Daddy's Girl

Her daddy loves her!
I love watching Jer hold our daughter.
He is so tender and sweet with her.
I just know already that he will be the best father.
Here are some pictures of Jer and Jessica.

She loves him.

Sweet, sweet Jessica

This is my favorite picture of Jer and Jessica so far...

I Am Yours To Keep
by: Mike www.familyfriendpoems.com

You are a princess in my heart,
and I care for you so much.
I love the fondness in you eyes
and your tender little touch.

I looked at you when you were born,
and knew then straight away,
that I would be forever here
to watch you grow and play.

You bring to me a heart of joy,
and memories so great,
and a powerful sense of fatherhood
that no one can debate.

I watch you sleep and dream of things
that I can only wonder.
That innocent look upon your face
just makes my heart grow fonder.

I see you run and jump and shout
and calling out my name.
No love that I have ever known
could ever feel the same.

No suffering or tragedy
nor deeply seated pain
could ever over shadow
the bond that we retain.

And so my little princess
before you go to sleep,
Remember I am your daddy
and I am yours to keep.

One More Day...

Well, one more day in Jessica's first home. :)

Jessica's poor little body just gets so tired from breathing, eating, heart beating, etc. Despite her 8 lb frame (she's lost 12 oz of weight...ok so far but if she keeps losing weight we'll have a whole new concern...) she really is a 35 week old preemie.

She had several episodes last night and this morning where her heart rate dropped and was followed by a drop in oxygen levels. Her respiratory rate is steadier but still erratic at times. Thankfully, she no longer needs blood draws to check her sugar levels and her jaundice is going down. Mostly, she just needs rest and sleep. The nurses moved her from the regular nursery into the official Level II Nursery today (even though she has always been a "Level 2 Nursery" baby). They think that it has been too noisy and busy for her. When she gets that stimulated it wears her out quicker which contributes to the vital signs dropping.

The pediatrician also thinks that she is having acid reflux issues which could be a major factor of why her vital signs keep dropping. They started her on medicine for that this morning. Hopefully that will solve a lot of the issues. We still need a solid 24 hours of no vital signs dropping. If it continues to be a problem, the doctors will try another route which is to give her caffeine. Apparently, it is a teensy-weensy dose but it helps stimulate preemie's issues. The nurse I talked to today said it has really helped turn around previous preemie's quickly. Again, we'll see. If neither of those work, the pediatrician said that they would send her home but she will be on a portable oxygen tank for awhile. What that means "for awhile" is still uncertain. So, we are still in the waiting game...

In the meanwhile, 

here are some more DARLING pictures of a DARLING girl! :)

Mom and Daughter

I'm trying to wake her up so I can feed her.

I have been DYING to get a picture of her yawning... 

Here is the beginning of one...

Here's the yawn!!! Look how cute!!!!

Again with the fingers by the face!

 

Even though she is my angel, the blue light is not a heavenly manifestation of that. :) It is the phototherapy lights from underneath her. It does give off an angelic glow...

Look how alert she is! Such a beautiful baby.

Does she look like me?

On the Road Again

I'm sure, as with all mothers, I just cannot seem to get enough of holding and talking and playing and cooing and looking and loving my daughter. She just looks so peaceful!

I didn't realize that this picture is sideways, but you can see that she is MUCH more alert than she has been up to this point. I just LOVE how she always brings her hands up to her mouth! She looks like a little lecturer in a debate, just about to make her point! :)

Another sideways picture...

This is one of my new favorites! Look how adorable she is! Alert AND in the beginning of a yawn!

Ok, now THIS is my new favorite picture of her! She grabbed my shirt and wouldn't let go for all the tea in China!

There is a Utah law that states that newborns who are premature, low in birth weight, or having any type of oxygen or breathing problems, MUST pass a car seat test. Here is how the test works:

the infant sits in his/her car seat, buckled, strapped, and "ready" to go home. They are to sit there while being monitored for 90 minutes. If they make it without any problems (heart rate or oxygen level dropping) then they pass. If they have problems, then they fail.

