Showing posts with label Preterm Labor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Preterm Labor. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Holden is a Quitter

Ugh, so I have had contractions at least every 6 mins for the last 36 hours. I really thought last night was going to be THE NIGHT. They were painful, very painful, and really looked like they were going somewhere, but as you can tell from the title of this blog post, they did not.

I'm still pregnant. MUCH to my dismay.

I'm at my wits end, and so so so sore from contracting so much over the last few days.

I'm exhausted since I didn't sleep much the last few days. At least if I had a newborn I would be able to cuddle with him in the middle of the night, instead of tossing and turning in pain, accompanied by the occasional trip to the bathroom to puke.

I went into the Dr yesterday just to get checked out when the contractions were every 4 mins. I had dilated another cm (4 now) and about 90% effaced. I didn't see my Dr and since I was only 36w6d she couldn't do anything to help me out of the contraction marathon.

My 37 week appointment with MY Dr (not the on call) is tomorrow.  I'm still contracting this morning but they are not nearly as regular as they were yesterday.

During contraction-fest yesterday, we decided to go walk around the Zoo to help get things going. My sister-in-law went with me to take care of London and I moaned and waddled my way around the zoo, stopping for the occasional photo.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Freedom!!! (Well kinda)

Today I went to he Dr for my 26 week checkup. Yay for 26 weeks!!

Everything looked good and cutie Holden is weighing in at 2lbs5oz as of today. He was so stinking cute and practicing sucking the entire time. It was so cute watching his little lips go. He also stuck his tongue out and yawned. IT WAS FREAKING ADORABLE STUFF PEOPLE! (Yes that deserved all caps)


My cervix is holding steady at 2.5cms which for 26 weeks is pretty average. YAY for average!

I actually got to see MY Dr today, and she solved the great dilation mystery (when I went from 3 cm dilated to closed in one week). She said that my cervix is really high but when she felt my cervix she was able to feel around and get some fingers in there (EEEWWW!!!!) She is assuming that the other Dr just couldn't get in far enough to feel around and probably just touch the outside (again EWWW!!!). Anyway, she said I am around 2.5-3 cm dilated and if I ever go back to the hospital and see a different Dr, just tell them "I don't know" when asked if I'm dilated. HAHAHA!!! I love her!

She also eased up on my bedrest a little bit. She told me that if I was a secretary that she would allow me to go back to work this week. She still wants me to take it easy, no shopping, cleaning, or gardening (obviously she doesn't know me that well. I wouldn't even do that if I could. I wish I had a picture of our flower beds right now to prove it). I am allowed on my feet for up to 2 hours now though, and for every 45 mins I'm up she wants me down for 45 mins. So if I do 2 hours of stuff in the morning she wants me to lay down for 2 hours when I get home. Fair enough!! This I can handle.

Some other fun things have been going on with London but they warrant there own post in a day or two.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A Trip to Labor & Delivery

Well, I officially had my first trip to the hospital this weekend. Lets start by saying that EVERYTHING is fine. Baby Holden is still swimming around and kicking Mommy in he bladder every chance he gets. And I'm, well I'm still doing alot of this.
(Only, you can remove the beer cans and replace them with bottles of water. And replace the cigarette butts with snickers wrappers)

OK back to my trip to L&D.

Saturday morning, I slept late because Mike was kind enough to get up with London. I was feeling great when I got up. I woke up dragged my butt and blanket to the couch (cause that's how I do it!!!) and laid back down. A few hours later still in the same place on the couch, I noticed a contraction. I brushed it off thinking hoping that it was just one of those annoying Braxton Hicks contractions. They never went away even after chugging numerous bottles of water and laying on my left side.. They became more and more regular and finally got to be about 5 minutes apart. Much to my dismay, I knew it was time to call the Dr. Her response, after 30 minutes of NOT CALLING ME BACK....head to labor and delivery.

Mike and I dropped London off with a friend and headed in around 5pm. I really didn't think they were going to keep me. I mean really, REALLY didn't think they would keep me. Well guess what? They did!

They hooked me up to an IV and monitors and watched me for a good 2 hours. They first put the monitors too high on my stomach so it wasn't reading any real contractions. However I was DEFINITELY having them. I kept making the nurse touch my stomach to prove to her I was actually having them. She agreed that it was contractions and said that sometimes the monitors don't pick up very well when your really early. My Dr came in, gave me some procardia and  pain meds, and I was drooling on myself about 5 minutes later. They kept me overnight, but thankfully let me go first thing in the morning.

