Happy 3rd Birthday Grayden!!!

It's so hard to believe that it has been three years since this sweet little baby entered my world. Grayden has exploded into a full-grown toddler and little man. We celebrated Grayden's 3rd birthday on Saturday, March 5th (which I realize is over a month ago...we've been a little preoccupied with bed rest and hospital stays.) I'll admit this birthday was hard on this Momma. I had such big plans for his birthday, birthday week, and party- all to which I had to surrender because I was limited to modified (meaning I can do NOTHING) bed rest. I had a yummy menu that I had been working on, the perfect football cake and dessert ideas, and was planning to take off work on Friday so we could spend the day spoiling him. The day still turned out perfectly and I owe much, much thanks to my sweet family. My mom who came early to help clean house, run errands, bake a cake, and cater to my every request (which can be extremely demanding at times)-  I sure do love Mom...I couldn't get through these past several months without her. Also, thanks to my sister in law, Mandy, my brothers Jason and Brian (for helping to clean, serve me, and put toys away exactly as I ask), and to Bill- for his awesome work on the ceiling fan- and too for helping to get things in order (he does a mean job on hanging streamers). Also, thank you to Rob's parents for taking off the burden of making food- and helping to cater BBQ...And just a big thank you to everyone who came to celebrate my little boy's birthday and show us how much you love us. It was a wonderful day- and we were reminded how blessed we are and how blessed Grayden is to have such a wonderful family and group of friends.

Our birthday theme (of course) was football. I had such big plans for the cake and was determined that I was going to bake it and decorate it regardless of bed rest. With mom's help to do the baking (and thanks to Betty Crocker), we conquered the football cake and made some football theme cupcakes to go with it. Grayden was so excited about turning 3. All day we kept asking him how old he was and he'd laugh and say 2. We would then correct him, to which he would laugh and argue that he was only 2. It wasn't until after all presents were open (which was a 2 hour process with a cake break in between), that Grayden finally looked up at everyone and said "I'm 3!!" Supposedly, your age does not change until all presents have been open and cake has been eaten. Grayden loved being sung too. He beamed during "Happy Birthday" and did a pretty good job blowing out his candle. He sung happy birthday to himself for at least 2 weeks after his party. Overall, for this mom who had to surrender to bed rest on her little boy's special day- it was a great party and such a fun day.

I wish I could detail every funny thing Grayden says or does. Rob and I can't express how much we love him and how much he makes us laugh. I'm amazed at how quickly he has gone from a sweet, pleasant, baby to a ball full of energy, talking in sentences, laughing hysterically, running into walls, playing football, ornery 3 year old. He's a true mess and we love every bit of him.

Bed Rest - Hospitalized Style

Since my last post- we've been upgraded to "hospitalized bed rest". After another scare on March 13th and a 3 day hospital visit, we were sent home on strict bed rest. No more modified bed rest allowed. We were home by noon on Wednesday the 16th, and at 2pm on Thursday, March 17th (St.Patty's Day)- we were racing (Rob was actually speeding...95 mph anyone?) to the hospital with the scariest complication to date. We got to the hospital and were actually being prepped for an emergency c-section, however thanks to our gracious Father, things actually stabilized and baby Reed was able to stay put. The bad news? Hopsitalized Bed Rest. Meaning we were NOT going home. At that point, I was 32 1/2 weeks.  The goal is for me to get to at least 36 weeks....that would mean a hospital stay of at least 4 weeks, if not more. Talk about disappointment. 


Since then- I've made it over 2 weeks!! We are officially 34 weeks and 6 days, meaning tomorrow I'll be 35 weeks and then we only have a maybe 10-12 days left! Here's the OB's tentative plan: at 36 weeks (and a couple days), we will attempt to have an amnio done- they are calling in the high risk OB docs- because my amniotic fluid levels have been low again, and most likely they will be doing my amnio- Once we have the results of the amniocentesis, if baby's lungs look mature and ready- we will schedule a c-section, probably for the next day. Obviously, some of this is my own interpretation. :) The way I look at it- we could have a baby somewhere between April 12-15th.  Of course, if something were to happen - such as Reed starts to have trouble in utero, or I have begin having labor contractions, or I have another bleeding scare- we could deliver at anytime. Obviously- we are hoping to hold out for 36 weeks- since Reed would have a better chance of avoiding the NICU. 


We appreciate prayers. And we so appreciate all our family, church family, and friends who have been so supportive and helpful in all this! We've been so overwhelmed with God's love and His unending comfort. Grayden has really struggled with this situation, and we are so thankful to both Nana and Grandma who took time to come take care of him and try to give him some sort of normalcy. He's had a pretty stressful month between turning 3 (that's a hard age to turn), mom and dad in and out of hospital, and the fact that we keep telling him he is going to have a baby brother. He's had a lot to try to adjust too- and still a lot of adjustments to make. He's getting better though- he doesn't cry as much when he leaves at the hospital, and he has starting to climb in bed with me to snuggle. So....progress is made...hoping we don't take step backwards when Reed arrives.


I've still got a pretty big update with Grayden's birthday and pictures to fill everyone in on- that'll be my next post for sure!