More pics

What a day, what a day!! I guess I'll fill you in on the rest of our birth story after our last update. :) I'll say things got moving. Dr. broke my water and finally by 2pm, I would say I was in active labor and having to breath through contractions--no problem, right?! I think it was about 3:30 that I was asking the nurse (who was awesome!!) about the benefits of Nubane and I was starting to wimp out. I decided against after finding out I was at 7cm and keep trying for the next 30 min. to do it on my own. I knew I definitely didn't want to go the Epidural route. Well, contractions/pressure picked up and I thought I was so done on the breathing crap as I was getting overwhelmed. Come to find out not too much longer and it was pushing time. I knew the boy was coming out and Matthew and the Nurse forced me back in bed and I had to start pushing. The nurse sent Matthew out to the hall just to yell "Nurse!" as she needed help and was by herself. Well, that brought in help to try to paige the Dr. Too late, this kid was coming and I was so not doing my part (I really feel I wimped out here). Matthew and the nurse worked to keep my focused and in just a few pushes, Grady came right on out. Yep, the nurse delivered by herself - she deserves a HUGE paycheck - she was awesome. As I opened my eyes, I saw we weren't short on nurses in the room - fabulous! Well, my OB Dr. was actually in surgery and a few minutes later Dr. Kemp came in after all was done.

So, active labor latest 3 hours and honestly, I couldn't have taken much more.

Here are a few more pics from today.

Brand, brand new and scruncy!

PROUD daddy with his son

Working on Ryane warming up to Baby brother...
Giving Grady hair tips and showing him what a combover is. :)

Helping Lotion him up after his bath (she helped get him extra slippery!)

5 Hours Old and sleeping away. Time is passing and his swelling is going down and I think I am seeing more and more of Ryane in him. Whatta cutie!!

Birth Announcement

1:40 PM update

Not really progressing much so the Dr. broke Seresa's water around 1:15. Contractions are getting stronger and lasting a little longer. It still could be a while so don't get your hopes up. As you can probably tell, Seresa is not typing this, Matthew is.

quick update

..or rather there really isn't one! :)

Arrived at 6:30
Started Pitocin Drip around 8:30

Feeling good - came in having some contractions and they are continuing, but I wouldn't say increasing or anything.

I feel like it could be a long day....

39wk 2dy Dr. Appt.

Hmmm, where do I start???!!!! Dr. appt. went absolutely fantastic - never mind our appt. was at 3:15 and we didn't see the Dr. until 5! She measured my fundal height as she mentioned I think you are having a contraction (umm, yeah, I have them all the time!) I didn't get the measurement and then she listened to the strong heartbeat which was 138bpm. Dr. Sohl left and came back to check for progress only to listen to me tell her how much I was done and this kid was fully baked. I told her do what she could to help us out and mentioned induction. I joked and told her to go ahead and break my water and we'll just call it an "accident". :) Well, she checked and I am more progressed and she went ahead and stripped membranes to help us out--yeahhh! Then, she turned to the nurse and said "Contact L&D and schedule her for the morning" I'm thinking 'Yeahh, we are getting induced.' Then, she turned to me and said "I don't think you'll make it until then!" What? Really? I told her I've already learned not to get excited by my contractions. I've already had two other instances that I was getting them every 5 min. for over an hour and then they subsided.

Sooo, that brings me to this blog update. I am so so elated. I like that we know when we'll be going in - 6:30am and it has helped a bit in final scheduling for Ryane and getting the house in somewhat of an order for guests while we are in the hospital. Honestly, not too thrilled about getting hooked up to Oxytocin as we are all about natural child birth, but I REALLY am ready to do what it takes to get him here. Wish us luck and be checking back on the blog for a birth announcement at some point - I'm taking the computer with us to the hospital!!

Drumroll please.....

Here are our last comparison pictures.....

Oh so DONE!

