Bentley Update & Nursery Starters

Our follow-up doctor's appointment was this morning at 9:20.  It was a really long visit, and I think we finally left the office at about 10:45.  Here's the WHOLE story.  But first...here's our latest photo!!



Here we are!




Here's Bentley's close-up.

 I  was called back almost immediately, and they did a urine test, measured my weight, and checked my blood pressure.  It looks like I've gained about 1 pound in the last 2 1/2 weeks, pushing my total weight gain to 6 pounds.  My blood pressure was 90/60, which is about normal but even a little low for me.  The medication I'm on is the cause for that.  They took us into a room and checked Bentley's heart rate, which was in the 130's (that's good), and then they had me undress so the doctor could check me.  (Oh joy!...NOT!!)  Dr. Kakani came in to measure my belly and check my cervix, and she was a little concerned.  She thought maybe I'd had a slight change in my cervix since last week, so she ordered another ultrasound to check my cervix (just like last week).  I explained that I've still been having contractions, which was also concerning, so she wanted to put me on the monitor to see how often and how strong they were. 

So, first we went to the ultrasound room where a sweet and funny lady did my scan.  She said my cervix measured 3.8 cm long, and anything over 2.5 is good, so that's good news.  She also said that my cervix is CLOSED!  Yippee!  We want Bentley to be locked up tight, and that's what we heard.  After the good news, she took us back to an exam room for the monitoring. 

I was probably on the monitor for about 30 minutes, and we got to hear Bentley's heartbeat the whole time.  It was neat to see his heart rate increase as he rolled around in my belly and then slow down a little as he settled into a comfortable position.  I didn't have any contractions for the first 10 minutes or so, but as soon as I mentioned that I started having them.  After that...they came consistently every few minutes.  Daniel guessed I probably had 7 or 8 while I was monitored, and they continued for a while afterwards, as well. 

Overall, the doctor felt that I needed more time off to rest and see if the contractions subside.  She was very positive about the fact that my cervix hadn't changed, but she was concerned about the contractions.  Therefore, DOCTOR"S ORDERS are...remain out of work until my next appointment (Wednesday, 2/9) and take it easy.  I don't have to stay in bed and do nothing; I just have to refrain from strenuous and stressful activities.  At my next appointment, she'll check my cervix again, and if it hasn't changed, I'll get to return to work.  So, pray for that to happen.  I really don't need to be out of work for 3 months!!

Now, it's time for the fun stuff...NURSERY UPDATE  

First things first...we have decided to swap rooms.  The spare bedroom will now become the nursery, and we'll move the spare bedroom to the room that was supposed to be Bentley's room.  (The boys have some hard work to do.)  The only thing that stinks is that now we have to paint two rooms.  The spare bedroom is currently green, so we'll need to paint that room blue for the nursery and paint the other room green.  Ugh!!  Oh well!  So, here's a couple of pictures of our paint choices.



Here's the samples we painted on the wall, but it's hard to tell anything about them.  We will put up a chair rail, so the dark blue will be below the chair rail, and the light blue on the right will go above the chair rail.  (We originally liked the blue on the left, but after seeing them on the wall, we changed our minds.)




Here are the actual colors.  We have decided to go with Behr paint from Home Depot.

 Now that you know our paint colors and our furniture choice (see previous post), you can envision it all together.  We have chosen the bedding from Pottery Barn Kids.  It's from the collection, Harper & Max Nursery, and it's a lot simpler than I first thought I would like.  My plan is to use red and spring green as accent colors to give it a "POP."  I really think it will be beautiful and so fitting for my baby boy.


Here's the bedding as a whole, but remember to envision the bedding on the beautiful dark espresso finished furniture we chose.




Here's a close-up.  Aren't the stars on the sheets adorable!!!  Bentley's name will be monogrammed on the quilt, as well.

 There you have it.  You've seen the furniture, paint, and bedding, and I'll update as we actually start to put it all together.  I'll be resting for the next week and a half, so feel free to call and check in...I don't have anything better to do.  Also, PLEASE keep us in your prayers.  While the news is good right now, it's still a little nerve racking to be having all these contractions.  I really need my baby boy to stay in my belly as long as possible to remain healthy.  Until next time...I hope you enjoyed the update! :)

26 Weeks & Counting!!

Even with the scare this past weekend, we made it to 26 weeks, and we're planning on hanging in there for 14 more. :)  Bentley and I are doing better, so we are thinking that our future looks bright.  Tuesday was another day of really bad headaches and a little more sickness, but we made it through that. 