Thankfully the procardia worked and I now have a big bottle of it sitting in my medicine cabinet for me to enjoy every 6 hours.

Another fun fact, apparently my cervix is now closed, firm, and thick. WTF?? A few weeks ago, I was 3cms dilated. I know that every person measures dilation a little differently, but there is a HUGE difference between 3cms and ZERO cms. Someone made a mistake, but I'm not sure who it was yet.

I had my follow up Drs appointment today which basically just pissed me off! I'm not going to write a huge book about why, even though I could. I will say this though, the Dr (a different one in the practice than my usual Dr) did NOT do a cervical length check and did not know that I have been on bedrest since 20 weeks. I had to fill her in on my situation. Even though my usual Dr has been doing cervical length checks every 10 days due to my shortening cervix, this Dr decided that she didn't need to check it. Ummmm...WHATEVER! UGH!!

Next appointment is in 1 week, with my usual Dr so hopefully I will have some answers and measurements then.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

24 Weeks and Food!

Well I did it! I reached our first goal in this pregnancy. Does anyone else find it really depressing that a mere 24 weeks, when your child only has a 50% chance of surviving outside the womb, is considered a milestone? Sadly for so many women, like myself, we celebrate 24 weeks. Noone wants a 24 weeker...NOONE!! There are a few women out there who wish they could have made it to 24 weeks so their baby(ies) could have had a fighting chance at life beyond the womb. I promise you those same women would have given anything to have nice plump full term 40 weekers instead.

But here we are at 24 weeks celebrating none the less. What am I going to do to celebrate today? Probably the same thing I do everyday...EAT!!

OMG, I am so hungry these days. For the last 2 weeks I have been eating nonstop. And I don't mean healthy eating, I mean eating CRAP.  I will admit to no fewer than 3 trips to Mcdonalds over the last few weeks where my order consisted of a Bigmac and large fries. I however will not admit on my public blog that after eating everything in bag, and I'm talking EVERY SINGLE FRY, that I was still hungry.  I have also been craving chicken fingers and fried okra from Church's chicken. So I may have made a few trips there too. DON'T JUDGE ME!!! :)

I really need to start eating better, not just for the sake of my weight in a few months, but mainly for Baby Holden.  Anyone have some good recipes they want to share? They don't have to be low fat or low carb or anything. Just something that is delicious and contains a veggie or two that is not fried. Big points if Mike will eat it too :)

On a different note, I won a few giveaways recently. WOOHOOO!! I guess bedrest is paying off.

I won a set of these super cute wooden blocks from Katie Bug Custom Creations. How stinking cute are these?! They would make a great engagement/wedding present. Go check out her etsy shop!



Oh and just so you know the winners of my most recent giveaways were...
What to Expect Book:
Heather S
(has not responded to the email I sent so email me or I'm gonna have to pick a new winner)

And the winner of the $20 paypal cash:
PCOSChick (claimed)

Congrats to the winners!

Friday, July 15, 2011

3 cms dilated at 23 weeks

Um, yes you read that correctly. I am officially 3 cms dilated at 23 weeks. Here is the best part that everyone seems shocked about, my Dr is not concerned at all.

Yesterday was my first pelvic exam of this pregnancy. This is my second baby, so I was expecting to be dilated to 1cm or something around there, but I was NOT expecting to hear 3cm. My Dr on the other hand was not shocked at all. She looked back over my medical records and saw that at 27 weeks I was dilated to 3 with London, and said she pretty much expected this. I walked around at 3 cms for 10 weeks before London was born. She said this might just be what my body does. It still felt firm and closed behind those 3 cms so at least that was encouraging. She said she is more concerned with my cervical length rather than dilation this pregnancy.

The good news is that my cervix is still measuring around 3cm in length too. So at least that is holding steady.

She told me to keep up the good work, and sent me home to continue modified bedrest. She even moved my appointments to once every 2 weeks instead of once every 10 days.

