Zoey's 2nd month August 11th-September 11th

Here is Zoey's two month pic - it kind of looks like a mug shot - lol :)
And month 2 in review:
Month 2 - August 11th - Sept 11th
The second month was a great month. The biggest thing that happened this month is that we finally got her tongue tie taken care of, and so now we finally have the breastfeeding thing down It is pretty much like second nature now. I met with another ENT on August 11th to get a second opinion on the tongue tie issue. It went much better than the first appointment. The doctor examined her and told me that she had a mild tongue tie and that he could not guarantee that clipping it would help with the breastfeeding issue, but that it was my decision. So we had the procedure done right there that day. It was hard to watch - they had to strap her down to the table so that she wouldn’t be able to move and then hold her mouth open so that he could clip it. Of course she screamed and cried, so that was hard for me. But, I was able to feed her right afterwards, so that calmed her down. And I think that having it done has definitely made a difference with nursing. She’s latching on without a problem and it’s no longer 5-10 minutes of crying before she is able to start eating. So things are getting much better. The only issue that I am still having is sore nipples. I’ve heard differing opinions about whether or not it is normal. Some things that Ihave read say that if you are feeling pain and getting sore/cracked nipples, it is an
indication that there is a latching problem. But then I’ve also heard that it is normal. So, I’m not really sure what to think.
Since I feel like breastfeeding has improved significantly, I decided that I felt like it would be okay to introduce a pacifier and bottle to her. I tried giving her the pacifier at the end of that week that she got her tongue clipped. She didn’t really get the hang of it at first, and still has some trouble keeping it in her mouth, so it sometimes is more trouble than it’s worth because I have to keep putting it back in her mouth or she will cry. It has been nice to have it as an option though because sometimes now she can self soothe a little bit and give me a little bit of a break from having to hold her all the time.
She had her first bottle from my mom the Saturday after she turned 5 weeks. She pretty much took it right away, so there weren’t really any challenges getting her to accept a bottle. It was hard for me to see her take a bottle though. I really was not expecting that at all, but up until that point, feeding her was something that the two of us did together and so it was hard to see her getting it from someone else. It really caught me by surprise that I felt that way, but I started tearing up a little and it was really hard for me to see. But, I definitely want her to be able to take a bottle so that other people
are able to feed her if I need to be away from her, and just to give me a break every once in a while. So, since then, she has pretty much been having one bottle a day. It’s been nice that Joe has been able to feed her. It gives me a little bit of a break, and I think its good for the two of them to have that.
So, finally figuring out breastfeeding has been the major milestone of the 2nd month, but we had some more exciting things happen this month too.
She started smiling at around 7wks and it is the cutest thing ever. She also started little cooing sounds right around then, and so she will “talk” to you if you coo at her, she will respond. Especially with her daddy. It’s so cute - he will coo at her, and then she coos back. He loves it and it’s so adorable. Another major milestone this month is that she started to sleep through the night! I’m so excited! She did it for the first time at 7wks one day (slept 10:30 - 6am) and has done it pretty much every day since with a few exceptions. She also rolled over for the first time on August 31st at 7wks 2 days. But I missed it! I was changing her diaper on the floor and turned around to get something out of the diaper bag, and when I turned back toward her she was on her tummy! I think it was just a fluke though, because she has not done it since.
So, all in all the second month has been great. I feel like we have accomplished a lot - breastfeeding is going well, sleeping through the night, and she is becoming a lot more interactive which is so fun. I can’t wait to see what month 3 will bring!

Zoey's first month July11th - August 11th

Here is Zoey's one month pic. I just love her chubby cheeks! :)

And I've decided that I'm going to try to give an update at least every month of what is new with us. I had been jotting things down on my calendar and hand-writing little things here and there, so here is our first month in review! :)

