34 Week Update

34 Weeks Today!

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted! Work has been nuts and I'm just plain tired to do anything that isn't 100% unnecessary these days. There isn't much new in BS2's world. She is a big girl and she likes to be on the move! She gave me a bit of a headache the last couple weeks as she decided to flip around and become BREECH! Thankfully on yesterday's ultrasound, she was back to being head down, let's just hope she stays that way. I started having weekly Bio-Physical Profiles (BPP) done at 30 weeks, which is basically a quick ultrasound that looks for certain things and is kind of like a pass/fail test. They look at baby's measurements, breathing, movements, and fluid levels, you want to score an 8 out of 8 (2 points for each item) and so far BS2 has scored perfect each week.

I go back for one final appointment with Dr. Bennett at Childrens Mercy in KC on January 9th. I'll be interested to see how big she is by then. The last time we were there at 30 weeks she was in the 76th percentile and I can't remember how much she weighed, but it was alot! On my weekly ultrasounds she keeps creeping up in the 80-some percentile for her size. My mom is going to get to go with me for this last trip to KC because Chris will be traveling, I think she will like getting to see the ultrasound. I'm not even sure they had them when I was born? And the ones in KC are so good and clear and they do the 3D/4D stuff, I'm pretty excited she will get to go and see it!

It looks like we will induce at 39 weeks, unless she comes earlier than that on her own...I was really hoping for a January baby, but oh well - Dr. Shaw said there is no way I'm talking her into inducing before 39 weeks...but I'll keep trying each and every time I see her!

Jack enjoyed Christmas so much this year, it was great! He was really into opening the presents and his canned response was, "That's Awesome!" It was pretty cute. I'll try to do a Christmas post if I can get some pictures from the day from a few people because of course I didn't take any...mom fail!

And now...pregnancy highlights!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 34 Weeks

Weight Gain: 15 Pounds

Maternity Clothes: Pants - Yes, I can still wear my regular dresses and most tops though.

Gender: Girl

Movement: Constant, she rolls and rolls...

Symptoms: The tiredness is back with avengence

Cravings: Jalapenos, McD's, Diet Dr. Pepper

BS2 Stats

Food Size: Cantaloupe

Weight: 4 and 3/4 pounds

Length: 18 inches

Developmental Info: Her fat layers are filling out, her nervous system and lungs are also both continuing to mature.

Week 27

It's getting closer and closer, week 27 starts today! We had our 2nd ultrasound in KC at Childrens Mercy with Dr. Bennett on Monday, unfortunately we didn't really hear anything new or different.

Remember there are 3 issues:

1. Ecogenic Focus on her Heart

2. Elevated amniotic fluid level

3. Placenta Previa

The focus is still on her heart, Dr. Bennett said that it might stay forever or it might go away on it's own, but either way it isn't something that should ever affect the function of her heart.

My amniotic fluid level was about the same as it was a month ago, which I guess is good that it hasn't increased. They still don't see a reason for there to be the extra fluid - they watched BS2 swallow the fluid, then watched her stomach fill up, they saw fluid in her intestines and bladder too, so it seems like that whole process is working correctly. Dr. Bennett said sometimes there isn't reason for the extra fluid so who knows.

The one good thing we found out is that my placenta has indeed moved up and is out of the way so I don't have to have a c-section, also she is already head down.

Dr. did discuss that the extra fluid could lead to pre-term labor and he gave me some things to look out for and instructions for if I start having contractions and when to call Dr. Shaw, etc.

A month ago BS2 weighed 1 pound 4 ounces and Monday she weighed 2 pounds 4 ounces so Dr. Bennett was quite pleased with her growth! :-)

That's about it for now. I have my next appointment with Dr. Shaw on December 1st and then after that will go see her every 2 weeks. Dr. Bennett also wants to continue monitoring me so I have an appointment to go see him on December 5th for another ultrasound.

