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Today is 24w, 3d and is 1.5 hours shy of being 24w, 4d.

Today was a busy day for me. Robbie stayed with me during the day and we both worked more today than we probably do when we're actually in the office. A HUGE thank you to my manager for letting me work remotely.

WARNING - the following is somewhat graphic, but it is what it is.

Baby boy's heart rate has been great and we've been able to track it for 20 plus minutes at a time on the monitor. They did have to monitor me again this afternoon since I started to have a little red stuff leaking. Is there a G rated way of saying I had blood coming out? Tonight the nurse has asked me to let her know each time I potty so they can really monitor what's going on. I shall do as she asks. One little contraction showed up on the monitor, but other than that we're still trekking along to Week 34. The doctor agreed to remove my IV as well. It was serving no purpose at this point and was rather annoying. The IV tech told me to mention it to the doctor b/c she thought changing an IV out every 4 days for 10 weeks would leave me looking like a prime candidate for Intervention. I have to agree with her. I'd love to make a TV debut, but I don't think being a subject on Intervention is the route I'd like to go.

I had the most stellar company today! Shannon, c/o 2000 Angel and pre-term labor Mama came by to see me. It's always nice to have company and it was especially nice spending time with Shannon. Shannon has been where I am right now and it's comforting to know we will make it through this time. She's living proof. Thank you Shannon for the company, the books and my Guardian Angel. Please stop by again if you're in the area. It meant a lot that you drove all the way from Raleigh to see me.

I had the most delicious dinner thanks to Meredith and Julie. You ladies are fabulous and I love you MUCHO! Mellow Mushroom will cheer up the saddest of people and will make any tummy a happy, happy, happy tummy. I know mine is quite content. Baby Boy liked it as well. He did somersaults for me. Thanks for providing me with a couple of hours of laughter and good girlfriend time. Don't be strangers, please!

My big boy is coming to see me tomorrow after his daddy picks him up from school. He's hanging in there, but is having a rough time when Daddy isn't the one who does drop off and pick up. I'm trying to make sure he gets as much Daddy time as possible. Ms. Julie brought him a CARS coloring book, so I know he'll be over the moon when he gets here. We'll probably watch an episode of SpongeBob Square Pants and cuddle, which is quite fine with me. I love seeing his cute face walk through my room door. It brightens my day like a 100 watt light bulb.

I'm a bit tired. My next wake up call comes in 1 hour. Blahhh!

24 w, 2 d

For the next 10 weeks many of you may tire of me talking about how far along I am. I've quickly learned in my short stint at Duke that such talk is native language and well, when in Rome...act like the Romans. For the past 6 hours and 6 minutes BB2 and I have been 24 weeks and 2 days old together. We're hanging in there and thankfully our days have been uneventful. Usually I like to squeeze every bit of pleasure and fun out of everything I do, but now I'm learning to be low key all the while trying to make lemonade out of my nice, large stash of lemons. Thankfully here in the south we are excellent at making some pretty stinkin' good lemonade.

I cannot rave enough about the care I have received at Duke. My nurses have been superb (yet another reason why I am sure God is a Duke fan.)! They've all been so nice, accommodating and really have helped us ease into this transition. They monitor me like crazy too, which at this point in the game is necessary. Hopefully they'll let me take a spin around the halls in a wheelchair this week and maybe, with time served and good behavior (enter chuckle from my peanut gallery stage left), I'll get some good ol' Durham fresh air.

Random fact of the day:
Tyler Hilton's CD, Tyler Hilton, (One Tree Hill old school, circa 2004/2005) passes time quite nicely and drowns out the snoring of one incredibly cute, loving and oh so wonderful husband. God love the man for camping out on an army cot just so I won't be alone at night. Crying shame I forgot to request the Ambien last night. I shall not forget tonight! Dare I mention this little one is jamming in my tummy as we listen. He really likes When it Comes.

Alrighty folks, today is Sunday and I want each and every one of you to put on your Sunday best and go give God a BIG ol' thank you! The Perry's are rejoicing and are glad in it!

We're on the Move!

ETA: We've moved. My nurse did not let me down. The room has a wonderful view and is spaceous. I think I can handle a few more weeks in here. Room 7701 for those of you who want to stop by.

My nurse and also the Nurse in Charge (like that name don't you?) told me she has some good news! There is a room across the hall that is a bigger and has a view. She's going to move me sometime tonight or before her shift is over tomorrow a.m. I am over the moon. The room I'm in now is tiny, tiny, tiny! She told me that since I'm here for the long haul I needed something a little roomier. God bless her!

I'll let everyone know my new address once I know for sure.

Week 24!!!

We made it to our first milestone today! I've been 24 weeks pregnant now for 9 hours and 25 minutes.

Baby boy is holding steady with his heart rate (approx 150 bpm) each time they check him. The antibiotics must be keeping infections away, which is crucial at this point. We were able to see him using his lungs during the ultrasound yesterday, which is a HUGE plus. I finished the steroid injections yesterday. Right now it is a sit and wait game. BB weighs 1 lb 5 oz and is very, very active. We were able to watch his bladder fill up during the U/S, which is fantastic for keeping fluid in the sac around him.

