Changes, Changes Everywhere!!

Phew...it's been a crazy month for us! I know, I know...I'm lacking on updates lately!! Although, I do have just a few excuses for the lack. So we've been in our new house for three weeks now...and we LOVE it!! I still can't believe how fast a house can feel like a home...even with all of the boxes still around here! I'm so jealous of those people (aka, Crystal!!) who can move into a house and boom, 2 weeks later...everything is in a perfect place and presentable. Our house, not so much! It's a very slow work in progress...hence, no pictures yet! There's a few too many boxes to have pictures of this place yet. So far, the kitchen has fallen into place rather nicely. We need to paint, but overall, that room is almost complete! The family room off of the kitchen is my next project I want to complete. I got a slipcover to help disguise our not-so-fabulous hide-a-bed and really helps a lot. It took me over an hour to pick out an area rug for that room, but it's all a work in progress. The living room is basically empty, minus a new TV. No idea what we're going to do for furniture, as it is kind of a long room and I can't figure out the best arrangement. It'll come to me eventually, I guess! Someone had asked us about building one time and my response was, "I can't even pick furniture, let alone absolutely everything for a house!" The living room may get the best of me yet...hopefully it'll fall in place sometime soon!

Monkey has also been causing his/her own distractions! This may be a bit personal for some of you, but we've all talked cervical lengths before, so nothing new! Well, the 48 mm cervical length we got last time seemed to be a fluke. My cervical length was 26 mm the first time they measured and well...this last time was 26 mm again. So my perinatologist went and looked at all of the measurements and confidently said my cervix is 26 mm. Now you're probably wondering what's the big deal...well, they don't really want it to be less than 30 mm. So 26 mm isn't a huge dip below, but at 25 mm, that's where they start intervening. By intervention, I mean betamethasone shots (steroids to boost the baby's lungs) and magnesium sulfate (to protect the baby's brain) in case I would go into labor and deliver sooner than later. If my cervical length drops drastically (like 26 down to 18), then intervention will more than likely start happening. If it goes to 25, then it sounds like just more ultrasounds. So we've been a bit nervous about all of this. I'm only 23 weeks and that's barely over half, barely over viability. After working in the NICU, my mind is always more at ease after 27 weeks. My only hope and prayer is that Monkey just stays put and things continue to stay stable at 26 mm. Having a baby before 27 weeks is terrifying for me. There are just so many things that can happen. Like I said, my only prayer is to make it past 27 weeks. I have my next ultrasound on Monday, so that will determine a lot! So for now, we continue with progesterone shots (which hurt like a b*tch by the way!) and keep watching.

Monkey definitely has a different temperament than Jackson. Jack would move around constantly and you'd have something touching my stomach and Jack would punch right back! Monkey...not so much! Jack has been trying very hard to feel Monkey move around and Monkey just doesn't want to be discovered yet! Not even by Daddy either. We'll see if this babe's temperament truly is completely opposite of Jack!

I'll post again after our next ultrasound...send up lots of prayers!! Monkey has a LONG time to bake and keep cooking!