Not much longer...

I went to the doc today and had another ultrasound. The measured her length and weight again she is approximately 7 pounds! The doctor, Brian, and I discussed whether or not we wanted to schedule a c-section and after weighing all the reasons for having one, i.e. the baby is big, babies with diabetic mothers tend to get stuck in the birth canal due to putting on excessive weight in different places, and I have tested positive for group strep B (which means I am just a carrier). I talked to the doc for a long time and discussed my fear of having a long labor and then having to have a c-section anyway. I would hate to have to recover from a vaginal delivery as well as a c-section! She explained that most diabetic mothers do have to have a c-section, so we decided to go head and schedule it.

Sadie will be born sometime on the 23-25th, depending on when the hospital can schedule me in. I should know within the next day or two!

I am excited about having a date set so that I can meet my chubby little girl! It also gives me a countdown to getting rid of PUPPP. Most moms would be able to deliver at 37 weeks (which would only give me a little over a week), but since children with diabetic mothers tend to have lungs that mature a little slower, the only way I would be able to deliver earlier is if I had an amino. I don't think it is worth having her a few days earlier to go through and pay for that procedure, so I will just have to itch for a few more days!

Keep us in your prayers that Sadie does not try to come early again and also that my PUPPP will stay bearable and I can get some sleep!

P.S. I am so glad that Sadie will be home for Halloween!

The life of Sadie this week

Because Sadie's so snug in my womb, she isn't doing somersaults anymore, but instead she's is wiggling around and pushing her bootie and arms and legs out as she tries to get comfortable. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of her basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

I have noticed that I have dropped or "lightened". Most of my heartburn has gone away and Sadie isn't pressing into my ribs so much.

C-Section

This Thursday we have another ultrasound to measure the baby and see how big she is now. We will also discuss if and when we will be doing the C-Section. We are 99% sure that we will have to have one at this point. Due to PUPPP and my inability to sit comfortably in my own skin or get a good night's sleep, I plan on asking to have it done as soon as the doc feels that Sadie's lungs are developed. So hopefully I will only have to live with this for another week and a half! But if I have to wait longer, my little girl is definitely worth it!

Bed Rest and PUPPP

No, Brian did not get me a dog. (come on, do you know us at all?)

This week I was diagnosed with PUPPP, or Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy.

In layman terms that's: itchy (pruritic) - reddened, irregular, elevated hives (urticarial) - imflammatory elevation of the skin that does not contain pus (papule) - a scaly patch formed on the skin (plaques) - with child (pregnancy).

In Debra's terms that's: The itchiest skin condition I have ever had.

It only affects about 1% of pregnancies and you know what the cure is? DELIVERY. Most women get prescribed steroids, but since I am diabetic I cannot take them. So I have been taking Claritin, taking oatmeal baths twice a day, and rubbing hydrocortizone cream and a mixture of aloe vera and lubriderm on my rash whenever it get to the point of unbearable.

The rash is covering all of my body (including my hands and feet) with the exception of my chest and face (thank goodness).

I am still on bedrest this week and will probably get to come off of it this weekend. Yeah!

How Sadie is growing!

Sadie's fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. I have been pretty tired again lately, partly because I am anemic and partly because I am carrying an extra 20lbs around! We are excited to meet our little girl soon, but really want her to wait until at least the 14th of October!

Relocation to Kentucky

Here are some pics from our last night in Fayetteville...we miss everyone so much!

Sadie is just like her mother!

Anyone that knows me knows that I always like to be a little bit early when I go somewhere.

It would seem that Sadie is the same way!

Last Monday she made an attempt to enter the world. I woke up Saturday with some pulling back aches and I told Brian that I thought they were contractions. On Sunday, they still hadn't let up, so I asked Rosalie about it and she said they sounded like contractions to her. I decided I would call the doc in the morning and went to bed that night.

At 2am, I woke up having contractions for about 2 hours. In the morning I called the doc and they had me come in. At this point, I was having non-stop cramps. They checked me and said I was dilated 1cm on the outside and sent me to the hospital.

At the hospital, they hooked me up to the non-stress test machine to monitor my contractions and could see that I was having some irregular ones as well as the cramping. They made me drink 60 ounces of water and then gave me a shot to make my uterus relax.

So far, so good. I am having about 5 contractions a day, but as of Thursday, hadn't progressed anymore. Whew! I am now on my second week of bedrest and will find out this Thursday if I can resume some (any!) activity.

If Sadie were born today, she would be fine, but we would be in the hospital for a week or two until her lungs matured. As long as she can "cook" for three more weeks, she can come anytime she wants!

