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! :)