Yesterday and today have been much better.  I spent ALL DAY Wednesday at home in the recliner.  Porsche and I snuggled and watched a Tori & Dean: Inn Love marathon.  (I was planning on taking a nap, but I became fascinated with the show, so I couldn't go to sleep.) 

Today, Mom and Cyndel came over to save me from my dusty house.  Saturday is usually my house cleaning day, but with all that happened last weekend, I never cleaned.  Two weeks without cleaning causes me great anxiety.  I think we could have made a whole dog out of the dog hair they swept up today, and Porsche's only 8 pounds, so I don't know where it all comes from.  Now, though, I can rest easy because I finally have a clean house again.  I helped a little with things that weren't strenuous, but Mom and Cyndel did the real dirty work.  (Thanks girls!!!)

I have a few more days of resting before we return to the doctor, but maybe I'll be feeling even better.  The medicine still gives me headaches, but they are manageable.  They don't seem to be bad enough to make me sick anymore, so I think I can handle it.  I am still having some contractions throughout the day, but they aren't painful.  There are about 3 times a day when I have about 30 minutes of really close contractions, but the rest of the day they are spaced out like normal.  Overall, they are much better than they were a few days ago.

I'll post again after our appointment on Monday, but keep us in your prayers!!

Contractions...Uh Oh!

Well...we had quite a weekend.  It started out great with a yummy dinner at Carrabba's with Russ and Cyndel, but in the middle of dinner my normal Braxton Hicks contractions became regular (as in 5 minutes apart).  I called the doctor's office, where they paged the on-call doctor to call me back.  She suggested that I go home, lay on my left side, and drink lots of water.  If the contractions didn't subside, then I was supposed to go to the hospital for monitoring. 

Guess what...they didn't subside!!  By 10:35, we were getting ready to head to the hospital.  Cyndel went with us, and we were all really nervous.  They took me into triage for labor and delivery and asked every question in the book except for "What's your favorite color?"  They hooked me up to monitors for Bentley's heartrate and my contractions.  The nurse checked me and said she would say I was about 1/2 cm dilated.  My cervix was still long, thick, and closed near the baby, but it had changed a bit with all the contractions.  Within about half an hour, the nurse noticed the regularity of the contractions (which still felt like Braxton Hicks but a little stronger), and she contacted the doctor for a plan.  They decided to give me injections of Terbutaline.  Let me fill you in about that drug...imagine you've had an entire POT of coffee.  The jitters, racing heart, body shakes...that's what it was like.  They gave me two injections (about 15 minutes apart), and the contractions stopped completely.  We were in the clear.  They discharged me with instructions to drink lots of water and lay on my left side if I had more contractions later.  We got home about 1:30 AM and went straight to bed. 

Surprisingly, I was able to sleep okay (not great, but okay) until about 9:00 AM.  I woke up and felt totally fine.  I started the day with my cup of decaf coffee and a bottle of water.  Shortly thereafter, guess what.....You guessed it...more contractions.  I thought to myself, "Really, I expected them to wait at least a week or so!"  I laid on my left side, drank two bottles of water, and in two hours the contractions had subsided from every 3-5 minutes to every 10-15 minutes.  Since everything subsided, I rested most of the day except for a quick trip to Home Depot to pick out paint colors for Bentley's room and a dinner trip with Russ, Cyndel, and Coen.  The contractions stayed regular at about 15 minutes apart all day, but they were still just a tightening feeling...it wasn't painful at all.  We went back to Russ and Cyndel's to watch a movie, and that's when the contractions became much closer together, more regular, and stronger.  We started timing them again about at 8:00, and by 9:30 we decided to go back to the hospital. 