• Passing = home sweet home!
• Failing = one more try
• 2nd Failing = infant goes home with an oxygen tank (which they wear only for the ride home)

I'll give you one guess as to whether Jessica passed or failed...yep. Failed. :) Which I kind of expected considering everything else that has been going on. So, they will try it again sometime today. If she fails again...oxygen tank. When we strapped her in, it was painfully obvious that she HATED the car seat! Completely HATED it! She only cried for a few seconds and then settled into her mad cooing sounds. She also kept making the CUTEST angry faces. Some of them were completely new. I was surprised at how adorable I found her mad faces! While taking the car seat test the nurse had her stay under the bilirubin lights...see how cute she is?!?

Yep. Definitely not liking the car seat test.

That HUGE cord coming out from underneath her? Quite the catheter!
(J/K) It connects to the phototherapy lights that get her backside...

Grandma Heath has been down here and that's been fun. Grandma said that she wanted Jessica to call her Grandma Skinny & Beautiful. Here are some pictures of Grandma S&B feeding her...

Look how alert she is for Grandma S&B!

She LOVES her Grandma Skinny & Beautiful! :)

Day 3...

Our baby girl is still in the hospital. Our pediatrician said that there were a few issues which, if by themselves wouldn't be as big of a deal, but put all together (and since she's a preemie) added up to staying one more day in the hospital. *Sniff* Which is ok. It all means we will have a completely healthy baby to take home when the time comes. :)

Here are the things we are looking for so she can go home:

• Her jaundice needs to go down (she's doing the phototherapy here at the hospital. Apparently the same rules for a full term baby with jaundice definitely don't apply to a preemie with jaundice...)
• Her blood sugar levels need to stay stable. They took her off the IV for the first time early this morning.
• Her heart rate and oxygen levels cannot drop at all. She's having moments where she forgets to breath. Poor thing, mom isn't doing all of that for her anymore. She's working hard to do it all on her own now!
• Her feeding is ok but could be more "robust" (as the doctor put it). The more mL's she drinks during feeding the better.
  

The Lord has been with us throughout this entire pregnancy so I am not worried about the end result. He is with us and we have been so blessed. There is something to be learned through this experience and I am eager to find out what it is. :)

Here are some more pictures of the cutest angel ever. Some of them are hard to see because the bilirubin lights have been on (hence the Nacho Libre mask...).

She loves to sleep with her hands up by her face. I love watching her sleep. Her little personality is becoming very distinct. :)

Even though 8 lbs 12 oz is big, she is still tiny. Here is her little foot next to my hand. The purple stuff is covering where she has had her blood draws. Her poor little foot looks like a pincushion. When the nurses have to do a blood draw she cries for a few seconds and then screws up her little face and tenses her body. She just deals with it. My heart aches every time that happens.

Funny story: Jessica was on her back and suddenly, without any warning, pushed herself over on her side. She tucked her hands under her head and went on sleeping just as happy as could be! The nurse saw Jessica roll over as well. Jer and I asked if that was normal for a 4 day old to push herself over on her side. The nurse said, "No. That was pretty unusual." There have also been times where she has put her head up. It wasn't the normal baby-arching-the-back-with-no-control movement. It was a controlled movement! Pretty awesome. (Also, it definitely could have been a fluke! :)

Isn't she the absolutely cutest!!!!

I just can't get enough of this daughter of mine!

It's not very noticable, but when she arches her back there are the CUTEST wrinkles ever!

Pretty much, we have the most beautiful baby in the world!

Hopefully our next blog will be about our journey home. If not, there will be more fun Nursery News! :)

Drugs

Just say no.

Unless,
your hospital offers you a prescription for Percocet and Motrin. Take it. There's a reason. Don't forget to get your refill before the hospital given dosage runs out. Why? Well, there's a reason you were put on those two drugs to begin with...

Doctor's First Words

after Jessica was 2 seconds old:

"Whoa! That's a big baby!"

Yes. The largest preemie known to man...she is a keeper! :)

Actually, she has lost a bit of weight.
A fair amount of her 8lbs 12oz is/was fluid.
Today (well technically yesterday) she weighed 8lbz 6oz
She just gets cuter by the minute!