First week -
The hospital:
I can’t believe that is has already been a week. The time has gone by so quickly, but then again so much has happened that I feel like it has been a year. I stayed in the hospital for four days. I could have gone home on Monday, but I thought it would be a good idea to have an extra day to rest in the hospital. Recovery from the C-section has been going pretty well so far. The pain has not been too awful, the worst part has been the swelling. My feet and ankles and legs have been so swollen. My knees are so huge that I can barely bend my legs. It’s awful. I was really scared to try walking for the first time, but the anticipation was the worst part. It was hard, and definitely awkward, but it has gotten easier and the swelling has started going down. Overall, my stay in the hospital was pretty good. Joe stayed with me the first night, and then my mom and Shannon stayed with me the next two nights. I had lots of visitors - my parents and sister, my grandparents, Joe’s mom and sister, my friends Sara and Amy. It was nice to see people, but it was a little overwhelming at times because I was tired and in pain and not really feeling like socializing all the time. It was nice just to have some quiet time to bond with Zoey and try to get a breastfeeding routine established. The nurses were all really nice and helpful with breastfeeding. It seems like everyone at the hospital is very “pro breastfeeding”, so it was nice to have that support. The breastfeeding has definitely been a challenge. Zoey is tongue tied, which means she has a short frenulum and it makes latching on difficult. While I was in the hospital, I was able to work with a lactation consultant, so that was really helpful. Because of the trouble that we were having with Zoey latching on, they gave me a “nipple shield” to use which makes it easier for her. I used that for the first few days, but was eventually able to get her to latch on without it.
First few days at home:
Even though I could have left on Monday, I decided to stay until Tuesday. Monday night was the only night that someone didn’t stay with me at the hospital, but it was actually nice to have the night to myself to rest and relax and try to get as much sleep as possible to prepare for being at home. Joe came to pick me up early in the afternoon and we finally brought baby Zoey home. When we got to the house, I went in first to give some attention to Lexi, and then Joe came in after me with Zoey. Lexi was so good! As soon as I came in the door, she came up to me and just sat in front of me wagging her tail and waiting for me to pet her. This is not normal behavior for her at all. Usually, she is so excited when we come home that she jumps and goes crazy. So, I think that she knew that I was in pain and that she had to be gentle. It was so sweet. When Joe brought Zoey in, she seemed curious and interested, but again she seemed to know that she had to be gentle. I sat in the chair with her for a while and Lexi sat next to me, like she was on guard. I think that she is protective already. The first feeding at home went well, but the first diaper change is another story! We got her all set up on the changing table of the Pack & Play, but when we took the old diaper off, she started pooping before we could get the new one on. And because I was holding her legs up at the time, it was like projectile poop - it shot across the room and onto the chair, the floor, all over her outfit, etc. It was quite shocking. I guess we learned the hard way that we probably shouldn’t change her right after a feeding!
After we were home for a while, Joe’s mom stopped by, and then my parents stopped by for a while, and then once everyone left we tried to settle in for the night. The first night was awful. I don’t remember what time we went to bed, but when Zoey woke up for her first middle of the night feeding, I couldn’t get her to latch on. I don’t know what the problem was, but she just couldn’t do it. She kept getting more and more frustrated and just kept crying louder and louder. Of course I didn’t anticipate her having problems, so I didn’t have the nipple shield ready. Luckily I brought it home from the hospital, so after some rummaging through the suitcase, I found it and was able to get her to eat. But from that point forward, she just wouldn’t settle down. She cried for a good portion of the night and nothing seemed to help. I tried swaddling her, changing her, feeding her again, but she just kept crying. We did not handle it all that well, Joe was yelling and kept saying “something is wrong, she shouldn’t be crying like that”, and I kept insisting “she’s just a baby, babies cry”. Things pretty much went on like that for the rest of the night. I think I finally dozed off in the recliner around 5, and maybe got about an hour of sleep before she was up for the day.
The first night was definitely the worst, but things started to get better the rest of the week. Both of our families were really great about stopping by and bringing us food and anything else that we needed or wanted. Shannon bought us a “womb sounds” teddy bear which really seemed to help the second night. The second night, she slept in her swing with the teddy bear strapped to the back of it with the womb sounds going. We had to sleep in the living room, since that’s where the swing was, but at least we got some sleep. So, you would think that the logical solution would be to move the swing into the bedroom and then we could sleep in our own bed. No such luck! We tried that the next night. I fed her, changed her and tried to get her all settled down and ready for bed. We brought the swing into the bedroom and put her in it and she started crying. Joe thought that maybe the bedroom was too cold for her (we had the a/c on, but it wasn’t very cool at all). I told him that I really didn’t think that could be it since she was in a/c when we were at the hospital. We decided to try moving the swing out to the living room again anyways, and sure enough, she went to sleep! So, it’s really been just a matter of luck for where we can get her to sleep. Mostly, I’ve been sleeping in the living room and she will either sleep in the swing, the pack & play, or sometimes I will bring the bassinette out to the living room so that I can have it right next to the couch. I’m hoping that with time she will adjust and we can get into some sort of sleep pattern or routine because it’s getting exhausting!
Besides the sleep issue, this first week has had other challenges as well. My swelling in my legs seems to have gotten worse since I have come home. I guess it’s because I am on my feet more now that I’m in my own house. My legs feel like tree trunks. My knees are so swollen that I can barely bend them. My mom says that I look like the state puff marshmallow man when I walk. The swelling seems to go down a little bit if I lay with my feet up on a huge stack of pillows, but I can only do that for so long. So, I’ve just been dealing with it, and trying to drink lots of water. The doctor says that it will take some time for my system to get rid of all the extra fluids that they put in me and the best thing for me to do is drink lots of water.
