Update on Baby

Well, this week I have finished my two non-stress tests for baby and my doctor's appt which included another ultrasound. Our little baby passed almost all of her tests with flying colors...except for her growth test. She's a spunky little one who likes to do kickboxing during the non-stress tests. Her heartrate and movement are always good which makes the tests relatively short. It's kind of weird being admitted to the hospital multiple times a week. (That's where I have to do my stress tests). By the time I have this baby I feel like I'll know all the nurses and feel at home in the labor and delivery rooms.

At the doctor appointment, we basically just did an ultrasound for measurements and to test the bloodflow through the umbilical cord. The fluid, cord and placenta all look great. Baby has grown a little since last week. Her belly is only 3 weeks behind instead of 4. I was very suprised though when the doctor pointed out that according to the ultrasound measurements she falls in the 4th percentile! The doctor said that if you covered up her growth measurements, everything looked great. At this point, she's healthier continuing to grow inside rather than outside so we leave her be as long as we can. She is still breech so we'll be trying to turn her at 37 weeks. Not sure exactly when as my doctor will be out of town as my 37 weeks is the week of Christmas. ***Maybe she'll turn on her own before then!*** Her little feet are down at the bottom of my belly and her head is right under my ribcage. Every now and then I feel her little fingers tickling my ribs. That's about it for the update. Please continue to pray that she will grow bigger and stronger with each passing day! We leave her in the Father's hands.

Thanksgiving & Non-Stress Test #3

Holidays can be difficult when there's no family around. I am very thankful to be involved in my church family. The Sunday before Thanksgiving one of the families we know at church found out that we had no Thanksgiving plans so they immediately invited us over to celebrate with them. We accepted and had a lovely day at their house fellowshipping with them. We enjoyed great food, played one game of Settlers of Catan relaxed a bit and even got to experience the Wii. I played Wii tennis and bowling. Since I was a bit tired, I sat on the couch and played. :) We had a lovely day all around remembering the many blessings from the Lord that we thank Him for. Especially our wiggly little girl.

I went in this morning for my 3rd non-stress test. It's funny because from the time I wake up to the time I get to the hospital the baby is very quiet and doesn't move very much. As soon as I sit at the admission desk she starts to wake up and wiggle a little and once I have the monitor strapped to my tummy, she's doing acrobatics inside. She passed again with flying colors. :) Good girl! Tomorrow, I have my next Dr's appt and ultrasound. I don't know if they'll do a growth check or if we'll just check the blood flow in the cord. Let's pray that she's continued to grow since last week and is a healthier, stronger baby at this point.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures). There's only so many pregnant belly pics that I can take.

Baby Non-Stress Test #2

This morning, before work, I went to the hospital for my second stress test. (The picture above isn't me but it's basically what I look like during the tests). When I woke up this morning, ate breakfast and drove to the hospital baby had moved just a tiny bit. In order for the test to work the baby has to cooperate and move around. Thankfully, as soon as they strapped me up and found her heartbeat she started dancing around. Within about 15 minutes the nurse said, "She passed!" She did very well this morning. Her heartbeat was fluctuating Quite a bit (which is what they want) and she was moving all over the place. I will be going in for my tests each Monday and Thursday and my Dr's appoitnments are almost every Thursday. We'll be doing an ultrasound each appointment to check the bloodflow through the umbilical cord. We won't do growth checks every week because they'll be too close together. So far, Baby appears to be doing well just growing slowly. I'll be having this baby within 7 weeks if I make it to full term! It's getting closer.

Please Pray

Please keep our baby in your prayers. Although it's not super serious at this point, Baby's growth is a few weeks behind. I am 32 weeks and the ultrasound today showed Baby's growth at about 30 weeks. Her belly growth was only at 28 weeks which was the thing that worried my doctor the most. I will now be having weekly appointments and will be going to the hospital two times per week to do non-stress tests with the doppler. I had one done today and Baby's heartrate and movement both looked good.

The fluids around the baby look good and all her organs appear normal as well. The doctor said there's nothing that I can do or change to help baby grow better. She's just not getting everything she needs from the placenta at this point.