Day 2 of My New Life...

This is my all time favorite picture of Jessica so far.
She is an angel.

Day 2 brought many changes and updates with it. Jessica continues to improve in so many ways. Another chest x-ray today showed that her lungs look great. She is still breathing a little shallow but her monitor shows that her respiratory rate falls where it should. Her heart beat is steadier and her oxygen levels continue to stay in the safe zone. She is getting healthier and stronger every minute.

In the morning during feeding, I commented to the nurse that her face looked more yellow. I wondered if she had jaundice. They drew her blood and, sure enough, she was high risk for jaundice. When we met with the pediatrician who was on-call, Dr. Connor said she wanted to start a procedure where Jessica is placed under special lights that help with getting rid of jaundice.

*Cough Cough*
*Ahem*
Attention Class:
I can now tell you that jaundice means there is a high level of bilirubin in her red blood cells. The lights break it down into another form of "rubin" which she can pass easily through her urine. Bilirubin apparently has something to do with pigmentation of the skin (hence the yellow color) and can make her not want to eat as much, sleep more, and become dehydrated. Apparently, there are different levels of jaundice, but most newborns get what is called physiological jaundice and is pretty normal to get. Thankfully, that is what Jessica has. Class dismissed.

Her treatment is called phototherapy and works pretty rapidly. Especially because she is a preemie and working on staying stable in other critical areas, we began her phototherapy very quickly. She lays on special pads that produce a blue light underneath her and then there are 2 different lights above her. Because the lights are so bright, she has to wear what is called a "shade" to protect her eyes. You can see in the pictures at the bottom that it makes her look almost like a burn victim. I had a really hard time watching them put her shade over her eyes (she cries every time they take it on or off) and I had to step out of the Level II Nursery for awhile. At midnight, after several hours of being under the lights, she is beginning to look better. The hospital is going to draw her blood this morning and should have the results by the time we "wake up" (although - look at the time...can you tell I'm a slightly nervous 1st mother? :) we should know whether the phototherapy is working or not. She sure is special.

The other update is that the nurses had to change the position of Jess's IV. The one in her right hand had been there for so long that it was leaking fluid into her hand tissues. So, they put an IV into her head. Jer and I decided (before we knew about the IV change) to ask my brother, Derrall, to come up and help Jer give her a blessing. I went to the bathroom while we were waiting, and when I came out, Jer wasn't in our room. I wasn't sure where he went but I didn't stress about it. I called his cell phone. He didn't pick up but called back quickly. When I picked up the phone he didn't talk right away but I could hear the background noises and knew he was in the nursery. I started panicking thinking that something was wrong and he wasn't able to talk for some reason because of it. After about 2 seconds (yea - 1st time mom) he answered and told me he was feeding Jessica. He told me about the IV change and I freaked. He assured me that it looked worse than it was. Apparently, when he showed up at the nursery to feed her, there were 3 nurses huddled around her bed finishing the IV change. He got panicked because it looked like something bad was going on. Thankfully, we had a fantastic day nurse (Carolee) who explained the situation to him.

Derrall showed up and we went down to the nursery. I walked through the door and Carolee said, "Stop! Before you come any further I want you to know that there is an IV in her head. It looks worse than it really is." I smiled and told her that Jer had already prepped me. I walked over and was so grateful that I knew because, it really was a shock at first. Had I written this blog right after I saw it, I would be over-dramatizing it because it took me a couple of hours not to be freaked out and to stop crying.

Derrall and Jer gave Jess a blessing. She really is going to be fine. I'm so grateful for the power of the priesthood.

Summary of all this typing: we are very hopeful that she will get to go home with us tomorrow (which is technically later on today...) We meet with the pediatrician either this morning or afternoon and I am praying that she will be stable and healthy enough to make it home. If not, that will be ok because it just means she will have one more day of getting healthy while in the hospital. We shall see.

Here are a couple of pictures from today...

I believe that I have an adorable, cuddly, darling, wonderful, amazing, fantastic, beautiful...ok we'll be here forever...cuddly angel. She loves to snuggle with me and I love to snuggle back.

