He's here, but he's not HERE!

Well, I have a baby, but he is still inside me!!! I went through 15 hours of labor yesterday, but wasn't progressing much, so I decided to come home. The Misopristol helped contractions begin within 30 minutes, so I was encouraged, but the contractions just didn't get strong enough, or long enough, so my doctor started me on Pitocin last night. It usually kicks in the contractions pretty quick and strong, but it wasn't working well either. Ian's head was still too high for her to break my water. Everytime I sat on the birthing ball my contractions would stall, which was really strange. So now I will either go into labor on my own, or will be induced again next Wednesday. I am dilated to a three and my cervix is very soft, so there is always a chance I could go into labor on my own. I'm disappointed, but I feel like we made the right decision to stop the induction and come home. God has given me an amazing peace. Ian will be here some time in the next week! Thank you so much for your prayers. I am exhausted and I think I will just be in hiding the next few days!

Only one more day...hopefully!

So, tomorrow is the day...hopefully! I will be at the hospital at 8:00. I feel sick every time I think about it. I am nervous!!! I can't wait to get him here, but the thought of the pain of labor scares me to death! I hate that part! I hope everything goes as planned and he gets here tomorrow. I also hope I have the shortest labor I have ever had. I would love to have him quickly, so I can enjoy the evening with him. I can't wait to see him!!!

Good news...I tested negative for Beta Strep, so I will not need an IV during labor. About 30% of women test positive for Beta Strep, or Strep B as it is sometimes called. It does not affect the mom, but it can make the baby very sick if he catches it in the birth canal. I tested positive with my first three, but thankfully, I have tested negative with Miles, and now Ian. I praise the Lord for that. The way this is treated is by giving the mom an IV bag of Antibiotics every four hours during labor. I hate IV's!!! And, the antibiotics burn really bad when they are going into my arm, so it is such a relief to not have to think about this during labor. I can walk freely without a cord taped to my arm.

I can't believe this pregnancy is coming to an end. It has gone by so fast!!! Of course, we are inducing a week and a half early, and I usually induce at least a week and a half late, so this is early for me. I could have feasibly been pregnant another 3 weeks!

Hopefully my next post will include pictures of Ian Presley Shealy!!! Please pray for us tomorrow!!!

Only three more days...

I had my last doctor appointment today before Ian gets here. I was still only dilated to a one, and hadn't made any more progress. That was disappointing. He is still really high, which is normal for me. His hand was above his head, so my doctor wants to do a sonogram Thursday morning before she induces to make sure his hand has moved. He can't come out hand first! He still has room to move, so I think he will move before Thursday.

Please pray that everything will go as planned on Thursday...and more quickly than usual. I have to be at the hospital at 8:00, but my doctor won't be there until 9:00 and then she has to do the sonogram before using Misopristol to induce. If the Misopristol doesn't work she said she would send me home and try again the next week. NO! I don't want to go home without my baby in my arms! So, please pray that he comes this Thursday!

Only five more days...

I will be induced in five days and hopefully everything will go smoothly and Ian will make his entrance into my arms. I cannot wait! I have a lot to do before he gets here and that can be a little overwhelming. I also have a bad cold that I cannot seem to get rid of. It has stuck around for about 7 weeks, so I think I will ask my doctor for an antibiotic on Monday and see if maybe this is a sinus infection that needs an extra kick! Miles and Franklin just came down with colds, too, so I will be home with at least two of my boys tomorrow. I guess it gives me more time to get things done!

We took the kids to some trails today for bike riding...Roger and I walked and pushed Miles in the stroller. The kids had a lot of fun and got a great workout! I think I got a great workout, too! We finished our walk at a park with a birthday party for two little cousins. These two little guys will be adopted by one of Roger's cousin's and her husband in a few months out of the foster care system. They are now 5 and 3, and love being part of a family! We were so happy to be a part of their special day!