The other big frustration has been breastfeeding. I feel like it was going so well when I was at the hospital, but now that I’m home it’s like I’ve taken a step backward. I can’t get her to latch on without the shield anymore which is very frustrating. When I go to the pediatrician, I am going to talk to them about having her frenulum clipped. The lactation consultant recommended it. It’s a very simple procedure for babies this young and should help her be able to latch on better. I’m hoping that will take care of the problem. I guess it’s not the end of the world having to use the nipple shields. In reality, it’s probably no more inconvenient than having to prepare a bottle, but I’d still like to be able to breastfeed without them.
I think that’s about it for the first week. It’s been a whirlwind and a blur. It seems like time is already flying. Joe goes back to work on Monday, so itwill be interesting to see how our first week “home alone” goes.
Second week
Where to start? So much has happened that I don’t know where to begin. First of all, I can say that the sleeping situation has gotten much better. I finally got her to sleep in the bassinette in the bedroom, so I have actually been able to sleep in my own bed. The secret seems to be white noise. I downloaded some white noise sounds from the computer and then transferred them to my cell phone so that I can clip that onto the bassinette and play it for her while she sleeps. It really seems to help and I feel like we finally have a routine established for sleeping at night. I put her to bed in her bassinette anywhere between 9 and 11 depending on when she eats, and then she will usually get up twice during the night. I change her diaper and feed her, and usually she will go right back down in the bassinette. Even if she doesn’t go to sleep right away, the white noise keeps her from fussing, so I am able to back to sleep. It is definitely an adjustment only getting to sleep in 2-3 hour stretches, but I’m getting by. Sometimes I’ll try to take a nap during the day, but I usually don’t have much luck sleeping during the day unless I am really exhausted.
The other big thing that has been going on of course is the breastfeeding. She is still having problems latching on, and it’s really frustrating. When we took her to the pediatrician on Saturday, he agreed that she is tongue tied and gave us the name of an ear/nose/throat doctor that we could talk to about clipping her frenulum. But when I tried to call him, the number had been changed, and the information for the new number did not even list his name. So I decided just to schedule an appt with one of the doctors that the lactation consultant at the hospital suggested. So when I went to the appt, the dr looked at her for all of about two minutes and then told me that she is not tongue tied. She said that her frenulum is “a little short”, but she would not say that she is tongue tied and does not think it should interfere with breastfeeding or that it would impact her speech at all. She said that she would recommend working with a lactation consultant if I am having trouble breastfeeding because clipping her frenulum would not make any difference. So now I am really confused and frustrated. I just don’t understand why the nurses and lactation consultants at the hospital and the pediatrician would all agree that she is tongue tied, and then this doctor would say that she isn’t. So, I want to go to a different doctor for a second opinion which is annoying because it’s just more time to wait to try to figure out what is going on. In the meantime, I am just continuing to use the nipple shields. It’s annoying, but I guess that it is not the end of the world. At least I can get her to eat and so I don’t have to worry that she is not getting enough. The worst part is that I just feel a little “trapped” by the whole situation. I feel self conscious about people coming to visit, or the thought of taking her anywhere because of the possibility that I might have to feed her in front of other people. Sometimes, even with the nipple shield, it takes 5-10 minutes of trying before she will latch on and the whole time she is crying and fussing. So, it’s stressful enough dealing with that on my own - the thought of having someone else there at the time is not too appealing. I don’t mind if it’s just my mom, Joe’s mom, or my sister, but I wouldn’t want to have to deal with that in front of most of my friends, extended family, etc. So I have been putting of having people come over and visit because I’m scared of what might happen. It stinks because I feel kind of isolated and lonely sometimes.
Other than that, noting major to report. We gave her her first bath on Wednesday night. She really seemed to like it. She didn’t cry at all and kind of kicked her feet around in the water and opened her eyes really wide. It was really cute!
So, I think that’s about it for week #2.
Weeks 3-4
It’s hard to believe that it’s been just about a month. Zoey is changing so much and getting so big already! Everything is going pretty well, but it’s definitely a challenge being a full-time mom. I feel like since I am pretty much home all day, I should be able to get stuff done and keep up with the laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc, but I am finding it pretty much impossible. I feel like most of the day is spent in a cycle of feeding, changing, and holding her. If she isn’t eating or asleep, she pretty much wants to be held all the time. I really love to hold and cuddle her, but it definitely makes it hard to get stuff done. A lot of times I can barely find time to shower and eat. I’ve tried a bunch of different carriers/slings, etc, but so far have no luck finding one that I like and that she will be calm in. People have said to me that I should just enjoy it because she will only be little once and then I will miss it, which I know is true, but then again when there isn’t a single clean fork, or I don’t have any clean underwear, it’s not all that practical to just forget about keeping up with that stuff! I try to put her in the swing or bouncy seat, but she will only tolerate them for short periods of time before she is crying and wanting to be picked up again. And I don’t have much luck getting her to nap during the day unless I am holding her. If I lay on the couch or in bed with her, she will sometimes sleep for two or three hours, put if I try to put her down once she is sleeping, she will usually wake up within a few minutes. So, I spend most of the day laying around, cuddling her, watching a lot of TV, playing around on the computer, etc. We have started to venture out more though. Four weeks was probably the turning point. The day that she turned four weeks we had our first outing to Target and babies R Us. It went pretty well, but she would start to get fussy if the cart was not moving, so it was hard to stop and look at anything! But, we survived. I’ve also made short trips to the grocery store, and so far all has gone well. So far no major meltdowns, but I’ve kept the trips short.

