Being Thankful + some Shout-Outs!

Warning: Long blog post!

Today I am very thankful that our little baby girl is 34 weeks old.  This was the long term goal through the entire pre-term labor worries.  When I first met with the high risk OB around 22 weeks, I asked her" what is our goal? "  "When can we feel really good about things?"  34 weeks was her answer.  I had a lot of up's and down's while being on bed rest but in my heart I always felt that I would reach 34 weeks but actually reaching it makes me very thankful.  Basically, at this point her chance of survival and long-term health is around the same as any baby born later or full-term.  Some babies at this time come out and still spend a month in the NICU while others only have to spend 1 to 2 days.  The development can range a bit but there is not the same worry of being able to survive, especially in terms of breathing on their own.  Very Thankful! AND....we will meet her sometime in the next 6 weeks!

So since I am 34 weeks, my hugeness is only getting worse.  I think I grow everyday which doesn't help when it comes to sleeping. My normal sleep pattern is fall asleep around 9 or 10 and wake up in middle of the night for my first potty break.  The difficult part is falling back asleep - I am usually awake for a good 1-2 hours at this point and I usually just do a lot of thinking about nothing.  The last few nights I have been making a mental list of everything and everyone I am thankful for especially over the past few months.  So without further ado:

I am so thankful for:

My husband
Rick is definitely the right guy for me and sometimes I forget in the little things but the last 3 months have reminded me of what I have.  I have a man that is so committed to me and will love me no matter what and will NEVER back out.  I think I bring plenty of baggage to this marriage and probably the most obvious is a deep fear of being left to do things on my own.  Rick never questioned his role in all of this.  He immediately talked with his bosses, adjusted his schedule to be home more and was my constant accountability that I needed to take care of this little girl and stay down.  I don't think this was an easy time for him especially when I acted like a back-seat parent 99% of the time and asked for water every 15 minutes but I can't think of one time that he out right complained.  So for him, I am very thankful!

Ariy - my little man
He is so special and even starting to type this I am tearing up.  I can't believe the love you can have for a child but it often hurts inside when I think too much about it.  He has adjusted so well and despite going back and forth between our house and the Grandparents, he has been so flexible and his normal happy goofy self.  He has made me smile every day.  Every night we read books together and cuddle before he goes to bed.  This is a time I look forward to and I have loved his special hugs and kisses and showing me he loves me no different even though I have been a different mama to him over the past 3 months.

Grandma, Grandpa and Papa Dodgie
To say we couldn't of done it the past 3 months without these folks is an understatement.  I am sure we would of figured something out; maybe Ariy would sit and watch movies all day and learn to feed himself but seriously, they loved him and stepped up without questions.  I am so thankful to have family here that love us so actively.  I never feel bad asking for help which if you know much about me is HUGE.  Thank you to the grandparents for all the time and energy sacrificed and especially for just loving Ariy so well.

Dot Tobey
Dot was originally a college and camp staff friend of Rick's but shortly after I started working at Fox, her and I became coworkers and friends.  She just so happens to live a half a mile from our house and my friendship with her has grown past my husband's college friend and my coworker.  She is a true friend and has been very committed to helping us through this time; so committed that every Sunday she has woken up early to come and get Ariy out of bed at 8am, play with him, feed him breakfast and just be an amazing friend.  She has also become one of the only friends here that I never feel shy to call or send a billion text messages to and I won't be bugging her.  Thank you Dot!

Lissa Forbes (and Nate, Charlotte and Olivia)
One of the hardest parts of going on bedrest for me was the initial feelings of being lonely and isolated.  I generally stay pretty busy with Ariy but being bound to the bed made me start to really evaluate who I had around here.  I have struggled to develop friendships out here that are long lasting, mutual, transparent and where I truly feel myself.  I have realized this for some time but it wasn't until this trial that I realized I really need to remedy this.  I am a social person and friends have always been like family to me so to feel like I didn't know who specifically to go to was difficult.  My friendship with Lissa has only grown stronger since being on bedrest and I feel like perhaps this was one "gift" from this whole ordeal.  Not only has our friendship grown deeper but she has been amazingly generous with her time towards our family. She either came to our house or we went to her house once a week for the past 2 months.  This day has been one that Ariy and I both have looked forward to.  Ariy LOVED playing with his friends and I of course liked playing with my friend.  Thanks Lissa for what you have given all of us over the past couple months!!!

Jen Morgan and PCC church folks
Another difficult aspect of this time has been food or cooking.  Rick has mastered pasta but outside of that, I wouldn't say he is the most gifted chef.  Jen was quick to organize meals for us and families from Portland Community Church provided them for us 1-2 times a week.  This was AMAZING.  Every meal we received was delicious and made with a lot of thought.  One woman even made us 5 frozen crockpot dinners.  We are just now eating the last one.  I can't say thank you enough for this service.  Thank you to all the families who brought us a meal!  Jen also was so gracious to come help me clean one morning.  I am thankful for her servant and thoughtful heart!

My east coast friends and family (and facebook)
Dare I say I am thankful for facebook.  On all the bed rest forums I am a part of, it is apparent that women on bed rest spend too much time online and on facebook.  I am guilty as charged however, it is because when you are feeling lonely and needing encouragement, any and all messages, comments and interaction mean so much!  I am thankful for all the phone calls and texts from friends.

I am just thankful for every single person that had a word of encouragement or the ability to give and help us out during this time.  There were many other people who stepped in to play with Ariy, take him to the Zoo, brought us a meal, or simply just came by to say hello.  We are so grateful to everyone who got us through this season of life with success!  Thank you!