Recliner Chronicles: Bedrest, Day 9

I have learned a lot of things the last 9 days, both about myself and the world in general. Turns out that having to WORK for a living really deprives you of all the up-to-the-minute details of what's going on in the world.

I have learned that Maury is, in fact, NOT a one-trick pony. Yes, he can still be counted on to identify your baby daddy from the 11 choices you brought to New York for testing, but about once a week he will also offer a lie detector to see if your Significant Other **really** took those scandalous pics of himself to send to you and not some other... er... girl.

My dogs REALLY think that everytime I leave the room, I'm gone forever.

You can alleviate tailbone pain by creating and adhering to a strict buttockal rotation schedule (center, right cheek, center, left cheek, center, right sidelying, center, left sidelying). This works for 3 hours. After that, Tylenol and a change of furniture are your only options.

Pick a show... any show. It's still on somewhere at some time of the day. And it's far worse than you remember.

My iPhone lives to suck up to me so I keep paying the exorbitant fees required to maintain it. I haven't lost a game in 8 days... there's NO way I'm that much of a Cribbage Rockstar.

Reality TV looks more real all the time.

I'm far more picky than I thought. When I take care of myself, I just know to toss my salad with the dressing if I expect me to eat it, not to pour my soda over ice if I expect me to drink it, and for the love of all that is good butter my toast, but only put jelly on half of it. When other people are taking care of you and you have to say all these things out loud, it makes you sound high maintainance... even to yourself.

I haven't had a Nutter Butter in 15 years. I like them.

When going to the bathroom is the only reason you're supposed to get up, you stay very well hydrated :).

All that junk on QVC is starting to look really good... I never realized how versatile a velour jumpsuit can be.

The fine people at peopleofwalmart.com have now brought us several more websites... and they're every bit as awe-inspiring as the original concept.

And just think... I still have about 11 more days to go! Oh, the things I can learn!!

Bigger Than the Boogieman

I will start by saying, as great as it sounds in the middle of a fatiguing workday, bedrest inhales profusely. I'm not sick, really not tired, just... in bed. I have bathroom "priviledges," although there comes a point in pregnancy when the bathroom is not a priviledge... it's a necessity. So for 48 hours now, my entire world has been encompassed in about a 15 foot circle. And the light at the end of my 15 foot tunnel is about 2 weeks away... But it's OK. As stir crazy as I already am (and will be SO much more so if I don't get to go home on Monday), it's for a greater cause. Not necessarily one that I understand right now, but I know I will see it clearly one day.

I don't think this is about Jonah, not really. Like so many other moments in my life, I think this is about Rebecca. This is about Rebecca taking control, mastering her own destiny, worrying. This is about Rebecca creating too much noise in her own life to Be Still.

I've had time to look back over the last week, and it's incredible to be able to see the hand of God in ending up where we are right now. So many little details, meaningless individually, adding up to preparation for what we never saw coming.

After spending months in no particular hurry to get things done in the nursery, we have, in a week's time textured the wall, painted the room, and bought, cut, painted, and hung chair rail. We also finished buying all the furniture in the last week, though we haven't put it together because the room wasn't finished.

After spending months poking around at getting things organized for maternity leave, I maniacally spent the beginning part of this week finishing spreadsheets, updating folders, and organizing materials. I still didn't get everything finished, but I had things in such an order that I was able to tell someone else how to finish getting things where others could find them.

On a whim one day this week I happened to ask Casey what the best way to find him in the middle of a work day was. Two days later I had to do it.

On Tuesday, my little boy stopped his usual activity level. I was busy, so I didn't notice. I hurt, but I was busy and didn't listen to my body. I became very ill and was in alot of pain, but I was busy and didn't pay attention. By Wednesday, I became aware enough of his decreased movement to become concerned, and instantly I knew in my gut that I needed to be checked out. After what was likely the longest 20mile drive of my life, I sat down in Dr. Wagman's waiting room. Not 5 mintues later, Jonah resumed his normal movement and hasn't stopped since. God used this little punk of a boy to get me where I needed to be at that moment. I didn't pay attention to my body, but I listened to him. He was (and is) perfect. I needed to Be Still.

God is definitely bigger than the boogieman. Louder than the noise, the worry, the control we think we wield over our own lives. I'm completely out of control here. I have no idea when I'm going home, when I'm going to deliver this little one, how we're going to survive without the pay I'm about to get docked. But He's bigger than panic or a paycheck. I just need to Be Still.

Are We There Yet?

Yesterday I got up, joked with Casey that we should call in, and went to work anyway. I had 6 weeks of work left before I took off to welcome Jonah. By 7:30 last night I was sitting in a hospital bed for who knows how long. What a difference a day makes.

Midday I really started to notice that Little One just hadn't been nearly as active as usual. I started thinking back and realized that he'd been abnormally mellow on Tuesday, too, so I called Dr. Wagman's office to see when I should worry. By 3:15 I was in her office watching my fully breech, fully active little man pulling one of his favorite stunts... being non-compliant. Strong-Willed Fetus Syndrome is a thing, and my child definitely has it. So Jonah wasn't in trouble... what IS going on? One helter-skelter trip to the high-risk perinatologist later, I was standing in admitting processing that no, as a matter of fact. I would not be going home.

Why are we here? Apparently Jonah is both non-compliant AND persuasive and has talked my body into helping prepare for his arrival a little too early. My cervix is 17 mm and funneling instead of the 40 and straight it should still be at this point. Upon interrogation, it seems that I've likely been having contractions (mild and painless) for several weeks. Because they weren't particularly uncomfortable and I'd never done this before, I had no idea what was going on.

So the plan, as best I know it until Dr. W comes and tell me otherwise, is to stay here. In this bed. With a view of the DART rail station. We don't know how long. Based on her past patients of Dr. W's (and a late night phone call where she was told I'd be here for "a couple of more weeks"), me nurse seems to believe that I'll likely be here until 34 weeks (8 more days) or beyond. Delivery isn't imminent, but I have to be on bedrest until we're in the "safe" zone (techinically closer to 35 weeks, but 34 will do). He's had steroids to boost his lungs, so if it's sooner rather than later, that's one fewer thing to worry about.

So my plans, once again, made God laugh. But I'm very thankful that He used a 4lb. 8oz. (ish) little boy to make ME listen and to keep us safe. I'll update as a know more, but frankly I'm OK with there being no action on this particular front!