Next Journey...

This has been a fabulous week.  I am now 33 weeks...

33 weeks

This weeks sonogram lead to fantastic news from so many angles.

33 weeks : Cute little foot and tiny little toes

1. Baby Grant is measuring, bones and all 3 to 4 weeks ahead.  He is measuring and weighing in as a 36 - 37 weeker.  I can't believe that he is already showing to be 6 lb 3 oz - YEAH!
2. My Preterm Labor hasn't worsened, nor gotten better... but hasn't worsned means that all this bed rest is doing its job.

And with these two good news bubbles, my doctor feels comfortable in my and babies progress that if he was to 'arrive' in the next week or so he knew he would do great... YEAH!!!

This was all such blessed news, but the news that followed was the icing on the cake - I got discharged from the hospital to continue my bed rest at home - FABULOUS!!!!

So I called my boys and they came up to get me ... they were all SO EXCITED.  Before being discharged I had to complete one last in hospital NST.  Greyson is going to be such a good big brother, he LOVES(d) to hear his baby brother moving and shaking during the NST -

Greyson talking with his baby brother

After a rather long wait for discharge, all the information was complete, room was packed and before I knew it I was at home with my boys.  Oh what a wonderful feeling to be able to snuggle in my own bed with my boys next to me.

snuggling at home with my Gavin

Snuggling at home with my Greyson

LOVE my boys!!

 The next morning was filled with having breakfast together, giggles and grins, watching movies and staying  either in bed or on the couch.  So much better than the hospital bed I had been in for over 9 weeks.

But it all makes it worth while to know that the light at the end of the tunnel is coming close and I will before to long be a mommie to another beautiful baby boy!  I am already so blessed with the two I have to hold and snuggle with now, I am so excited to add another soon to our family. 

Me and my very happy Gavin

This journey is not over, but I feel that we have come so far.  I have had a tremendous amount of love and support from my husband, both my boys, and my wonderful Mom and Dad - without these 5 people I don't think I would of been able to be so strong, and positive.  They are a true blessing to me and I thank God for their love and grace during this time of need. 

Now the next journey, waiting for my Grant, starts, but this time it is in the comfort of my own home with my boys next to me everyday!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support during this Baby Waiting Period :o)

Until next time, squeeze your MoNkEyS tight-
Christina

Whether it is through Skype, over facetime or in person, a speical Hello from my babies mean so much to me.  I love to see their smiles, hear their voices and see the excitement over the day on their faces.

So here I share with you pictures that I have taken over the past few days, as I share these days and life with my boys.

Various special visits over the last few days from my boys:

Snuggle time via facetime

Handsome and making sure my bed is still comfy ;)

Morning fun and breakfast via Skype

TOTAL CUTENESS!

teaching me the 'right' way to play Water Game

All three keeping me company

self portrait - love this face!

shopping trip post visit with me...
My hubs shared this picture with me and I LOVE it!!!

Night time visits usually turn into tackle sessions outside on the lawn.
the giggles and smiles are awesome on these nights

tackle fest at its BEST

facetime smiles, I love that he gets so giddy
when he hears my voice :o)

Facetime, dinner with my boys
even though I am not 'there', I am there for the conversation

Facetime Peek A Boo post dinner time

After church visit with this handsome man
LOVE that he can't wait to get up on the bed next to me
when he comes to visit!!

Me and my Greyson

my Gavin making sure my ipad is gaming properly

Pictures and visits I cherish and memories that will last me a lifetime.

These sweet faces are what keep me positive everyday and remind me constantly why I am doing what I am doing.  Another healthy and active boy is our goal and I am getting closer with each glorious day.  I can't believe that in just a few short weeks that I will be a Mom of THREE Handsome boys!  I feel so blessed daily!

Until next time, Squeeze your MoNkEyS tight,
Christina

Valentines 2012

Of course, with everything lately, holidays and such have to be 'tweeked' for our situation, and Valentines was no exception.

