Greyson O'Connor Stevens

What a journey the last 9 months has been!

* 17 weeks we found out we were having another boy

* 18 weeks was placed on limited activity due to a incomplete cervix (thank you Cole!)

* 21 weeks my cervix is now .9cm and it should be 3 to 5cm. Refereed to a specialist

* 21 weeks hospitalized for contraction monitoring and placed on 100% bed rest

* 22 weeks emergency surgery to receive a cerclage

* 22 to 28 weeks complete bed rest. I can take a shower, go to the bathroom, go downstairs for meals that's it!

* 30 weeks hospitalized due to preterm labor. Received turbine (spelling) to stop contractions. I was sent home after three days with more bed rest and medicine to relax my uterus
* 29 to 36 weeks limited activity. I can go places as long as I stay seated and I don't have to walk far. Absolutely no picking up Cole or doing anything strenuous

* 36 weeks I had the cerclage removed. Not a fun moment in my life is all I will say about the procedure

* 36 weeks + I can go back to my normal life until our son is born

The average pregnancy length for a woman with a cerclage is 33 weeks.

I made it to 40 weeks 5 days!

I was beginning to get frustrated towards the end of my pregnancy. I had prepared myself for a preemie baby, then a preterm baby, then a full term baby...I was not ready to prepare myself for a past due baby! However, my son had other plans and being past due was his plan!!

On Sunday September 12th, I meet a good friend Jenn at the park with her two boys for a play date. I was having contractions the entire time but nothing big and they were not getting stronger so I didn't say anything. When I got home I laid down to time them. The contractions were 4 minutes apart but not painful. After two more hours they had stopped. I woke up Monday September 13th, at 6:00am with more mild contractions. Once again they weren't strong but they were 4 minutes apart. I took a shower, ate breakfast and played with Cole. They maintained 4 minutes apart and by 10am they were a little stronger but nothing I'd consider painful. I called my OB (after my sister and friend, M hounded me all morning) and they said to go in to get checked at the hospital. My mom and I dropped Cole off at my aunts and off to the hospital we went. On the ride there I kept telling my mom they were going to turn me away because I wasn't in true labor yet. I always thought it would be painful. I get to the hospital, they check me (around noon) and I am 4cm dilated and 90% effaced...I was being admitted and we were going to have a baby today. I called Brian to leave work. I was still in shock because I wasn't in any pain and I thought I'd be in pain! My doctor wanted to speed things up so he ordered me an epidural (received at 3:30) and promptly there after they broke my water. At 4pm they gave me 1 dose of pitocin and at 5pm I was ready to push. With Cole I had pushed for two hours so I was ready for another marathon pushing session...nope after 6 sets of pushes (some small pushes to give the doctor time to get in position) Greyson O'Connor Stevens came into the world crying! He weighed 8lbs 2oz and was 20.5" long. He was perfect in every way!

I couldn't help but cry when meeting Greyson. I had worked so hard to keep him in my tummy the last 20 weeks that it seemed surreal he was finally in my arms fat, healthy and past due!!!

Happy Birthday, Greyson O'Connor Stevens

This picture means a lot to me since this is the moment my grandma June found out Greyson was named after her.

It's been to long...

First, I want to apologize for not posting anything for months. I thought being on bed rest I would document my thoughts, feelings, experiences but the opposite happened. I didn't want to talk about it, write about it or think about it. I thought bed rest was going to be easy but the truth is it SUCKED! It sucked so bad I have second guessed having a third child (and I've always wanted a big family). It's not that I can't handle bed rest. The part that ate at my heart was not being able to do all I wanted, intended too with Cole. I felt like I short changed him 5 months of his life. I know in the grand scheme of things this is not true but at the moment I hated it and cried many times over it.

I am forever grateful for my family and friends who kept me entertained, laughing when I was in the hospital, bringing me food when I was hungry, my neighbors and fellow LDS friends who walked Zabdack all 5 months for me and all for the survival of my son. Not once did any of these amazing people ask for anything in return. I felt a love like I never have during this process.

Our son is finally here but I'll get to that post shortly!

Thank you will never be enough to express how thankful I am for the family and friends I have in my life!

New Car = New Tricks

have the best husband. I have been dropping hints that with a growing family, maybe, just maybe we could use a bigger car. Brian surprised me a 2 weeks ago wanting to go car shopping. I took him up on his offer and car shopping we went. We shopped and found the perfect car for us. We ended up buying a Toyota Highlander. I love it!! Well, in doing this Brian sacrificed his car, Infiniti G35 coupe, to drive my old car, an Escape. This wouldn't be so bad but this car is orange, yes orange! So, I upgraded cars and my poor husband down graded. Like I said earlier, I have the best husband.