Jer is one of the most supportive husbands ever. (Compared to all of my other husbands? That statement sounded silly...let me try again...)

Jer has been amazing through this whole thing. Pregnancy, labor, delivery, post-delivery. He is my best friend and there is no one else that I could do this with. I am eternally grateful that he is my husband and the father of our child (as well as any subsequent children...am I really thinking that I'll do this again?!? :) Anyways, here are some of my favorite pictures of him holding and bonding with our little girl...Jer feeding Jessica...

She's a daddy's girl!
I think that Jer is already willing to buy her the world!
Don't let her know...

Isn't he the greatest?

Such a proud daddy!

This is Jer just hanging out in our room on his "bed"

I waited for quite awhile to get that cute tongue sticking out!
I'm sure in a little while, when she does it for behavioral reasons, it won't be so cute! Until then though...

My angel

I know that she doesn't really know that those things attached to her are her arms, hands, and fingers...but it is SO DANG CUTE to watch her act like she knows what she is doing with them!

You can see the IV at the top of the "shade" she is wearing.
The pictures are easier for me to look at but still make me cry.

What a brave little trooper!

I have to keep reminding myself that it is worse than it looks and will help her get better. Again, without Jer I don't think I could handle this. It's just extremely hard to see your child in this position (the medical IV-sticking-out-of-her-head-underneath-the-shade position, not the laying-on-her-back-with-her-head-turned-to-the-side position. Just thought I'd lighten the mood of the blog... :) Jessica is such an amazing kid already. I'm glad she will be going home as a healthy baby when this is all over. Onward and upward to day 3...

I love being a mom. I love my daughter.
I love being a wife. I love my husband.

Proud Parents Of...

Jessica Lynn Workman!Jessica made her debut on Sunday, January 11th, 2009.
She weighed 8 lbs and 12 oz.
She was 21 inches long.
She came 5 weeks early!

I love my little girl!
Isn't she the most precious thing you've ever seen?!?

Here is a close-up...in this picture she is 20 hours old.

She has the cutest chubby cheeks and little chin! Look at that hair!!!

Jessica is only an hour old (maybe even that) in this one. How adorable!!!

Here is the story of how she came into this world:

My cousin Barbara and I went to the Utah College of Massage Therapy located in Lindon, UT. They offer pregnancy massages. Of COURSE we decided to go get one. So, we check in and we get our fabulous massages. (Let me just tell you - those are AMAZING! The first time I felt completely comfortable in months!) I get done with my massage and the attendant, Sarah, steps outside so I can get dressed. I'm putting on my pants (which was my last article of clothing) and WHOOSH! fluid is gushing. When I say gushing, I mean GUSHING! I've been to Niagra Falls once in my life and this was definitely a mini-version of that! I remember just sitting on the massage therapy bed/table thinking, "No way. No way!" I knew I wasn't going to the bathroom because I had gone just an hour before and there was so much liquid. I called Sarah's name and asked her to get my cousin because my water just broke. I explained that my cousin was a nurse and would know if that were true. Barbara came in and checked me. "Oh honey, you need to go to the hospital!" I called Jer to come and get me. Barbara had to walk me through what I needed. Here's how the conversation went:

Amy to Jer: What are you doing right now?
Jer to Amy: I'm online with my sister.
Amy to Jer: My water broke.
Jer to Amy: What?!?
Amy to Jer: My water broke.
Jer to Amy: Uh...what do you need?
Amy to Barb: What do I need?
Barb to Amy: You need him to come get you.
Amy to Jer: You need to come get me.
Amy to Barb: Now what?
Barb to Amy: He needs to pack you a bag.
Amy to Jer: I need a bag.
Amy to Barb: What goes in the bag?
Barb to Amy: Change of clothes
Amy to Jer: I need a change of clothes...in the bag.

I was panicky, shaky, and extremely in shock! Obviously I had no idea what I was doing at this point! Thank you Barbara for stepping in! It was so crazy! After I called Jer I called my mom. The beginning went like this:

Amy: Mom, my water just broke.
Mom: Nuh-uh!
Amy: I'm serious! My water broke!
Mom: No way!
Amy: Mom! I'm not kidding!