As I know that I am so behind on keeping my blog up to date, I thought I would cover Valentines as the total of the celebration instead of by the days that everything happened.  It was a great week and givien the constraints, I think it turned out fabulous.

First was the realization that my baby was going to have a Valentines party.  We just recently enrolled him in Preschool for the first time ever, so this of course if the first holiday party he had in a class room setting.  I was so excited for him.

I was able to make a Valentine card box for him, with limited resources, and he LOVED it.   I ended up not taking a final picture of the product but the picture below is pretty close.   All it took, was an empty shoe box, poster paint, a blush brush (its all I had to paint with), a glue stick, and left over birthday decorations:

Valentines Card Box in progress

The morning of his party, he was so excited.  My Mom had found Spiderman Valentines Cards that had pencils attached, that he loved and enjoyed sharing with his friends.  He was so proud of his Valentines Box, which just made me smile.  And he loved his personalized V-day shirt!!  I had ordered that early on, one for him and one for his brother :)

He so enjoyed it all, and had a blast at his party.  I was just sad that I could not be there to enjoy in the smiles, laughs and festivities... But I LOVED every moment of him telling me and reenacting all the fun he had.

Ready for his P A R T Y

At his first Valentines Party enjoying sweet snacks

Right before Valentines, my wonderful Mom came up to the hospital with a surprise.  She had baked plain cupcakes, and brought up all kinds of goodies.  We spent the entire afternoon decorating cupcakes and dipping strawberries in chocolate. 

It was a day full of giggles and crafting and it was FABULOUS! Plus, it was great to have the Valentines goodies in room for my boys when they came up.

a few of the many beautiful cupcakes we decorated

Yummy chocolate covered strawberries

VALENTINES DAY

Dressed and ready in my RED :)
30 weeks and 6 days

Gifts all ready for my Boys and Hubs

Gavin so excited to open his gift

Greyson prefered to walk around with his gift ;)
He did eventually open it - Ha!

Gavin showing off his goodies

Daddy got a new shirt
Looks like he approves :)  can't wait to see how handsome he looks in it

My boys picked out the most beautiful necklace for me for Valentines Day
I am one LUCKY girl!

Kisses from my Gavin

Me and my boys!
Oh how I LOVE them SO MUCH

My beautiful family
I am so BLESSED!

Greyson
Valentines 2012

Beautiful flowers my boys picked out for me for Valentines Day
They make my room smell so good and they are beautiful to look at!

Valentines Day this year was so special.  And my parents went above and beyond to make sure that I could give my boys something speical for Valentines, they also treated me like a princess with my new outfit and lots of love and activities...

But the icing on the cake was getting to spend the evening having dinner with my boys and exchanging the little gifts that lite up their faces with happiness.  So warmed my heart.

Until next time, Squeeze your MoNkEyS tight!
Christina

Moving Day(s) and a Big 4 birthday!

Jan. 30th, 2012
WOW!  My first born is 4 today... seems like just yesterday he was born, and here I am awaiting the arrival of our 3rd boy - AMAZING!

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet and loving Gavin!!! 
- you mean everything to me!  I love you to the moon and back <3

 - Jan 30, 2008 - God made me this perfect little man's Mommie -
I'm so blessed!

Four years in the blink of an eye and a handsome boy he has become that makes me so proud, daily!

Waking up this morning without being able to be at home with the birthday boy was hard, but little did I know that I was in for a surprise.

I know the doctor's have been talking about transfering me to another hospital, so that I can be back under the care of my Doctor - but I had no idea how that 'plan' would work out.

Last time, when I was on bedrest with Greyson, I was given transfer papers, my husband came up packed me up and drove me straight to the other hospital - sounds logical right, and you would think that this transfer would be the same way but SO did NOT work out that way...

What ended up happening this time, was at 4pm no one could get the 'plan' together so it was decided to just discharge me COMPLETELY!!!  Of course the orders stated that immediately after discharge I was to go straight to my doctors office for evaluation/ readmittance from his office to the new hospital.

