me an idea, maybe I should write a recipe book for Winnie Palmer patients titled, "How to Make the Most of Your Hospital Food"! Haha!

As for this picture below, it is our little munchkin's face. It's slightly blurry, because following in my creative ways, I have had to take a picture of the ultrasound picture so that I could download that to my laptop (remember, limited resources, no scanner)

A Whirlwind of Events

I am pleased to announce that this post has been written from the comfort of my own home. Yesterday, Dr. Christensen appeared in my hospital room bright and early. In his hands I saw a pair of latex exam gloves (I know, TMI for some of you). However for me, I was thrilled, I knew that those gloves could be the key to my release from the hospital. Leading up to this day from my last post, I had started to break down emotionally. Let me catch you up to speed on a few things:

- There had been a rather plump fruit fly living in my room for quite some time. On any normal given day, I would have squashed that fruit fly in two seconds flat. Unfortunately, after several weeks in the hospital, I started to understand the solitary mind of a prisoner. I was actually able to relate to those stories of the inmate that had affectionately cared for the rat in their cell, or the cockroach that lived under their bunk...for me, it was a fruit fly named Ditto. Ditto had become the one constant in my daily life at the hospital. He (yes, it was a he) would fly by and with the same type of excitement that I would muster up for a good friend, I would say hello to him. I know it was really bad when one night, Scot, not even thinking twice, tried to kill that nuisance of a bug flying around his head...."No, you killed Ditto!" I shouted. Thank goodness, his aim wasn't very good, and Ditto survived his first attack (the second would come from my nurse Marianne - which he also survived).

- I woke up one morning in tears. Not just tiny tears trickling down my face - a waterfall, rolling down my cheeks. And what was even worse? I could not, for the life of me, turn those waterworks off. As Murphy's Law would have it, a girl from concierge came to my room to deliver a letter...right in the middle of my meltdown. I tried to pretend like everything was okay, until she asked me if I was alright. Didn't she know that asking a pregnant woman who had been in the hospital for over a month, if they were okay was a HUGE no-no. That just led to more tears as I tried my best to nod and give her a smile. Without fail, a few moments later my nurse arrived to check on me (with a little motivation from the one that had just left my room, I'm sure). Again, the waterworks came, with a little uncontrollable shaking...and just pure frustration for everything that was going on. Due to this event, my very sensitive nurse Karin spoke to my doctor by kindly telling him I had hit a wall, and that I needed a little motivation. So, they removed me from the toco (contraction monitor which I had been on 24 hours per day), and gave me 30 minute wheel chair privileges back.

Now, back to the latex gloves...Dr. Christensen had originally told me we could discuss my options at 32 weeks. I was only 31 weeks and 4 days when had showed up in my room that morning. Without any arguing from me, he examined me and informed me that I was 1cm dilated and although the ultrasounds showed I was 100% effaced, I was in fact only about 70%...I could go home and spend the rest of my pregnancy on bed rest there! Just in the nick of time, because honestly, I do not think I could have spent another hour, let alone day, in that hospital! It was (I know this will sound weird), bitter sweet. I was thrilled to finally be going home after just about six weeks there. However, I was going to miss many of the nurses and techs that tenderly looked after me daily. Many of them came to say goodbye and wish me luck.

The picture below was taken at 31 weeks, only a few short days priro to my release!

A *Sigh* of Relief

I woke up yesterday morning feeling that a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. We have finally made it to week 30. There's just something about moving from the 20s to the 30s that makes me feel overwhelmingly good. Yesterday, Scot and I took a tour of the NICU here at Winnie Palmer. This was fantastic, because not only did we get to see the facilities and the teeny-tiny babies, but I was able to escape my hospital bed for the fourth time in a month. What an amazing place! Considering all of the critical care babies that were being tenderly nursed to a healthy size, there was an overall sense of peace. The doctors and nurses were gentle and very optimistic. We even met a neonatologist that also lives in Maitland and had four sons that played baseball through Maitland Little League. Although we enjoyed our conversation with him, we politely told him that we hope not to have to see him again. :) When they first wheeled me into the NICU, I had to hold back the tears...I couldn't believe how many babies there were. And although I wasn't necessarily sad, after all, these babies were alive and in a great place, for the first time I truly felt like everything would be okay. If Lily were to end up there, she would be just fine. It wasn't until they showed us a 3lb baby (approximately the size of Lillian right now) that it hit me...that little baby is in my belly...and I will do whatever it takes to keep her there to make her big and strong!

Lillian's brain is growing daily, beginning to show those characteristic grooves and wrinkles. The nurses give me an Omega 3 vitamin every morning to help boost this process. Now that she is able to regulate her own body temperature, she is starting to shed her lanugo - the soft hair that has covered her body for months. Some of the very premature babies we saw yesterday looked like baby Chewbakas with all of that body fur...a common characteristic of premies.

I have to be on a continuous toco monitor which measures my contractions, that's what is around my belly. As of last Wednesday's ultrasound, I was 1.5cm dilated and 100% effaced. I will go for another ultrasound this week to check my measurements as well as Lillian's size. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there haven't been any major changes, because my doctor is considering a release date of 12/18, as long as I am not dilated more than 3cm by then. I sure hope I get to spend Christmas at home!