Can you tell my family likes to play jokes and tease? :) Then I called Jer's mom to break the news to her (no "breaking" pun intended...) After I got off the phone with those 3, the manager of the Massage Clinic poked her head in and said, "We've had a couple of complaints from other clients about the noise level. I explained that you were in a different situation but could you keep it down please?" I think I just stared at her. 'Different situation?' Right. It's called Labor. I think I went into a different kind of shock after that. One of disbelief. I guess there was a part of me that felt bad about the fact that my going into labor was inconveniencing everyone one around me. At the same time, like this was a 'different situation' that I had control over...oh well. What did I do? I stole a towel. I wish I was kidding but I'm not. I did inform them on the way out (after Jer got there), that I stole a towel from them. I offered to pay them for it but they just told me to keep it and go have my baby. I think they were relieved to get the hysterical pregnant/in labor woman out of their clinic. :)

We got to the hospital, got admitted, and settled in for a grueling, tiring, activity-driven labor. Yea right. I was a little uncomfortable for a few hours, but no real painful contractions. Then, it started getting uncomfortable. So from 2:30pm (when my water broke) till about 11:30pm I was ok. I finally had the nurse call the guy for the anesthetia at 11:45pm. His name was John. The epidural was a little scary but mostly because I had never had one before. I was pleasantly surprised at how well/easy it was. There was one tingly jolt at the end when he hit a nerve, but nothing major. I LOVED having an epidural. I loved it so much, in fact, that Jessica ALMOST became a John. That would have been a little wierd though...So Jer and I slept on and off through the night. In the morning things weren't progressing as quickly as the hospital staff wanted and it almost went the way of a c-section. Finally though, things picked up and at 12:3opm I began pushing. Holy cow is that a different type of labor!

Two things that made this a sacred experience (other than the fact the a new life came into the world): we received the sacrament and I received a blessing. The sacrament was given by 2 older men who were accompanied by their wives and (one couple) was accompanied by their grandson. They knelt right there on the floor in the hospital and offered the sacrament prayers. They passed the bread and then the water to Jer, myself, and 2 nurses who came in to partake of it. The Spirit was very, very strong during that 2 minute sacrament meeting. The Lord has been with us. Then, we had a very good friend come in and help Jeremy give me a blessing. Again, the Spirit was very strong. It was absolutely the most amazing blessing. I was blessed to have the strength to endure and we were promised that Jessica would be fine and perfect and healthy. The Lord has truly been with us.

Up until the pusing, Jer and I both thought that labor was pretty boring. We had talked, emailed, played cards, had visitors, etc...It was truly uneventful. Until the pushing.

The first hour or so was pretty easy. I mean, it was hard work, but not bad at all. At about 1:45 it started getting even more tiring. Finally at about 2:15 it was beginning to be much harder. I could feel a lot more pressure. At 2:30 the nurse called for the doctor. People started coming in droves! There were 2 nurses, 1 doctor (a Dr. Haskett who is the nicest man and did such a great job!), a nurse from the Nursery, and a Respiratory Therapist. It was busy and crowded. The last 15 minutes were super hard and I was super tired, cranky, and hysterical. That last 15 minutes is when I was crying and telling the doctor in no uncertain terms to get the baby out! I didn't swear or say anything awful, I just demanded that the baby be delivered! :) She was and she is beautiful! My brightest spot during the "dark 15" was Jer smiling and giving me the thumbs up. He was the best coach. The best husband. The best supporter. The best leg holder. (If you haven't been a part of a delivery that last one sounds wierd. If you have, then you know exactly what I mean...). Basically, he was awesome!

Anyways, she is here. She is beautiful and I am still trying to take in the fact that I am a mom. I have a daughter. A living, breathing, beautiful daughter! I can hardly believe it. It doesn't feel real and I feel like I am playing house. A very sore, tired kind of house. :) Thank you to everyone who has been supportive and wonderful. We have some great friends and family members. Everyone has just made this experience one of the most positive ones of my life. Next to getting married to Jer, this has been the best experience of my life!

