We arrived safely at 36 weeks on Saturday and had a very important visit to the specialist today. We had what will be our last growth scan and spoke to the doctor about the possibility of inducing me early. Andy was able to get off work and come along with me, which made the discussion a lot easier, and we are both satisfied with how it turned out. So, without further ado, the results! . . .
Little miss Ellie is now weighing in at a whopping 5 pounds! That's up 15 ounces from this time two weeks ago! And if that wasn't progress enough, this now puts her in the 6th percentile! She had been in a percentile known as 'less than 3rd', where they stop really keeping track. This is HUGE! Everyone was very pleasantly surprised and we are so happy that she has grown so much. The rest of my test results looked great too. She is still very responsive for our Non-Stress Tests and scores well on the doppler (blood flow) readings too.
However. They still want to induce me at 38 weeks. We weren't really ok with that until today because we didn't understand why they would want to take her early if she's still growing well. They said that when a baby shows growth restriction as early as Ellie did, it is usually due to a placenta issue, especially considering they didn't find any other potential causes. With placenta issues, time and research have shown that it is safer to deliver at 38 weeks than wait longer and hope the baby continues to grow. Over time, the placenta ages and begins to break down. When there are already issues, 38 weeks and beyond is when you can have problems with placental detachment and stillbirth. So, it's a safer bet to induce me and deliver her early than hope that she continues to grow and we don't have any placenta problems. Makes sense to me, so I'm ok with it. PLUS, I am good to go at my preferred hospital and with the doctors I am already familiar with. So at my regular OB appointment on Wednesday, I will set up a time sometime around the 4th to be induced! I think as far as scheduling goes, the 4th would be our preference, but we will see how the schedule looks for the hospital and go from there.
And after all was said and done, Andy finally came to the realization that that's next week. Next week. Not 4 weeks from now like my due date suggests, but next flipping week. Oh my. I have a lot of different feelings about this, which I suppose is normal after receiving such news. Part of me is glad that this phase of life will soon be over. I am getting tired of being fat and tired all the time. I know, I know. The tired part will not get any better, but it will be a different kind of tired I think. Plus, I'll have a baby to snuggle! The other part of me is completely terrified that I'm going to be a mom next week. Yes, I did realize that this was coming. But it's a little different when it's this imminent. It's a feeling that I'm pretty sure everyone has at some point. At least I hope so.
Anyway, that's all the news for today! I will give you another update after my appointment on Wednesday and let you know what the magic date is going to be!
Oh, and I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for your prayers over the past several months. Just knowing that you're all out there lifting us up has made this whole journey so much easier. And now that we're nearing the end of this, I wanted to ask you to dedicate some of your prayer time to another mom that I know. Her name is also Heather and we went to middle school together. We haven't really kept in touch over the years, but we're facebook friends anyway. She had a beautiful baby girl named Olivia this past week. After she was born, they found out that she has a heart defect that will require major surgery very soon. You can go here to read more about the details of their situation. All I know is that this family needs a lot of prayer right now. Instead of being home for Christmas with their brand new daughter, they will be spending it in the hospital, praying for another day of no further complications. Even though I don't even really know them anymore, my heart aches for them and their situation. So since you've been so faithful in lifting us up in prayer, I'm asking you to please do the same for little Olivia, her mom Heather, dad Kyle, and big brother Jack.
Thank you again for all of your love and support and I hope you all have a safe and blessed Christmas!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
35 Weeks and The Internet.
Ok, so it's been a while since I updated, but it's not my fault, I swear! Our internet has been so unreliable here and it seems like I can only manage to access it via my netbook, not my usual computer. This just makes the whole blogging process a lot more difficult, so I've let it go. Luckily, today the internet gods have smiled upon me and I am here to bring you up to date on all the progress that's gone on!
First of all, I made it to magic number 35 on Saturday! This means that the docs at my preferred hospital aren't scared of me anymore. They don't have a NICU there, so they won't deliver before 35 weeks. So unless something happens and the specialists want me to go to the big scary hospital with the NICU, I will be delivering at my preferred, smaller hospital. YAY! Developmentally, Ellie should be about the size of a (small) coconut right now. At our last measurement on the 10th, she weighed approx. 4 lbs. 1 oz. Sounds good, right?! Yeah, still less than the 5th percentile. We'll get measured again on Monday (yes, Christmas Eve) and talk to the specialist doc about a 'delivery plan' that may or may not include inducing me at 38 weeks. I have mixed feelings about that, but I talked to a friend at church who was induced at 39 weeks with her daughter (who is now 3) and she had a great experience and didn't even get an epidural, so that's encouraging. I feel like I'm ok with being induced as long as I can still go to my preferred hospital. I've had appointments with all the doctors there, know my way around, and that's where we took our baby class so we're even familiar with some of the nurses. I'd really feel more comfortable there, so there's going to have to be a pretty good reason to make me feel ok going somewhere else! In other news, she is still head down (thank goodness!) and has started her decent, but has not fully dropped yet, so I'm still gasping for air but glad I'm not waddling too badly just yet.