The down side is they moved me to another floor since I'm not actively in labor. That's great news medically, but I had to leave my posh quarters to what we call my jail cell (some of you may find complete levity in that comment). I am slowly adjusting to being cramped. Being down here means we're making good progress towards 34 weeks. If all goes well September 5th could be our new due date. I told Robbie my Mommy's ring is going to be rockstar before too long. Andrew's birthstone is a diamond and September is a Sapphire. One more April baby and I'll be set up like Princess Diana. See, I haven't lost my sense of humor!

Praise God for the miracles he's already performed and the ones he keeps performing. We cannot begin to tell you how loved and blessed we feel every day, but especially right now. Keep praying for baby boy to grow, grow, grow. Andrew needs your prayers too. He's starting to feel the effects of things. Robbie will be spending the weekend with him to do "Guy" things and to help get him back to normalcy.

Come see us! Call our cells to make sure they haven't moved me again. We'll be taking a tour of the NICU this weekend to see where our little one will call home for a while. I'm sure it will be hard, but at least we can mentally prepare for what lies ahead.

Love to you all!

Perry Family News/Update

I'm sure many of you don't know (I apologize profusely), but Baby Boy and I had to be admitted to Duke yesterday for pre-term labor. I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom (oh so common with pregnancy) to find bloody show. I went in to see the doctor, had an ultrasound and few other tests to find that the fluid around Baby Boy was low. My last ultrasound was approx 4 weeks ago and at that time the fluid looked great, so at least we know at one point his fluid was ok. What I thought was the baby moving actually ended up being mild contractions. For the time being they have subsided and even when I had them they were very sporadic. Obviously the concerns are that somewhere I am losing fluid, and though there are many signs not leading toward infection, my white cell count is a little elevated, which can mean infection. The good news is I feel fine (even better when my new BFF removed that God awful catheter), I haven't felt a contraction in hours, and I don't have a fever nor pain. I've been given the best care by my doctor's office, Rex Hospital and now Duke. They have me on antibiotics, fluids and steriods for Baby Boy. Our goal is to get to Friday without the situation growing worse. 24 weeks is the goal right now and then after that we'll pray day by day for more days with Baby Boy growing in my tummy. I know an e-mail would probably have been the best form of communication, but I was scared I'd leave someone off. My humblest apologies to all.

Robbie and I know the God we serve has his hand on this situation and while we may not understand the why of everything and timing we put our trust in him alone. We know he is good and perfect and everything we have is from him. Please lift up our sweet boy and pray he'll continue to make great strides towards growing healthy and strong in my tummy. Pray for Andrew as this will affect him as well and we know he won't understand why Mommy isn't coming home for a while. Pray for Robbie's strength. I'm so very thankful God has given me the best partner in life to go through the up's and down's with. Pray for those who have stepped in in our time of need to make sure the day to day things keep moving forward. I don't know what we'd do without them.

As of now Duke (I told you God was good, right? Clearly evidence he pulls for the #1 team) will be my home until this little one arrives. It could be days, weeks or prayerfully months before I head back home. I am ok with this even if it means I'm away from Andrew. I know he's in good hands. I will do my best to keep the blog updated with how things are progressing. I'm sure marathon episodes of Jon and Kate Plus 8 will grow old, so I'll have the internet to keep me company.

Robbie and I both have our cell phones, so don't be strangers. Come see us too if you're in this neck of the woods.

Save the Ta-Tas

Yesterday Robbie and I ran in the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure. I'm proud of Robbie for running the whole 5K. He hasn't been running in years, but I think knowing his pregnant wife was going to run set the wheels in motion. I must say that I don't take breast cancer seriously because I just assume it won't happen to me. At least I pray it won't happen to me. I was moved while I was running (literally and figuratively) reading the different "In Honor, In Celebration and In Memory" signs people had pinned to their backs. The statistic right now (lifetime) is 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Hopefully that statistic will continue to go down as we work toward a cure. For those of you who have dealt with breast cancer (personally or individually) or have lost someone to breast cancer I ran for you yesterday and will continue to do so until these legs will no longer move. It is my goal to run in this event every year in the hopes we'll find a cure and stomp out breast cancer and cancer in general.

For my Meredith friends, some of our favorite teachers lost the breast cancer battle. Come join me next year and run in their Honor and Memory.

Until then... continue to check your Ta-Tas

I'm an Aunt Again!

Colin announces the birth of his very sweet and oh so precious baby brother, Robson Scott Turner. Robson was born this morning at 8:01am, weighing 8 lbs. 13 oz and 20.5 inches. Lauren is doing well and in recovery from her c-section. Nonnie is at the hospital and reports he has hair and a beautiful complexion. Aunt MiMi can't wait to get her hands on him and will be doing so at lunch. Pictures to follow.