36 Weeks (17P Injections)*

This is our last injection! I had contractions 10 minutes apart all day. It started in my back by the afternoon they were also on my lower abdomen. When B got home at 5pm he gave me my injection by 9pm the contractions had subsided!  So we will see what happens next Wednesday and Thursday. Most of the women in the studies delivered with in a week of stopping the injections. All the glory goes to God for keeping this baby healthy!

Baby Update:

Bed Rest Update:

Sunday: B and J headed off to Sandals Church. While I watch online! Still thankful for LiveStream! We had a relaxing day! Well, I always have a relaxing day these days! But the boys did too! Bobby's Grandparents came over for a visit. Then B took a nap! In the evening, I sat on the porch and enjoyed watching Jeremy play baseball! Not gonna lie, this kid has some talent! And each time he made it over the fence he came to get a kiss from Mommy! So precious!

Monday: We got to meet a friend's precious 2 week old baby! Jeremy wasn't as accepting as he was Friday, when another baby was here to visit. He asked Bobby to take the baby so that he could sit with me! Then he snuggles (middle of the day) for quite a while to make sure he was keeping his mommy! But after he went down for his nap, I snuggled for about an hour with Landon! I just loved it! The biggest news of today is (you are sworn to secrecy not tell my doctor) . . . We went to the movies!! I KNOW!! Before you judge, hear me out! We had a super great deal (2 tickets, extra large popcorn, 2 large drink, large candy for $17!!! Right??) that was going to expire if we didn't use it AND the chairs are super comfy and I could put the arm rests up and lay down. Which I did for most of the movie. We went on a double date with our friends, Jake and Lauren! It was nice to get out! I was super exhausted after. I came home, laid down and was out! I didn't even brush my teeth (yuck) or wash my face (gasp). But it was the best night sleep I have had in a while! It felt so good!

Tuesday:  My mom is here today. I have a doctor's appointment! I got to get out 2 days in a row! Whoop-whoop!  The doctor is happy we got another week down! He says I can start to get up and around, slowly at 37 weeks. 

Wednesday: My dear friend Danielle S came over to help out today! B was teaching a class and got home just in time for small group. This was the day I had contractions! Thankful they subsided! And I spelt wonderfully! 2 nights this week?? What a treat when you are nine months pregnant!!

Thursday: Jackie was here to babysit! Not much to report! I listened to the kids play outside. Jackie brought 1/2 off Starbucks when she came home from picking Sierra up! I have a few contractions here and there. But nothing consistent or worth worrying about. 

Friday: Bobby waas home! He took J to MM then went to Costco. While he was at Costco, my friend Sara came for a visit. he daughter is 6 weeks younger then J. They are betrothed, but don't know it yet. 

Saturday: I had tickets to go to a Women's Gathering at church but since I am still on bed rest, I couldn't go! But all my family and friends were there! I got so many texts and pictures! Bobby was also there because he was helping out! What a sweet guy, huh? Sierra was here babysitting me! We had such a fun morning! We watched a movie and did crafts! I absolutely loved the time with her! And of course, I forgot to take a picture! Arg!

Time for measurements! 
Tummy: 40"       growing 7.5 inches since 6 weeks.
Hips: 40"            growing 3 inches since 6 weeks
Chest: 39"          growing 4.5 inches since 6 weeks.

At this point, I keep wondering if you will get another post with another week of updates!!
If I am still in this bed, you will!
If not, there will be a baby post! 

Dirt is My Favorite Color*

Jeremy in ALL that is boy! We have taken him to see trains, he goes to the fire station all the time, and we went to the air museum. Last week B took him to see Grandpa's blade (tractor) on the job site! AND he got to dive it! SO cool for a little boy! The video is at the bottom.

35 Weeks (17P Injections)*

These past few weeks have been uneventful with injection update! Which is a good thing! I would say the Progesterone hormone is working since I didn't make it to 35 weeks with Jeremy! Praising God each day we are further from 34 weeks and closer to 40 weeks! 

Baby Update:

Odd numbered week means we will be referring to baby as Eli! He is approximately 18 inches long and 5 1/4 pounds. The size of a honeydew melon, although I think my tummy looks a little larger then a honeydew! His kidneys are fully developed and liver can process most waste, although his first bowl movement (called meconium) won't be processed until after he's born (hopefully). There are health issues if it's released while in the womb. I am now carrying more baby then amniotic fluid! Ia hve been feelig like the baby wants to escape through my belly button! He pushes so hard up against it! Bobby had his hand on my tummy and he calmed down. As SOON as he took it off, pushing again! They played this game for a few minutes! I am getting anxious to meet this baby and know if we have an Eli or Capri growing! 

Bed Rest Update:

J got so many cool things for his birthday! Including some sweet art things that we can do in bed! This finger paint only shows up on the special paper. So that means no stains on the bed if little mini hands wonder! Which they definitely did. . . a few times! 

