Another Urgent PE prayer request

I am deeply concerned about Brandi, another mother in my pre-eclampsia support group. She is 31 weeks with her third child and has a history of severe PE. Her blood pressure has been labile (fluctuating) for several weeks. But it hasn't stayed up yet, nor does she have protein, so she doesn't officially have PE yet.

More concerning, though, is that she has several severe signs of brain swelling--extreme continual headache that isn't touched even by heavy duty pain meds, spots in her vision so severe she can barely see, and hyper-reflexes and clonus. She also is bleeding from her nose and ears and vomiting several times a day. She went to the hospital last night BUT because she isn't technically pre-eclamptic, they released her! And they did nothing for her pain. I am so appalled at the care she is receiving. She could be on the brink of a stroke, and the doctors aren't taking her seriously. Even if it's not PE and even if it's not brain swelling, it can't be good to be in that much pain and bleeding from your ears!

So please pray for Brandi and her baby, that they can get the care they need and that they aren't permanently harmed by these symptoms.

Thanks for Praying

A few weeks ago, I asked for prayers for Jamie, a woman in my pre-eclampsia support group. Last night, she had a healthy baby boy, Louis, at 36 weeks 5 days. Louis had some growth restriction and is a little small for a nearly-full-termer, but he's doing well enough to room in with mom and dad. Mom is also doing well after 5 weeks of hospital bedrest, and they expect to be home in time for Easter dinner. Praise the Lord!

Life with Girls...

My sister babysat my kiddos this evening while I was with my Bible study girls. When I left, Smartie was in the middle of performing Disney Princess Ballerinas on Ice. First she did some jumping and spinning herself, then she became the announcer. Aunt A and Sweetie had to sit on the floor staring at nothing while Smartie said things like, "Look at Cinderella do a jump spin! And now Belle is doing a twizzle! Aunt A! You're not looking! See Ariel do a toe jump!" Ah, little girls.

We've moved

Wednesday/Thursday we packed up the whole house, and Friday we moved into our new home. There are a lot of boxes to unpack, but we're slowly settling in. Sweetie has had the hardest transition. Smartie did a lot better than I expected.

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In a few minutes, Papa Runner is leaving for a week-long training in Chicago. So I'm flying solo this week with a little help from my sister. Then we have the Easter Sunrise Service at church (that we're in charge of!) next weekend. Once we get through that, I'll be able to breathe a lot easier. We won't have anything else big planned until June when we give dinner at church.

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The Sunday School Easter Program was today. During the Christmas program, Smartie couldn't handle everyone looking at her and hid under the bench instead of singing. This time, we talked through everything several times. She told me she wasn't going to sing, but she would stand up and smile. And that's exactly what she did. I was very proud of her.

My Dream Dashed

I had a rather random memory surface today. When I was six years old, I loved to watch Star Search on Saturday mornings. I was fascinated by the costumes, the singing and dancing, and the judging. I decided I really wanted to be a singer.

So one day I asked my mom if I could be on Star Search that Saturday. I'm sure she wasn't really listening, because she said sure. I was thrilled! I went to school that week and told everyone that I would be on Star Search that Saturday and to make sure to watch me. Meredith, a girl in my class, thought I was lying. Nuh-uh, I told her. My mom said I could!

That Saturday, I got up so excited! I raced through my breakfast, then asked my mom when we were going. Going where, she asked. To be on Star Search, duh! Didn't she remember?

That's when I got the devastating news. You had to take an airplane ride to California, try out, and spend months preparing to be on Star Search. BUT SHE SAID I COULD! I was very upset, naturally.

That Monday, Meredith said she watched Star Search, and I wasn't on it. So I was a liar. Nuh-uh, I said. I WAS going to be on it, I just changed my mind. Poor, heartbroken little first grader.

The Highs and Lows of Body Image

This weekend I saw the highs and lows of body image. On Saturday I went bra shopping, and amazingly enough I was down two cup sizes! I have never, ever experienced shrinkage. This was very exciting to me, because it gives me hope that I might get back to "normal" once the twins wean without going through another reduction surgery.

Then on Sunday, someone asked me if I was pregnant. I'm not. I don't hold any illusions, though. I'm taking a medication that as a side effect causes you to gain weight around the middle. I know I look pregnant, and while I'm not happy about it, I do accept it for now. I'll be able to come off the meds in a few months, and I'm looking forward to getting my body back in shape at that time.

Tonight, Smartie told me I need to start running again so my tummy isn't so fat any more. I hope I'm not giving my girls an unreasonable picture of what beauty should be. I want them to be at a healthy weight, but not obsess about meeting some artificial and unattainable standard of beauty. While I do want to lose a few pounds and get my abs under control, I also want to be happy with being normal. And I want my girls to be happy with themselves, too.

Getting the shot...

They looked so snuggly and sweet in their jammies all clean from the bath. I wanted to capture that precious magic moment. HA!







Success! Just distract them with tooth brushes!

Our family lately

Monkey is cruising the furniture already! At this rate he'll be walking by 10 months.


Sassy has two teeth and loves Avanti's bread.


Sweetie is working on earning a Belle doll. What does she have to do? Poop on the potty. I hope it happens soon!


Smartie has two loose teeth.

All the Dads are Wearing It

Babywearing article in New York Post.

Maternal Mortality

The Pantagraph had an interesting article about maternal mortality rates today. This is a topic close to my heart, since I could easily have been one of those statistics. The article focuses more on deep-vein thrombosis and post partum hemmorhage, but makes a passing reference to "uncontrolled blood pressure" aka pre-eclampsia.

Every pregnant woman should know the signs and symptoms of PE. I didn't when I was pregnant with Smartie. I went to the OB because I thought I was having an allergy attack. Thank God I did, because I was diagnosed with severe PE, induced prematurely, and heavily medicated to avoid seizure and stroke. If I had tried to make it through the weekend to my next appointment, I very likely could have died.

A few months after Smartie was born, an area woman did die of PE. I didn't know her personally, but we shared some mutual friends. She saw the same doctor, had the same diagnosis, was given the same advice (to head straight to the hospital for immediate induction and delivery). She decided she wasn't ready for the baby yet and wanted to wait one more week. She didn't make it. That could have been me.

More information can be found at the Preeclampsia Foundation.

Sweetest thing EVAH!

This morning, Monkey was crying and I was trying to get a load of laundry started before picking him up. When I got to him, he had crawled over and put his head in Sassy's lap, and she was gently rubbing his head. About died of cuteness!