Next Appointment will be my gestational diabetes test. Bleh!! I really hope it goes well, because right now I am CRAVING snickers. And not just occasionally, I'm talking like ALL THE TIME! I have a nightly snickers bar. As much as I would LOVE to say that I'm exaggerating, sadly I am not.

I still have not gained any weight, however I know with those eating habits the pounds are COMING!!!


23 Weeks

Friday, July 8, 2011

P17 DENIED!!

Yep, I just got the word from my Dr's office. Aetna DENIED my prescription for the P17 shots. My favorite part is that they denied it because I'm a whopping 22 weeks. If my Dr had written the script at 20 weeks when they originally noticed my cervical shortening (and because of my history with preterm labor) then the big guys with out a medical degree who decide what is REALLY best for my unborn child (AKA: My insurance company), would have approved it. However since they waited a week to make sure I really needed the shots, they are now considered experimental. Ummmm, OK sure!

My Dr and I have decided that we are going to try the compounded P17 shots. These are basically pharmacy made generics instead of the big expensive name brand. (There is more too it than that, but that is the gist of it.)

We will have to pay out of pocket for those, but only $15 per week. I think we can handle that.

I'm rather mad at my insurance about denying it.

Mad enough to eat a Big Mac and large fry, oh wait... never mind, I ate that before I got the call. Humm, no one to blame for that one.

I am however thrilled to have the option of the compounded P17. I am really really hopeful that this will keep the preterm labor away and keep me out of the hospital until 37 weeks. I guess only time will tell though.

Compounded P17 starts TONIGHT!!

If anyone from Aetna happens to be reading this, you better watch your back. This tattooed gangsta is pretty pissed about you denying his Mama's prescription.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Modified Bed Rest (and a giveaway CLOSED!!)

Sorry about the delay in updating about my Dr's appointment last week. My blog was acting weird and wouldn't let me post. It's all fixed now though. If you follow my facebook page then you probably already know that my appointment went well. (See just one more reason to follow me on facebook too)

My cervix is looking much better and was actually longer this time. It was up to 3.5cm from 2.5cm the week before. WOOHOO!!!

My Dr allowed me up to "modified" bedrest, which was a WELCOMED change. For this Dr "modified" means that for every 15 mins I am on my feet, I have to be off of them for 45 mins. With a maximum of 1 hour on my feet. So if I spend an hour on my feet, I have to lay down for 3 hours. Fair Enough!

I'm thrilled just to have some of my freedom back. I'm still not allowed to go grocery shopping or clean the house (OH DARN!!) but could go out to a quick dinner or to see a movie.

My Dr decided against a cerclage. She said that given my history of preterm labor, that she doesn't think that my cervix if the culprit but rather my contractions and preterm labor (PTL). Since medications were able to keep the PTL under control last time we will probably try that route again this time.

This Dr's office is a FIRM believer in the P17 progesterone shots to prevent preterm labor. She is trying to get me my insurance to approve the Makena shots since those bad boys are $1500 PER shot. If my insurance won't cover it, we can try the pharmacy compounded P17 (only about $15 a shot). I have had a bad reaction to some of the compounded PIO in the past, so I'm really hoping to have a better reaction to the Makena if my insurance will actually cover it. We should find out about that sometime this week.

Now, on a different note, I have teamed up with WhatToExpect.com to offer some fun stuff to my readers.
I'm sure most of you have heard of the What To Expect book series. It's said to be the Bible for all pregnant women. I will never forget as long as I live, when I got my very first BFP. I was so excited and naive. I had no idea what was headed my way over the next few years. Back then I just thought a positive pregnancy test = A baby. Boy was I wrong! However for that brief moment in time, I was so excited  I rushed out and bought What to Expect When You're Expecting before I even heard the results of my blood test. Hell, I even bought it before I told Mike I was pregnant. I still have that book with the dated receipt tucked in it as a book mark. I will forever keep it.

So What To Expect.com was kind enough to send me some books to give away to my readers. I have both What to Expect When You're Expecting and What to Expect the Second Year (12 months to 24 months)  So regardless of whether you are currently expecting or have a little one now, I have something for you.

Also we will be testing out the new giveaway phenomenon Rafflecopter. I LOVE this program and how easy it is to enter giveaways. I have a feeling you will love it to.

I will be giving away to one lucky Infertility Overachievers reader a copy of EITHER What to Expect When You're Expecting or What to Expect the Second Year (Your Choice).