Baby is also still in the breech position. Last time she was transverse and now she's completely bottom-down. Although I didn't ask the doctor today whether she'll try to move her, on Saturday at our birth class, the nurse there said that they typically try to turn breech babies at about 36 weeks.

So, please lift our little one up to our heavenly Father. We trust Him with her and know that His plans for us and our baby are perfect.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Six years ago today, Phil and I officially started dating. The memories we have made have been sweet and our relationship has continued to grow and mature over the years. I love the man I married and am so excited to see him begin his role as a father in the coming weeks. Enjoy some pictures from back in the day. I have so much fun looking at these pictures and remembering the fun we had at these events. The 50's pictures are from our first "Fall Thing." This was our first "just friends" date that kind of jump started our dating relationship. The pictures with LA as the backdrop were taken at the Convention Center when we went to the Ski Expo for the first time shortly after we started dating. I am so thankful that the Lord directed our steps and brought us together when He did. I have enjoyed the past six years with Phil and am looking forward to as many as the Lord gives us together.

Prenatal Classes & Pics

Well, I've made it through yet another week. Tomorrow we'll be 32 weeks along. I'm still feeling pretty good. Thankfully, baby doesn't keep me awake at night and I am able to sleep very well on our wonderful Temperpedic mattress. :)

Today, Phil and I went to our all-day prenatal class. Thankfully, the teacher did an excellent job. The material she presented was interesting and helpful. We both feel more prepared for when we have this baby. The hospital I'm delivering in feels like a hotel inside and the labor and recovery rooms are very nice. I can't believe I'll be having this baby within the next 8 weeks or so!

I took some more pictures tonight. While I was taking my pictures, my adorable kitty, Puma, decided to sit on the counter and watch me. (I think she was hoping to get brushed). Of course, I had to get some of her too. Enjoy!

Baby Shower Pics...Again

Since some people can't see the baby shower pictures, I'm going to repost them. So, if you can see them, you'll see some duplicates. I'll add a few I didn't add the first time to make it more interesting.

Baby Shower

I got so busy after I returned to CO I forgot to post about the baby shower. I didn't take any pictures myself so these are mostly from my mom's camera. Enjoy!

I had a wonderful time with friends and family at the baby shower. I received many beautiful things for our little one. Sarah, thank you so much for planning and hosting the shower. It was such a blessing.

Appointment Update

Who knew that Tums would prompt people to leave lots of comments. :) Thanks for your interest.

I had two doctor's appointments yesterday, my OB and liver doc. I actually got to meet one of the other OB doctors yesterday and she was very nice. She told me my iron levels are fine (they were tested two weeks ago when they did the glucose test). So, I guess I just like eating ice at this point! She wasn't too concerned about my chalk craving as long as I'm not eating it. She also recommended I try Prolisec (sp?) for the heartburn. I think I'm going to pass for now since my heartburn isn't too severe and I don't mind the Tums. Maybe it's due to them tasting a bit chalky. :)

I also had bloodwork done to check my liver levels and they called last night and the bloodwork looks perfect. Yeah!! That's what we like to hear.

I was very encouraged because the OB doctor said it felt like Baby is head-down at this point. I agree that this seems to be the case now. I'm feeling more movement and kicks above my bellybutton as well which would indicate that this is probably true. We'll see if she stays in place! I sure hope so because I'm not wanting a c-section if I can help it!

I've been getting tired of working the long 10 hour days lately and I'm so thankful to work at a place where they're accomodating. I have cut my hours back just a bit in the morning so I'm now working approximately 8 hour days. It was so refreshing to be able to sleep in a bit this morning and be able to relax. It makes my day seem so much more doable.