3 week pic

Here is the 3 week pic. I can't believe how much she is changing already!

2 week pic

Here is Zoey's 2 week pic - she could barely stay awake for the photo session! :)

1 week pic

Here is Zoey's one week old pic. She's wearing the onesie that I gave to Joe the day I found out I was pregnant. I love it :)

Some favorite pics

Here is Joe in his scrubs, right before they brought him into the OR. I love this pic! I think he looks so cute in that ridiculous cap!

This pic is from when they first took her out. She immediately started screaming - definitely has a healthy set of lungs!

The official weight. You might not be able to see it that well in this pic, but it says 7lb 11 oz. Everyone thought that was so neat - born on 7-11 and weighing 7-11. She's our little seven eleven baby :) (Oh, and check out the conehead! - lol)

Baby's first footprint. I think it's so sweet that they stamped it on Joe's hand. He loved it so much that he didn't want to wash his hands because he didn't want it to come off!

Zoey and Mommy! After what seemed like forever, I finally got to hold my baby girl. We waited s0 long to meet you!

With Daddy. (He was so nervous holding her because she was so tiny!)

What a big yawn!

All wrapped up

Cute litte fingers and toes!

With Aunt Shannon (my sis). I think this is such a sweet picture.

With my mother in law

Here she is with my mom - such a proud Grandma!

Ridiculously long birth story

SHE is finally here! Zoey Elizabeth was born 7-11-08 at 3:21pm via C-section. She weighed 7lbs 11 oz and was 20 1/2 inches.

And...here it is - my birth story. It's super long and really I just wrote it all out more for myself so that I won't forget. It's crazy how quickly you start to forget things so I started hand-writing it when I was in the hospital and I'm finally getting around to typing it out. Here goes...

Thursday night I went to my monthly GTG with the nest girls. I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary that night (but maybe the spicy chicken fingers I ate helped to get things going?). So I came home and went to bed and woke up at about 4:00am with back pain. I thought it maybe felt like contractions, but I wasn't really sure since I really had only been having the tightening/hardening of the belly Braxton Hicks contractions up until that point. The pain wasn't really that bad, I could still walk through it, so I tried to walk and drink some water to see if things would get better or worse. It seemed to stay about the same, so I decided to try to time the contractions. They were coming really quickly, about every 2-3 minutes, but only lasting about 15 seconds. I woke up Joe and said "I think I'm having contractions". He opened his eyes really wide and just said "Oh my God, seriously?!" The look on his face was priceless. He didn't get out of bed right away - he tried to convince me that I was having diarrhea pains! I kept walking around the house, seeing if anything would change, and decided to call the doctor around 5:00. I explained the situation and the nurse on call told me that if the contractions were only lasting for about 15 seconds, they weren't long enough to change my cervix so I should keep monitoring them and if they got stronger or longer to call back. I kept track for about another hour and they were still coming very quick - only about 2-3 minutes in between and they started to last about 30-40 seconds, and were feeling stronger and more painful. So I called the doctor and they told me that I should go to the hospital.


