Jacob/Caroline will be here soon!

It was a VERY long week in our house. Joey was gone for 7 nights to Germany, Andrew got really sick, and I had a scare with the new baby. However, now that I am able to look back on the week, the Lord blessed our little family over and over again.

We have known for many weeks that Joey was going to have to go to Germany. We were both extremely upset about the timing, but there was really nothing that could be done. Being away from him for seven nights and having all of the responsibility of Andrew is hard enough. Add on top of that the worry that he might miss the birth of Jacob/Caroline, and I was a crying mess when he left! One more thing, both my mom and sister (my go to people) are both "out of commission" right now because of surgery or a new baby.

Fortunately, I have some amazing friends. I did not stay alone one single night. I had 5 friends split up the seven nights and stay with Andrew and me. They were Julie Salter, Randi Hall, Amy Ridgeway, Laura McGough and Christin Brown. They made the week so much better for me and were there in case I needed a ride to the hospital in the middle of the night. Also, Carolyn Weldon was ready at any moment to come and keep Andrew if I had to go.

On Tuesday, I got a call from daycare that Andrew had a 101.3 fever. Of course, I went to get him. We stayed home that day and all day Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon, I realized that I had not felt J/C move all day. I called the doctor and told them that I was coming in to be put on the monitor. The nurse told me to wait until I had heard back from the doctor to come in, but I told her to go on and pull my file because I was on my way! Carolyn came over to watch Andrew, and I was on my way. When I arrived, my Sunday School teacher (Carol Mapp) was there because her daughter had a baby that day. She went with me to my appointment and kept me calm.

When the monitor was strapped to me, we got a heartbeat almost immediately. Praise God! It was in the 120's. The movement took a little longer to pick up. I drank some orange juice and ate some crackers. I was monitored for about an hour, and the doctor on call expressed some concerns about my size. He said that I was only measuring 35 weeks pregnant. Because I knew that my due date was correct, I was now concerned. I began researching what could cause the measurement to be off if the due date was correct (probably a mistake on my part) and became scared that my amniotic fluid was too low and they would be forced to deliver the baby while Joey was still in Germany. An ultrasound was scheduled for the next day.

On Thursday, Andrew went back to school. I thought that he was better, but his teachers told me that he was really fussy. I wanted to pick him up early, but I had the ultrasound scheduled. David and Jan went with me. Everything looked great on the ultrasound. The baby is just very low but is growing fine. On the ultrasound, he/she is measuring perfectly, so the due date was correct. The fluid was also perfect. He/she was 7 pounds and 4 ounces. We were all amazed at how much his/her face favored Andrew. At my appointment, I was 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced. Here are some pictures.

On Thursday night, Andrew would not sleep. It was really rough. It was Laura's night to stay with me, and I felt terrible for her. We tried everything to comfort him. but he was not feeling well. Because he didn't have a fever and I had missed so much work already, I took him to school on Friday. Daycare called by 8:15. I took him to the pediatrician, and he had a terrible ear infection. I was honestly happy that it was something that could easily be treated. We spent the rest of the day snuggling and watching television.

On Saturday, I woke up giddy because Joey was coming home! Not only was he coming home, but Andrew was feeling better and we had not had the baby! Andrew was so excited to see him. Andrew and Ralph both enjoyed helping him unpack.

On Sunday, we woke up early and got ready for church. We were actually all ready with 30 minutes to spare--never happens in our house! We decided to get in bed and watch television together. The next thing that I remember is looking at the clock and realizing that it is past 10:00! We changed out of our church clothes and made a trip to Target to get some last minute things for the baby. Here I am before leaving at 38 weeks and 5 days. I wonder if this will be my last bump picture of this little one. I am still having a lot of contractions, but they are not regular. I think that everyday is THE day. I'm am starting to be like the boy who cried wolf!