Once at the hospital, they hooked me up to the monitors again, and decided to do a urinalysis to rule out a urinary tract infection, and they did a Fetal Fibronectin test that tests for risk of pre-term labor.  The urine test was good, and the other test was negative, which means that there is a 99% chance that I will not go into labor in the next 2 weeks.  During the time it took to get the results of the tests back, my contractions became much stronger and more intense.  They were right at 3 minutes apart, and they were starting to actually hurt.  I was feeling way more than just a tightening.  I told the nurse, and she immediately gave me another injection of Terbutaline.  That calmed the contractions immediately.  The nurse said the doctor wanted to keep me overnight to continue monitoring me and Bentley, and she gave me another injection and a pill by mouth.  Daniel and I were moved to a room at about 1:00 AM, and we attempted to sleep.  At 4:30 AM I got another dose of Terbutaline by mouth, and at 6:30 the doctor came in to see me.  She checked my cervix again, and it didn't seem to have changed since Friday, but she said that Bentley was really low.  She said he was laying as if he was ready for delivery.  Overall, she couldn't come up with a reason for my contractions, but she recommended that I take off work on Monday to go to the office for an ultrasound of my cervix to make sure everything was okay.  We got home about 7:30 AM, and I felt sick all day due to having no sleep.  After 3 spells of vomiting, I headed to bed at 7:30 PM....I slept SOOO good.

Ahhh...it's Monday!  I woke up at 6:45 AM to more contractions...woohoo!  (Not really!)  We got our appointment with the doctor for 9:15 where they did an ultrasound of my cervix.  We got good news.  It looks like it should, and all the contractions I've had since Friday haven't caused any change.  The doctor changed my medicine to a blood pressure medicine that should take care of the contractions.  The only problem is that my blood pressure is usually on the low/normal side anyways, so it may make me loopy or dizzy if it lowers too much.  She also suggested that I be on "bed rest" until next Monday when she'll see me again.  (That really just means lay around and be a lazy bum...something I'm not really good at doing!)  So, I've taken one dose of the new medicine and it doesn't make me feel like I had an IV of coffee, but it gave me a horrible headache.  I told Daniel tonight that if this is the only way we can have a healthy baby, I'll do it, but it sure isn't fun right now.

Overall, we are okay.  I'm still having contractions on and off, but they aren't painful at all and they don't have a real pattern.  Also, Bentley is great!!  I've felt him more in the last few days than I have the entire pregnancy I think.  He's saying, "Golly, Mom!  Enough with all the hugs!"  (I read that contractions are like bear hugs for the baby.)

Keep us in your prayers, and I'll keep you updated.  I know this is a really long post, but I wanted to get all the details out there!

Bentley Update...23 weeks 6 days

Hi everyone!!  After all the snow we've had, my doctor's office was closed for the last two days, so we missed our appointment on Monday.  I called this morning, and they said they could get me in at 10:30, so Daniel and I went for our routine appointment. 

All is well with Baby Bentley.  He's growing, and SO AM I!!!  I've gained 4 pounds since our last visit, which is really good considering that only makes 5 pounds total for the entire pregnancy so far.  My blood pressure was good at 100/62, and Bentley's heart rate registered in the 150's on the Doppler.  He doesn't like being poked, though.  Every time she pressed on my belly with the wand, he kicked or punched back.  I got tickled, and the nurse was laughing, too. 

I told the doctor that I had been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, but she wasn't concerned.  Unless they come in a rhythm or have real pain or bleeding associated with them, there is nothing to worry about.  She went ahead and checked my cervix since I've felt a little "pressure" lately, but that's good, too.  She said I probably just feel when he pushes on my bladder for leverage to move around. 

Our next visit will be on Wednesday, February 9th.  I'll have the glucose test to check for diabetes, and we're also having the 4D ultrasound that day.  We'll get to see just what Bentley looks like!  :)  For now, here's our latest photo of the growing boy.

23 weeks 6 days...We are definitely growing!

Now it's time to start the nursery, so here's the latest.  We looked at furniture all over Huntsville and decided to order from All About Baby on the corner of Governor's Drive and University Drive in Huntsville.  They already had the 5 drawer chest in stock, but we're waiting on the other pieces to come in.  They have to ship from California, so it may be sometime in February before we get it.

When Daniel and I first started looking, we picked up brochures for all the furntiture we liked.  Then, we put all the brochures in order from our most to least favorite.  For both of us, the top three choices in the pile of brochures were made by Baby Appleseed.  Here's a link to their website to check it out.  http://www.babyappleseed.com/

There are three styles of furniture to choose from, and we decided on the Millbury.  It is beautiful as baby furniture, but it converts into a toddler bed and a full-size bed.  It's really beautiful at all three stages, and it's something that Bentley will have as long as he lives at home...definitely worth the investment.

Bentley will have the crib, 7 drawer dressed without the hutch, 5 drawer chest, and a nightstand.

Here is the crib converted into a toddler bed.



Here is the crib converted into a full-size bed.

