Raising Schuurmans: 9 Months Pregnant

     Whew! What a week! With last Sunday being Mother's Day, I never would've imagined what all the next week would've included. Hopefully, this week will be a little less eventful, unless the baby decides to come this week. I'd SOOO be ok with that. :)
     Quick update on our nephews: Baby A is named Tyson Luke and is meeting all his daily milestones and goals. Despite being "stable" in the NICU, he's doing well thus far. He still has a long way to go. His "younger" brother (only by 3 minutes) is named Hunter Wells. Wells is TJ's Grandma's maiden name. Hunter had to be transferred to a children's hospital where he was evaluated for surgery. Turns out, he does need surgery. There is a missing link between his small and large intestine, but rather than have surgery immediately, he needs to plump up a bit. Thus far, it's not an emergency surgery and they said it can be postponed to around a month. So for a few weeks, both brothers will be at separate hospitals since they don't want to move Tyson yet because he's doing so well. Please, please, please continue to pray for, by name, TJ, Olivia, Tyson, and Hunter as they dive head first into this long healing process. Pray for TJ and Olivia to be able to take this one day at a time and to lovingly trust our Heavenly Father. Pray for Tyson to continue to grow, develop, and improve. Pray for God to heal the link in Hunter's intestines so he won't have to have that surgery after all. Doctors say this type of surgery is "normal" for babies born at this stage in gestation, however, we know our Lord is the Great Physician and He can do ANYTHING! Also, please pray for the doctors and nurses as they work on and care for both babies 24/7. If you'd like to follow along with TJ and Olivia's journey, they have started a Caring Bridge website that tells their story. The address is: www.caringbridge.org/visit/tysonhunterberoth
   In other news, final preparations for Baby Schuurman is in full effect! Since Tyson and Hunter arrived so abruptly, I realized how much we still needed to get done before Baby's arrival, here. Yesterday, both Mark and Marcus helped me do a number of things. We wiped out car seats, washed receiving blankets, and got bottles/formula ready just in case we were to need to go that route again. I do plan on trying to nurse again, so we'll see how that goes. Either way, we're prepared this time! Mark was even sweet enough to take our oven door apart and help me clean the inside where a liquid spilled. He's been WONDERFUL through this whole pregnancy and cares so sweetly for Marcus and I. Even though I'm 4 weeks away from my due date, we do have a planned c-section for Thursday, June 13th. Physically, I feel like I could deliver any day now, yet everyone keeps telling me it's still too soon. If I knew the baby would be ok if I were to deliver this week, I'd go drink some castor oil and eat pineapples to get this show on the road! (*side note* those are "natural" ways to induce labor - haha). And here's one bit of advice for all you people out there who know or will know a pregnant woman. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT tell her she looks enormous, no matter what stage of pregnancy she's in. A precious woman at church today, whom I really do admire, told me that today. How do you answer that? Needless to say, it didn't go over well, and it won't with whoever you're planning on saying it to, either. ;)
     Finally, here are a few pictures taken this week, after we got back from Winston. Despite the physical and emotional draining that I took this week, the show must go on, and being a wife/mother continues. It's my favorite profession in the world and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Enjoy!

Playing play-doh out on the porch makes less of a mess for Mommy.

"Eating" his play-doh sandwich.

Marcus and Madison - future spouses (we hope!)

Practicing hand-eye coordination with tongs & pom-poms.

...and color sorting.

Silly Goof! Hiding in the fridge!

It's hard to believe we brought him home in this car seat!

Helping Mommy nest (or just cleaning the front porch furniture).

All that cleaning was hard work!

But Marcus got up & Daddy stayed behind. :)

Daddy took the oven door apart & Marcus helped clean it off.

Scraping off this stuck pieces. What a good little helper.

36 Weeks!
-9 months pregnant! Whoo hoo!
-Tummy is very tight, but no contractions (yet)
-I'm beyond waddling now. Not sure what you'd call it.
-All the "basics" are taken care of and baby can arrive any time!