Look at those cubby cheeks!

I know that Brian and I said that we would never have a 3-d ultrasound done, but who could resist these cheeks??? It looks like Sadie and baby Elizabeth will have something in common...

Belly Pictures

So there have not been any belly posts in quite some time....

Here we are in the seventh month...




And here we are at 8 1/2...

Sadie is taking up a lot of room in my uterus! She is head down and I can feel her press underneath my ribs. Most women gain about a pound a week now and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight (let's hope she's not 10 lbs!) during the final weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

If the Old Wive's Tail is true, then Sadie is going to have a lot of hair. I have been having some crazy heartburn, but Pepcid is really starting to help!

That's one huge baby!

I had two ultrasounds last week! It was very exciting to get to see my baby girl again (and yes, it is definitely a girl). Both ultrasound techs took a measurement of the baby, and she weighs 5lbs already! At the time of the ultrasound, she should have been around 3 lbs! She was measuring at 35 weeks, but my doc said my original due date is still true. Darn! The doc said that a c-section is almost a certainty, which has it pros and cons! It is major abdominal surgery, but I won't have to go through labor!

Profile of face and hands

Face and hands again...I think she looks like Brian.

Thanks for the baby shower!

I just wanted to thank all the girls at church for throwing me a very sudden baby shower before we moved! I know it takes a lot to throw one and I am really touched by everyone's generosity! Also, thanks Laura and Holly for being such fun hosts! I haven't got to unpack Sadie's room yet, but hope to this weekend! I was sad to have to go home and pack all of the gifts, but will definitely have fun opening them again!

Check out this awesome cake Lisa made with flying pigs on top!

Hospital Tour

Last night, Brian and I got to take a tour of Baptist East, the hospital where Baby Sades will be born! The staff was really nice and professional and had a lot of great policies, like a major security system for all patients in the ward and no bottlefeeding to breastfed babies. I think it is going to be a great stay and delivery! You can take a virtual tour of the ward at http://www.baptisteast.com/virtualtour/ldr.cfm.

Over the next month, we will be taking classes on Postpartum Care, Labor and Delivery, Breasfeeding, Baby Basics, Baby's First Months, and Anesthesia. We are so excited that we were able to still sign up for classes so late in the game! Also, they are all free!

The Pregnancy Rap

I would like to thank my friend Laura for this enthusiastic pregnancy rap that she sent me from her exercise video:

Do the Prego Shuffle:

Hey I dig my waddle,
It's okay with me,
Cause every day's a new center of gravity.
You'll get much more from your pelvic floor,
When you pass on the bagel and do one more Kegel.
Now let's visualize those big baby eyes,
And send a real big hug to that number one bug. (At which point you either hug your own belly or your friend's.)

3 lbs on my bladder

Sadie's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. That's okay though, she can still see mommy and daddy when she is getting fed!

During our relocation to Louisville, I started to lose part of my MP (those of you that know what that is can figure it out, but I don't want to gross out those who don't prefer TMI!), so had to go the doc on Friday to get checked. I had started to dialate a little, so I am now on "light duty" and taking it easy. I went back to the doc yesterday and everything seems to be fine and I haven't dialated anymore. Sometime within the next week, I get to have another ultrasound to check her weight, etc and I can't wait to see her again!

This week in Sadie's life...

Our baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. To meet Sadie's increasing nutritional demands, I'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, I have to up my calcium intake...but that doesn't mean I have to drink milk (gag!), but can have fortified orange juice, ice cream, and cheese. This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in Sadie's hardening skeleton each day.

By this week, Sadie baby weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures almost 15 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Sadie will have a new home...

On August 22nd, our family will be leaving the Ozarks and moving to Louisville, KY! I have already found a new doctor that specializes in high risk pregnancy and have my first appt with her on the 28th. I hope she's as great as Dr. Bradford!

Last week of the second trimester

Sadie weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with her legs extended. She can now open and close his eyes, and she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck his fingers, and although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if she were to be born prematurely. The baby is already starting to move into the head down position to get ready for birth. With more brain tissue developing, Sadie's brain is very active now. Wonder what she's thinking?

The Final Countdown

I don't mean the bad 80's song, I mean until Sadie is here! We talked to Dr. Bradford yesterday and he said we will be induced by 39 weeks at the latest. That means we only have about 11 weeks left! WHEW! We have some work to do!
Starting at 32 weeks, I will be doing weekly stress tests to see how things are going and to see if we will need to do a cesarean, earlier induction, etc.
It is exciting to have such a small countdown...we can't wait to meet her!