I cannot believe it has been two months since I last posted. And after I vowed to post more often! Well, I will probably have a little more time now because as of Thursday, I am officially on bed rest for (I suppose) the duration of this pregnancy. I guess if I make it to 37 weeks, I can probably start doing whatever I want to again, though. Starting on Monday, my contractions, which I have been having since I was about four months pregnant, started getting more frequent. They got much worse by Tuesday night. I work on Wednesdays, and Bill tried to talk me out of driving all the way down to San Jose, but I insisted. I don't know if it was a mistake or not, but, regardless, I started having LOTS of contractions during my classes. I called the doctor, and I was told I should come on in to Labor and Delivery at the hospital. I still had to drive about 50 or 60 miles back to Oakland to pick up Bill, who dropped me off at the hospital and took Molly to a friend's house. It was a little bit of an anxious drive, but I made it safely. I got to the hospital, and they checked my cervix (no dilation) and put me on two monitors for a couple of hours. One monitor was to watch the baby's heart rate, and the other was to monitor my contractions. The contractions were few enough while I was lying down that they discharged me. (They do really slow down while I am off my feet, which is certainly a good argument in favor of bed rest.) We had a doctor's appointment the next day, and she told me it would be best if I were on bed rest. She put me on bed rest when I was pregnant with Molly, but I absolutely did not listen to her; this time, I'm listening. And Bill is being very strict and making me lie back down when I get up. It's not the easiest thing to lie on the couch with an active toddler, but I'm doing my best, and Bill is doing a great job taking care of everything. Luckily, he got his dissertation approved last week by his committee so he is free most of the time, excepting a few last minute things he is doing while Molly naps and after she goes to bed at night. I, on the other hand, am reading a lot and just in general trying to rest.
MZ is doing really well lately, eating well, sleeping pretty well, and just growing up. She is losing a lot of baby fat so she is looking thinner and more like a little girl than like a baby. I am really curious to see how she'll be as a big sister. She is very sweet with little kids, but she also really likes to have Bill and me to herself. I think (i.e., really, really hope) that the adjustment will not be too bad for her. I know it will be difficult for Bill and me with losing sleep, but we'll manage. :)
We have had visitors two straight weekends, and Bill's mom was here just a few weeks ago. My mom was here for about a week last week, and Molly's godparents were here this weekend. My sister comes on Friday. All the visits have been great and very, very helpful (thanks, everyone!!). In four weeks (when I will be 36 weeks along) Bill graduates, and we will have lots of family in town then, too. I'm not sure how it will be with the bed rest situation, but I'm sure we can, all together, manage to get me to see my beloved husband cross that stage and get hooded as a DOCTOR!