So we left for the hospital around 6:00 am. My contractions started getting really strong in the car, and by the time we got to the hospital, I felt like I could barely walk - they were so painful and close together. I couldn't even walk into the hospital, they got me a wheelchair and wheeled me into L&D. I changed into a hospital gown, and was examined and was about 3cm dilated. I kept having really strong contractions and was feeling them mostly in my back, so they told me that I was having back labor and that I should sit on the exercise ball. Joe sat behind me and rubbed my back and tried to help me relax, but I was in so much pain, and not feeling much relief at all because they were coming so close together. The nurses recommended the epidural and I got that at around 8:00 I think. At that poi int, all the hours seemed to blend together. After the epidural, I was feeling so much better, was able to relax in bed, call my mom and let her know what was going on, and she decided she would come. They were thinking it would be a fast labor because I seemed to be progressing quickly. Since my water hadn't broken yet, Dr Erk came in to break it. He examined me and I think I was about 5 cm dilated at that point. He said that everything looked good and predicted I would have the baby at 3:15. I think maybe it was about 10:30 am at that pint, but my memory starts to get fuzzy at this point because so much happened in the next few hours. I remember I was just resting comfortably in the room for a while. Both my mom and Joe's mom were in there with us, and they were looking at the screen, watching the monitor for my contractions, and shocked that I wasn't feeling anything because I was having a lot of contractions, really close together. I was not feeling anything, so I was just thanking God for the epidural. At some point (I have no idea what time it was) the nurse decided it what time to examine me to see if I had dilated anymore. They did the exam and said I seemed to be about 7-8 cm, but that the baby was facing up rather than down. Midway through the exam, one of the nurses got a bit frantic and said "We need to get her on her side - turn her over", and then they started moving me from side to side, rocking me back and forth. Then she yelled for Joe to hit the call button, and when he did she said "We could use some help in there, and maybe a call to Dr. Erk. So then they put an oxygen mask on my face and I got really scared and asked what was happening. All of a sudden there were about 10 people in the room, and the nurse told them that the baby's heart rate was dropping. They continued to rock me back and forth, and to press on my belly to try to get the baby's heart rate up. I was so, so scared and of course it seemed like hours went by until the heart rate went back up.But eventually it did. The nurse reassured me that they baby was fine and they said that they thought that I was having a really strong contraction and my cervix was dilating at the same time that they were examining me which stressed the baby out. It was so scary, but they kept reassuring me that everything was fine, baby would be fine, and I didn't have to worry.


The next few hours are all a blur to me. It's crazy how fast your forget things, but I really only remember bits and pieces. We were focusing on trying to get the baby into the right position, so they kept switching me from one side to another, and I was starting to feel really uncomfortable. I was so hot , and I started to feel like the epidural was wearing off because I could feel my legs and move them. And I was starting to feel pain in my back again. I couldn't get comfortable no matter what I did. Joe was so great - massaging me and putting cold washcloths on my face and neck. But I was just so exhausted and miserable and finally one of the nurses told me that Dr. Erk was on her way and she was almost positive the she would recommend a C-section since the baby didn't show any signs of turning. At that point, I was so relieved because I was so exhausted from everything that I went through that I was happy to know that the end was in sight. While we waited for Dr. Erk, she said that there was one last thing that she wanted me to try, so I got on my hands and knees in the bed, using a medicine ball, and tried rocking my hips back and forth, in hopes that the baby would turn around. It was very uncomfortable for me and at that point, I was really just wanting the C-section. I was so miserable and frustrated. But we were still waiting for the doctor, and for some reason the nurse decided that she was going to have me try pushing. I'm not really sure why since she had already told me that she was pretty positive that Dr. Erk would want to do a C-section. I tried telling her I didn't want to, I couldn't, I was too tired, etc...but she insisted that I had to try. At this point, I was so exhausted that I was feeling pretty delirious, so what happened next is kind of blurry...


I tried pushing a few times, and the next thing I knew, they were rolling me on my side and putting the oxygen mask one me again and Joe was next to me to try to relax, everything was fine, and the baby was still okay,etc. It took a while before I realized what was going on and that the baby's heart rate was dropping again. I don't remember much of what happened next, except Joe reassuring me that everything would be fine, and the baby was fine so I didn't need to worry. He was so calm throughout the whole thing, reassuring me so that I wouldn't freak out. I don't know what I would have done without him, he really helped to keep me calm.


