CBC #2...or not

Last night was Child Birth Class #2 for Luke and I. Considering last week we laughed a lot and learned some things (that I wish I had been told by a friend rather than a graphic video in a room full of complete strangers) I was really looking forward to hanging out with my hubby and doing some silly breathing exercises while concentrating on my pelican bath toy of a focal point that I am sure I will forget once I actually need them! But, CBC #2 was much shorter for the 2 of us last night.

You see, a couple of hours before CBC #2 was scheduled to begin, I had my weekly visit to the doctor. Have I told you that I have the best doctor anyone could ask for? I have been going weekly since 28 weeks to be hooked up to a machine for 20 minutes (which in doctor's office land is usually 40 minutes but I love to hear the sound of Madelyn's heart beating inside of me so I don't mind one bit) to monitor our little one's heart beat and my contractions. Her heart beat is always beautiful and perfect and makes those peaks and bumps on the machine that the doctor likes to see.
My contractions on the other hand, make those peaks and bumps that the doctor does not like to see. That, in combination with the tear on the outside of my placenta that has made for some nervous moments throughout my pregnancy, has led us to the sentence I was hoping I would not hear from the doctor's mouth: "I am putting you on bed rest". Thankfully, it is not strict bed rest. I am allowed to take showers, go to the bathroom (was this really an option??), move around for 3o minutes in the morning, at lunch and at night, and venture out of the house for a "short errand" if I have had a good day.

Needless to say, the doctor told me that not only am I not allowed to go to the Child Birth Classes while on bed rest, "they won't help you anyways because the chances of having a routine birth are slim with you". This almost made me chuckle a little on the inside. When do I ever do anything the normal way??

The next thing the doctor said was not even something that I hoped I would not hear. It was something I did not even know that I should have been hoping not to hear. "We just want to get you to 34 weeks". I think at this point I zoned out for a minute and when I came to I asked her if she meant I could go in to labor before then. "Yes, Kathryn. You have to be really good these next few weeks."

So what's a girl to do but bargain with her unborn child (and pray of course). So on the way home from the appointment Maddie and I made a deal that if she waits until 38 weeks to make her grand debut she gets a pony when she turns 8 years old.

The best thing about all of this is: Madelyn is beautiful and healthy. My body just does not want to cooperate. So, whether we see her in 3 weeks or 9, I am confident she will be perfect.

There is a verse at the end of Ephesians 3 that I have had in my heart since last November when a doctor told us that our odds of having any children were virtually non existent (at a time when we were not even thinking about having children yet). It talks about how He is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think according to His power that is at work within us. It is so reassuring to know that His power is not limited by what I can think to ask for.

I guess I will be seeing a lot more of you, blog friends. I just don't know if I will have much to say. One can only blog about daytime television so much.

*Kathryn