Week Four - April 22nd - 28th

Day 21

It was a great feeling to wake up this morning and realize that I've made it to 30 weeks! The Lord is definitely answering our prayers!!

Today has been a nice day. I had a nice quiet morning. I usually spend my Sunday mornings watching BYU TV. It's kind of like going to church. They even show a sacrament meeting. Then when Chad and the boys get done with church, they come over to the hospital and give me the sacrament. That is another wonderful blessing!

After a short visit the boys went home to have lunch and take naps. Then they came back around dinnertime. Today they brought their dinner and had it with me. I love having dinner guests! The boys stayed until around 8 o'clock when some of my Relief Society sisters came by to visit.

I said goodbye to the boys and then had a nice visit with my friends. They gave me a recap on todays Relief Society lesson. It was very thoughtful for them to think of me. I have been really impressed with the little things people have thought of to bring me. Hopefully I can repay them by helping someone else in the same way they've helped me.

Tomorrow I will begin my fourth week at the hospital. Many people have asked me if I'm bored out of my mind, but I really haven't been. I really feel like I am being blessed because of all of your prayers. Thank you all so much for all that you do for me and for my family. We love you.

Day 22

Today was a good day, but a little different than the rest. It started off with swollen hands.

I forgot to mention it last night, but my hands started bothering me yesterday. At first they seemed a little itchy and I thought it was because they were dry. Well, by the time evening rolled around they are starting to swell. I told the nurses and they told me just to keep an eye on my hands and let them know if it got worse.  Throughout the night they did get worse and by morning they were pretty swollen. There was also a little pain in my wrist. The doctor looked at it and thought it might be carpel tunnel, so he had the physical therapist come down and look at my hands.

In the meantime, I started to notice other areas getting itchy as well.  I think I was allergic to something.  To make a long story short, the physical therapist gave me some exercise to do and Benadryl was ordered for me. I also got an anti-itch cream. Hopefully by tomorrow morning the itching will have stopped! The swelling and itching haven't been fun, but one of the tender mercies is that I was able to sleep well last night despite my swelling hands.

Enough about me though, I'm sure you want to know how Ashlyn did on her test today. She did well again, except she didn't get a 10 out of 10. She got an 8/10 because she didn't breathe for 30 continuous seconds. She did breathe during ultrasound, but not for long enough, so she didn't get her two points. I haven't talked to the doctors yet about the score, so I don't know if they will do anything differently. Part of me thinks they won't because she is still really active and has a strong heartbeat. Plus tonight she had the hiccups several times for at least five minutes. The ultrasound technician told me that hiccups count when they are checking the breathing, so I'm not really concerned.

My fluid levels continue to be good. Today They went down a little, but not by much. My fluid level is 8.26. I was very glad to find that out. She is still breech but there's enough fluid in there for her to turn, we'll see if that happens.

Today I had several visitors. It always makes my day pass by better and quicker when I have visitors. I was also able to talk to some of you on the phone today, which was nice!  One of my friends brought me a bowl of fresh fruit.  She new I had been getting a lot of sweets, so she changed things up a little.  I loved it!  What a wonderful surprise!

Chad and the boys were my last visitors. They were all pretty tired so they didn't stay very long.  Chad was especially tired today. He is doing a great job, but the busy days are catching up to him. Please remember him in your prayers also.

We love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week. Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Day 23

Today things were back to normal. When I woke up my hands felt much better and they looked much better! The swelling had gone down in both hands. Most of my hives/rash stopped itching. Thank you for your prayers.

This morning Chad and I went on a tour of the NICU. Most of the information we already knew, but it was nice to actually go there and see everything.

I had a pretty quiet afternoon.   I read some more in the preemie book and took a nap for a while. Then after dinner Chad and the boys came over and we got to Skype with Grandpa Monroe for his birthday.

I also got to Skype with Lindsay and Misty.  It's almost like they were here, it was fun!

I got a package from the Ashton Family - thank you!  It was filled with all sorts of yummy treats from London - loved it!  The boys also loved seeing the treats.  I was nice and let them sample some of my treats.  I think my favorites were the Buttons and the Revels!  They were all great! It is nice to have treats around for when I just need a little bit of chocolate!  Thanks!

Just in case some of you were wondering, I talked to my doctor about the test score yesterday.  He said he wasn't worried about it.  He figures if the test had run a little longer she would have shown her breathing.  Plus he commented, like I did, that she's still really active and has a strong heartbeat, so he isn't worried. If she scores a six or below then they start to worry a little more.  So all is well!

I have been blessed with so many great nurses.  I have gotten to know several of them.  One of them has been telling me about her daughters upcoming wedding shower.  She told me about all of the arrangements, one of which she was in charge.  She and another one of my nurses were in charge of making cookies that looked like a wedding dress.  She explained to me what they would look like and tonight she brought one in to show me/give me!  I was so impressed.  They were beautiful.  I almost couldn't bring myself to eat it!  It was so touched that they would save one for me.  They also brought me pictures so I could see the whole process.  They stayed up all night making over a hundred of these dresses.

Thank you all for your love and prayers they are really appreciated!!  We love you!

Day 24

Today has been a good day with lots of visitors! I woke up a little tired because during the night my right leg got pretty sore. I think my body is just rebelling against this bed :). Luckily as the day went on my leg felt better.

This morning when I got up there was a little bit of blood in my fluid.  It took me by surprise and worried me.  When Chad arrived I got a little emotional and told him that I was worried.  Chad assured me that everything would be okay, even if Ashlyn came that day.  His words were reassuring.  He offered to give me a blessing, to which I quickly agreed.  The blessing brought back that calm feeling I had experienced so often in the last several weeks.  I am so thankful for the priesthood power.