Anyways, while Brian was cleaning out my old car to transition it into his Cole wanted to join his daddy so to keep Cole entertained Brian taught him a new trick. It is too cute to describe so I captured it on video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgN6zSM5SB0I

Play Date w/ B

I was the baby in the family. Not only amongst my mom and dad but out of all my cousins as well. I always felt there were YEARS between me and my cousin next closest to me in age. As I got older I realized B and I were only 2 years apart. As children we saw each other often but didn't have much in common. As adults we have become good friends and his wife, A, is a very dear friend of mine. So when I learned she was pregnant and our due dates were only 6 weeks apart, I was beyond thrilled! Cole was going to have a cousin to grow up with. A and I try to get together often so we can have some girl time but also to let the boys play. Since my bed rest has been lifted some B and A invited me over to their house for a play date. All I had to do was show up and they would help with Cole. How could I pass that up! Cole and I spent 4+ hours playing indoors, outdoors and sharing toys.

Cole is taking the food off his plate and putting it on B's Cole thought is was funny he was caught in the act
Sharing a little jiuce
Aunt A pushing the boys on B's bike

Cole taking a dip in their pool Tent with bounce balls inside. The boys were in HEAVEN!! I guess he was thirsty

Aunt A, hurry up and peel that orange. We're straving boys!!

Cole keeps growing :)

Life has been so hectic these past few months that I haven't really been posting much on Cole. For this I am sorry because he is a cute kid and deserves his own posts :)

I can't believe how much he is turning into a toddler. The only words he speaks that we can understand are; more, mama, dada and all done (in sign language). However, if you ask him a question he can answer yes or no by shaking his head and he knows exactly what we are asking!

His favorite things to do lately are playing in his pool w/ Zabdack, picking fresh peas from his garden, going to the park, terrorizing the dog, help grandma clean the floors and playing golf with daddy.

I hope you enjoy the pictures or our every growing boy!

Cole loves to help swifter the floors

Cole and Zabdack play in the pool together. Cole loves to splash Zabdack and Zabdack just takes it all in. This is going to be a fun summer of splashing and playing!

Cole is taking a break from playing for a snack of goldfish. Zabdack always sits and waits for his bite :) Good thing Cole likes to share!

Cole's first bubble bath. He loved having bubbles to pop and put on his head

It is ere how similar Cole and Brian are. Not only do they look alike but they sit the same way as well. I came downstairs to them watching tv and sitting the same way. Nothing in this picture is posed. Just father and son watching golf

It's hard to see but Cole has de shelled a pea pod and he is enjoying all is hard work. This kid LOVES fresh peas from the vine. Next year I will pant 10 pea plants to keep up with his need!

Baby # 2 Update

I'd be lying if I said bed rest was easy. I have spent the last 12+ years taking care of myself and all of a sudden I am having to depend on others. I was raised that needing others is a form of weakness. I need to work hard at life to get what you want when I want out of it. So, going from being independent, taking care of my family to needing someone to sweep my floor, pick Cole up when he is hurt to laying him down at night has been extremely mentally hard on me. My mother, who has volunteered to play my role for the next few weeks/months has been a savior in all this. She is doing her best to keep things as much the same as they were before but and I'm sure she is just as excited to get back to her "normal" as I am.

Things have actually been moving forward better than I anticipated. I continue to see the specialist weekly and weekly the news has been positive..."no change"! Due to my "no change" status the restrictions have slowly been getting lifted. I am allowed to use the stairs several times a day and I can sit in the recliner as much as I want. Of course, the more I lay down the better for me and the baby but having just a few of the restitution's lifted has been like Christmas in May! The most exciting part is I have been given the green light to go to the beach on Memorial Day as long as I promise to stay in my lounge chair and let my sister chase/play/entertain Cole.

As soon as I find my scanner I will upload some very cute 3-d pictures of our son. It is very obvious he and Cole have the same nose, mouth and cheeks!

Complicated Pregnancy

I thought the day of Cole's seizure was the worst day or my life! Well, I now have two worst days of my life. Neither day is less significant than the other because on each of these days I thought I was going to loose one of my sons!