Alright, this is so not cool. How in the world am I still pregnant???? I know I’ve had about enough contractions for 10 women, but yet, I still have a little guy all snuggled up in my belly! Matthew has finally joined me in the getting anxious part and wondering if and when he’ll come out too. He is offering to go on walks and asking him when he’ll come out. Ryane and I have been telling the little guy to “come out” for a few weeks now! I think I have been pregnant for about 11-12 months now, or so it seems. I am so done! We go to the Dr. tomorrow afternoon and I will have to bring up the big “I”. I’m not sure how she stands on inductions and timing of them, but this pregnancy lasting forever is so not cool! Wish me luck and perhaps a few more patience to go along with it. :)

Such a good boy!

Our little guy did a good job at listening to his parents! He stayed put for our St. Louis trip. Matthew was able to attend some of his conference and Ryane and I were able to spend some much needed good quality mommy-daughter time together hanging out and doing things. We were also able to do things, perhaps for the last time, as just a family of 3.

Matthew is headed back over to the conference again this morning and then we might take in the zoo and are driving back to Emporia today. So, for all those wondering (and some who’ve called that we haven’t answered the phone), no baby yet for us. He really wanted to be born in E-town!!

37wk3dy Dr. Appt.

Quick summary:
Heartbeat = 133bpm

Mommy's weight = +29lbs, lost 2lbs. While we were waiting on the Dr., Matthew kindly pointed out that now we weigh the same amount. I recall with the last pregnancy I passed in him in like month 3 or 4 - not a good feeling! Bless my husband for not saying I weighed more than him last week!!! ha. :)

Fundal Height = 31cm, lost 2cm since last week. Dr. Sohl said this was normal as the baby moves lower - never knew this happened! :)

Progress = Dr. said baby's head was lower, dilated 2ish cm

Other Dr. Comments = "See you in a couple days" We don't know if she meant, a couple days as in next week for an appt. or our baby is on his way??? She also mentioned "Let's have a baby this weekend". hmmmm

Our Plans = Unless this kid comes in the next day or two, to still travel to St. Louis on Sunday for Matthew's National Athletic Trainers Conference and a family vacation. Matthew really needs to go for his career and I'd much rather be with him if I went into labor than have him miss his son's birth. Plus, I looked it up and my insurance provider covers 491 OB's in St. Louis, so I think we will be well taken care of it something should happen.

Hormones!!

I knew this time was coming for awhile, but I think it started to really hit me today....I'm going to have to be away from Ryane for a couple of nights when this baby arrives. Thanks to the help of pregnancy hormones, it makes me all emotional knowing that Ryane won't be getting kisses and hugs from her mommy right before she goes to sleep or I won't be one of the first to get her out of bed in the mornings. I know she'll be very well taken care of by Nana Howe, but it's tough for me considering I have yet to spend the night away from her and have only missed kissing her for bed 1, maybe 2 times in her life. I've been writing out her schedule and other things that Ryane says and does to help those who take care of her (as if they can't do it without a list - I know I'm probably going a little far, but I find comfort in it). The one thought I'm having that is helping me with leaving her is knowing she has had her mommy for over 20 months by herself and now her brother deserves to have his mommy for at least 2 nights to himself.

36wks3dys - Dr. Appt.

This doctor visit was so nice and quick. We were one of the Dr.’s first appts. of the day, so there wasn’t much waiting room waiting, which was soooo nice and not the norm. First, I was weighed to learn that I put on another pound since last appt., which puts me up to 32lb gain so far. I only put on 25lbs total with Ryane, so while this is more I was down 15lbs pre-pregnancy than starting out with Ryane. I am fine with it and know my baby must need it.

As Dr. Sohl enters the room, I let her know that she is supposed to tell me I’m in the early stages of labor and that I would probably see her later that day.  Wishful thinking on my part. The day prior I was having regular contractions starting about every 30 min. and started getting closer to less than 10min. apart, but never increased in intensity, then eventually faded before bedtime. I was having them again the next morning every 15-20min. So, I was thinking maybe, just maybe, something was getting underway. Not really, just my body practicing I suppose. It was enough of a reality check for me that I was eventually going to have this baby, so Matthew and I started packing our hospital bag on Weds. night and put one of the car seat bases in the truck. We aren’t totally packed, but rather more prepared for now.

