Our Baby Boy

This is our little guy in 3D. Isn't he so handsome? I love his flat nose, full lips, knobby chin and full hair line. He is precious and I am so in love with him.

Here is a picture of his nose and lips, and I think that is his little knobby chin again. It is a really up close view. The arrows point to the bottom of his nose with his lips to the left and then his chin. You cannot see anything else on his face due to other things in the way.

We counted them, 5 toes. The arrow is pointing to his pinkie toe. His other foot is up against his heal so you can really only see half of his foot. Looks like he has his dad's big feet and you know what that means......big shoes. ;)

And here is a shot of his hair. The arrow is pointing to the fuzz that was very obvious. The ultrasound technician said he has lots of long hair that was very visible in the images we were seeing.

Seeing him has made me even more anxious and excited to meet him. He looks so perfect. I can't wait to have him a part of our life and be his mom. He is going to get so much love and we are going to have such a wonderful family. See you soon little man!

Fat and Happy

Our little boy is just fine. In fact, he is measuring ahead of schedule. Just like I expected. How can a big strong girl like me have a small baby? Just didn't make sense. According to the measurements he is a big boy, weighing in at about 5 pounds, 10 oz. Oh, and yes, he is still a boy. We saw confirmation of that again today. So cute! Amniotic fluid is sufficient. He is head down, body on the left and feet on the right confirming that his feet are up under my ribcage on the right side. We were able to see bones as she took measurements. We counted 5 toes on one foot as she measured it. We saw his organs including his heart, liver, kidney, and stomach all in good working order. He was breathing amniotic fluid in and out of his nose and we could see him swallowing. His eyes were closed the whole time but we did get a beautiful view of his flat asian nose and big full lips. He has a full head of hair. The ultrasound technician commented on how much hair he has and how long it is. I am going to guess he got that from me! :) Towards the end of the exam she switched over to the 3D ultrasound machine and we got to see our handsome little man in all his glory. He is so cute. I feel like I know him. The 3D machine was amazing. We were so amazed at the features we could see in such detail. His face was smashed up against the placenta so she had a hard time getting a picture to come out well but after a little work she was able to give us a clear shot of his handsome face. Again, it is hard to find words to describe seeing your baby's face for the first time. And not just an ultrasound picture but one with details that show how he really looks. I am so thankful for the chance to see him again today. In some ways I am glad I measured small and had the opportunity to take a peak at him again. And in some ways I would rather avoid the worries and just have a normal, uneventful pregnancy. I feel so blessed that everything went so well today and that we got to experience seeing him again, together. I appreciate that my doctors are attentive and cautious. Like I always say, better to be safe than sorry.

I will try to get some of the ultrasound pictures up here tomorrow. It's a little late and I am pretty tired. It was a long but good day. Thanks to all who called to check in with me today and for everyone who kept us in their prayers.

Today's Doctor's Appointment

My appointment this morning wasn't as uneventful as I had hoped. I haven't gained any weight in over 2 weeks since my last appointment. My uterus is measuring small, about 3 weeks behind schedule. And of course, I don't "look" 34 weeks pregnant. Everyone notices that and makes sure to let me know. The first thing the nurse said to me today was, you aren't really 34 weeks pregnant are you? I said, everyone says that. Then she weighed me and said I hadn't gained anything since my last appointment. She commented that it was odd but that the doctor would address it when I saw her.

My blood pressure was fine, and his heartbeat was strong at 145. I saw Dr. Bennett today, my favorite doctor at my practice, and I am glad I did because I needed the encouragement. She was a little concerned that the baby was developing a little behind schedule. At my last appointment they said I was on the low end of the weight gain scale but that they were not worried about it yet. But this week they decided an ultrasound would be helpful to see how he is doing. They said I should have at least gained something since the baby would have grown about a pound himself over the last couple of weeks, not to mention my own weight gain.

I am not that worried though. In my heart I am pretty sure everything is ok. I have always thought it was weird that I haven't gained much weight and that I look so small, except for my cheeks, since I have never been a small woman. I eat massive amounts of food and don't exercise due to the contractions and cramping that results from any activity that I do. I think my tummy looks small because I have a long torso and am tall. I don't know why I am not gaining weight, that is the thing I am probably most confused about. And I don't think my uterine measurement is that off schedule to be cause for too much concern. So, I have an ultrasound tomorrow at 11:30am to confirm that everything is ok. And most likely things are just fine. But...there is some reason for concern otherwise they wouldn't be doing an ultrasound tomorrow and that makes me a little worried. If my doctor is a little worried then I am too. P. is going to go with me. And I will update my blog after we find out how things look. Pray for us. I just hope he is healthy and his development is fine, just a little smaller than normal.

Lake Michigan

P. and I visited Lake Michigan Sunday to check out the frozen wave phenomenon. Glad we did because it was pretty cool. When it gets cold enough the lake freezes along with the waves. You can walk out on the ice and even climb the waves. It is hard to imagine that we will be laying out at the same beach in a few months and swimming in the same water we were walking on. As you can see in the picture below, the frozen wave is taller than I am.

34 Weeks & A Car Seat

We bought a car seat today. Actually it is one of those travel systems with the infant car seat that locks into the matching stroller. It was a gift from my parents for the baby, call it an early baby shower gift. P. set it up tonight and it looks really nice. It will take some getting used to but I am sure after a week or so it will be like second nature. One more step closer to being baby ready!

Today is 34 weeks! I have an appointment this week on Wednesday but I don't think I will have much to report. Some weight gain, heart rate. At the next appointment though I think I will have a Strep test and they will do my first cervical exam to see if I am starting to dilate. Geez.

The week 34 email update for this week says our guy is about 4 and 3/4 lbs now. About the size of a cantalope. And he is about 18 inches long. Good thing I have a long torso to accommodate his length. I am feeling good. Getting tired though. Fatigue I guess from not sleeping well and general 3rd trimester exhaustion. Our boy has been moving like crazy all day. Full tummy rolls, flips and flops.

I had to break down this past weekend and buy some pants. I grew out of my mediums and everything was so tight and uncomfortable. I was living in my one pair of black drawstring pants. Larges are too big but they are better than nothing and I am happy for the extra room, They are not the sexiest things in the world but sexy is not in my pregnancy vocabulary.

Well, time for bed. Not sure baby is going to settle down enough for me to get some sleep though. Wonder why he is so active tonight?