Bed Rest Diary -- Last Entry!

Do you see anything different about this picture?

I'm playing outside with Elijah for the first time since July 2! Yeaaaahhh! No more bed rest!

We had a check up today, and the doctor said that I am at 1 cm and 50% effaced. He said I was also measuring "short" for those of you who have been keeping up with those details. So it could be sooner rather than later, but we're trying to hold out until 36 weeks, which is in a little over a week. (I am at the end of week 34.) Praise God for sustaining this little one thus far!

Bed Rest Diary 7

Tomorrow is week 34! We made it this far, and there's only one week left of this bed rest craziness. We didn't have a check up at week 33; they gave me the week off. I do go this week, but it's probably for a normal pregnancy check-up. I have had some contractions and cramping here and there, but nothing too major. Still taking it easy.

There are some things that I'm going to miss about bed rest. Today, mom made homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a meaty stromboli with corn on the cob for lunch, shrimp scampi with baked potatoes, salad/bread for dinner. Yeah, I don't know about you, but I don't cook like that on Saturdays. (Or any day for that matter.) And I've had a personal shopper and babysitter that does all of my errands and takes Elijah to get him out of the house, and even picks up birthday gifts and shower gifts too. I'm going to miss those parts.

But on the other hand...what would I give to go to Target? And to church? Or even to drive a car? (I think I need Driver's Ed again. Is the brake on the left?) It's perfect timing because our 5th wedding anniversary is October 5, at the end of week 35, so we'll get to celebrate with a nice dinner and time out of the house (with a free babysitter!). Any great ideas for something we can do that's fun but not too far away in case Baby Roark decides to come early? Does anyone have a mansion we can stay in for the weekend and use your pool and private chauffer?

Bed Rest Diary 6

My mom is here, as you probably know from the blog, and we've been cared for wonderfully this week. We just finished a bowl of soup that went perfectly with the rainy day. All of the laundry is done, the pantry is organized, and full of food, the dishes are put away, the nursery closet is cleaned out and ready for the little one, and we're about to enjoy a bowl of Starbucks ice cream and watch a movie. This bed rest thing isn't so bad...

I had a check up yesterday, and it went well. They didn't even take any 'measurements' since I have made it towards the end of 32 weeks and the latest fibronectin test showed that I wouldn't deliver before 34 weeks. So they are much more relaxed about my situation, and even gave me next week off! For the first time since July 2, I won't have a weekly appointment! I go back at the end of 34 weeks, which is when I'll be able to resume normal activities. (That's in 16 days, but who's counting?) We're all more relaxed since the doctors aren't concerned, and I'll just keep taking it easy on the couch until the end of September.

The only new thing is that I have shooting pain down my leg when I move a certain way at certain times of the day. The doctor said it was because the baby is very low and engaged in my pelvis, and therefore it's pressing on some nerves. I'll have this until I deliver, so if you see me hobbling around in a strange manner, it's a combination of the 3rd trimester waddle with a crazy nerve problem topped off with a baby that's practically hugging my bladder, and loves to give it a little punch at the most unexpected moments.

So I'll be right here on the couch for two more weeks. Come visit!

Bed Rest Diary 5

We had a wonderful week of help from Papa and Nana C! They took care of us, our house, our meals, and even spoiled us with fun gifts, too! We are so thankful for their help!

I had a check-up this past week, and everything continues to look stable. Things are still favoring preterm labor, so I am continuing the bed rest, but at least things are not getting worse! The test that they "run" every two weeks also came back negative, which means I will most likely not deliver in the next two weeks. So that will get us to the end of 33 weeks! Woohoo! I will be 32 weeks on Monday, which is a big milestone. Every day makes a big difference at this stage of development.

My mom comes tonight, and will stay through the end of the month, if not longer, depending on what things look like at that point. Yeah!

Bed Rest Diary 4

It's been another great week! We had our weekly check-up yesterday, and things are looking somewhat stable. It's not quite normal, but it's not looking as scary as it did two weeks ago. I am 50% effaced and the baby is head down. So we'll keep up this bed rest to keep him/her in until 34 weeks.

We've had another wonderful week of help, and are so grateful for all of the meals and help with Elijah. Now, we are bringing in the calvary...our families! The Roarks come today and stay for a week, and then my mom comes for the next 3 weeks!

A big Thank You to...