These would make great baby shower gifts too, so make sure to enter even if you are not currently expecting!!

So follow the directions below and do what Rafflecopter says to enter. No comments necessary to enter. Just enter on the form below :)

CLOSED!!!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

20 weeks and Bedrest

20 weeks started off fun enough. I feel great (well except for that whole back and pelvic pain). My belly has really popped recently. I feel like I finally look PREGNANT to just random people now. No more wondering if I'm just a heavy beer drinker, I actually look pregnant!

Crappy cell phone picture because I can't get up to get my camera cord (more on that later). 



  And I also finished my first arts and crafts project for Baby Holden. They turned out GREAT. Again, another crappy cell phone picture. You get the idea!

Today was my official 20 week appointment. I had the big ultrasound and Holden looked GREAT!! He was measuring right on target and weighs in at 12 oz. (71st percentile). I may be biased but he is already a handsome little guy.
Adorable little chicken legs. :)

 He actually cooperated long enough for a cute profile picture, something his crazy brother never would do. 

And his cute little Skeletor face looking right at you. Arms up around his head, and little legs crossed at the ankle. You can see he is obviously still a boy too ;) 

After all the ultrasound fun was done, I went back to meet with the Dr. That is when I found out that my cervix is already starting to shorten (efface). Since I went into preterm labor with London and had some cervical shortening then, my Dr decided at 16 weeks to do a baseline check so we would have a comparison number later on in pregnancy should we run into any trouble.  At 16 weeks my cervical length was 5.6 cm long.  This was great! Nice and long, just the way we wanted it to be. Well today at 20 weeks, my cervix was a short 2.5cm long. :( UGH!!! This tells us that my body is doing something to prepare for labor and as all of you know it's way way WAY to soon for that.

My Dr has ordered me onto bedrest and scheduled me to come back next Wednesday to have it checked again. If it is shorter we will have to start talking about putting in a cervical cerclage (aka: a stitch in my cervix). Thankfully I have not had any other signs of labor, no contractions or even cramping. Right now, it's just the silent shortening of the cervix that has landed me on bedrest.  I guess now I will have more time to update my blog.

I'm not exactly freaking out yet. I'm gonna give it till next week before I start doing that. For now I am just following the Dr's orders and hoping for the best. I'm also doing a ton or research on cerclages and cervical length. Dr Google knows everything right? :)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

2cm Dilated!!

Well, I went to the Dr today for my 34 week check up and it seems I am officially 2 cm dilated now. I am also off bed rest now, so things might actually start moving along. I am still going to take it easy over the next few weeks for 2 reasons 1) I'm trying to keep London in until 36 weeks so HOPEFULLY he won't have to go to the NICU. And 2) I can't move!! I have gotten to the point where walking is even painful. There is so much pressure down there from his head, I feel like I'm trying to walk with a bowling ball in my *you know where*. Getting up off the couch is hard enough and I am out of breath by the time I get into the kitchen to get a new bottle of water. However, I am not complaining!! Ok, well kinda I am, but I know its for a really good reason.

I am really excited, because his room is pretty much 100% complete. The only thing left for us to do is a few decorative touches. We got his crib last weekend and Mike put it together in record time (Don't worry, there were no extra pieces when he was done, HaHa). We have his Pack-N-Play all set up in our room, as well as his swing, papasan chair, stroller, and car seat. I have also finished washing all of his clothes, blankets, and burp clothes. The only thing we are really waiting for at this point is.....HIM! I also went out today and picked up the last few things to put in my hospital bag. So that is also done. I can't believe, that after all of the time of waiting and trying to get pregnant then trying to keep him in, we are finally in the home stretch. More than likely by this time next month, I will be holding my little man.

Ok well I better be going. I am in much need of a cup of Sonic ice. By the way, that is the only thing this entire pregnancy that I have craved. Thank goodness Sonic sells there ice by the bag for only $2. It's so great not to have to run out at all hours of the night just for a cup of ICE!!

Monday, December 29, 2008

My Little (Big) Monkey Boy!!