Halloween Continued

I got a few more pictures from Jack's Halloween Party at daycare from Tonya and thought they were just too cute not share! Enjoy!

xoxo

26 Weeks!

26 Weeks

Yesterday was our 26 week mark, woo-hoo! Another exciting achievement was that we hit the double digits on our baby countdown! As of today 97 days to go! :-) I had my monthly check in with Dr. Shaw yesterday and also had my glucose test done, you know, that Glucola really isn't that bad if you just make sure it's cold! Also while I was there she talked me into a flu shot, the only other time in my life I have gotten a flu shot was the year I was pregnant with Jack - heck Jack or Chris haven't had their flu shots this year either, but since it was there and available and my insurance covers them 100% and she made the stern comment, "Well, you are due in the middle of flu season so I would get one..." I decided to just go for it! So I had blood drawn and a shot all in the same arm, sorry lefty.

We have an appointment in KC again on Monday with Dr. Bennett to do a growth scan and make sure BS2 is growing appropriately, check the heart, my placenta and my amniotic fluid levels - have you noticed the list keeps getting longer...ugh! I will try to update after the appointment.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 26 Weeks

Weight Gain: 8 Pounds

Maternity Clothes: Pants

Gender: GIRL

Movement: Constant and getting stronger

Symptoms/Complaints: Just tired and some slight swelling at the end of the day

Cravings: Soda

BS2 Stats

Food Size: English Hothouse Cucumber (?)

Weight: 1 Pounds and 2/3

Length: 14 inches head to heel

Development Info: BS2's network of nerves in her ears is more developed and she may be able to hear our voices! She has also started to inhale and exhale amniotic fluid which helps develop her lungs!

xoxo

Happy Halloween

Jack had an AWESOME time Trick or Treating! He ran from house to house saying "More Candy!" and he would promptly say "Tick or Teat" and "Tank You" at each and every house! He was a bit scared of the scary costumes - werewolves, dinosours, anything with a scary mask, etc. but overall he loved it and this morning said, "Momma, I wanna go Tick or Teating!" I had to explain it was a once a year thing and that DID NOT make him a happy camper! :-)

xoxo

Crying for Momma

I'm not really sure what I'm about to say/explain means, but it's definitely odd. Jack has a sudden attachment to his Momma. This week has been a wreck and at first I thought it was because he had spent the night at Chris' parents house and to say his schedule lacks while he is there is an understatement - so the lack of sleep, the constant cakes, cookies, chips and pop, and his overall running a muck for 2 days turned him into a nightmare! Monday and Tuesday might have been the WORST days ever. Then on Wednesday his Momma obsession began. He wanted to stay in bed and "snuddle", he didn't want to go to Tonya's - which by the way has never happened (he usually wakes up and says " Milk please Momma. Can I go to Honya's?"), the has started wanting me to carry him again and when I try to leave him (whether at Tonya's or just at home with Daddy) he has a major meltdown! MAJOR, I had church Wednesday night and he was going to stay home with Chris - when he saw me grab my purse he ran to me and buried his face in my legs and wrapped his arms around my thighs (as much as he can at this point) and when Chris tried to peel him off he wrapped his feet around my ankles, I almost died - he has never acted like that! Then Thursday and Friday at daycare Tonya said he whined for me all day, again never happens.

I'm beginning to think this is all baby driven, but I'm hoping I'm wrong, although Tonya agrees. We have started talking about baby alot more because I thought that would help him, but I think I was wrong. Chris hasn't been traveling as much lately so he has been trying to help me out and give Jack baths and get his jammies on or make his dinner, etc. - just all the regular things I normally do and Jack does not like it. He will say, "No, no, no Daddy (with his hand up in the stop position), Momma do it" or "No, no, no Daddy, Momma got it" and when I tell Jack that Daddy is just helping me out he freaks - FREAKS! Usually I can convince him to let Daddy help me out, but he is always reluctant and I usally have to say, "Will you please just let Daddy get you started and I'll come check on you?"...

