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!

Lay off the beer

Today, our office went on a retreat to the Tulsa Aquarium. While we were there, I decided to feed the sting rays! As I was buying the food, the man that was helping me all of a sudden said "UM, I don't mean to be rude but..." (I went into panic mode, thinking "Is my bra showing?" "Is it my undies?"). He then pointed at my stomach and said "I think you need to lay off the beer." Then he gave me extra food so Sadie could feed the rays too!

Sadie's First Baby Shower

On Wednesday, Trace and Nancy threw me a surprise baby shower at work! It was so beautiful! Here are some pics:

Am I Having Twins???

NO! SO stop asking...it isn't funny :)

Baby Sades is growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when she was just over a pound. Since she's over a foot long, that makes a pretty lean figure, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon put on more baby fat. Her skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, her brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds are developing. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

The top of my uterus is now an inch or so above my belly button, which means it's about the size of a soccer ball, which is funny because I could swear she is playing soccer in there sometimes.

Last night I got to watch my tummy bounce up and down while Sadie had the hiccups! Brian was outside, so he missed it :(.