So Mike and I had a brief visit to the hospital last night. I was having contractions every 8 mins or so for about 2 hours, so we decided to go get checked out. THANKFULLY they sent me home and did not keep me. I was told to drink LOTS of water, lay on my side, and they upped my meds. Well I had to go in the the Dr today for a follow up appt and I got an ultrasound to check his fluid and my cervical length. Well my cervix is short 2cm when it should be 4, but his fluid is GREAT so he has plenty of room to swim haha. So again my Dr told us that it looks like London really will be making his appearance early (as if we had any doubt). At the ultrasound he looked great! He weighs 3.5 lbs now, which is in the 94th percentile of weight for his age. So he is a BIG boy!! With my luck, he will come at 35 weeks and STILL weigh 9lbs HAHAHA. As usual during the ultrasound he refused to give us a decent profile picture. He was very quick to whip out the weenie though. I might just be giving birth to a future streaker or "naked man" for all you WPer's. He likes to show off the goods, but not so much his face. We got one pic of his profile but it's blurry because he was moving, so not all the lines on his face are defined. When you look at it, you can't see the indention between his nose and top lip. It almost looks like he has a muzzle, so Mike became very concerned that he looks like a monkey. He was quite relieved when I pointed out that his nose and lips WERE INDEED separate.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Let The Dilating Begin!!

So I went to the Dr yesterday for my weekly appt and it seems that I am now dilated to 1 cm. While I know that 1 cm is not a HUGE amount, the dr still seemed very concerned. He said it is NOT a good sign that I'm only 28w4d and already starting to dilate. He kept me on my meds told me to increase my water intake (from 10 cups to 12 cups a day) and STAY ON BED REST!!! I have to admit with the holidays, I have not been taking things as easily as I should have been. However now I have been sent back to sitting on my butt all day every, every day again. My new personal goal is to keep London cooking until Feb 9th which will have me at 35 weeks. However, anything after 34 weeks (Feb 1st) is a VICTORY in my eyes.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Let the bed rest continue...

So I went to the Dr today and he decided to run a fFN test on me. Here is a little definition of what fFN is according to the March or Dimes:

Fetal fibronectin (fFN) is a protein produced during pregnancy and functions as a biological glue, attaching the fetal sac to the uterine lining. During the first trimester and for about half of the second trimester (up to 22 weeks of gestation), fFN is normally present in the cervico-vaginal secretions of pregnant women. In most pregnancies, after 22 weeks, this protein is no longer detected until the end of the last trimester (one to three weeks before labor).

The presence of fFN during weeks 24-34 of a high-risk pregnancy, along with symptoms of labor, suggests that the "glue" may be disintegrating ahead of schedule and alerts doctors to a possibility of preterm delivery.


Or the way the way Dr E described it to me is: They test to see if your body is starting to prepare for labor. If the test comes back negative, there is less than a 1% chance that you will go into labor in the next 2 weeks. However, if the test comes back positive it does mean that you are at an increased risk of going into labor in the next 2 weeks, but it's NOT a guarantee. Basically a negative result is a really good thing (especially since he was going to take me off my meds and bed rest if it was negative) but a positive result does not mean you are DOOMED to have your baby in the next 14 days.

Well you may have already guessed based on the title of this entry, my test came back positive. So now I am at an increased risk of going into labor over the next two weeks, so I have to stay on my meds AND bed rest for a while longer. I have to reiterate, this test does NOT mean that I WILL go into labor, but just that I am at an increased risk. The goal is to stay on the meds and bedrest and to try to put off labor for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE, whether that be 2 weeks or 12 weeks from now.

I honestly thought my test would come back negative. I thought that all this preterm labor stuff was just one big misunderstanding. Like maybe my uterus some how made up this big lie just to get some extra attention from the Dr while I was in the hospital for my "kidney infection". I guess not!

I guess this really is REAL!!!

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Home from the hospital and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well I was finally released from the hospital on Wednesday (5 nights after I originally checked in). I'm doing really well. My contractions have stopped and London seems to be content with staying put for at least a little while longer. From here on out, I am on modified bedrest. So basically I am supposed to lounge around all day for the next 3 months. No cooking, cleaning, or shopping. Nothing that would cause me to be on my feet for more than just a few mins. However, the Dr said if I wanted to run to Publix to grab a gallon of milk or something just to get out of the house, that it would be OK. So I'm trying to take it as easy as possible. I am on a medicine (procardia) that I have to take every 6 hours, that really helps keep the contractions away. I also have a standing once a week appt with my Dr for the rest of the pregnancy.