Back to the appt., I discussed my symptoms with Dr. Sohl and she seemed to care, but told me she hoped everything would hold on for at least another week---as in 37wks is considered full-term. After an “umcomfortable” appt. (meaning I was seriously getting concerned for my son’s soft spot with the poking and prodding), it was nice to hear from the Dr. that I am starting to dilate (1cm). I’ll take it!

We go back next Thurs. and this will be the appt. that will be a deciding factor if I do infact go to St. Louis on Sunday for a mini-family vacation. Wish me luck!

Going Greener

Having another child and remembering how many diapers we went through with the first one has made us decide to go greener with this one. We are going to attempt cloth diapering part-time at least. I remember those first few months with Ryane of the diaper trash can filling up so fast and all those wet/dirty diapers weighing so much as we lunged them out to the dumpcart. The guilty feeling of filling up the landfills with stuff that wouldn't break down for years is what got us more into recycling in the first place. We recycle just about everything that the Emporia center will take.

So, in order to prepare for kid#2, I've started my research and purchasing of "supplies". All I can say is WOW! There is so much to learn and so much information out there to research. I've researched everything from the different types of cloth diapering - prefolds, fitteds, pockets, AIO (all-in-ones), or AI2s (all-in-2). For covers, you have options, PUL fabric, fleece, wool. For prefolds, there are guaze, birdseye, hemp, terry, chinese prefolds, indian prefolds, bleached, unbleached. I'm sure I'm forgetting lots, but gives you an idea at how my head was spinning from all the options. In the end, we are going to try chinese prefolds with thirsties covers. I've also been amazed at the actual cost of cloth diapering--some diapers run $20-$25 EACH. Some people say they save money, but I've seen how much some of the stuff cost and if you aren't planning on full-time cloth diapering and using them on more than one kid, it would be tough. I'm not sure if we'll save money doing it, but I am sure we will feel like we are doing a little more to help out the environment. Our plan is to do it at home, but still use 'sposies at day care and while out and about. So, we are going to give it a shot and see if it's for us. If not, I'll know that I gave it a try.

I'm including a picture of our stash (as it's called in cloth diapering world - yah, I'm learning their lingo too). Many of the experienced CD mommy's recommend getting more, but I want to try it out first before sinking more money into it. We have prefolds for newborn and infant sizes and the first XS and S covers, so we should be covered upto 18lbs -- isn't that around 4 months??? Also, for those of you cringing thinking of having to pin a diaper on and poking the baby or ourselves, they have these handy little things called snappi diaper fasteners (in middle of picture) that you just hook and stretch to hold the diaper on--genius invention! It all sounds easy enough to me. They've made cleaning up those #2s easier these days with biodegradable throw-away inserts that are supposed to hold it away from the diaper. We are set, just waiting on that cute little tush to change....

Dr. Appt - 35wk 2dy

We had a quick Dr. appt. today. Basically the Dr. measured my fundal height and it was 34cm and then we listened to the heartbeat. I saw it from 136-138bpm when the Dr. was showing me and when Matthew was showed, it jumped up to 142bpm. Is daddy already getting this kid wound up like he does with Ryane??? Dr. Sohl made mention that we need to make it another 12 days to be considered full term. I go back and forth whether I'll make it or not. Reality is though that I'm not due until June 30th, so I'll be updating on Dr. appts. a little longer I suppose. Just getting anxious to have my little guy in my arms, but who doesn't get this way towards the end?!

Here are some maternity pictures we took last night. I had more ideas I wanted to include Ryane in, but she had more fun being behind the camera thinking she was running things rather than be in the picture. We managed to trick her into being in one.....and only one!!!





This is NOT his name, just initials. Hint for you - last initial is an "H". :~)

Comparison Pictures Update

Hopefully we won't have to take many more of these. :) We were a week late in getting the latest picture taken. Better late than never.

Here's progress pictures of the bare belly pictures we've been taking all along. Hope the bare belly doesn't gross you out. I'm not one for showing off my pregnant belly, only in pictures. The woman's body truly amazes me at how it grows and stretches and helps God create a little life in there!