On 04/12/10, Brian and I went in for a routine ultrasound to take the measurements of our sons size and organs. All seemed to go well until I received a phone call from my doctor that he wanted to see me ASAP. I went in the next day and was informed I had a short cervix. A typical pregnancy is between 3-5cm. I was measuring at 1.5cm. I was placed on limited activity and scheduled for a follow-up appt. on 05/03. I took to the limited activity as best I could. I had family and friends step up to help with Cole, Zabdack and taking care of my house.

On 05/03, I went in for the follow-up. I could tell on the tech's face that things hadn't improved. After 45 minutes of talking with the radiologist and my dr. I was told to go straight to his office. I went in and was told I was being placed on strict bed rest and to see a specialist ASAP. I had gone from 1.5cm to 1cm.

I was able to get in with the specialist on 05/05. The tech took my measurements and said I was now at a .9. I lost it. I couldn't control the tears. The specialist came in and did his own exam and confirmed the tech's numbers. He had me get dressed and ask I meet him in his office. This is never a good sign! The doctor was AMAZING! He explained all my options and said the first course of action we needed to take was checking into the hospital. So at 10:00am on 05/05, I was being admitted to labor and delivery. *Side Story* I remembered when I checked into the hospital to give birth to Cole I saw on the board mom's at 21weeks, 23weeks and 26weeks and I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, I feel so bad for them." Now, I was checking in at 22weeks 0days. I had become the person I felt sorry for exactly, to the date, 16 months before!

Our first plan of action was to stay in the hospital on 100% bed rest and take a course of medicine for 24 hours to see if we could get my cervix to lenghten. This was the least invasive procedure and one I was praying would work. At 8am on 05/06, the ultrasound tech rolled into my room, the doctor followed behind and Brian and I sat and waited. After I was checked I got the news I didn't want to hear. My cervix had even shrunk more. I had gone from .9cm to .8cm. Once again the water works began. My husband grabbed my hand and just kept saying everything would be okay. The doctor laid out our options:

1. Continue w/ the current meds and hope things don't progress
2. Have a cerclage to close my cervix
3. Do nothing and hope things stop on their own

Each option had their own risks. If we choose option 1 or 3, I may continue to efface and the shorter the cervix the higher risk of going into active labor. If we choose option 2, my water could break during the procedure and I go into labor, my body could reject the stitches and I could go into labor. Brian and I were faced with, in my opinion, horrible scenarios no matter how we looked at it! After discussing the options, risks and benefits of each option we opted for option 2. I was terrified but knew if anything went wrong I had given our son the best possible chance of staying put for, hopefully, many more weeks. I was scheduled for surgery at 12pm on 05/06.

I opted for the spinal block so I could be aware of all that was happening during the procedure.
The procedure was quick (about 5 minutes) and afterwards the doctor came to me, grabbed my hand and said it went better than expected! I was wheeled into recovery spent an hour in there and then wheeled back to my room. I had made it past the first risk, no leakage. Now we needed to wait and see if my body rejected the stitches. As the spinal block wore off the contraction monitor watched closely for any preterm labor signs, signs of infection and all the while watching our sons vitals. At first I was counting the minutes, then hours in hopes everything would work out. I was told if everything went perfect I would be released from the hospital on Sunday.

Well on 05/07 at 5pm the doctor rolled in with the ultrasound tech to look at my cervix. After a quick review my doctor turned to me and said, "Happy Mother's Day! Would you like to go home tonight? Your cervix has gone from .8cm to 4cm!" I could have kissed him and I would have kissed him if I was allowed out of bed! I called my husband who has been to the hospital as much as a 16 month old can tolerate and asked him to come get me.

I am on STRICT bed rest with daily medicine. I can get up to use the restroom, take short showers and attend my weekly ultrasounds. I have never been so excited to see my bed! My goal is to make it to 28 weeks; however, I wish to make it to 42 weeks. If this baby is past due it would be a great ending to this story!!!

For a few days the fear of loosing my son was so real, raw and impending that at moments I couldn't breathe. I tried to stay positive and but I have to admit there were moments I couldn't get all the what-if's out of my head. It was because of all prayer from all of our family and friends, my constant texts and e-mails from my friends and my babyfit friends that kept me positive and moving forward. I am so lucky for each and every person in my life whether they are Internet babyfit friends, friends I've had since school, friends I meet through work or family I could never thank them enough for pulling for my son and willing him to stay in my belly!

Here's to many more weeks of being blissfully pregnant!