Plans for next week

At my OB appointment today I was still measuring small. Basically the same as last week. Dr. Fenoughty decided to have another ultrasound to determine how well he was growing. He is now 6 lb. 1 oz. , only 5 oz. bigger than last week. His growth is starting to slow and he's now dropped to the 16th percentile in size. Bascially what that means is that the placenta function is slowing down in it's ability to provide adequate nutrition. All this to say. . . time to get him out. :) She said that we need to plan to induce sometime next week and that we could decide the day. So, tentatively we're planning on going in Thursday to begin the induction with a delivery on Friday. The office still needs to get back with me to confirm this. Also, I have another appointment next Monday to check me again to make sure we don't need to move it up sooner. I'll keep you all posted on details, but basically we're having a baby next week. :) :) The bummer of inducing is that I'm not dialated at all yet, so it could take awhile and there exists the possibility that it wouldn't progress well leading to a C-section. But, it doesn't matter. We just want to get him out and have a healthy baby----whatever it takes!!!! Please pray that:
1) Baby continues to gain weight and that the placenta continues functioning until Friday.
2) That my body would begin to ready for labor on it's own to start some dialating.
I'll let you know if anything changes.

Professional Maternity Pics- 32 weeks

37 Weeks

I had another OB appointment this morning since I am now going weekly. I expected the appointment to be quick and painless like all the others have been, but there was a little more to it this time. Dr. Fenoughty checked the measurement of my belly which actually measured small. The measurement in cm should coincide with the # of weeks pregnant. Up until now that has been the case. However today at 37 weeks, I measured only at 34. She also checked to see if I'm dialated at all, which I'm not, but could determine that the baby had dropped lower into my pelvis. She was concerned about my size so had to get another ultrasound to make sure the fluid levels were adequate and that the baby is growing well. It was nice to see him again on the ultrasound. The fluid levels came back fine at 14. Anything below 5 is concerning. The baby is measuring small, however. He measured approx 5lb 12oz. He is in the 17th percentile for size and I guess anything below 20 is concerning. So, then they had me get hooked up to the monitors for about 30-40 minutes to monitor the baby's heart rate and activity as well as any contractions I was having. Initially he wasn't moving much and the heart rate stayed around 135. It was interesting to see that I am having regular contractions, but not something I'm noticing much and nothing that is causing any pain. They then gave me a mini pack of M&M's and this instantly boosted his activity and heart rate which was what they were wanting to see. So, the conclusion after all this is that the baby is fine, the fluid is fine, his movement is fine, but he just may be genetically small. Not surprising considering the size of Curtis and I. Dr. Fenoughty's concern was that he's not getting enough nutrition from the placenta or that the fluid was dropping which could compromise his health. But neither of which were true at this time. Basically I'm just supposed to closely monitor his movements and if they drop off they want me to come in to be monitored again. If his movement, growth or fluid levels drop off she would induce me into labor to prevent any problems. So, all in all everything is still fine, but all the testing was a little anxiety provoking. It just looks like we'll be having a small baby which I guess is a good thing- easier to push out right? :) We just want to make sure he's healthy. Please pray for his continued growth and health in the coming weeks. :)

36 weeks pregnant

Here I am beginning the final month of this journey. It's hard to believe there are only 4 weeks to go. In a way I'm ready to be done being pregnant and finally be able to hold our little guy. But, there are a lot of anxieties too. I've wanted to be pregnant for so long that I don't want to wish it away too quickly.

In the past couple weeks I've really started to feel "big" and can feel my pelvis loosen. It takes me longer to get around and Curtis is always having to slow down so I can keep up with him. :) I had my 36 week OB appointment yesterday. My cervix is starting to soften, but no effacement or dilation yet. Everything continues to check out perfect. The baby continues to be head down with his bottom on my right side and hands/feet on my left. He's quite the wiggly one so I could figure that out myself. She's predicting him to be in the high 6 pound range or low 7 pound range. This is based on my ultrasound a month ago which is pretty accurate. I now go to the Dr. every week until the end. I asked what the liklihood is that Dr. Fenoughty (my OB) would delivery him. She said that unless she is out of town, she delivers all her patients whether she is on call or not. That made me feel good. :) The only time she plans to be out of town in the near future is in 2 weeks when she goes to Florida to run a mini-marathon. I knew I liked her. :)

We finished our labor and delivery classes a couple weeks ago. Supposedly we know what we need to know now. I don't think you can ever quite fully prepare. I'm a little anxious about the whole thing. . . . about how much pain I can handle. I'm planning on an epidural, but also waiting as long as I can before getting it so my labor doesn't slow down. I'll keep you all posted and will try to post to my blog weekly now to give updates until our little guy makes his arrival.

4D ultrasound- Live video!

Here is the video from the ultrasound yesterday. It take a couple times of watching it to make out the details, but you can see him open and close his mouth and pucker his lips. It's so awesome to see our little boy in such detail.

Also here is a pic of me at 32 weeks. It's getting more and more real each day! We love it!

32 weeks- 3D ultrasound

Today I wasn't able to see my OB because she ended up going home sick, but we were still able to keep the appointment for the ultrasound. The ultrasound tech spent at least 20 minutes with us taking all his measurements with the regular 2D ultrasound and then we just "played" with the 3D ultrasound for a while watching him move and blow kisses. . . it was so cute. We have a video as well which I will try to post later. The middle 3D pic his lips are puckered almost like he is making a kissy face. It was so precious to see him and his little face. He has such a cute round nose and pudgy cheeks! We can't wait to meet him in person!!! Seeing his little face makes it more and more real!!!

Also, this morning we had professional maternity pics taken. It was so fun and we look forward to getting those back. The rest of the day we spent together and shopping for baby stuff. We spent our Target gift cards on the stroller/carseat combo and went to Babies R Us to get the mattress. So, most of the BIG things, we are set on. It's so fun preparing for the new little guy in our lives!!! Well, I've gotta run. I'll write more later! All our love. . . .

30 Weeks- wow!

(This picture was taken at 28 weeks) It's hard to believe I've reached 30 weeks already. This pregnancy seemed to drag at first, just waiting on the next test/ultrasound. But the more "safe" everything became the quicker it's gone. I had an OB appt. yesterday. Everything continues to check out well. My belly is now measuring at 32 weeks, although my Dr. assures me that I'll likely be having an average size baby. She thinks he is probably just stretching out right now. In 2 weeks I'll have a 4D ultrasound to measure how big he is and also to see what he looks like! That will be so amazing! We're really looking forward to it. We're also having maternity pictures taken in 2 weeks with Curtis and I and baby belly. I think it will be fun. Who knows if I'll ever have the opportunity to be pregnant again so we may as well enjoy it and document it while we can.

I've had 3 amazing baby showers so far. Two with family and friends backhome and one last weekend with local friends/family. They've been SOOO fun and such a blessing! We're so blessed to have so many supportive friends and family members who have shared this journey with us. We continue to feel so blessed to have the opportunity to have a baby and can't say enough how much we've appreciated all of you and your continuous prayers though it all.

The further along I get the more anxious I get to meet this little guy. What will he look like?What will his personality be like? Will we be able to figure out the whole scheduling thing? Will I be able to nurse successfully? All these questions. . . We're just eager to see how it goes.