Pregnancy Staples and Cravings

Up to this point, I don't feel like I've had any really strong pregnancy cravings. My food choices have been pretty normal. Last week, I started eating ice and I've been eating it constantly since then. I fill my big cup full of ice, top it off with water and add a spoon to help me get the ice. MMMmmm good!
In recent days I've also had more acid reflux bothering me as my stomache is getting squished and I've kept my Tums by my side. I finished off one bottle of smoothies and I'm well into my second bottle. I don't mind the regular tums but the peppermint smoothie tums sure are good! I highly recommend trying them.
I also recently have been craving one more thing...chalk. Don't worry, I haven't eaten any chalk but the thought of it sure does sound good to me. For those of you who may not know, sometimes pregnant women get cravings for non-food items. The name for this is pica. I guess it can signal some sort of deficiency so I'm going to let my doctor know this week. Some pica cravings are really weird. They frequently include dirt or chalk but can also include rocks, laundry starch, cigarette ashes, and other weird items.
Yesterday, while I was at work, one of the kennel staff came up to me was like, "So you're pregnant?" She had no idea that I was pregnant until someone told her. So, although I definitely look pregnant at this point, I guess not everyone can tell. :) I'm 30 weeks today. 3/4 of the way there! Only 10 weeks to go!

29 weeks 4 day Baby Belly

Today wasn't quite as wonderful as yesterday. I felt sick in the afternoon but I still managed to get a little bit done on my "to do" list. I also had an interview tonight with a family I'm trying to do daycare with after I have my baby. It went well. They're also interviewing someone else so we'll see what happens.



So I took the baby belly pics I promised yesterday. I'm due January 15th although my family thinks I'll deliver early. Only time will tell. I'm definitely getting bigger but thankfully don't feel huge or uncomfortable at this point. I'm still able to sleep comfortably (as long as my legs aren't bothering me). My back definitely bothers me and it's harder to stand up when I'm sitting down. Baby likes to dance inside my belly and she's definitely moving around a lot. Hopefully, into the correct position and out of the breech position! Enjoy the pics.

A Wonderful Day

I worked Monday through Wednesday and had yesterday and today off. Unfortunately, I had trouble sleeping both Monday and Tuesday night so I had some LONG days at work. Thankfully, I got a good night's sleep on Wednesday and had the day off yesterday (as well as today). I tutored in the morning for three hours. Before my tutoring student arrived I decided I would throw some ingredients into my new bread machine (recent thrift store buy) to make cinnamon roll dough. After tutoring, the dough was ready so I made the cinnamon rolls and baked three pans of them. MMmmm mmm good! I haven't had homemade cinnamon rolls in WAY too long. Growing up, we used to have them every Sunday morning for breakfast. That tradition ended when I was in high school. I'm thinking it's a good tradition to begin again. If you would like a wonderful cinnamon roll recipe, read below. They're really not hard to make and they freeze well so 1 batch can last a few weeks depending on the size of the family eating them. If you want to try the recipe but have questions, feel free to ask. These rolls are delicious!

Cinnamon Roll Dough

In small bowl mix:
¾ cup hot water
2 packages of yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
Let these ingredients stand until foamy.

In large mixing bowl: cream together (with cake beater):
½ cup sugar
½ cup margarine
½ teaspoon salt

After creaming above mix add and cream together:
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
Add yeast mixture and:
2 cups flour
Mix well. Add:
2 cups additional flour (dough hook) knead for a long time to break down gluten.

Preheat oven to warm for 5 minutes. Grease the bowl, flip. Cover with cloth. Let rise 2-3 hours until doubled.
Punch down the dough and let rise for 10 minutes. Get 2 or 3 cake pans ready.

In each pan put ¼ cube of butter and ¼ cup brown sugar. Place on top of burners on low until butter is melted. Remove.

Cut dough in half. Roll flat, butter, cinnamon, sugar (I used both white and brown to make it more caramelly), optional: raisens and chopped nuts. Roll up and gently cut into 12 pieces. (Will make 24 total when you do both halves)

Place in pans and turn oven on to 350. Place pans on stove and let double for 30 minutes.

To freeze and heat later cook 20-25 minutes until it’s barely brown on top. If you use dark pans, heat less because they brown faster. Remove and flip upside down onto tinfoil. Scrape pan drippings back onto rolls. Double wrap in foil to freeze.

To eat it immediately cook fully until brown on top. About 30 minutes.
Icing:
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
Drop of almond extract