Another new thing is that Jack wants baby out of my belly. I think I again started this, but by accident. Here is a conversation we had Tuesday night as we were laying in bed...

Jack: What's Daddy doin?

Me: He is listening to baby.

Jack: Oh me too, me too.

Me: Do you want to talk to her?

Jack nods and I pulled my tank top up so he could see my belly

Me: Say hi Baby...

Jack: Hi Baby

Me: What is she doing in there? (Now I asked this in a "wow" type of way, but Jack didn't take it like that)

Jack: I no know? (concerned face) Whatta you doin in there? (leaned in close) GET OUTTA THERE! (in almost a frantic tone)

Me: Well Bub she can't come out for a few more months

Jack: No, now. Get out, get out, get out (as he got increasingly upset)

Me: Bub she can't come out, it's OK, she needs to stay in there

Jack just kind of looked at my belly then pushed my shirt down and said "Go night-night baby"

He moved on quickly, but now ever since then when he is noticing my belly he says, "Baby get out."

I really am starting to worry about his sudden attachment and what I think might be a dislike of his Baby Sister...

xoxo

24 Weeks

Today is our 24 week mark! In one sense it feels like we are getting there, but then I look and say, well that's still 16 to go and that's 4 months and that feels like forever!

I haven't updated since we had our appointment at Childrens Mercy in KC a couple weeks ago, we went up on a Monday morning, the 10th and it as the doctor put it "everything today looks good and is good news." Me being me though had a couple days of "what about" "what if" etc. In reality I guess there were 3 things he was looking at; BS2's heart, My amniotic fluid levels, and My low lying placenta.

BS2's heart - doctor said there is a calcification or calcium deposit on a muscle that is attached to one of her heart valves. He said it could go away or stay, but if it stayed that it wouldn't grow as BS2 does - it's more like a "birth mark" and would get smaller as she gets bigger/older. He never said what causes them, I don't think they really know. He did say that it's a soft marker for Down Syndrome, but that all of our screenings had come back normal and he didn't see anything else on the ultrasound that would lead him to believe that would be something we need to worry about or consider. He did offer us an amniocentesis, but we declined. At this point, Chris and I don't feel the risk is worth it and really, if she does have Down Syndrome it doesn't change anything. We took the approach of "if it's something we could do or something to impact or change the outcome then we would do more testing" - this just doesn't fit that bill. And in reality, when I was pregnant with Jack he had dilated kidneys, which is also a soft marker for Down Syndrome, but again all our screenings were normal so it was never a worry.

Amniotic fluid - I have always heard that too little amniotic fluid isn't good, but had never heard that too much amniotic fluid was also not so good. I was told, informally I guess, when I was at the hospital delivering Jack that I had a lot of amniotic fluid based on when the broke my water, etc. Well I guess medically I have a lot of amniotic fluid this time. Doctor explained that when they see high levels of amniotic fluid it causes concern that there could be blockages or issues with the babies GI tract, stomach, intestines, bowels, etc. that would cause the fluid level to rise b/c the baby wasn't taking it in (b/c that's what they eat in utero). Doctor said they looked at all of that really closely and didn't see any indication of anything like that happening with BS2. He also said the high level mark was 8 cm (they measure the single deepest pocket of fluid) and I was at 7cm so not technically high, but borderline.

Placenta - I've known since 15 weeks that I had partial previa because we had a scary bleeding episode. We had a follow up ultrasound at 18 weeks and 22 weeks and then with Dr. Bennett at 22.5 weeks. All of the ultrasounds show that it is moving up and both Dr. Bennett (KC Dr.) and Dr. Shaw (My OBGGYN) feel that it shouldn't be an issue at delivery. The worst case here is a c-section for delivery and if that's the worst case, I'm fine with that.