• Tuesday, Leslie W. came again from 10:30 to 1:30. She took Elijah to run some errands for me, and he loved it.
• Wednesday, Pri came from 10:30 to 1:30 and took Elijah to the grocery store to pick up some groceries for me, and then they took Nick some Bojangles at work for lunch. Pri got him a balloon at the store, too.
  
• Thursday, Emily and Mecaden came again, and kept Elijah while we went to our 3D/4D ultrasound. She fed him lunch and played with him outside from 10:30 to 1:30.
• Friday, Danielle came from 8 until 12:30 while Nick was in class. We had fun watching Elijah and Bennett kiss all over each other. Who knows what kind of weird virus they gave each other this time?
  

As for dinners, we were abundantly blessed and have some extras in the freezer too!

• Monday: The Tuckers brought stromboli and the Carringtons brought chicken pot pie.
• Tuesday: Mrs. Richards brought vegetable soup and Allison Snyder brought spaghetti.
• Wednesday: Becky E. and Judy G. went in together and brought a delicious chicken dish and brownies.
• Thursday: The Roegers brought spaghetti and meatballs (Elijah loved the meatballs!) and Lindsey and her roomies brought a frozen casserole and an incredible summer fruit pie.
• Friday: Julie and Jason Kennedy brought grilled chicken, twice baked potatoes, corn casserole, peach cobbler.

On the nights that we had two meals, I froze one of them. And yeah, I told you I wouldn't have to worry about putting on the weight later in my pregnancy!

Dinner A'Fare

My sweet roommates from Baylor have provided 6 meals for us! Long distance didn't keep them from helping us--they chipped in and bought a package at Dinner A'Fare and Robin and Hunter, who live here in Raleigh, went and assembled the dinners for us yesterday. I couldn't believe it! Here's what they brought:

Pretzel Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Cream Sauce
Rustic Chicken and Potato Gratine
Baked Ziti with Homemade Turkey Meatballs
Texas Steak with Worcestershire Mustard Sauce
Peanut Chicken with Pad Thai Noodles
Homemade Calzones
Key Lime Pie

Thank you SOOOO much, Leslie, Hilary and Robin! Nick and I appreciate your thoughtfulness in helping us so creatively! You know what a big help this will be for us--how perfect!

(Nick took these pictures for me so that I could see it all "from the couch.")

It was so neat to hear Robin describe the experience at Dinner A'Fare. It sounds like something I'd really like to try. Everything is all neatly packaged for the freezer with labels and directions. What a fun idea.

Bed Rest Diary 3

Well...the Lord really likes to keep things exciting in the Roark home! He is definitely refining us and teaching us many things right now. We are thankful for His loving, generous provision, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Yesterday, Elijah came down with hand, foot and mouth disease. He has blisters in his mouth and on his hands and bottom. He had a fever, but I think the Tylenol and Motrin have tackled that part. He's been really fussy and clingy, which has been hard for me since I cannot take care of him. I wanted to rock him last night so badly. He and Nick have been big buddies today. They went to get some new shoes for Elijah, and they are having some good father-son bonding time. (Translation: Elijah was too fussy to entertain inside.)

Nick missed class today to care for us, since Elijah is contagious and we didn't want to spread germs to Emily and little baby Mecaden, who were scheduled to help us while Nick was in class this morning. The doctor said it should last 2-3 days, so fortunately, the virus may not have much longer. We pray that no one else will catch it, and that Elijah's little body will fight it off quickly.

Some good news: We had a baby checkup yesterday, and it looks like the bed rest is helping! So we'll keep doing this routine, since it seems to be working. The baby is head down, and everything looks great with him/her. Yea!

• Leslie W. came yesterday and cared for Elijah for 3 hours. She also swept, vacuumed, and did all of our laundry.
  
• Kristen Kocher sent us a Q'doba gift card in the mail since she "lives too far away to help babysit or bring a meal." How thoughtful is that? Thank you, Kristen!
• And Rebecca, Marty, Robin and Sarah Hinton are bringing frozen meals for us to have whenever we need to bust them out. Wow!

As you can imagine, we need all the help we can get, especially when crazy things come up like hand/foot/mouth. Who would have thought!? Thank you so much, girls.

I am definitely learning what it means to "be clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come" as the woman is described in Proverbs 31:25. Right now, my sanctification level is more like having a meltdown on the couch in my cute new gauchos and then wanting to fix it with a tiramisu dessert from Cheesecake Factory at 10 p.m. at night, but I'm getting there, by God's grace.