Dr. Appt. 34wk1dy

I ended up rescheduling my bi-weekly Dr. appt. for a day earlier due to some extra contractions and uncomfortable pains I've been having. Overall, Dr. appt. went pretty good. Baby's heartbeat was measuring 138-146bpm and sounded perfect. Dr. Sohl did a lot of feeling and pushing around on my belly and let me know he was head down now. I was pretty sure of that as I have his little frog legs and feet pushing up quite often these days. We discussed all my contractions and while she stated it was pretty early for them, she said it wasn't too terribly early if things progressed. She went ahead and checked me and said everything still looks good and said I was not dialating yet. She asked me to come back next week to get checked again to make sure everything is 'holding'. So, now I have my next 3 appointments scheduled out.

On a side note, while I was waiting on the elevator to go to the Dr. office, an older man mentioned "You look like you're at that uncomfortable stage." Umm, thanks! So, I asked him if it was just the look on my face or what and he said "yes, you should go home and take a nap" NICE! So, I guess I have that look about me now - watch out!! It's interesting what some people say and obviously aren't thinking when the words come out of their mouth. I should start compiling my list.

HOW many weeks left?

While I try not to pay attention to EXACTLY how many weeks are left, it's hard not to. I’ve had a rough past couple of days with a sizable number of Braxton Hicks contractions. Some are small and many others have been attention getters making me stop what I’m doing and bend over and grab my tummy. I had a photo shoot the other night and thought I was going to have to call a nurse or Dr. or something afterwards - no fun! I just don’t remember them coming this early with Ryane or coming this strong. Maybe there is a chemical in a woman’s body that helps her forget things about previous pregnancies. Maybe it’s just because it’s a second pregnancy and I hear a body remembers what to do. Not sure what it is, but I can’t imagine going through this daily for another 6.5 weeks. It’s a fresh new day, so maybe things will change and be “normal” today?? Anyone want to share their 2nd pregnancy stories vs. 1st, feel free to leave a comment on the blog.

32wk2dy Dr. Appt.

I had another Dr. appt. today. It's been two weeks since the last one and time seemed to have flown by. It was another quick appointment with getting weighed, gained a pound, Dr. Sohl measured my fundal height and it was the same as last appt., and we all listened to this little guy's heartbeat which measured between 133-153 beats per minute. All seems nice and healthy in there!

This past week has been one of those "fun" pregnancy weeks. Ryane and I both picked up a cold and have spent the last week with a nice cough and gunky sinuses. We are both getting better, so yeahhh! But, being pregnant I was limited on the medications that I could and would take. The coughing was the worst part as coughing episodes would bring on strong braxton hicks contractions. My poor little guy in there was getting all squeezed with the contractions and shaken around during the coughs - I'm sure he wasn't happy with me. Plus, the coughing would cause my stomach, chest and back muscles to be sore and then he'd push and kick on those sore muscles. Nice and comfy. But, like I said, I am getting healthy again, so hopefully, it will be a sick-free pregnancy from here on out--fingers crossed!

Self Portraits

I think everyone needs maternity pictures! So, at 31weeks I took a few self-portrait belly pictures today using a remote control and timer on my camera. I still want to get some family pictures with Matthew and big sister Ryane. I'm just unsure if we can get Ryane to cooperate, but it won't stop me from trying! Hopefully we'll get those taken soon and of course I'll share them as well. Here are a few all-big-belly pictures today (sorry if you didn't want to see my belly). It was interesting being on the other side of the camera and guessing how the picture was going to look. Odd to be posing a body part rather than a whole person.



I also took one of these with his first name, but since it is a secret until he's born, this is what you get to see for now.

Dr. Appt - 30wk 2dy

I went to my scheduled Dr. appointment today. It started off great as it was raining, raining, raining outside and I think I had to park about a mile away. :) Dr. appointment was very quick. Got weighed to find out I put on another 3 pounds - check! Dr. checked baby's heartbeat - 160bpm as he was kicking away - check! Dr. also measured my fundal height, 31cm - check! Done. So, I did measure a week ahead of my estimated due date, but I actually found satisfacation in this as I've been thinking I feel further ahead, so it wasn't all in my head (this time!).