That's all we have for now, but as soon as we get the furniture in, I'll post some photos of Bentley's room.   

I'm Dreaming of a White Birthday!!

Well, I got my birthday wish.  Lots of snow, no school/work, and a wonderful day with my hubby and baby (Porsche).  What a day...it could not have been any better.  We woke up this morning to a beautiful winter scene and a warm home.  Ahhh...a cup of coffee in front of the fire while seeing a beautiful blanket of snow out the window...this is the life. 





Here's our front yard...completely covered!!

  





About 5 1/2 inches of snow in this spot. 
In other places there were more or less, but this is about average for the yard.

   Our cup of coffee was followed by a "Happy Birthday" from Daniel and Porsche.  I decided that I wanted pancakes, so I made pancakes with fresh strawberry and blueberry topping, and bacon.  Yummy!!  I think Daniel and Porsche liked their pancakes, too.  (Porsche loves pancake day...she gets her very own baby pancake!)

Daniel decided we should go out and check on the snow, so out we went.  I HATE being cold, so I gave a whole new meaning to "bundle up."  I had on fleece pants and lined wind pants, a t-shirt, a thermal shirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and a fleece pullover.  I topped all this off with rubber gloves under my sweater gloves, and Daniel's silly toboggan.  Let me tell you...I was hot stuff. :)  But...I was not the least bit cold.  I put Porsche in her VW tank top and her fleece sweatshirt, but she still wasn't thrilled about the snow.  






Porsche wouldn't get the snow by herself, so Daniel decided to give her a hand...or paw!

  




She is up to her chest in snow, and not excited about it at all!

  




Exit Stage Anywhere!!!

  





Aren't we lovely...snow doesn't do much for your looks, huh?

   After an unsuccessful attempt at making a snowman, we decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood, and then go inside to warm up, shower, and eat lunch.  Daniel wanted to see around town, and the major roadways had been cleared, so we drove down the parkway to check it out.  We needed a couple of things from Wal-Mart, so we stopped there.  Check our the parking lot photo. 






They scraped all the snow into piles between parking places.
These were HUGE mounds of snow!!!

  
We then drove down the parkway and over to Jones Valley.  Target was open, and there were only about 15 cars in the parking lot, so we decided to stop and shop.  Finally, we headed home, and we saw LOTS of snowmen on the way home.  We decided that if everyone else could build a snowman, so could we!!  It turns out that the snow was too powdery this morning, but after sitting out and melting just a touch it became a lot more sticky, and it was PERFECT snowman building snow.






Here's Daniel rolling the snow around to make our snowman.

  




Here's me and our snowman...he's an automotive snowman.
Lug nuts, bolts, lug caps, and a screwdriver paired with shop towels, a funnel,
and a VW symbol make for a really cool snowman.

   After making the snowman, we were snowed out, but Daniel wanted to take a quick drive around in the Audi he's borrowing while his is tuned.  Should cars go around and around in circles???  I don't know, but this one did! :)





FUN TIMES...Daniel's favorite part of the day!

   After all that, we gathered up enough snow to make snow cream and did just that.  I forgot how much I love snow cream, but I'm not the only one who enjoyed it.  I think I have a Snow Cream Fan Club. :)






Daniel enjoyed his snow cream very much!

  




Porsche enjoyed her snow cream even more!!

  




She had to snuggle up after her snow cream because she was shivering so badly.

   Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.  This is definitely one I'll remember for years to come.  We've just finished off our day with a delicious dinner of Juicy Lucy cheeseburgers (thanks to the introduction on Man vs. Food) and homemade french fries.  We are now sitting down to the BCS National Championship game.  ROLL DUCKS ROLL!!!

By the way...Daniel and I were supposed to go the doctor for a Bentley update today, but the weather caused a cancellation.  So...no Bentley news as of yet.  We'll post the update as soon as we go.  He's doing well as far as I can tell.  He's moving all the time, and I'm hungry all the time, so I guess he's growing.  Keep us in your prayers!!!

Catching up...

Well, Christmas is long gone, but I never posted some of the pictures or cute stories, so here goes...

On Christmas Eve, Daniel and I went many places.  Starting at my mom's we had a yummy lunch followed by opening presents.  Sadly, that's when we realized that we had forgotten the camera, so Daniel and Russ drove back to Huntsville to get the camera before the rest of our gatherings. We loved all our gifts, and as always, got way too much!  We must have really been good in 2010!!

