Pregnancy Weeks 32-36

No real developments for week 32. At my appointment I was still having major swelling issues and BP was REALLY elevated. It was elevated so much Dr. T sent me to the hospital to be monitored for a few hours. Thankfully after a few hours my blood pressure had come down enough that I could be discharged. I was to complete a 24 hr collection so my protein levels could be checked. When the results came back we were all pleasantly surprised to find them very low....so no preeclampsia diagnoses still. The nursery was coming along nicely. Mandi, my best friend, was helping me with some art projects for the room including a floral mobile. (It was more like she did the whole thing with a little help from me.) The following Saturday Uncle Sam and Whitney came down for the day. They brought my childhood chifferobe I had been HOPING to use in Katie Brooke's nursery. We have big plans for it...just hope they get done!

Before

In progress

We finished that week with a trip to the Biscuits game in Montgomery with lots of young families from church. We had a blast!
Week 33 started with my first Mother's Day. Brendan was SO sweet. A few weeks ago Audrey, our four-legged daughter, had broken my newest favorite necklace. For my gift he had gotten me a replacement for the broken necklace. He also managed to get Audrey to "sign" my card with an I'm sorry I broke your necklace message. (He had stamped her paw print in the card!) If it couldn't get any cuter he had her deliver the card with the necklace in the envelope to me by carrying it in her mouth. What a memorable first Mother's Day. :)

Audrey wishing me a Happy First Mother's Day and Week 33!

Week 33 also brought our first two parenting classes. We opted to do the classes here in Enterprise and not Dothan so we could do them with our friends Troy and Carie whose little girl is due the exact same day as ours! The classes were some what practical, but very memorable. :) At work this week we had Field Day. I was VERY relieved when it was over and so were my swollen hands and feet! To finish this week I was busy getting ready for our Senior Banquet at church. One of my tasks required me to go to Wal-Mart. Upon leaving I found that I had probably set the record for worst case of "baby brain". I had left not only the car unlocked, but the keys in the ignition and the car running the entire time I had been shopping!!! I was so relieved to still have a car. Later that evening we celebrated with some of our friends from church whose little girl, Natalie, was turning 1! We can't wait for Katie Brooke to meet sweet Natalie.
Week 34 started off as busy as week 33 had ended. After a great morning of worship and lunch with friends I attended the bridal shower for LeAnne, a now college grad who was in the youth group while we've been here. After evening service we had a great Senior Banquet for Joe and Bethany. These two are going to be missed, but we're so proud of their choices to attend Christian universities this fall.

Joe, Myself, Bethany, and Brendan

By Tuesday of this week I was already worn out...wonder why?
At my doctors appointment Dr. T was really concerned about my swelling and yet again my blood pressure. So...she put me on bed rest. She had mentioned the possibility earlier so I wasn't completely shocked. However, in my mind I thought, for some reason, she would let me finish the week at work and THEN stay home. What was I thinking? I was very fortunate to get Ms. Bonnie from church to sub for the remainder of the year. We went the following day for an ultra sound to check Katie Brooke's breathing and the fluid levels. All were found to be good. We were even given an estimated weight of 6 lbs 5 ounces!
Week 35 began with my first Sunday not being able to go to all services at church. Brendan and I had made the decision that I should come to only one service. Thankfully my in-laws wanted to come and see us for the day. They were sweet enough to come early and take me to the morning worship service. I was so thankful for them. Mrs. Charmaine even brought lunch and cooked us another meal for during the week! The rest of the week was full with doctors appointments. My good friend Kelly helped me get there. Brendan was very busy picking up the rest of the chores and even started doing our grocery shopping! He is being a better sport about bed rest than I am!
Week 36 started with Memorial Day weekend. The Chances and the Holleys came over for our annual shrimp boil. This was by far the hardest week since being placed on bed rest. I love entertaining and getting our home ready for it is something I've always taken seriously. Not being able to clean and prepare my home was the hardest thing, but I'm so grateful for my husband's willing heart and for my in-laws who also pitched in to get everything ready for our other guests.

Happy Memorial Day and Week 36!

On Tuesday we had another appointment with Dr. T. Brendan was able to take me to this one. Dr. T discussed with us the real possibility of inducing if my BP was still high the following week. Tuesday evening Brendan's sister Christa came down to keep me company for the next few days. The following day she snuck me to work so I could see my students one last time before school let out for summer. I took them each a kite and received from them a basket FULL of goodies for Katie Brooke. The best gift, by far, was a quilt that my room mom had hand made. The quilt includes all 17 hand prints of my students with each of their names under their print. I truly is the sweetest gift I've ever received from students.



The week ended with me spending a few hours in my classroom packing it up for the summer. Thankfully I had help from not only Brendan, but also April. After we were through April and I had lunch with Mandi. It was a great way to get the official summer started!