I also discussed with Dr. Sohl the fact that I've already gained as much weight as I did the whole pregnancy with Ryane (25lbs). She said I shouldn't be concerned as I'm track to probably gaining 35lbs total and I didn't have a problem getting the weight off last time. I can live with 35lbs as I think that is manageable post-partum. I just really don't want the extra weight to equate to much of a bigger baby. Wish me luck--let's keep him close to the 8lb mark! I go back to see the doctor in 2 more weeks.

Here's the latest growth comparison - I'm getting out there! :)

Temporary Removal?

Let's temporarily remove a couple ribs on each side to give this baby more room!Wonder why it hasn't been suggested before? He's in there constantly pushing on them and bouncing off the ribs, so removing a couple should give him more space and cause less bruising for me. I've also started to notice more shortness of breathe lately, so it should give my lungs more room to expand as well, right?!

We are almost 7 months along, so I can see the end of pregnancy out there somewhere. He's around 3lbs now and 17inches tall. I can't wait for his arrival and to be able to share him with everyone else. I'm ready for Ryane to have a little brother. We (just Ryane and I because Matthew doesn't approve) practice saying his name every once in awhile. She's getting closer, but I'm not concerned with anyone getting it out of her or being able to understand her when she says it as they don't know what she's saying.

2 Snips, 2 Snails, 2 Puppy Dog Tails...

That's what 2 Little Boys are made of!!! No, I don't have 2 boys in my tummy (although, that would explain all those arms and legs I feel in there!) I'm so proud to announce that I will be getting another little nephew! My sister and brother-in-law found out last week that they are expecting a little boy. They have 2 girls already, so this is a very exciting change of pace for them. Not only am I excited for them, but I'm excited for my little boy to be getting a little boy cousin 2 months younger than him to grow up with. Should we start buying matching outfits now for pictures????

Congrats Hammans on the boy on the way!

just sharing

Just sharing my latest scrapbook page I put together tonight. This page was kinda planned in reverse. I wanted to include our 3 ultrasounds and I knew how I wanted to do it, so then I had Matthew take the picture tonight to go with it. Usually, I'll have the pictures first, then decide on the page layout. We've been taking bare belly comparison pictures all along, but this is the first that I'm sharing. Maybe I'll share the others when I am further along. Just not a big fan of sharing my own bare belly pics, but I love to take them for others! :)

Monthly Dr. Appt.

27wk 2dy
We went back to see Dr. Waite for a regularly scheduled monthly prenatal appointment. Overall, it was pretty standard and uneventful appt. Dr. Waite measured my belly for the first time and said I was measuring right on. Then, we (Matthew, Ryane, Dr., and I) got to hear his heartbeat--well, at the times his kicks weren't covering it up. His heartbeat was 144-153bpm. Seems like it's been pretty consistent for some time now.
We are scheduled to go back in 3 weeks for our next appt., then will start going every 2 weeks after that. Having more frequent appts. reminds me how much closer we are getting!

Last Trimester

We are starting our last trimester--yeahhh, only 3 more months left! I'm so anxious to meet this little guy. He is just so active and so strong already, I can only imagine what the next 3 months has in store for him, me, and my poor belly. I can already feel different parts of him. I play name that body part lots of time when he is active--it's mostly arms and legs or a foot and a few times it something larger like a bum or something. Then, there is other times that he moves everything that he can actually cause my body to move too. I just don't recall Ryane being this powerful in her movements this early. It's been a different pregnancy for sure. Here's our latest belly growing update.

Exercise Time...and ONE...and TWO...

This baby already provides me many momments of joy and entertainment. I love watching my tummy jump around. He tends to get REALLY active after lunch, then again around 4, then again after dinner. After a few attempts, I finally got some of his punches or kicks on video. Pay attention to the right side of my tummy.

D-I-Y

Those who really know me, know I'm a big do-it-yourselfer (hence, buying my own photography equipment). This past weekend I finished a project of making some boyish burp cloths. We still have several burp cloths from Ryane, but I don't think we can use the pink and flowered ones this time. I bought some flannel material a couple weeks ago at JoAnn Fabrics and used my new serger sewing machine to make these up. Some are made with the same fabric front and back and others are different on each side as shown in the picture.