So all in all Dr. Bennett said she looks good, we are going back on November 7th to see Dr. Bennett again, he wanted to take one more look and just make sure she is growing like she should be (which she has been with each ultrasound) and take a second look at her heart. Overal, Chris and I are feeling good with everything at this point and I feel her movin' and groovin' all day every day so that keeps me sane! Oh and the ultrasound lady said baby weighed 1 pound 4 ounces!

And now, our pregnancy stats!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Weight Gain: 6 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Bottoms Only

Gender: GIRL!

Movement: Constant

Symptoms/Complaints: Jack and I have both been a bit under the weather this week, I think mine is just sinuses, but it's pretty miserable.

Cravings: McD's

BS2 Stats

Food Size: Ear of Corn

Weight: A little over a Pound

Length: 1 Foot

Development Info: BS2 is starting to put on fat and plump up and her brain is developing quickly at this point, and her taste buds are also developing!

xoxo

22 Week Update

Well, we hit the 22 week mark today! We had another follow up ultrasound to see if my placenta had moved up some more and on a positive note it has. At our 18 week ultrasound it was 1.5 cms from my cervix, today it was 2.2 cms away!

We did get some not so great news today, the last 2 ultrasounds have noted a "bright" spot on BS2's heart. Dr. Shaw said that it could be nothing, just the angle and the muscle, but since it's been noted twice that she wants to be safe and have it checked out. This means having a level 2 ultrasound done and being referred to Childrens Mercy in KC for the appointment. "Bright" spots can indicate a defect or be nothing. She said that most of the time she is more concerned if she sees 2 bright spots (one on each side of the heart), so I guess that should make me feel somewhat better?

I got a call this afternoon from Cindy at Dr. Shaw's office and she said that she had just heard back from the doctor in KC and she just sent them all of my records and that after they review they will call to set up the appointment. Talk about a bummer, so it could be next week before we even know when we are scheduled, grr...

I'm not freaking out, but I'm not relaxed either. My mentality is: I don't know what it is and even when we do find out (if there is anything to find out), I still won't be able to do anything...I'm not sure if my view is good or bad? But that's where I'm at right now, if I let myself think about it too much I might go crazy so I try not to dwell until there is something to actually dwell on.

I will keep everyone (because I know I have tons of people reading this everyday, haha), but until then here is the standard weekly update...

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 22 Weeks

Weight Gain: 6 pounds (I'm not sure where the 4 came from, but I'm going to have to see what my scale says tomorrow morning because that was from the doctor's office)

Maternity Clothes: Still just bottoms

Gender: Baby Girl

Movement: She moves and grooves constantly

Symptoms/Complaints: Tired and Big

Cravings: Spicy and Hot Stuff

BS2 Stats

Food Size: Spaghetti Squash

Weight: 11 inches

Length: 1 pound

Development Info: She is already developing her tooth buds, her eyelids, lips, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, her eyes are formed but lack pigment still, and her pancreas is steadily developing.

xoxo

In Love

With This Picture!

It was taken at a friend's wedding this past Saturday!

xoxo

21 Weeks!

21 Weeks with BS2!

We have made it past the half-way mark! WooHoo! I had a friend at work take this picture this morning (not a great hair day, but oh well). I haven't taken a picture YET with BS2 so I just said, "It's time!" Not much to report, but we do have our FOURTH ultrasound next Thursday so I'll for sure have a more in depth report then! But for now, here are the highlights!

Momma Stats

How Far Along: 21 Weeks

Weight Gain: 3 Pounds

Maternity Clothes: All my bottoms are maternity, but dresses and tops are still primarily my pre-pregnancy stuff.

Gender: Baby GIRL - I think we are close to a name announcement as well!

Movement: Tons! This little girl is constantly movin' and groovin'!

Symptoms/Complaints: Just tired and using the restroom non-stop!

Cravings: Still spicy stuff for the most part, NACHOS with tons of JALAPENOS.

BS2 Stats

Food Size: Carrot

Weight: 3/4 of a Pound

Length: 10.5 inches head to toe

Development Info: BS2's eyebrows are now present! And her vagina has begun to form!

xoxo