So, the next thing I know, Dr Erk is in the room, all calm and reassuring, and said "How about we have a birthday party?" I can remember I said "Is there going to be cake?" LOL, I guess I must have been hungry! :) So, they wheeled me into the OR to prep me for the surgery, and left Joe in the room to change into scrubs . Then Joe got there and they started the procedure. It wasn't really all that bad, but I did feel lots of pressure and tugging and basic discomfort. The worst part was that there were some medical students in the room , so she was explaining everything she was doing as she did that. So that was freaking me out and I told Joe that I needed him to talk to me, about anything - so that I wouldn't hear all the details. I really have no idea what he said to me, but he just kept talking and the next thing I knew someone was saying "Okay, get ready Dad, we're going to take the baby out". So Joe stood up to watch. Once they got the head out they said to Joe "Well what do you think Dad, is this a girl face or a boy face?" And he said "Oh, that's definitely a boy face!" But then a few seconds later, I heard him saying "Oh my God, it's a girl!". Then they held her up over the sheet so I could see her little face, and then took here to get cleaned up, weighed, etc. Joe went with them to take pictures and then out to the waiting room to tell our families. I really wish I could have been there to see their reactions, but I was being put back together. It really wasn't too bad. Just lots of pressure and pulling again, and I was just trying really hard not to think about it.


When I was all stitched up from surgery, they brought me back to the birthing room, and I had to wait for my room where I would be staying to be ready. I really don't remember that much about the rest of the night. I was pretty loopy and exhausted I think. Our families came to see us, and everyone was so anxious to know here name, but I didn't want to decide before I had a chance to hold her. I felt like I had to wait forever. Joe held her and sat next to me for a while while I was in the OR, but I wasn't able to hold her since I was still all numb. The, they had to take her to the nursery and monitor her - watch her temp, etc. Joe was able to go into the nursery and take pics and then come show me. Most of our family was glued to the nursery window just staring at her and waiting for them to bring her out. Finally, they brought her to me and I was able to hold her. It was such a great feeling to finally have my little girl in my arms. The nurse left and Joe and I had a few minutes alone, so we had a change to decide on her name. WE had pretty much narrowed it down to Mya or Zoey and had a few others in mind just in case neither seemed to fit. When I first saw her in the OR, I immediately thought "Zoey", but I wanted to see what Joe thought before I said anything. So, while I was holding her, Joe was sitting close next to me and said "What's your name, is your name Zoey?" and she made the cutest little sound. Just a little whimper, but we took it to mean "yes" :) To be sure, he also said "or is your name Mya?", and no response. So we decided it was a sign and Zoey it is!


A little later our families came in and we told them the name. Everyone likes it, or at least pretended well! Then, they all fought over who held the baby and took lots of pictures. It's really all a blur to me because I was still feeling really groggy and loopy. Finally, they had a room ready for me. My parents and sister stayed with me while Joe went home to shower and take care of the animals. He came back a few hours later and we were finally able to go to sleep. It seemed like the longest day ever, but so worth it because we had our beautiful little Zoey!

38 week appointment

This morning I had my weekly doctor appointment. I had a sonogram, so Joe went with me, but it was actually pretty uneventful. The baby was in a lazy mood so we didn't really see anything all that exciting. She checked the heartbeat and measurements and everything looked good, but there wasn't really any movement going on, so we didn't see anything too thrilling. We didn't even get a picture to take home. But, everything looks good with our little one. I am measuring pretty much right on schedule, and baby's estimated weight it 8lbs 1oz! That seems big to me!! She said it is in the 73rd percentile. At this point the baby will gain about 1/2 lb every week, so I'm hoping that I don't go too much longer - 8lbs is big enough for me!
After the sonogram, I met with the doctor and she examined me and said that everything looks great. Baby is in the position that it should be right now, but is still sittting very high. I am about a fingertip dialated and 70% effaced. But she said that doesn't really mean anything because she's had patients that were only a fingertip dialated and went into labor that night, and then others that were a few centimeters dialated for a few weeks before they went into labor. I guess only time will tell...

38 week pic

Here I am at 38 weeks! Baby could be here any day now - aaahh! :-)

shower for the "grandpa-to-be"

I just got a voicemail message from my dad saying that his work gave him a surprise shower for the "grandpa-to-be"! Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? :) He was completely shocked and said that he got lots of nice stuff. I just think that is so nice, my dad seemed really excited about it and said "it was really very touching". Now I'm all emotional and tearing up! People are so thoughtful!!