Follow-up Sonogram & Monthly Dr. Appt.

As a family, we went to the Dr. today for our 5 month prenatal appt. First, we saw the sonogram tech. for our follow-up sonogram as the baby's heart was developed enough to take a good look at. Everything on the sonogram looked perfect! Things that looked perfect were - 4 chambered heart, facial structure/no cleft pallete, brain/cerebullum, 2 arms/hands, 2 legs/feet, all bone measurements. He - yes, it's still a boy! - is measuring 22 weeks 5 days along, weighs 1 pound 3oz, and had a heartbeat of 143bpm. He is a healthy growing baby. He was very active in there. A couple times the tech. had to chase him around to get the needed measurements or just waited some of his big movements out. For the most part, he had his hands up beside his face or under his chin and the legs were just kicking. We got to see his hands open and close and see him scratch his head. There was one time that Ryane was getting restless and let out a whine and he definitely reacted to his sister's voice - pretty cute. The sonogram tech was very generous in giving us photos, which I loved. I picked out my five favorites to scrap a page with. Couple other items the sonogram mentioned is she compared his nose to Ryane's as they look the same and she asked if Ryane was a really active baby as well. Yep, she sure was inside and out!

Onto the doctor's appt. First, I had to get weighed and ummm, it was a bit much, but the nurse or doctor didn't say anything, so I wasn't going to either! I will say that I am now above my pre-pregnancy weight from Ryane. Since today's sonogram was giving us a different due date than we've had before, we discussed estimated due date with Dr. Waite again. She officially changed/finalized it to be June 30th now, which matches up with our very first sonogram back in December. By the sonogram today, he measured June 27th, so we'll see when he decides to join us. Overall our visit with the Dr. was short as the Dr. was sick and didn't want to touch me and give me her sickness--fine by me! We had a few questions that she answered and we'll go back next month for our next appt.

I cheated on this digi-scrap page as I scanned in maternity paper that I had left from Ryane's scrapbook and created the rest on my own.

Bubbling Belly

When it rains, it pours! :) Yesterday I was setting at work and knew this little guy was kicking/punching pretty hard, so I began watching my belly. Sure enough, he was pretty aggressive in there and my belly looked like it was bubbling as he kept pushing against the sides. Yes, I said sideS. He could get both sides bubbling out at once. For awhile now, I’ve thought he is laying sideways in there as all the movement has been on the sides and many times at the same time. Guess he’s getting pretty long in there and is running out of stretching room. Yesterday was a pretty active day in there and I spent lots of time at work just staring at my baby belly watching him. He doesn’t just work 8-5 either as he was moving around more last night and Matthew got to see my belly bubbling too. Oh, it would be the life to just set around all day and watch my baby move around in there!

Lots more movement

19.5 weeks
I've felt this little boy move around quite a bit more. I definitely feel him 1-2 different times a day wiggling around in there. This weekend, he was full of movements. I think it started off on Friday that he was really moving, so I had Matthew put his hand on him to try to feel. Big Sister Ryane did NOT like Daddy's hand on mommy's tummy. Funny to me, but I wonder why not? Does she think Baby Brother (mommy's bare tummy) only belongs to her as we play a lot telling her it's baby brother? Does she know in a way the baby was getting all the attention at that time? Anyhow, Matthew had to stop trying to feel him as his little girl wasn't having it. Then, Sunday night, I told Matthew he "might" be able to feel him as he was really moving. I told him it was more like full body moves or rolling, but not kicking. Well, sure enough, Matthew says "I think I may have felt something". Sure enough, he told me exactly where on his hand he felt it and I agreed. Oh, what a special time in our lives that will never be repeated - Matthew feeling Baby ********* for the first time.

What could be better?

What could be better than being pregnant at the same time as your sister? Nothing! 8-) This past weekend, my sister shared her exciting news of expecting her 3rd child. I’m so happy for her and her husband and their two girls! I am just so excited to go through this pregnancy process with my sister. We get to share and compare stories, worries, and excitements! She is due at the end of August, so our little ones will only be a couple months apart. How fun for them to grow up together so close in age. OH – I can’t wait to take pictures of them together!! :~)

Growing, growing

Well, I had to readjust the dating on my previous pictures to align with my new due date. Kinda depressing that I had that big of a bump that early, but I am accepting it....slowly!

