Where are my contractions? - Dr. Visit 12/21

Ok, so I'm sure I'll be sorry I asked that question in a very short while, but I went to my almost-37-week visit today and I am already almost 4cm dilated and 80% effaced but because I am not having contractions I do not get to go to the hospital yet! That's a little scary to me because I just don't want to get in a situation where I can't make it to the hospital in time for my nice epidural. I've read things that say I could stay at this point for 2 or 3 more weeks, or she could come tonight, but I am 98% sure Edie will come within the next few days. Yay! Dr. says to lay low right now and pretty much decrease all extra activity because he doesn't want her to come for at least a few days since she would be fairly early and probably need time in the NICU. Very excited but also nervous for all that labor has to offer of course ;) Please keep us in your prayers and I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

Edie Banner - 12/16

One last finishing touch to the nursery!

Week 36 Visit - 12/14 - She's ready to go!

Definitely surprised by the outcome of this visit today. Dr. Bray said I am 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated already. The baby is engaged in the head down position and is estimated to be 6 lbs! Last time I heard this same news at 36 weeks, Olive came 4 days later! We'll see. But she believes I will go into labor any day and definitely by 38 weeks at the latest. I am really excited about this news and would love it if we got to meet Edie before the New Year. Now my job is to just pack my bags and wait for the contractions! She wants me to monitor them closely as she expects me to dilate faster since this is my second pregnancy. Olive and I may be taking more walks over the next few days to speed things up :) Keep us in your prayers!

Nursery is Finished!

Thanks to the help of Mom and Chris, the nursery is now finished. Lots of cute things for baby Edie to look at. We decided not to paint the walls since we are just renting but it turned out really pretty despite that. Can't wait to show her! (Olive loves it already)

Week 34 Visit - 12/1

At this visit, Dr. Perkins guessed at the baby's position based on how my belly felt. She said Edie is lying oblique (see picture).
This might explain why I feel lots of movement on my side. It isn't the ideal position for delivery but I technically have 6 weeks left for her to turn. She says she's headed in the right direction so let's pray she gets there soon! I have also been throwing up quite a few times within the last week which Dr. Perkins explains is just part of the uterus pushing up on my stomach. She said to eat more frequent, smaller meals (which I have not been doing) so hopefully that helps. Her heartrate was fast today btwn 150 and 160 but she was moving during the whole examination so that might explain why. I am measuring 34 cm with blood pressure of 100 over 60 which is "very normal." Thankful for another great checkup! Next appointment at 36 weeks will include a cervical examination and a Strep B test. Getting down to the wire!

Week 32 OB Visit - Nov 19th

Routine visit today to make sure everything is on track and thankfully it is :) Blood pressure was 120 over 70, belly measuring 32 cm and baby's heart rate is between 143 and 151. Olive said, "Baby Edie!" when the doctor was measuring my belly. She's so cute. I'm pretty sure she understands I have her sister in my belly at this point. Have gained less weight than with Olive to my surprise. The doctor also encouraged me to get the flu shot so after my appointment, Olive and I headed over to Walgreens to get that done. Hoping I don't get flu symptoms from it (as I have heard can happen) but that would be better than getting the flu near labor or having the baby get the flu. Have been a little curious about the baby's position because she doesn't seem to sit as low as Olive did at this point but the Dr. told me that it is not until 32 weeks that the baby's head becomes the densest part of the body so they don't worry about the position until 35 to 36 weeks. I did feel her hiccuping very low tonight so she most likely is head-down but I will be anxious to find out for sure in a few weeks! I was also curious to find out if the baby might come early since Olive came at 36 weeks but the Dr. told me it really doesn't matter what happened in previous pregnancies. I wouldn't mind the earlier delivery! But I always pray that she stays in there as long as she needs to to be healthy so if that means I go 40+ weeks, then so be it :) Next appointment is December 1st at 34 weeks. Getting closer!