I went to the grocery store for probably the final time before Ian gets here. Roger will make trips for me for a while. I think we have enough food to get us by for a few weeks, and it will be food that will be easy for me to throw together after Ian gets here. Roger is great at throwing a meal together, too!

Updates all around...

Roger:
Busy at work, and taking care of our family! He took care of everyone last weekend when I had a stomach virus! He and the kids built a fire pit for us to roast marshmallows, too. It has been a lot of fun.

Me: I had a doctor appointment this past Monday and my doctor scheduled my induction for next Thursday, the 29th. It was sooner than I expected, but her comment was, "Kerry, this is your fifth. You have never gone into labor on your own anyway. You already knew I wouldn't let you go to your due date because your last one was so big. So, why not?" So, there you have it! I am so excited and completely terrified at the same time. Labor is so painful, and women who say "you will forget the pain"...LIED! Seriously, it hurts!

Lauren: My little helper. She rinsed out all of our breakfast dishes this morning then asked if she could wash off the table and vacuum under the table. Then, she got another Lysol wipe and began wiping down the kitchen cabinets! Now, she can't wait to change Ian's diaper, and she hopes to feed him a bottle!

Franklin: Working hard on writing his letters. We've had some struggles, but he has been doing better lately. He loves to read! He just finished learning the books of the New Testament!

Ari: Still a cute, funny little guy. He loves being a daddy's boy right now. He wants to do everything Roger does, and can't wait for Saturday's, so he can spend the day with daddy.

Miles: Oh boy! He learned to climb out of his crib! This is NOT a good thing. It means he gets up several times in the night. He got up at 6:00 the other morning, headed straight to Lauren's room, climbed up in her bed, sat right next to her head and yelled, "ONE, TWO, THREE...WAKE UP JEFF!!!" This is a famous line from The Wiggles. It was so funny! I moved the table that was next to his bed, and that seems to have prevented him from climbing out of his bed...for now!
He had an appointment with an allergist yesterday. The milk allergy looked minimal, but I was told it doesn't matter what reaction you get during testing...it's the reaction you get when he drinks milk. So, since his eczema gets much worse with the more milk products he has we know he is still allergic to milk. And, we found out he is allergic to eggs. I wondered about it, but didn't expect the reaction he got during testing, so this is good to know. We won't completely eliminate eggs from his diet, but he won't be eating scrambled eggs anymore.

A pregnancy photo shoot with my friend, Laurie!

36 Weeks...tomorrow!

Happy Birthday to Roger!!!

Today is Roger's 42nd birthday. We met when he was 33. I feel like I have known him forever, and yet these past years have flown by! I am so grateful God has given us another year together. "Life is but a vapor." I am so blessed to be his wife and the mother of his children. I truly treasure, respect, adore, and completely love him!!!
Happy Birthday, honey!

Funny!

I was cleaning Ari's nose this morning...yeah, I know...ewwwww! This poor kid gets the biggest boogies I have ever seen! So, I asked him, "Ari, how do you get such big boogies in your nose?" His response..."Why did the chicken cross the road?" Roger and I died laughing! He is hilarious!

Do you have a passion?

Have you ever felt so passionately about something that you ache inside? That's the way I feel about adoption. I literally ache inside to adopt a child. Roger and I had tried to adopt a baby girl with Down Syndrome from Haiti right before we found out we were pregnant with Ian. Haiti would not allow us to adopt her because of the size of our family, but the passion to adopt remains the same in me. Roger and I feel led by God to adopt a child with special needs in the future. I wish I knew when that could be!

Please visit www.reecesrainbow.com! You can view pictures of many children who are waiting to be adopted. I know that everyone is not called to adopt, but we are called to "care for the orphans." What can you do? This is actually a very easy question to answer! You can become a Prayer Warrior for one of the children through Reece's Rainbow. All you have to do is sign up! You will receive email updates about the ministry, which includes updates on children who will be coming home! You will also receive a picture of the child you will be asked to pray for daily. We pray for a little boy named Zhora! You can also donate money to the adoption fund of the child you are praying for, or any other child. There are numerous families trying to raise funds to bring home children, so you could also donate money to help them bring their child/ren home!
See how easy it is?!