Well that sounded logical enough except for the fact that I did not my discharge papers until 4 pm and well ?!?!?!? my doctor's office closes at 4:30 pm.  Which there was NO way that I could get packed up, and from my current hospital to my doctors office.

After a quick 'urgent' phone call to my doctor, the decision was made to follow the discharge papers, go home for the night and come into his office tomorrow for evaluation... WhAt?!?!  Go home?  For one night?  Well okay :o)

And of all days for this to happen - it is actually my baby's birthday!  AMAZING!!!

So we did just that - packed up and headed home:

One last picture of me and Grant at BUMC, sonogram from this morning and a quick belly pic prior to packing:

1.30.12

1.30.12

So of course, by the time that my boys got up to the room, to pick me up - it was dinner time... Dinner time on my Gavin's birthday!!  So we decided to do a 'mini' celebration. 

We were all in the car, my first time in a car in a month, and we headed back towards the house, only to stop off at Chili's for a small birthday dinner celebration.

It was such a blessing to be at the same table as my boys eating dinner!  We ate dinner, and the staff brough the birthday boy out a piece of chocolate cake and ice cream and sang happy birthday to him.  His face lite up and he was SO excited!  He loves attention!!

After dinner - the best part was coming...  I got to go home and be with my boys at home, snuggle in my bed with my babies and kiss them good night!  I can't even begin to explain the sheer elation that I felt during the evening.  It was pure bliss!!

 The evening and nights sleep in my own bed was awesome, but then I had to wake up to reality, again...

Jan. 31st, 2012

Woke up this morning to my oldest, who is usually over the moon excited to go to school, in tears to go because he knew Mommie wasn't going to be home when he got home - <tears>!!!  So I promised him that I would be here and I would not go back into the hospital until I got to see him again.

I didn't know how I was going to accomplish that but I did.  I was able to make my 'evaluation' appointment for after his school pick up.  YEAH, problem diverted!

So now with him off to school, baby down for a nap, it was time for me to 'look around'.  I ended up going into what is going to be the nursery and freaked a bit at what all needs to be done.

But with the help of my wonderful husband, sis in law and brother in law I was able to sit and watch the room come to shape.   I am getting so excited about it now that it is getting started.

Here is a peek at what is going on:

After that was 'done' with what currently could be done, I looked at the clock and the day was getting away from me.  It was time to get in the shower, and then go and pick up Gavin so that we could all go to my evaluation appointment.  WOW that time went fast... but on a side note:  my shower was a awesome!  So much better than the hospital shower.


Got dressed, we all got in the car, picked up Gavin, who was SUPER excited that I kept my promise, got something to eat (drive thru Chick Fil A) and went to the doctor.

WOW - that was a long appointment.  And the outcome was exactly what we thought it would be - I am to be readmitted at least until 34 weeks.   One awesome part of the appointment was I was given the oppurtunity to do a 4d sono with the boys so that they can see their little brother, Grant Kollins.  He is so handsome!!!

28 weeks - Grant Kollins

28 weeks - Grant Kollins

But soon enough, the appointment was over, we were all piled back in the car, heading back to the hospital.  I was so not ready to say goodbye to my boys again, but knew deep in my heart, it was for a short time, and the best thing for my lil Grant.

While I would like to say it was an easy check in, it wasn't.  I had to go through the entire admittance process starting in L & D and transfering to antepartum.  It took forever to get checked in and 'situated' - it was getting late, the kids were getting cranky and I, myself, I wasn't happy.  My unhappiness was probably written all over my face and was not helping my kids, so I sent my babies home, and cried the night to a close.  I can't believe that after being home for about 12 hours that I am back in a hospital bed.

Here's to getting to spend that wonderful evening at home with my boys, and to fast days until Grant's arrival.

Until next time, squeeze your MoNkEyS tight!
Christina