brighter days.

Do y'all love the new blog design? I am really excited about it! It was done by Kelly at Fabulous K! (...I love re-decorating, although my husband doesn't have the same appreciation for it...) =)

By God's grace, I have been feeling much better these past few days. The sun has been bright and my attitude has been cheery.

My schedule is basically the same each day, which helps make me feel more 'normal'. Now that I'm an 'established' patient, the nurses let me sleep in a bit. The first week I was here, they were coming in every 4 hours (even during the night!) to take my blood pressure and temperature. It was exhausting! I've said it before, but lack of sleep can really wear on me...I'm not one of those people who can survive on 4-5 hrs. My body needs at least 8 hrs or so, and that's no joke.

Between 7-8 am, I am up and ready to start the day. Pam, from dietary, greets me each morning with my breakfast (I have to say getting breakfast in bed every morning is NOT a bad thing)! I love to start the day reading from my Bible and various books by Max Lucado, Beth Moore, and Ruth Myers. It puts my head and heart focused on God, instead of the 'what ifs?' and 'how comes?' and 'why Me's?'.

Before I know it, lunch has arrived and I'm checking email, twitter, blogs, or all the above. I have to admit that eating is a struggle for me (always has been), seriously. I know that sounds crazy, but I don't have an big appetite, nor do I like much. To complicate that, my doctor recommends I get 100 grams of protein per day (that's a lot) and this hospital food is testing my strength. If I didn't have a baby to grow inside me, I think I might starve to death in here. Thank goodness for Ensure shakes and chicken tenders! =)

After lunch, the afternoon is spent reading and studying more, chatting on the phone, and watching some TV. I usually check to see what Dr. Phil and Oprah are about, although majority of the time I don't watch either.
After he gets off work, Chris arrives and stays with me every other night. It's nice to have him here with me, but I do feel guilty that we're both away from Coy (although, Coy's been so well taken care of, I don't think he's minding that much).

At 9pm, the nurse brings me Ambien (gotta love that) and it's lights out. I have been sleeping through the night, unless nature calls me to the bathroom. I'm continuously hooked up to the contraction monitor, so the nurses watch that 24/7. Even through the night, I am contracting 1-2 per hour (I sleep through it).

For those who want to know, Baby Sister does NOT have a name as of yet. Chris and I have yet to agree on something that we both love. I decided when the time is right, we'll know what her name is suppose to be. Until then, she is Baby Sister.

Tomorrow marks 22 weeks, Praise God! I will have another cervical ultrasound and a fFN test (it detects preterm labor...if the test is negative, there is a good chance you would NOT deliver in the next two weeks). Will you please pray my cervix is still long and unchanged from the previous two weeks? Please also pray the fFN test is negative and I will stay pregnant for 14 more weeks!

Thanks for all your continued prayers and love. I promise to update as soon as I know test results.