Week 30 OB Visit - November 4, 2010

Quick visit today! Baby's heartrate is 150 and I am measuring 30 cm with perfect blood pressure. My weight is normal and the Dr. was pleasantly surprised to see no swelling in my legs or ankles. My breathing is getting more difficult because the baby is pushing up on my lungs. Feeling winded a lot. But other than that everything is going well! I pre-registered at the hospital today so we are all set to roll through the hospital doors in 10 weeks with nothing to hold us up :) I have been taking 2 hour naps everyday while Olive sleeps. It's kind of messing up my night sleeping (not going to bed until midnight most nights) but I'll take what I can get. I sleep much better during the day than at night. Also been reading and working on a lot of crafts and Christmas things to keep me busy. Love this time of year and so far I am able to keep up with all of the things I want to do. Baby's room is starting to look so cute as I decorate here and there. Ordered a rug yesterday to match her bedding which will be so nice for playing on the floor with her and Olive. Next OB visit will be November 19th at 32 weeks!

Week 28 OB Visit - October 21st, 2010

Had another great visit today! I am 28 weeks along and pretty much following all the same patterns of weight gain, baby heartrate and belly measurement that I did with Olive at this stage. At least nothing unexpected has come about and I am thankful for that. My glucose results came back perfect at 105 (despite me swearing they weren't going to because of all of the sweets I've been craving!) I am really happy to hear that though. I have a friend who was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and she has to test her blood 4 times a day and watch her diet very carefully. Plus it can be very dangerous for the mom and baby if it gets out-of-hand.

Baby's heartrate is in the 150s and I am measuring 27 cm. Having some sciatica pain probably due to the baby's position on that nerve. If I sit in one spot for more than 15 minutes, I start getting numb and a shooting pain. On Tuesdays I watch a Bible study video that lasts about an hour and a half and on Wednesday we watch our Dave Ramsey video at church that lasts 2 hours so these are the times it hurts the worst. I prop my legs up on a chair to get some relief and I also get a lot of laughs and "aren't you ready to pop yet?" comments :) Oh well.

Olive is really starting to understand what's going on I think. We were watching "A Baby Story" last week and while the mother was in the delivery room she pointed at the TV and said, "Baby Edie!" Then she pats my belly. She is going to be such a good big sister. Today she brought me her own diaper and wipes so I could change her. Hopefully she keeps this up so I don't have to lift a finger when Edie arrives!!

I will now start going to my OB visits every two weeks. Can't believe I'm at that point already. Probably won't get to have another ultrasound so that's sad :( But the wait to see her again will be well worth it.

Week 24 Appointment - 9/24/10

I had another great appointment last week. Chris came with me because he had the day off and Grandma and Grandpa stayed home with Olive. It's always nice sharing the appointments with Chris. When the Dr. came in he asked us how we were doing and I told him great! This was our morning out together alone so it was kind of like a date! We all laughed at that :)Not much of a date but we did get to hear our baby's heartbeat which is always a blessing. It was between 136 and 144 which the Dr. said was strong and healthy-sounding. I measured 24 cm at 24 weeks so I am right on target. The Dr. then had to run out and attend to a patient in labor so our visit was cut a little short but we heard all we needed to! I have to take the glucose screening test next week and hope there is no sign of gestational diabetes. Not a fun test because you have to drink a lot of this orange Crush type drink (but not as good), and then wait for an hour and get your blood taken to see the results. So I'll blog again after that test :) In other news, my mom helped me get the baby's room ready last week when she was here. We transferred all of my crafts from the guest closet to my bedroom closet to make room for her clothes. I am so thankful we have so many nice things for her to wear! It was nostalgic getting them all out and remembering when Olive wore each outfit. So glad the baby will get use out of them too! Having the room partly ready makes me realize it won't be long! Only 15 weeks until she's here!!

Anatomy Sonogram Visit - August 24th

We got to look at our beautiful baby girl again today for my 20 week anatomy sonogram visit. Chris took off work this morning and came with Olive and me. She ate a sucker pretty quietly while we watched the screen. The baby was all curled up in a ball so I had to do a lot of maneuvering on the table to get her to spread out so we could see her spine, heart, etc. She's just so cozy in there she didn't want to! She was laying transverse (across my stomach) instead of head up or down which also made it hard to see everything. Her little feet were moving around and overlapping each other. She had one arm up over her head and the other laying down by her side. The sonotech was able to confirm that everything looks perfectly normal. We are so blessed! After lunch in the cafeteria with Daddy we went back for my regular appointment and listened to her heartbeat at 152 bpm. Olive watched the Dr. measure my belly which she always finds fascinating. Overall everything is on track and I have another visit September 24th. We know this whole pregnancy is in the Lord hands so no matter what we experience, He is taking care of us as a family and taking care of this little baby. We're halfway to meeting her face-to-face!

