38 Week Update - What a Day!

We have been on quite the roller coaster today. We had our doctors appointment at 9:20 a.m. this morning in the Plymouth office where my blood pressure was very high, 144/90. The doctor took it again after I had laid down and it was 150/80. Baby's heart rate was 160. A little high. Then the pelvic exam, I'm dilated 2 1/2 inches, an improvement since last week, but he felt the baby might be breech. So he suggested we head over to the hospital for some tests. After a very long wait at the hospital we finally got in and the good news was that my blood pressure was down again and the baby's heart rate was very good. They also took blood work which also came back just fine. So for now we monitor it and make sure it doesn't happen again.

The next part of our journey at 3:00 p.m. (When we were discharged from the hospital) they sent me over to the doctors office across the street to get my ultra sound. After waiting again we got in to find out that the baby is indeed breech. He/She is butt down with his/her legs folded, (note the "he/she" references. We asked the doc. to look for boy or girl parts but because the legs were crossed, no show! STUBBORN). This leaves us with 2 options, 1. Cesarean birth, either planned or emergency if I should go into labor before the planned occurred. Option 2 - Trying to flip the baby. It's called Version. The doctor said due to the size of the baby right now (7lbs, 4oz.), the amount of fluid in the uterus and the position of the placenta this is an option we could choose. She also said due to the fact that this is my second pregnancy my tummy muscles are already more flexible than I would be if it was my first. What they do is give me a drug for pain and a drug to relax my tummy muscles and then externally try to flip the baby. I am not too keen on a Cesarean birth so we are going to try this option on Monday morning, (the earliest they could get me in). If I should go into labor before that they will first try the version process if my contractions aren't too bad and probably if my water hasn't broke. Otherwise I will need a c-section. There is a small possibility the baby could turn on its own and then none of this will matter. I hope that happens.

Keep us in your prayers. And now pray that baby doesn't come until Monday, (I can't believe I'm saying that!).

37 Week Update

Not much to tell you this time around. No change since last week. RATS!! Still 1 cm and still 50% effaced. I was really thinking I was getting close. I've had a few episodes this week, including today, where I was light headed and having a lot of lower abdominal pressure. I thought for sure this was meaning that the baby was pushing on new things and I was progressing. It turns out these things are all normal, according to the doctor and obviously doesn't mean that changes are occuring. Ugh.

The doctor did suggest that by next weeks appointment, (which is Thursday morning) we could talk about inducing labor if I wanted but she can't guarantee that they'd be able to squeeze me in either because I'm not high risk and there is no emergency to do it. I'd consider it if it meant the baby would be here for the Barry's to meet him or her before they go back to Oregon, (they are flying in for Darin's cousin's wedding in Fargo) but only if they could guarantee it. Maybe the baby's waiting for my Grandma Cooley's birthday, September 4th. Or maybe it will be one day short like I was for my Grandpa Cooley's birthday. Who knows. All I know is that I'm ready.

36 Week Update

Well, we have had some progress! This week was my first pelvic exam and I found out that the baby is head down, good to hear, and I am currently 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced! Things are progressing. The doctor didn't give a time she expected me to go into labor. There are people that can be dilated for weeks before they deliver but I don't remember being dilated with Zack or had maybe just started to and then he was here a week later! Also according to the doctor the baby hasn't dropped yet. But she said with the second that sometimes doesn't happen until labor begins so she's not surprised by that. Strange, I thought my tummy was lower. Next weeks doctor's appointment is on Friday again.

Keep your eyes on the blog... Molly will be putting the annoucement on our blog when Baby B is born.

Baby Pool Anyone?

Anyone up for it? It looks like my family is putting in their bets, (see comments in the 35 week update):

Grandma Trish - August 28th
Auntie Meg - September 2nd

Let's add time, weight and sex of the baby too.

Little history of Zack:
Born: 12 days early
Time: 10:43 a.m.
Weight: 8lbs. 3oz.
Do we know what we are having? No. :-( See past blog.

35 Week Update

Today I had my 35 week Doctors Appointment. Everything is going well. Went and saw Dr. Fault today. Our clinic encourages us to see all 6 of the OB's they have on staff so we get to know them before the baby is born because anyone of them could be "on duty" the night I go into labor. Dr. Fault is a great guy, very goofy. I think Josh calls him the crazy doctor actually because of his sense of humor. I like him a lot.

