Today's Ultrasound

We're almost to the 36 week mark! Today I had another ultrasound with another doctor in the office. She asked me if we were supposed to do a growth check today. I was honest with her and told her my doctor was planning on waiting until my appointment next week but that I was anxious to find out whether she was growing. The doctor was very kind and said she'd do the growth check today as it would just take a few minutes. Basically, the news is much like before. Everything looks good except she is still behind on her growth. She HAS grown since the last growth check at the end of Nov. According to the ultrasound, she now weighs about 4 lbs 5 oz. She's about 3 1/2 weeks behind on her growth and is in the "less than 3%" as far as size goes. We're just going to keep on keeping on as long as we're able. We trust that the Lord is holding our little one in His hands and that he will protect her as she finishes growing in my womb. Please keep praying that she will be strong and healthy when she is born.

:)

My ticker moved to the last spot! Yeah!

Today when I had the non-stress test, Baby had the hiccups. It was really cute. We could hear her steady heartbeat and these rhythmic little bumps every couple seconds as well. She of course did great at her test and passed very quickly. I'm excited to see her on the ultrasound again tomorrow. :) I think she's still breech but we shall see.

Due Date

My official due date is one month from today! Hopefully, by that point, we'll have a little baby in hand. :) I'm heading off now for my next non-stress test at the hospital. Tomorrow I have another ultrasound (but it's not supposed to be one to measure growth) I have to wait until the 19th for the growth ultrasound.

Work Christmas Party

Last night my work had it's Christmas party and I had fun getting dressed up. I was a bit worried at first finding something that I can wear besides my two pair of pants that still fit. However, I tried on the little black dress that I bought last year and it fit great and was actually comfortable to wear.

You might be able to tell from the pictures that this week I've started to swell up. I can see it (and feel it) in my ankles, hands, wrists and face. I feel like my face doesn't look like me in the close-up of Phil and I. I stopped wearing my rings long ago but today I had to take off my watch (which used to slide up and down my wrist) because it was so tight and kept popping open. Oh, the joys of being pregnant. I was hoping that this lovely pregnancy change wouldn't affect me. What comes next? Baby?


I'm definitely getting ready to have this baby. :) Only two weeks to go and she'll be considered "full term." We'll see how long this little one wants to stay warm and cozy inside. I'm getting very ready to meet her!

Free Rice Website

Hey readers, have you heard about the free rice website? It's pretty cool and I'd encourage you to check it out. Just go to: http://www.freerice.com/index.php and play a word game where you guess the correct definition for the given word. For every word you get correct, 20 grains of rice is donated to help eradicate world hunger. The game is pretty addicting and by playing you're helping feed the hungry. The words get harder if you get them correct. Have fun! Let me know if you go to the website and play. :)

Quick Baby Update

Today I had another non-stress test, doctor's appointment and ultrasound. Because we measured the growth last week, the doctor said she's going to wait until the 19th to measure Baby again. She used the ultrasound today to check the placenta, blood-flow and amniotic fluid. She said everything looked great today. All of the measurements she took today were "perfect." I do wish we could have measured the growth today but the doctor said it's not accurate if you measure too close together. She likes to measure every 3 weeks or so. Baby is still breech so there's a good chance we'll be turning this baby a day or two after Christmas. Guess that's about it. I'm still doing well and not feeling super huge yet although Baby is definitely making it more difficult to breathe and move around. She's supposed to be dropping pretty soon but she won't be dropping out of my ribcage until she flips. My feet are beginning to swell slightly and I try to stay off my feet as much as I can these days.

Thank you all who voted in the baby poll. It's so fun to see who reads my blog and the variety of guesses out there! If you haven't voted, please do!!! You don't have to register or anything, just vote!

Make a Guess!

Okay all of my blog readers, I just created a guessing poll for when our baby will arrive and I want ALL of you to participate. Please don't be shy! I know I have many readers who never comment on my blog and I want you to participate as well. I will mail the giftcard to the highest winner based on the points that are earned as long as I am able to contact them when the time comes. (In other words, don't be annonymous or you won't receive the prize if you win).

The points are awarded using the following scale:
Point Penalties:(The lowest score wins)
incorrect gender: 200 points
date & time: 5 points per hour
weight: 5 points per ounce
length: 10 points per inch

May the best guesser win!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Last week, Phil and I received a call from some church friends inviting us to go cut down Christmas trees with them. I was very excited to go find out Christmas tree since we only had to pay $10 for a permit instead of the exorbitant prices of Southern CA trees. :) So, Saturday morning we all loaded into our cars and headed for the mountain. It had been raining where we lived but as we drove up the mountain we drove into the snow. It was actually about 1-2 feet at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately, a few hundred yards before we reached our destination where everyone could park and turn around the vehicle in front of us slid into a ditch. The guys tried to push it out but it was stuck pretty good. Thankfully, the first vehicle was a Jeep with a tow rope. They came and towed out the truck. Then, the Jeep needed some pushing and finally got going backwards. When it tried to turn around it got stuck and needed some more pushing. (I stayed nice and warm inside the SUV this whole time and just watched all of the action.) All of the other vehicles had young children between the ages of 3 months to about 8 years old. We finally made it safe and sound to the parking area and loaded the kids onto sleighs and into backpacks and then went hunting for Christmas trees. As you can see from the pictures, we had to first knock the snow off of the trees in order to be able to tell if they would be good Christmas trees.





As Phil and I live on the third floor of our building, Phil had already made me promise that we were only getting a small tree. We found a beautiful little tree that we cut down and got home. It's just under 6 feet tall and very cute. It barely fit in our tree stand. We had to add something to the base to make sure the tree didn't fall over. Phil and I think it looks like a double sized Charlie Brown tree. Puma's enjoying the tree and snuggles up next to the base of it to watch what's going on. I love Christmas trees and am so thankful that I am able to have one this year. Enjoy the pictures.

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.