Pregnancy is an opportunity to...

1. Be a mom
2. Learn patience
3. Appreciate ankles (take a second to look down at yours...I bet they look fantastic!)
4. Appreciate the ability to move your body
5. Appreciate and desire the chance to regularly exercise
6. Learn humility
7. Appreciate (and desire!) a clean home - soon I will be able to clean my entire home again in 1 day! :)
8. Appreciate sleep - in any form really
9. Prepare for motherhood
10. Bond and develop a very deep love for my daughter
11. Learn more about my sacred role as a wife
12. Learn more about my sacred role as a mother
13. Learn more about my sacred role as a daughter
14. Appreciate my husband - all he does for me & how much he really does love me
15. Enjoy laughter
16. Begin to learn how to rely on my Savior
17. Pour my heart and soul out daily and often with my Father in Heaven
18. Look around and realize how many kind, kind people there are in this world
19. Enjoy feeling my daughter move inside of me - a daily miracle
20. Wonder at the Plan of Salvation and how true and real it is
21. Reflect and appreciate my own mother - I'm just beginning to realize all that she sacrificed for me
22. Reflect and appreciate my dad - watching my husband I realize that dad's sacrifice a lot too
23. Appreciate my mother-in-law. She sacrificed for my husband like my mom did for me
24. Appreciate my father-in-law. Ditto on the sacrificing part - he was, and is, a great father to my husband
25. Enjoy my husband talking and singing to our daughter - I love it when he leans down and says (in a sing-song voice) "Hello baby! This is your daddy!"
26. Realize what is truly important in my life
27. Appreciate temples on the earth. My daughter will be my daughter forever thanks to the amazing blessing of Jer and I being sealed together
28. Enjoy food - it's amazing how food sustains my child and myself!
29. Appreciate stretchy clothing
30. (this one might sound silly but...) appreciate skinny fingers - I miss wearing my wedding ring
31. Enjoy having a kingdom that consists of 4 regular pillows, 1 super fluffy pillow, and 1-2 smaller couch pillows - without those there is no hope for sleep!
32. Really appreciate water! I have become part fish because of the amount of water I drink!
33. Learn more about the miracle of life
34. Learn how to control my panic - it seems that every time we have a doctor's appointment I find something new to worry about. I think it's the first time mom syndrome...
35. Grow stronger in my testimony
36. Grow closer to my husband - can I mention it enough about how amazing he is?!?
37. Appreciate the ability to fit inside a booth at a restaurant - I no longer do...one day I will though
38. Buy adorable, cute, teensie-weensie baby clothes!
39. Hold a cute little infant diaper in my hands and think about the cute little tushy that will fit in it! (I ignore the idea of what will come out of that cute little tushy 10-12 times a day though!)
40. Sit in my rocker/glider in the baby's room and think about the time (which will be soon) that I get to rock my daughter with her in my arms
41. Learn from wonderful friends the secrets of motherhood

This list could go on and on...and it probably should. Yea for motherhood! Yea for an incredible eternal plan that is so perfect and sacred!

“Yours is the grand tradition of Eve, the mother of all the human family. … Yours is the grand tradition of Sarah and Rebekah and Rachel, without whom there could not have been those magnificent patriarchal promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob which bless us all. Yours is the grand tradition of Lois and Eunice and the mothers of the 2,000 stripling warriors. Yours is the grand tradition of Mary, chosen and foreordained from before this world was, to conceive, carry, and bear the Son of God himself” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “ ‘Because She Is a Mother,’ ” Ensign, May 1997, 36).

Skinny and Beautiful

Ok in the blogging world, for me, when it rains it pours...meaning I am posting 3 (yes 3) different posts all on the same day. All within the same hour! :)

I told my class this week that I have the superhuman ability to go from happy to bawling in about .2 seconds. I warned them that it probably wasn't them but if I did start crying, to just be super nice and smile. One of my kids asked, "So, when you start crying should we just pull out a book and read until you are done?" I had to laugh. I told them no, to just keep working on whatever their assignment was. I told them that all they needed to say was, "Mrs. Workman - you are so skinny and beautiful!"