Here's the adventures of a bed rest Mama in a nutshell:

Sunday: B and J headed off to church, while i stayed home and watched it online. I love our church! We are talking about honoring those above us: employers, pastors, people in office. This week the church staff (unbenonst to Matt) honored him. They surprised him on stage and honored he and his family! It was so sweet! Check them out! Sandals Church

Monday: Bobby worked so my mom was here to stay with us! She got to take J to Musical Munchkins! He LOVES this class. There is a post here about it! My mom enjoyed it so much! 

Tuesday: My day to get out!! Yay!! Doctor Appointment: I need to express how much i like our doctor! Dr. Oshiro. He is the chief of Labor & Delivery for Loma Linda University! His personality is great! He is always calm and making jokes with us! Anyway. . . I go in the week so excited that I only have two more weeks on bed rest. Between 36 and 40 weeks is full term, right? NO! He says 39 weeks is when I am released! Remember that I am not on strict bed rest, per last week's appointment, but I am house bound and need to keep my mobility limited. So, all in all, I have 5 more weeks of limited mobility, house arrest. BUT, OF COURSE, if that's what it takes to keep the baby healthy, that's what I will do. My back has begun hurting a lot (mid back, not low back as in back labor).

Wednesday: My mom went back up to Big Bear because Bobby was home! Since, I got the "ok" to go to the chiropractor yesterday: We got another outing! 2 days in a row, WHOA! But, I still had back pain in the evening! *sigh* Just comes with the territory, I guess! We also had SmaG! Jackie watch Jeremy overnight for us!

Thursday: Bobby was off to work. Jackie dropped J off with Danielle to sped the morning. They didn't get here until about 12:30pm. Which meant I had the morning to myself. (With someone on call, of course, in case I went into labor). It was so nice to have some alone time. I have been surrounded by people everyday for weeks now. Don't get me wrong, I am a people person and am SO thankful for the all the help we are receiving but it was nice to have a mellow morning with just me and God! I did miss the morning snuggles with J though! Danielle got here to fed the boys lunch and put them down for their naps. We had a rough day! J was not very well behaved for her in the morning and then Drew was not doing well in the afternoon. I had such a struggle sitting here not being able to offer help. Bed time couldn't come soon enough for those boys! We made it though the evening and I am so thankful for her heart to serve us!  

Friday: Bobby was home for 4 days! YEAH! J is so much calmer and relaxed when B is home. They went to Musical Munchkins in the morning. Then we had some friends come visit with their 3 weeks old daughter! So sweet! I got to snuggle with her and J did pretty well. There was one point where he asked me to give her back to her Daddy! After lunch and nap, B and J headed off to the church to help with an event. Then after bedtime, B headed to a friend's house for some guy time, reloading ammo. It was nice for him to have a break away from work or home.  While he was a gone a friend came over to babysit J and I! I haven't seen Christina in a while and we watched a few SVUs.  

Saturday: B got a little "him" time today, too. He went to the Men's Breakfast at church and shopped around a hardware store he's been wanting to go into. J was with Jackie for the morning. Today I was feeling a little lonely. But the kind that only B could comfort. I just wanted him to sit with me and talk or watch a movie or something where we spent time together. But then I was feeling selfish because he is doing an incredible job of keeping our house in order AND supporting us financially! And I am whining about "time" spent with me. I had a  rough morning! Thankful that I have the alone time to spend  with God for him to calm me! I explained all this to B and he spent the evening (when J went to bed) with me (catching up on The Walking Dead!). And we went to get ice cream tonight! What a treat!! 

Week by week are getting though this! We are on week 3 of bed rest. . . I love to have my window to the back yard open all day! I am notcing all the different sounds birds make, listening to J pay outside and hear his vocabulary grow significantly each day, at night, I hear the frogs croaking, Although it has been trying at times, I am thinking about the positive things each day to keep me going. 

The Highest Honor*

Jeremy Noah Martens

 after being "Noah ______ Martens" for our entire pregnancy 
& 12 hours after birth!

4 weeks old
4/23/201 9:04am
5 lbs 12oz, 18.5 inches long

What's in a name? Parents have 9 months (10 really with a pregnancy being 40 weeks) to decide on the perfect fit for their child. That wasn't enough time for us!
Throughout my pregnancy we called him "Noah." The doctor called him Noah while I was pushing, "Come on, Noah." "I can see Noah's hair." "Welcome to the world, Noah." While I was laboring we had heard that Noah was the number one baby name in 2010! We didn't like the sound of that but we didn't have the patience to think of another name at that point! When we got to the NICU they asked what his name was, we said, "Noah." They printed labels for the bottles I was pumping. But it didn't feel right. He just didn't look like a Noah. The parents with a baby in the bed next to us said, "Ours is Noah, too!" Uf! That makes our decision, we need to change it.

We talked about it on the way back to our room to eat and get some rest. "Jeremy" had been on our list for many reasons.

• Bobby has a Marine brother that died while they were serving in Iraq together. We have always wanted to name one of our sons after him. Jeremy Bohlman's story here. Our little guy is a fighter, just like Bohlman!  I know that is a creepy picture below of Jeremy but Bobby said Bohlman would do the same thing. His nickname was "Crazy Eyes" on their platoon! 

Jeremy L. Bohlman, "Crazy Eyes"
June 7, 2004

Jeremy Bohlman's nickname was "Crazy eyes"
Bobby said it was so triply to see our Jeremy do the SAME thing!