Would you ask today, "Lord, what do you want ME to do?"

A lesson in gratefulness...from a 3 year old???

Ari is only three, but he is the most grateful person I know! He is so grateful when I clean his bathroom. He will thank me over and over. He is grateful when I wash his clothes. He is grateful when he gets to take a bubble bath. He is especially grateful when I give him his chocolate milk each morning.
Roger had been trying to fix the kids toilet for the past three evenings, but with a lot of frustration. The kids were bummed they couldn't use their bathroom. Roger stayed home from church last night to, once again, work on the toilet. As soon as we got home I said, "Daddy's home!" They all began asking if the toilet was fixed, so I told them to go in and ask daddy. Ari came running out to me yelling excitedly, "Daddy fixed my toilet!!! I get to go potty in MY toilet!!! Thank you so much!" I told him to go tell daddy, so he ran down the hallway saying, "Oh, Daddy, thank you so much for fixing my toilet! Thank you for fixing it, so I can go potty in MY toilet! Thank you so much, Daddy!"
Wow! That is one grateful kid! He is going to be a blessing to a wife someday! Shouldn't we all be grateful for the "little" things? Even a fixed toilet?!

A picture of Ian!

Here's our little Ian at 34 weeks, 5 days! In this picture you can see his nose (both nostrils!) and upper lip. He is head down with his hands and feet everywhere. At one point during the sonogram he had one foot and one hand by his face and the other hand and foot down. He weighs somewhere between 5 pounds, 10 ounces, and 6 pounds, 10 ounces. He should be here in about 4 weeks!

I had a quick doctor appoinment this morning. Everything looks good! I'll have a sonogram tomorrow to see how big Ian is. The plan for now is to induce the first week of February...although my doctor would love to see me have him before then. She doesn't want to deliver a baby over 9 pounds! I'll be 35 weeks pregnant this Wednesday!!!

I washed all of Ian's clothes, blankets, burp clothes, sheets, etc. this weekend, so I am a little more prepared. I don't have diapers yet, but I'm not worried about that. If he comes early it would be easy to send Roger to the store for diapers. I've never had a baby early anyway! Still, I like to be prepared!

Christmas Pictures!

One big happy family! Ian will be seen next year!
Lauren took our picture!

Early in the morning! Miles was still in bed.

Opening the first present

She loves it!

It's not hard to please Ari! Gotta love that smile!

Batman...aka Franklin

Franklin's new bike

Miles opening a present

His favorite thing in the world...a guitar!

Opening presents at Grandma and Grandaddy's

Hours of fun with this one!

New cowboy boots!

New cowboy boots, but they had to be brown like Levi's!

We definitely went small for Christmas this year, but I think that was a really good thing. Even if we have more money next year I think we will do the same. Lauren was thrilled to receive a sleeping mask she can wear at night, hair glitter, and a cd player. Franklin could not have been happier with his new Power Ranger's and Batman costumes (I bought them for 70% off after Halloween...spending only $7 for both!!!), and new bicycle. Ari is always easy to please! He got a new Doctor Kit, which is played with daily, and Thomas the train bubble bath. Miles got Elmo bubble bath, which he loves, and a new guitar, which I don't think he could live without! And, of course, they got presents from grandparents, too! Most of all, Lauren and Franklin had a better understanding of why we celebrate Christmas. They love Jesus! It is so hard to not get engrossed in "the season" and let the birth of Christ slip by without giving Him our praise and thanks. I would rather skip gifts altogether if I felt that we took the birth of Christ for granted.

All praise be to God, our Heavenly Father, and His precious Son, Jesus, our Savior!

Pictures of Miles in the hospital