New Estimated Due Date - July 2

We went for our monthly Dr. appt. today. It was definitely a longer appt. as we had a lot to the talk to Dr. Waite about. We discussed how our specialist appt. went last Wednesday and how our two sonogram datings have been off. She offically changed our estimated due date to July 2nd. Of course baby boy Howe will let us know when his true due date is when the time comes. I always thought it would be fun to have a baby on July 4th. I wonder how long it would take the kid to understand all the fireworks and celebration wasn't just for his birthday? I know two people's birthdays really close, Cheri and Nana (Anita), so we'll do my best to hit one of those! :~)

We heard the little guy's heartbeat, 156 beats per minute, and it sounded wonderful. Dr. Waite found it first try, so we listened for quite a while. Dr. Waite agreed to let us do our follow up sonogram at her office rather than having to go back to Overland Park, which we are very pleased with. So, we go back in 4 weeks for an ultrasound to take a good look at our baby's heart and get more pictures of the little guy!

Another exciting thing about yesterday is that I felt my little guy move from the outside. I knew he was squirming around in there, so I put my hand on my belly and sure enough, he kicked me in the exact spot. So exciting!! Now, if I can just time his kicks for Matthew to be around and feel his son's kicks.

Boy, oh boy, oh boy, OH boy!

Was the subject subtle enough? We found out today that there’s a little boy in there! I’d say we are elated, but that’s not good enough to describe how we are feeling. I love the fact that we will have a girl and boy. I was happy to find out he’s a boy as I was already convinced that’s what was in there. Tears of joy definitely followed the news!!

Here’s the rest of the story as to why we found out earlier than our originally scheduled Jan. 28th ultrasound. Last Thurs. I got a call from the nurse at Dr. Waite’s office to tell me they got the results back from our genetic testing and asked us to come in and talk to the doctor. Here’s the scoop to the best that I can explain it with my non-medical background. Our tests came back with a positive indicator for Down Syndrome. Let me just say this is only an indicator and does not give any definitive answers. For my age, my normal statistic to have a baby with Downs is 1 in 649 and per JUST the blood test, which is only blood, our chances are 1 in 207. A 36 year old has a normal chance of 1 in 270. SO, since it was just under that, they called us in to discuss further follow-up tests. I was still liking my chances of 206 out of 207 of having a perfectly healthy baby—but, it was still a blow to hear something might be wrong. Now, our next step was to go see a perinatologist (Specialist Dr. of Ultrasounds) for a genetic level II ultrasound and talk to a genetic counselor - this is all general procedure for positive indicators from the genetic blood test. That brings us to yesterday, when we made the trip to Overland Park to the Perinatal office.

The sonogram went really well and pretty fast. The Dr. looked at several things and told us everything looked good. He weighs 8oz. However, we aren’t measuring as far along as we thought (thought close to 19 weeks and measuring 17.5 weeks). She gave us our new risk level for our baby boy to be born with Downs and it is now 1:345, which is an improvement over the 1:207. Being that we were only 17.5weeks, our little man’s heart isn’t developed enough to get the type of views the sonogram Dr. wanted, so she wants us to go back in 4 weeks for another look.

Did I mention, we are having a BOY?!!!

Here's our sonogram pictures:
a) cute profile shot
b) scary face shot :)
c) another profile shot. Be sure to click on the picture as you can see he is sticking out his tongue. I think he learned that from Big Sister Ryane!

Ahhh Dreams and Blemishes!!

I finally had a pregnancy dream earlier this week. It was pretty odd, which is definitely a "normal" dream for me. At first I had the baby and they told us the birth stats were 2x12 24! Interesting - just how they all come,right???!! I could see her in my dream and she was very pretty and BIG - dark hair, dark skin and slanty eyes. Then in the dream, I actually hadn't had the baby yet and was told it was a girl for now, but they still needed "it" to flip over so they could induce. That was my dream, then I was awake for awhile trying to analyze it. No more baby dreams since.