So anyway, my tummy is measuring at 35", just where it's supposed to be. So for all of you who have been so kind to say that I look little for where I am, the Doc. says I'm right on target and I'm certainly gaining plenty of weight! UGH! Babies heart rate was 140. Doc says you can't tell anything from the heart rate though. The heart rate is dependant on my rate of activity and my blood pressure was a little high today. At least I thought so, 134/70. The nurse didn't think it was all that bad though. But I'm usually in the 120's/60-70's even when pregnant.

Next appointment is in 1 week! Next Friday. It's usually 2 weeks at this point in the pregnancy but because I went 12 days early with Zack the Dr. thought I should start the 1 week appointments now. Next week is also the strep B test. Fun, fun!

How have I been feeling lately? I've noticed as well as others that my tummy has started to drop. It's a little difficult playing with Zack these days because of it. Hard to stoop down or sit on the floor and then get up from the floor. Having problems with soar hips and pinched nerves at night. A few odd pains which I was told today are normal with the second child. Other than that I'm doing fine. I've been very grateful for a not so hot and humid summer. Although there are days I'm very swollen. I've stopped playing golf now. Meg has taken my spot. Although she's only played once so far because this week it was raining and next week is the last week so I didn't miss too much of the season.

That's all for this update. Keep you posted next week.

32 Week Update

Had my 32 week appointment yesterday. It was a quickie. Heart rate is good, 134. Everything seems fine. Our next appointment is in 3 weeks, August 14th, then we start every 2 weeks! Time is flying by!

27 Week Baby Update - I PASSED!

Hello, sorry I haven't blogged in a while. A lot has been going on and I haven't had much time to blog. Hopefully I will blog more soon but right now I wanted to get 2 out there right away.

We had our 27 week update on Friday, the 20th. I would have blogged then but wanted to wait until my glucose test results came back. Just got off the phone a while ago and I have passed my test. Normal levels are between 65-99 and I am at 79. Hemoglobin should be between 12-15 and I'm at 12.5. So everything is looking good there. Yeah! Don't have to give up my ice cream!! :-)

The baby was being a little stinker at the doctors office too. He liked the sugar drink they gave me. He wouldn't sit still for the doctor to listen to his heartbeat for too long. Sounds like I have another boy in my belly. :-)

Next appointment is July 22nd. Nothing major happening during that visit. Until then...

Here is a picture of my side profile from this weekend. This has been a request of my friend Michelle's for a while. She threatened to take my picture in the restaurant tomorrow night when we get together if I didn't post a belly picture of me soon so I'm saving her the trouble. :-)

Does this get me off the hook M~? :-)

23rd week baby update

We had a really quick doctors appointment on Friday. Just a quick check up on the heartbeat and measurement of my belly. Everything is going well and as expected. I'm measuring 23" which is what I should be at, an inch for each week of pregnancy. To my husbands amusement I now weigh the same as he does, sigh...

We had a funny little moment when the doctor asked if I had been feeling any movement since my last doctors appointment. Darin and I both began to laugh and Darin answered the question for me. This little one is a busy little bee like his/her brother, (although I don't remember Zack moving quite this much this early on). The baby is usually busy around 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Luckily not during the night while I'm trying to sleep, (knock on wood). I actually guided the doctor to where the baby was last kicking on the way to the doctors appointment and she found the heartbeat right away. Friday night Darin was feeling my tummy and I asked if he was feeling all of the movement and he said, "No, just your heartbeat". I told him, "That's not my heartbeat!" The baby was going gangbusters. He/She liked the ice cream I had just finished. :-) A sweet tooth like Mommy I guess. :-)

Next appointment is on the 20th of June. That's the glucose/gestational diabetes test. People usually complain about this test. I don't mind it. The drink isn't all that bad.

Hope you are all enjoying your Memorial Day weekend!

Naughty Baby!

Well, today was the big day for the ultrasound. We had our appointment at 7:30 this morning and I would love to tell you if we are having a girl or boy but I can't. Grrr... Someone wouldn't cooperate with the technician.
Don't get me wrong this little one was very active during the whole thing, kicking and punching most of the time. But when it was time to check between the legs he/she was camera shy. She thought she saw no boy parts but she couldn't be sure. Where have we heard that before, oh yeah, when we were pregnant with Zack. So don't go out buying any new clothes for baby yet. I guess this little one will be a mystery as well. Sorry!
He/She was also giving the tech. some trouble because the head was snuggled down by my bladder and wouldn't get off so she could take measurements of the head until after a lot of pushing, prodding and moving me around. Very uncomfortable with a full bladder!