ER Visit - August 8th

Yesterday was kind of a scary morning. Just before leaving for church I started having a sharp pain in my lower right abdomen. It was pretty intense and my first thought was appendicitis. I tried to see if it would pass, but as time went on I knew we were going to have to make a visit to the ER :( Luckily, I am far enough along in my pregnancy that I got to go to the Women's Hospital ER (where I delivered Olive) instead of the general public ER. This probably cut my visit down by at least 3 hours, thankfully. The baby's heartbeat was perfect at 139 and my blood work came back fine so that ruled out appendicitis. Then they gave me an ultrasound and we got to see the baby for a long time which was nice. My uterus was really cramped up but no sign of preterm labor. The doctor diagnosed it as round ligament pain and explained it as the pain caused when the ligaments that hold up your uterus start stretching and irritating nearby nerves. Only a couple of hours later they sent me home and told me to take Tylenol for the pain. That night I continued to have contracting pain every 2 to 5 minutes for the next 5 hours. It definitely felt like labor pains but I was trying to trust what the Dr. was saying and just get through it. No activity, no lifting Olive, just laying on the couch. Chris was amazing as usual. He fixed us lunch and dinner (including Olive's) and kept her entertained all night. He also did laundry and prayed for me several times. I love him so much! Anyway, about an hour before bed the pain finally started to wane and I was able to get a good night's sleep last night. I woke up this morning with no pain at all. Such an answer to prayer. I don't know if it is going to happen again but I hope it doesn't. Especially closer to my due date because it felt so much like labor I don't know that I would be able to distiguish the two. The great news is that the sonotech confirmed we have another sweet baby girl. Here are some new photos of her for your enjoyment :)

Smooth Appointment - August 3rd

Just got back from my 16.5 week appointment and it went smoothly. Thanks God! Doctor was 45 minutes late and Olive was with me, but she was really good. I brought her DVD player and she watched her show most of the time. She frowned at the physician's assistant when she was taking my blood pressure. But seemed interested in it at the same time. She is very frowny to strangers lately. When it was time to hear the heartbeat, she insisted on getting on the table with me. She sat next to me and watched as the Dr. squirted the jelly on my stomach and then she proceeded to put her fingers in it. Oops! The doctor was really sweet and almost like a pediatrician to her explaining that she was hearing her little brother or sister's heart. Heartbeat was 150 and took a little while to find but I wasn't worried. I have been feeling this little baby pop around for several weeks now. Especially after meals. Pretty cute. I am excited for the next appointment though! The big one at 20 weeks where we find out the sex for sure and make sure everything is developing correctly. Chris will be with me then :) Next appointment August 24th!

12.5 Week Sono - July 6, 2010

We weren't expecting to find out the baby's sex at this appointment but the sonotech seemed fairly confident we are having another baby girl! At first, Chris and I thought it was a boy, but the tech said that was just the umbilical cord we were seeing, hehe. Can't imagine another little princess in our house and since I was the only girl growing up, the dynamic to our future new home seems hard to fathom...so much pink and girliness! But of course we are thrilled. We have this "girl" thing down to a science...we hope :) Baby was also tested for some genetic disorders at this sono and everything was confirmed normal so far. Praise the Lord! Her heartbeat was 161, fast just like her big sissy's was. Next exam August 3rd.

Just a little teddy bear - June 10th, 2010

This is our 9 week sono. Baby looks like a little teddy bear. The baby was so peaceful during this time. Just sleeping with a fast heartbeat. At Olive's 9 week sono she was moving all of her limbs and "dancing." So maybe this indicates different personality types already!

We're Pregnant! - May 28th, 2010

So excited to find out that we are pregnant again. We have been praying for another little blessing and the Lord answered our prayers! This is the baby at 7 weeks. Just a tiny heartbeat but that was all we needed to know we were embarking on the baby journey again. Still amazes us how much development occurs in such a short amount of time. God's creation is awesome!