Also, with the wonderful pregnancy hormones, I seem to have reverted back to puberty. I keep getting little blemishes on my face. Lovely to have at age 30! It's all worth it though!

Who was behind me?

Went in the the Dr. office again yesterday for our quad-screen genentic testing. I had to see the nurses first to get weighed and do paperwork before going to the lab to get blood drawn. I paid extra attention to the nurse weighing me (as I didn't last baby appt), and there MUST have been someone sneak up behind me and touch the scales! :) I mean I know I have to put on weight, but I really wasn't expecting to have put on that much. I'm up 13 pounds at 15 weeks, which is up 8lbs from 5 weeks ago. Maybe the nurse put her foot on there as well? I'll have to keep a closer look at her next time. Speaking from past experience, the baby weight came off with no problem after giving birth, but no one really wants to be HUGE at the end of pregnancy. What's done is done and I can only try to eat healthier I suppose. Maybe I'll start that next week....after I get all the corndogs ate that I just bought!! :)

Now, back to the whole purpose of the appt. I had the quad-screen genetic test (checks for downs syndrome, open neural tube defects, and other chromosome abnormalities). We chose to have it, not because we anticipate anything wrong (then again, who really does?), but just to know. It won't change anything if something genetically is wrong--we will still love this baby and it'll be perfect to us and how God meant for him/her to be. We'll just know ahead of time incase extra medical care is needed at time of birth. It'll help me prepare mentally for what life holds for us. I think it'll take over a week to get the results back. Maybe we won't get them until our next Dr. appt--WHICH is the ultrasound in a little under 2.5 weeks.

Did I shrink?

Wow - looks like from the comparison pictures I shrank? Maybe I look smaller because we took this picture in the morning and the others are taken in the evening--belly didn't have enough time to stretch and plump back out. I don't know, but shrinking?? According to how my clothes are fitting, they'd beg to differ. I've moved to wearing more maternity pants, but I can still manage to make some of my regular jeans work...for now.

14wk Monthly Dr. Appt.

14weeks 1dy
We had our second doctor appt. today. Once again, we had a stubborn kid. Dr. Waite looked and looked and looked for the heartbeat and all we kept hearing was my own. Matthew couldn't help but say that he/she was "hiding again!" After searching for a heartbeat much longer than she did last time, IT WAS LOCATED. Dr. Waite kinda seemed surprised to finally find it at first and mentioned that she was about ready to give up. I told her it was fine if we had to have another sonogram again as I'd love to see the baby--secretly though I was thinking maybe we'd be able to tell gender this time! :) So, our little one's strong heartbeat was located and measured 156bpm. Personally, I didn't feel as worried this time as she was searching as she said that I was measuring right on schedule which usually means everything is progressing fine. I had some lab and blood work done this time, which is just for the normal beginning pregnancy work.

So, two appts. down and we've had issues locating the baby both times. Is this going to be a sign of things to come from this little one? Stubborn, liking to play hide-n-seek, I hope not.

I go back next week just to see the nurses and get more blood drawn to do the genetic testing. We chose to have the Triple Screen done with Ryane and this time Dr. Waite said she wants the Quad-Screen done. I asked if it was because I was over 30 and she assured me it was just more detailed and she is recommending it to everyone now. Also, we scheduled our BIG sonogram for next appt., Jan. 28th. I can't wait!


I am now 16 weeks along and according the internet, 4.3 to 4.6 inches long and weighs about 2.8oz. They compare the baby's size to the that of an apple. His/her muscles are developing and now she/he can hold their head up better and can make facial expressions. I'm guessing the little one was smirking at us at the doctor appt!

Movement....maybe

14weeks
I've been waiting and waiting and maybe talking myself out of it sometimes, but I think I felt the little bambino jumping around in there today. There were a few times she/he got my attention and it was that 'poke and stop' feeling I had at first with Ryane. I'm pretty sure it was the baby, but I also think it seemed higher in the stomach than I think the baby is located. Then again, who knows where everything has been moved around and squished out of place in there. I will continue to pay attention and see if I'm 100% I can feel the baby moving.