The good news, everything looks fine. He/she, (I hate typing this) is measuring at 19 weeks like it should and weights about 11 ounces. All normal.

16 Week Baby Update

So I had my 16 week Dr. Appointment last week. Everything is going well. Next month is the ULTRA SOUND! We've been asked if we are going to find out what the sex is this time. Our response is, "We're going to try!". We "found out" with Zack but the doctor told us she was 70% sure we were having a girl. Quite a bit of a shock in the delivery room! Luckily the 70% didn't give us warm fuzzies so we went neutral with the room and registry. We also had a boy's name picked out just in case. The funny thing was it took us a shorter amount of time to come up with a boy's name than it did a girls.

In regards to how I'm feeling the answer is pretty good. Still pretty tired. Hence the not blogging much. Already in maternity clothes. It's true, you do pop earlier with the second child. Sigh.... Already getting uncomfortable at night when trying to sleep. Getting more heartburn than I did with Zack. Either that or the hunger pains I thought I was having at night with Zack was actually heartburn and now I've figured that out better so hopefully I won't gain as much weight this time. OR we are going to have an ape for a baby, lots of heartburn they say equals a hairy baby. Not a surprise in our families if you've been noticing our nieces pictures. :-) All of our kids have a good crop of hair on both sides. Haven't felt the baby move yet but that is to be expected.

We'll keep you posted on anything else new when we can. Darin and I are taking our first big trip without Zack in a few weeks so I probably won't blog until after that.

Hope you are all well!

p.s. Check out the 3 Easter posts I also added today. There is also a new feature to the right. I have added a section called "Special Features". My sister Megan figured out how to organize posts by subjects. I've got videos and pictures captured to the left. This way Diane, you won't have to go searching through the blogs to find Zack's Peek-a-boo video. :-)

And then there were 4…

… well 5 if you include Coko. And technically #4 isn’t here yet but will be in September or maybe even August.

What am I babbling about? Well, you may have noticed a new feature on our website. A count down, if you will, to our new baby!!!

I am 12 weeks into my pregnancy. My due date is September 14th! Although I have a feeling I’ll be earlier than the 14th. I was 12 days early with Zack.

Sorry to all of those who have asked me in the past 2 months when we were going to start round two and I lied, well fibbed, and said, “We’re trying” or “We’re talking about it”. We’ve known since January 6th that I was pregnant. Yes, I keep pretty good secrets, much to the dismay of my sister, Molly, who is upset with me for keeping this a secret from her for 3 months, AGAIN. I am just not one of those people who can tell others right away. I have to wait until that first trimester doctor appointment. Call me a superstitious Englishmen. We actually did tell our parents soon after we found out and that was hard for me. I wanted to wait but my dad kept insisting on trying to schedule a family vacation in September. So if my parents were to find out right away it was only fitting that Al and Diane got to know too. Our sisters were told the weekend of the 23rd -24th of February. The 23rd was my mom’s birthday and my sisters and I were spending the morning and afternoon together with my mom and she wanted to be a part of the reveal. Again, a little nervous to tell them before the Dr. appointment but I knew it would make Mom’s day.

So we had our doctor appointment on Wednesday, February 27th. Things at the doctors went well. The baby’s heartbeat is strong and I’m only measuring for 1 baby. That was all good news. Since then we have been spending some time telling a few more people in person before posting this on the blog. I would have liked to have told more of you in person but a few of the Aunties are getting a little anxious for me to post this blog and since I don't know when I'm going to be freed from my house with Zack's latest bug I thought it best to let the cat out of the bag now.

I’ve been feeling alright. I’ve been a bit nauseous but mints, lemon drops and lately fruit have helped with that. The biggest thing is that I’ve been extremely hungry. Both Darin and I can’t remember me being this hungry early on in my pregnancy with Zack. I remember later months being hungry but not this early. It’s actually quite annoying. I’m tired of eating. I’ve also been pretty tired. Which I remember quite well from Zack. That is why not much blogging has been occurring. Many, many naps, (plus being sick). Thank goodness when Zack does nap it’s for 3 hours. I sleep hard during that time.

We will be keeping you updated on this blog to my progress, although I can’t guarantee pictures of my belly. You don’t want to see the stretch marks left behind by Zack. Remember there is a way to get e-mails sent to you when I update the website. On the right hand side you will see a place to “Subscribe”.

Now, for all of you family members that have been on gag orders, consider the gag lifted and thank you for keeping our secret.