My mom and sister came in for Thanksgiving, which was great. My mom cooked a TON of food and it was sooo good, I have not eaten anything but thanksgiving left overs since the dinner on Thursday. Oh and I still have about another 2-3 days worth in the fridge, MMMmmMMMMmmMMM!!.

Don't worry, Mike is taking good care of me. However, he is not 100% right now either. He ran a marathon on Thanksgiving day (yep, all 26.2 miles) so he has been a little sore from that. You should see us right now. I feel GREAT but can't get up to do anything and he is super sore and HAS to get up to do everything. Oh well, he will be back to 100% in the next day or so, and that should be about the time when our Thanksgiving leftovers run out. HAHAHAHA.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Still in the hospital!!

Well as you can tell from the title....I'm still in the hospital. I was supposed to go home this morning but, unfortunately London did not cooperate. Last night when the nurse hooked me up to the monitors to check on the baby, I had quite a few contractions. I was still hopeful that they would let me go home, but after talking to the Dr this morning he made it QUITE clear I was not going home with contractions. He told me he was going to keep me for at least another 24 hours. So here is to hoping that I actually get to go home TOMORROW, just in time for Thanksgiving!!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Well I'm in the hospital :(

*BOTH LONDON AND I ARE OK* (Warning Label added due to popular demand)

So... Friday night I went to the ER because I was getting what seemed to be some sort of bladder/kidney infection and was in horrible pain. Well when I got to the ER, they thought the same thing, so they ran my urine and when that came back showing some bacteria, they decided to keep me over night to give me IV antibiotics and fluids (bc I was also some what dehydrated). Well Sat morning, MY Dr came in to exam me and to sign my walking papers, the moment he touched my stomach, I had some "kidney pain", he said..."ummmmm, is that the pain your experiencing?" I said yes, he said, "Ok well that was a big contraction, and I'm gonna need to move you over to labor and deliver NOW, because it looks like you are in preterm labor" He did a vaginal exam and said my cervix was thin but not yet dilated to 1cm. So after an hour of being monitored, and seeing my contractions become more and more regular he started me on magnesium (sp), put in another catheter, put me on a clear liquids only diet, gave me 2 shots of steroids, and put me on a bunch of other meds that I would need a medical dictionary to spell. They kept me on the mag. drip for 24 hours, then weaned me off for another 10 hours and my contractions are now under control. However, they have not disappeared. They removed the mag drip at around 2pm today (along with the catheter too) Thankfully they have also moved me back into a regular room (in the post-partum section so yay for comfy beds, no catheters, and a regular diet again :) )They want to keep me and monitor me until Tuesday to make sure this new oral medication is going to keep my contractions under control and that my cervix doesn't dialate anymore. Just as a safety precaution the hospital has had us meet up with a neonatologist and lactation specialist already. Which was GREAT!! Now I feel like we really have a plan set into motion already in case London does make a early appearance (but not too early, maybe 39w6d HAHAHA)

London has been doing great and has shown almost zero signs of distress. If anything, he has kept the nurses on their toes. Every time they put the monitor on me, he starts kicking to where you almost can't hear his heartbeat (keep in mind he also does this when I wear full panel maternity pants, LOL, he HATES any kind of pressure on Mommy's tummy).
I am doing MUCH better today, I had a slight melt down/panic attack this morning while I was still in Labor and Delivery, to which my Dr quickly gave me something to help me sleep (which really worked, by the way). Shortly after my nap (5 hours long), I got the word that things were totally under control and they were moving me out of Labor and Delivery, removing the catheter, and my personal favorite part, LETTING ME EAT AGAIN!! So of course all of that helped boost my emotional state.

So there you are, a little update on us! All 3 of us are doing well, but like I said before we will still be here until at least Tuesday. Mike has been here with me the whole time (except of course, when he is taking care of the pups) so that has been amazing. Our Thanksgiving plans have also changed a little bit, but now it envolves MY family and HIS family coming into town, so that will make it more fun for everyone. Plus, I get to have my mom's thanksgiving food, MMMmmmMMMmm!! All and all, this is NOT how I expected or wanted to spend my weekend but if it keeps little Mr. London in there cooking even a little longer, then it is time VERY well spent.