Last night after choir rehearsal I was surprised with another baby shower thrown by the wonderful choir! Everyone was so kind and generous and the snacks were AMAZING! Unfortunately, since it was a surprise, I didn't have my camera with me, so we don't have any pictures to share. There are a lot more nursery supplies and baby clothes to put away now though!
Ok, on to nursery progress. There has been a LOT of progress made, which makes me feel SO happy! The new crib came in (defect free!) and Andy got it put up in about 30 minutes.
That's got to be a record or something. Mom came down the other weekend and whipped up a beautiful crib skirt for us (the bumpers are still in the works) and we've got a mattress and sheets in there too!
We've also got the changing pad all set up on the dresser and tested out the wipes warmer, so that station is ready to go!
Now if we can get the blinds hung and get the valance up around them, we will be in pretty good shape. Andy's still working on painting the armoire, but I told him that it wasn't 100% necessary to have it done before Ellie is born. I don't know why I said that. I think I was trying to be nice or something. He is working on it, though, and it will hopefully be done in the next few weeks, which is good because it will provide a LOT more organizational space! Things are just kind of stashed away in different places right now and it's not making a whole lot of logical sense, so I'd like to get all the furniture in there so I can decide where things need to live instead of having to function in this 'in the meantime' state. Don't get me wrong, I'm still VERY pleased with the progress that we've made! I just have a desire to feel 'done' before she arrives so that I don't have to worry about tying up any loose ends afterwards.
There's one more project that I'm working on currently and it's one that I'm really super excited about! My sister came over last week and helped me get started with it and now I'm waiting on a few more things to come together before I can finish it. I don't want to spill the beans before it's finished, but here is a sneak peek for you . . .
. . . stay tuned for the final result coming (hopefully) soon! Ok, off to get the house all ready for Christmas! I've got the shopping done and the presents wrapped, now I just have to tidy up the kitchen and dining room so we have somewhere to eat!
First of all, I made it to magic number 35 on Saturday! This means that the docs at my preferred hospital aren't scared of me anymore. They don't have a NICU there, so they won't deliver before 35 weeks. So unless something happens and the specialists want me to go to the big scary hospital with the NICU, I will be delivering at my preferred, smaller hospital. YAY! Developmentally, Ellie should be about the size of a (small) coconut right now. At our last measurement on the 10th, she weighed approx. 4 lbs. 1 oz. Sounds good, right?! Yeah, still less than the 5th percentile. We'll get measured again on Monday (yes, Christmas Eve) and talk to the specialist doc about a 'delivery plan' that may or may not include inducing me at 38 weeks. I have mixed feelings about that, but I talked to a friend at church who was induced at 39 weeks with her daughter (who is now 3) and she had a great experience and didn't even get an epidural, so that's encouraging. I feel like I'm ok with being induced as long as I can still go to my preferred hospital. I've had appointments with all the doctors there, know my way around, and that's where we took our baby class so we're even familiar with some of the nurses. I'd really feel more comfortable there, so there's going to have to be a pretty good reason to make me feel ok going somewhere else! In other news, she is still head down (thank goodness!) and has started her decent, but has not fully dropped yet, so I'm still gasping for air but glad I'm not waddling too badly just yet.
Last night after choir rehearsal I was surprised with another baby shower thrown by the wonderful choir! Everyone was so kind and generous and the snacks were AMAZING! Unfortunately, since it was a surprise, I didn't have my camera with me, so we don't have any pictures to share. There are a lot more nursery supplies and baby clothes to put away now though!
Ok, on to nursery progress. There has been a LOT of progress made, which makes me feel SO happy! The new crib came in (defect free!) and Andy got it put up in about 30 minutes.
That's got to be a record or something. Mom came down the other weekend and whipped up a beautiful crib skirt for us (the bumpers are still in the works) and we've got a mattress and sheets in there too!
 |
| Close-up of the crib skirt that mom made! |
We've also got the changing pad all set up on the dresser and tested out the wipes warmer, so that station is ready to go!
Now if we can get the blinds hung and get the valance up around them, we will be in pretty good shape. Andy's still working on painting the armoire, but I told him that it wasn't 100% necessary to have it done before Ellie is born. I don't know why I said that. I think I was trying to be nice or something. He is working on it, though, and it will hopefully be done in the next few weeks, which is good because it will provide a LOT more organizational space! Things are just kind of stashed away in different places right now and it's not making a whole lot of logical sense, so I'd like to get all the furniture in there so I can decide where things need to live instead of having to function in this 'in the meantime' state. Don't get me wrong, I'm still VERY pleased with the progress that we've made! I just have a desire to feel 'done' before she arrives so that I don't have to worry about tying up any loose ends afterwards.