A Silly Girly Post

I have another favorite. I ordered two pants of Xhilaration Gaucho Pants from Target via Amazon.com. They were $9.99 each and they came in 3 days. I LOVE them. I ordered a "cafe latte" color and "iced rose" color. (It's more like ballet-tights-flesh-colored pink. Think back to your first ballet class with those little wrap around skirts. Not the most flattering color on my fair skin, but I love them anyway.) I think I should get a pair in every color. I will be wearing them for the next 5 weeks, so you can expect to see me in them. And yes, I'll be wearing my mary jane crochet socks too. Wish I had a brown pair of those to match. Has anyone seen any?

Planet Earth

We've been watching the Planet Earth series on DVD during this season of bed rest in the evenings after Elijah goes to bed. It's a series of documentaries on different parts of the Earth that was produced by the BBC. It's incredible! I know we sound like dorks, but watch them for yourself and you'll see!

Over the weekend, we went a little crazy. We borrowed a projector and watched it in our living room on a huge white sheet that hung from our drapes. Pri joined us and we ate Macaroni Grill take-out and handfuls of Starburst for dessert. It was great!

It gives us something fun to do together at night, and we're both learning so much and marveling at God's intricate detail in creation.

Bed Rest Diary 2

We've continued to see an outpouring of help and encouragement! Here's the latest:

Sonya came over (today) Wednesday from 10:30 to 1:30 so that Nick could work from 9 to 4 without having to come back and forth to take care of Elijah.

Leslie W. comes over Thursday form 10:30 to 1:30 to do the same thing.

(Elijah takes a nap from 9 to 10:30 and then 1:30 to 4. So Nick puts him down at 9 and goes to work. So help from 10:30 to 1:30 gets us through a good chunk of the day. Then Nick comes home at 3:30 or 4 to get him up from his nap, and just stays home on Tuesdays-Thursdays.)

Emily Bennett is coming Friday morning from 8 until noon, which is when Nick is in class, and then he will work from home in the afternoon.

We have a lot of yummy dinners lined up too! Aren't you jealous?
Thursday: Mrs. Roeger
Friday: Emily Bennett
Saturday: Mrs. Shirley
Sunday: Nancy Corson

Thank you, everyone!

Bed Rest Diaries

To keep myself entertained, and to update you on how God is providing for us through this season of strict bed rest, I'll post what we've been up to. It will also be good for me to go back and reflect on God's goodness through this difficult time by keeping a record of this. In just three days of being on bed rest, we've seen an outpouring of generosity and selflessness from our friends and family. It has been astounding to list out all of the offers for help that we've received in my little notebook--from offering a meal, or offering to come over during the day for a few hours, or offers to do laundry/clean, or to come stay with Elijah during Dr. appts., or offers to bless us with material things that we need.

It's such a perfect example of how God provides for us, often times, through our church, and how in our weaknesses, He is magnified and receives the glory for we cannot attribute it to ourselves.

• Saturday, Lindsey P. brought over some yummy old-fashioned little ham/swiss sandwiches with poppyseed sauce. We made several meals out of those!
• Sunday, Katie M. brought over some pizza leftover from the college class lunch, as well as a loaf of some homemade bread that was to die for. I need the recipe--what was that, Katie?! I had to share it with Nick and Pri, unfortunately, but I would have rather eaten the whole loaf myself.
• Monday, Danielle and Bennett came over and spent the day with us while Nick was in class from 8-4. Danielle waited on me hand and foot, fed all 4 of us, cleaned the living room and kitchen, and kept me company. Natalie and Greta also came over for a few hours to relieve Danielle so that she could run a few errands. Rebecca made a chicken casserole and brought it over with her two kids and we all had dinner together last night. It was so fun to have Bennett, Emma, Owen and Elijah in our living room at one time! It made my day.
• And Julie P. brought over enchiladas, quesadillas, watermelon and pineapple cake last night for us to have today for lunch/dinner.
  

And an old friend from home saw the "obituary" for our camera on the blog, and she has offered a new camera to us for free! Can you believe it?! Thank you, Holly!

It is so neat to watch all of these events unfold in our lives and we rejoice in God's provision every day. Thank you so much for all you are doing to help...we need every bit of it and we appreciate it so much!