Now, all 3 of the 6th grade classes rotate between us teachers (in order to prepare them for junior high) so I see all 3 classes for one subject or another. I told the other 2 classes the same thing. The funny thing, is that this whole week I have had students from all 3 classes come up to me at random times during the day to say, "My you look skinny and beautiful Mrs. Workman!" The other 2 teachers have told me that the kids are now starting to say it to them too! Have I mentioned how much I love 6th graders and teaching them? :) This is really a fun, fun, fun, fun, fun age to work with! :)

Doctor's Visit

So, we had a doctor's visit yesterday. Long and short of it is - I'm still pregnant. :) Even though we weren't supposed to be on weekly visits for 2 more weeks, because I've been feeling so much pressure down in the pelvic region and because my measurements are bigger, Dr. Smith decided to begin weekly visits yesterday.

I am dilated about 1cm, Jessica is sitting head down, and we are scheduled for another ultrasound / doctor's visit next Tuesday in order to see what is going on with her. I've been gaining so much water weight that Dr. Smith isn't sure if my measurements are water, amniotic fluid, the way Jessica is sitting, or (*sniffle*) just me or Jessica gaining weight. Hopefully we'll know more on Tuesday! If she is bigger, I'm praying that she'll hurry up and get here. I guess we'll see.

Now, I know that 1cm is nothing to scream about or begin frantically throwing my hospital bag together for BUT it feels like the beginning of the end of pregnancy. To me, the 1cm is more of a way to put on my mental pregnancy game face. You know? Or, maybe this is just all the rantings of an almost 8 month pregnant gal. You choose. Either way my baby is coming and I am SO excited!

Jer just makes me laugh because every night (and at random intervals in between) he puts his face right by my belly and talks to Jessica. Last night, he began singing to her. Oh, how I love that man! He is going to be such a great dad. I can't wait to see him in action. No really. At 2 am I can't wait to see him in action! :)

More info as we get it! (and I promise to post a picture of my and my Shamu-sized belly soon!)

The Flight Home From Texas...

turned out to be pretty awesome! When I booked our tickets, I had us riding side by side with me in the aisle seat. When we printed out our tickets at the airport, we were sitting rows away with neither of us in the aisle. Um...for anyone who has seen me - not going to work. So, at the counter by the gate, we went up to talk to the 2 gals who were at the counter. We walked up and before we could say anything one of them says, "Girl! You look so tired! I'm only 2 months pregnant and I'm tired. How are you hanging IN there?!?" Jer and I just smiled. The other girl said, "She is always trying to play the pregnant card - shoving her work off on me..." I just laughed and said, "Sorry. I'm on her side. The pregnant card is a TOTALLY valid card!" You could tell that the 2 gals were friends. So we all laughed and then Jer and I explained our situation. They said they were overbooked by 10 but would see what they could do. We thanked them and sat down.

About 10 minutes later we got the call, 'Workman's to the counter. Workman's to the counter.' We decided that I looked the most pathetic so I would go up (just in case extra sympathy was needed). When I got up there, it was just the gal who wasn't pregnant. She looked at me and said, "Now, you weren't on my side earlier so I was hesitant to do this for you. But, you look like you need it..." and she showed me our tickets. At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then, I looked closer and saw "Elite Pass" at the top. She had bumped us up to first class!!!! I tried not to cry and said thank you. She just smiled and said, "Merry Christmas!"

First class is awesome! Real glasses! All the water I could possibly want! Wider seats! Seats that go so far back that, compared to coach, I thought I was going to hit the guy behind me! They hang up your coats! Free headsets for movies! No moist towelette but I'm sure if our flight was longer they would have had them! Two, count them, two snack packs of the FANCY pretzels! It was pretty fun to fly that way. :)

All silliness aside - I was so grateful for what was a miracle / blessing / tender mercy of the Lord to me. Some might call it luck. Others might call it chance. Me? I have no doubt in my mind that it was absolutely one way that the Lord showed He is looking out for me and He cares for me.