Chad hung out with me for a little while this morning.  Then my friend, who was watching Austin, came over to visit with me.  They stopped at the store first to get me flowers.  My friend had Austin choose the flowers to get me.  He told her, "Daisies, pink!". So they got me some beautiful Gerbera Daisies!  I love them, Austin knows me well!  I had a nice visit with my friend, Austin and my friend's daughter.

As they were leaving another friend came by. She stayed for a while and then after she left two other friends came by and brought me lunch.  They brought wraps, grapes, drinks and ice cream!  It was great to have lunch with good friends. We had a great time together.

As you might imagine, all the visitors made my morning go by quickly.  I love days like that!

Ashlyn is still doing well.  Today she moved around a lot, especially while she was on the monitor.  She likes to play hide and seek with the monitor, but we eventually get her to stay on long enough and she looks good.

This evening I was blessed with even more visitors! What a wonderful group of friends we have!

We hope all is well with you.  We love you all very much and we appreciate all you are doing for us!

Day 25

So I bet you're all dying to know how Ashlyn did on her test. She did well again this time.  She scored another eight out of ten.  She was shy again, she didn't show her breathing for 30 seconds. The doctors continue to not be worried about that, so I'm not worrying either. My fluid level was good again, it was about 8.6. I am always delighted when I hear that the fluid levels are up!  There must be enough fluid in there because she turned again and she is now head down. Let's hope she stays that way this time!

I did get a little scare in the last day or so.  My fluid was a little pink a couple of times. I wasn't sure what that meant. I waited to talk to a doctor, but the hospital was really busy yesterday and I didn't see a doctor till late in the day. The on-call doctor and the nurse both told me that it could be a blood vessel on my cervix that could've broken.  They said it is not uncommon, even in full-term pregnancies.  They said it would heal on its own. This morning my doctor said it could be a sign that my cervix is changing.  Whatever the cause, they aren't concerned until it turns a bright red or dark red or lasts over several days. It made me feel better.  When it first happened I felt very calm about it. When I saw Chad, and had time to think, I started to worry a little.  Chad gave me a blessing and I felt much better about the situation. I still feel calm, but I realize things may happen before I want them to. Either way I'm just praying Ashlyn will be healthy when she comes out.  I know you are too and I appreciate those prayers, please keep them coming!

The rest of my day was very nice. I had several visitors, which makes my day go a lot faster!  I tried my hand at making hair bows with one of my visitors. I didn't get very far because I had to go do the ultrasound.  Hopefully you'll see the finished product soon :)

I love you all and hope you're having a wonderful week.  I thank Heavenly Father each day for you!

Day 26

Today has been another nice day.  I started the morning by Skyping with Chad and Austin for breakfast.  The boys are off of school today because of an unused snow day.  They spent the morning doing yard work and prepping our garden.

After all their hard work they stopped by the hospital to see me.  They even took me on a walk outside of the hospital. It was nice to get out. The weather was nice, not too hot and not too cold.  It was nice for the boys to get out as well.  They were able to run around for a little while.

I did also have a couple of other visitors today, which was nice.  It helps to break up my day and speeds it up a little!  I also got to Skype with my parents.  They are on their mission, working at the mission home, right now.  Everyday during their lunch break they call me on Skype.  It is great to see them almost everyday!

The boys came back after dinner and brought a little treat!  They must have read my mind, because I was craving a little bit of ice cream.   They brought the ice cream cones with nuts on top.  Yummy!!

After they left I got a visit from a good friend and her girls.  One of her girls just had a birthday party and she wanted to share some of the cake with me.  She also gave me a gift bag.  It had some wonderful treasures inside!  I got a magic wand, a beautiful new ring, a bracelet and some candy!  What more could a girl want ;). It was really cute and thoughtful of her.

Tonight after Ashlyn got off the heart monitor, my nurse commented that Ashlyn was the best looking baby of the night (meaning she looked the best on the monitor)!  She is doing great!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I love you all very much and  thank you again for your prayers.

Day 27

Today has been a nice day.  Usually Saturday's are pretty slow for me, but today wasn't bad.

Today was my stake Relief Society meeting.  Right about the time it was supposed to start I got a call from my Relief Society president. She asked me if I would like to hear the speakers. She suggested that she could FaceTime with me and I could watch the speakers on my iPad (FaceTime is like Skype). I agreed and it worked out really well. I was very touched that she would think of me in the hospital and want to include me. It has been amazing how many small things people have thought to do for me, while I've been here, that have made all the difference.

I was able to watch most of the speakers. I missed part of it because I had some friends stop by. It was nice of them to remember me, especially on a Saturday!

After lunch I had some more visitors. My friend brought her two daughters over to give Ashlyn a present.  They made Ashlyn a tie fleece blanket. They told me it took them around three hours to make. What was really sweet, was they made it from a kit that one of the girls had gotten for her birthday the night before. Ashlyn is already well loved!

At dinnertime, Chad and the boys came  over. They brought pizza, so we were able to have dinner together. While eating, we sat back, relaxed and watched Pirates of the Caribbean. I really love it when they come over for dinner and a movie. It makes things feel a little more normal. Having them here made my Saturday.

People keep asking me if I'm going crazy or if I'm bored out of my mind.  I really am not, however, today I wondered if maybe I am going a little crazy. I looked over at some flowers I had received earlier in the week and it appeared they were looking back at me. See for yourself.  What do you think, am I going crazy?

We have been blessed with so many tender mercies from the Lord. We are again thankful and grateful for all of your love and prayers on our behalf. We love you all and hope you have a wonderful Sabbath day.