There's one more project that I'm working on currently and it's one that I'm really super excited about! My sister came over last week and helped me get started with it and now I'm waiting on a few more things to come together before I can finish it. I don't want to spill the beans before it's finished, but here is a sneak peek for you . . .
. . . stay tuned for the final result coming (hopefully) soon! Ok, off to get the house all ready for Christmas! I've got the shopping done and the presents wrapped, now I just have to tidy up the kitchen and dining room so we have somewhere to eat!
Saturday, December 8, 2012
34 Weeks and The Nursery Goes Green!
Hey there! Things have been super crazy around here trying to get things unpacked/fixed up/organized before Ellie arrives in just a few short weeks. Here's a quick update . . .
We are 34 weeks today! Every day she's getting bigger and stronger - trust me, I can tell! We will get measured again on Monday and see how much weight she's gained, but the OB said this week that I've gained several pounds, so hopefully some of that was her, too! All of my recent tests and checkups have been going well, so there's really nothing to report on that front. AND we have our very last baby class on Monday night. Apparently after that we will be ready to be parents? I don't know. Andy's probably a little more nervous about it than I am, even though we both have pretty much the same amount of experience in the baby department. In last week's class, he was asked if he had ever bathed a baby before. Of course he hasn't, but he HAS bathed a cat, so it really can't be much harder than that!! The only way to really learn how to take care of your baby is to have one and have to take care of it, right? So we'll be fine, I'm sure.
In other news, the nursery has undergone an EXTREME transformation this week! It went from looking like this . . .
. . . to looking like THIS!
Isn't it cute?! Ok, so it's still pretty incomplete, but it's major progress! My father-in-law thinks we should have pained it a 'nice, light lavender' instead of the green, but what does he know ;-) I think it's beautiful! We have also put up the crib, but found a defect in one of the pieces, so we had to take it back down to try and return it. It's purely cosmetic and we're pretty sure that Andy can actually just paint over it if they won't take it back (we're past the 90 day return window), but we're going to try exchanging it first. Drama drama drama.
We did get the mattress ordered, so that should arrive sometime this week - and hopefully we will soon have a crib to put it in! AND, I washed a whole bunch of baby clothes this week and got the diaper bag all packed with her coming-home outfit! We also have the car seat bases installed in both of our vehicles. It feels good to be a little bit prepared, since I know that practically any time I go to the doctor, there's a chance of having a baby that day. Next up, assemble the hospital bag as much as we can and finish up with the nursery. If we can get all that done before Christmas, I will feel great! Speaking of which, I really need to put up our tree and get out the other Christmas decorations! And maybe I should consider doing a little shopping for my family. Hmmm. I guess there's more to do than I thought! I better go get started!! I'll update again next week with more nursery pictures and the results of our growth scan on Monday :-)
PS - Here's an updated belly picture for you - taken after Thanksgiving dinner.
We are 34 weeks today! Every day she's getting bigger and stronger - trust me, I can tell! We will get measured again on Monday and see how much weight she's gained, but the OB said this week that I've gained several pounds, so hopefully some of that was her, too! All of my recent tests and checkups have been going well, so there's really nothing to report on that front. AND we have our very last baby class on Monday night. Apparently after that we will be ready to be parents? I don't know. Andy's probably a little more nervous about it than I am, even though we both have pretty much the same amount of experience in the baby department. In last week's class, he was asked if he had ever bathed a baby before. Of course he hasn't, but he HAS bathed a cat, so it really can't be much harder than that!! The only way to really learn how to take care of your baby is to have one and have to take care of it, right? So we'll be fine, I'm sure.
In other news, the nursery has undergone an EXTREME transformation this week! It went from looking like this . . .
. . . to looking like THIS!
Isn't it cute?! Ok, so it's still pretty incomplete, but it's major progress! My father-in-law thinks we should have pained it a 'nice, light lavender' instead of the green, but what does he know ;-) I think it's beautiful! We have also put up the crib, but found a defect in one of the pieces, so we had to take it back down to try and return it. It's purely cosmetic and we're pretty sure that Andy can actually just paint over it if they won't take it back (we're past the 90 day return window), but we're going to try exchanging it first. Drama drama drama.
We did get the mattress ordered, so that should arrive sometime this week - and hopefully we will soon have a crib to put it in! AND, I washed a whole bunch of baby clothes this week and got the diaper bag all packed with her coming-home outfit! We also have the car seat bases installed in both of our vehicles. It feels good to be a little bit prepared, since I know that practically any time I go to the doctor, there's a chance of having a baby that day. Next up, assemble the hospital bag as much as we can and finish up with the nursery. If we can get all that done before Christmas, I will feel great! Speaking of which, I really need to put up our tree and get out the other Christmas decorations! And maybe I should consider doing a little shopping for my family. Hmmm. I guess there's more to do than I thought! I better go get started!! I'll update again next week with more nursery pictures and the results of our growth scan on Monday :-)
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