• There are bible verses outside each room at Loma Linda Hospital. Our is from Jeremiah 17:14, "Heal me O Lord, and I shall be healed." Could that be any more fitting?? That was pretty clear God had big plans for Jeremy!

• It's the #1 baby name for 2010! That's too common for us! 
• We couldn't find a middle name for Noah that has a nice ring to it. 

Now, 2 years later we can't even imagine calling him Noah! Jeremy is incredibly fitting for our precious son!

To Find out or Not to. . .*

If you don't have children, do you want to find out the gender?

If you have children, did you find out? 

Was it something you talked with your husband/wife about before getting pregnant?

B and I had a long dating relationship (4 years) so it gave us plenty of time to talk about EVERYTHING we could think of, or so we thought! We play different scenarios over and talk about how we would handle them. Even scenarios that would NEVER, really happen. Such as the scenes in the Saw movies.

We did NOT, however, talk about finding out the gender of our babies! So it came as quite a shock to both of us when we were 3 months pregnant (2 weeks from the ultrasound that we find out or not), at a family event, we hear each other saying the complete opposite! We were talking to separate people who asked if we were finding out the sex (odd that it was within ear shot of each other):
Me: Of course, we are finding out.
B: No, we are going to keep it a surprise.

We turned around with a look of AWE at each other! How could this have been something we had not talked about. Of ALL things! Well, we better get talking!

We were at a roadblock and neither of us wanted to budge!
B's reasons:

1. There are not many true surprises in life. The doctor saying, "It's a . . . ." is a true surprise and kind of a thrill. 
2. There's no need to know. Our nursery is gender neutral, so all the future babies can be in there. As are, all the baby supplies: play pen, crib, bouncer, swing, etc. 

My Reasons:

1. I'm OCD, ahem, a planner. I like to know what's coming.
2. I can't picture our future. If we will have a little boy or girl running around,  calling their name, fun projects we will do. 
3. Imagine the baby moving and already have a name.
4. I don't like to say "it." or when other people say "it."

It seemed the only fair way to handle the situation was to not find out. Somebody had to give. I would eventually (on birth day) get my way. And if we found out at the ultrasound Bobby would not get the surprise he was anticipating. So, I went to that ultrasound understanding I would be waiting a few months (5 to be exact) to know if we were having a boy or girl.

While the doctor was doing his thing, searching around, measuring, he asked if we want to know. I said, "No we want it to be a surprise." He looked at Bobby for confirmation, he said, "Let's find out!"
I was so shocked!! "Are you sure?" He said, "Yes."
Note: We were convinced we were having a girl. We didn't care either way but just had a feeling.

I know this picture is not great BUT I tried to laminate the original. . . Big mistake!
The two "blobs" at the top are his feet,
follow legs down,
HELLO!

It's a BOY!

I didn't care boy or girl but just knowing was so nice! And I was so in love with my husband for "allowing" me to find out! He says the look on my face was priceless!

However, I have to admit, I was so sure my "feeling" was right that I was a little disappointed when the doctor said "boy." I got over it quickly and was elated to be having a boy! It didn't take long before I began to  picture our little boy mowing the lawn with his Daddy!

14 months

Now we are on pregnancy #2! And guess what. . . We are not finding out! This time it's for REAL! I am 35 weeks and we don't know if we are having a boy or girl! Most of the pregnancy has been a lot easier them I thought, not knowing. I had a peace about me that I didn't expect. I prayed about it a lot. 

We have names picked out: 

Eli Robert for a boy  

Capri Renee for a girl. 

We switch off and on each week to avoid the "it" phrase: 

Odd weeks -  Eli/he/him/boy 

Even weeks - Capri/she/her/girl. 

The further along I get, the harder it is to wonder. I have 5 weeks (prayerfully) left and am getting anxious. I've been getting frustrated lately, for the reasons I listed above. I can't picture if Jeremy will be a doting, protective big brother to a little sister or have a companion to rough house with in a little brother. Although, both of those roles are not limited to the stereotypical box I just put them in! 

I have felt an emotional disconnect from this pregnancy that I didn't have while pregnant with Jeremy. I have a few thoughts on why this is:

• It's my second pregnancy. I am not as "hyped up" because I have felt it before. But I was just as excited when I saw the positive sign as when I did with J. 
• I am treasuring the time I have left with only Jeremy. He will not longer be an only child. So I am indulging in him more. Maybe that's causing me to push feelings aside for this one because their time will come. 
• I don't want to get too anxious for fear of delivering early. J came at 34 weeks. I am one week past! Praise the Lord! 
• Since I can't picture what the family will look like with an added boy or girl, I can't connect emotionally with the baby.  I can't picture the baby moving around or picture what I think the baby will look like. 

People always ask, "So do you have a feeling of what your having." Remember my "feeling" that Jeremy was a girl and the disappointment I felt when they said, "boy?" I do NOT want that in the delivery room! So, I am not making any guesses, trying to "feel," or listening to any dreams. (I have had 2). I am praying for patience and resting in the fact that boy or girl we will have a happy little family that was made perfectly by God.