Next, we went to my dad's for a visit and more presents.  Again, we got way too much, and are so thankful!  Even though Daniel had gotten the camera by this time, we somehow managed not to take pictures at Buddy's either.  Bummer!!

After Buddy's, we went to Papaw Fortenberry's Christmas gathering at Aunt Debbie's house.  We rarely get to see that side of the family, so it was really nice to get together with everyone and catch up.  Everyone had already received their Christmas cards, so they knew we were having a boy named Bentley.  According to Fortenberry tradition, Bentley received his first pocket knife, a red case knife that we'll hold onto until he's old enough to carry it himself. 

To round out the day, we headed to Daniel's parents' house Christmas Eve night.  Here...we didn't forget the camera! :)  A delicious dinner and more presents finished off the night, and again...we got way more than we deserved!!  It was fun to get together with family, but of course the best part of Christmas is watching the kids enjoy the fun.  Here's a picture of Charlie and Ruby Cate.  These two snuggle bugs belong to Daniel's brother, Jacob, and his wife, Jennifer. Too Cute!!




Charlie was pretty excited about holding Lil' Sis, Ruby Cate,
but she seemed a little concerned about the situation.



Check our Charlie and his pop gun, as well his gun and holster.
He thought he was HOT STUFF with that get-up.



Ruby Cate is enjoying her new toy. 
Baby sees, baby eats!!

After opening presents, and watching the kiddos play with their loot, we headed home to get ready for Santa.  Stuffing stockings and a good night's sleep made for a wonderful Christmas morning.  The snow didn't hurt either.  What a beautiful Christmas morning!!!

Daniel and I always stuff one another's stockings, and Porsche's, too, so that was the first order of business.  His stocking was full of golf stuff, and he got a knew Lacoste shirt.  He, of course, surprised me again.  My stocking was filled with the start of a scavenger hunt that lead me to a beautiful Tissot watch that I had looked at a long time ago.  I still catch myself asking everyone around me, "What time is it?"  I was so used to not having a watch, that I often forget I have one now.  After gifts, we had a delicious Christmas breakfast of French toast, bacon, and fresh fruit.  Yum! Yum!

Daniel decided we should check out the snow situation, so we headed out all bundled up to see what the roads were like and check out the parkway.  While we were out, Russ and Cyndel called with a Toy Emergency...Toys R' Us had exploded in their living room.  A two-year-old with a birthday 15 days before Christmas, makes for an unbelievable amount of toys to find a place for.  We went over to see the aftermath of Christmas, and it was a sight to see.  Coen was all excited and he couldn't stop telling me about Buzz and Woody!  Oh, the excitement of a baby/big boy and new toys!  Russ, Cyndel, and Coen had to get ready for their next gathering, and so did we, so we decided to save the "snow playing" for the next day.  (Pictures will follow.)

Daniel and I had one more stop on Christmas day.  We went to Sammi's (my aunt) for Nanny's Christmas.  We forgot the camera again, so no pics of that.  Sorry!  It was fun, though.  Coen really enjoyed playing with Sammi and Chris's kids, Callie and Ty.  We were blessed again, with even more gifts.

Now, the day after Christmas, we went to Russ and Cyndel's for breakfast, and decided to conquer the toy situation.  The boys did some "around the house" tasks, and Cyndel and I cleaned out old toys, made room for new toys, and made their house livable again.  In the midst of all the cleaning up and clearing out, we decided to take Coen in the snow.  Here's  a few pictures of our adventure.

Here is Coen playing in the "milk."  Cyndel said that when he first saw the snow out the window,
he looked at her and said, "Milk!"  She told him it was snow, so now he calls it, "mo."

I'm pretty sure Daddy had just thrown a snowball at Mommy. 
Coen thought that was pretty funny!!

Scooping up his own snowball...he got really good at this!

Tag Teaming Mommy!!!

Here's our "Moman."  In Alabama you're now always prepared for making a snowman,
so ours has pecans for eyes, an okra for a nose, and Dum Dum suckers for a mouth.

We had our last Chrismas gathering on January 2nd at Daniel's grandmother's house.  More fellowship with family made for fun time and even more wonderful presents.  We are so blessed to have wonderful families that love us so much.

Well, now that I'm finished with my novel, I hope you enjoyed the Christmas recap.  Tomorrow is supposed to be our doctor's visit for a Bentley update, so I'll post after that if the snow doesn't cause a cancellation.  Enjoy the snow!!