34 Weeks, a slight scare, and upcoming events

This week, Baby Drew is about 4 3/4 pounds...roughly the weight of a large cantaloupe. He is close to 18 inches long and continues to lay down baby fat. His central nervous system is almost completely developed and his lungs are right behind. Most babies born at this stage in the game are no longer considered pre-mature, but pre-term. And the good news is, that other than a few minor possible health concerns at these early stages, most children born at this time live the same healthy successful lives that full term babies live.

All of this is VERY reassuring after a long night with contractions last night. I was laying on the couch watching some TV...comedy mostly...and counting contractions. They were very irregular. Some would come about 10 minutes apart, then they were 20, then they were 40 and then they were back to 20. Either way, nothing was rhythmic and I knew it was nothing to be concerned about. At 10:45, I went up to bed and did my best to get comfortable, small feat these days. And after a few minutes of tossing, turning, and pillow adjustments, I finally got there. But, I wasn't there for 5 minutes when some sharp pains started in on me. So sharp it felt like a needle going in and out of me and it made me jump every time the baby would move. At one point I had to get up because it just felt a little better to stand and move around. But, with the pain came some contractions. And they were coming every 5 minutes. I dealt with it for the first half hour and tried not to stress about it. Thoughts of Ally's labor came flooding back and all I could think about was how hard and fast Ally's contractions came after so much irregularity through the night. By 11:45 I had to ask Bo to come downstairs and sit with me because they weren't going away and I needed something to take my mind off of them. I thought they might go away if I could just stop stressing about them and fall asleep. So...we watched a little more comedy and they had pretty well subsided by 1:30. But, I spent the rest of the night out on the couch...I didn't want to move or be woken up. This morning I woke up and still had some tightness in my stomach, but it decreased as the day went on. Until late this afternoon...some of the tightness has returned, but I'm not worried yet. I did, however, finish packing the bags for the hospital, put the car seat in the car, and got the girls ready for a night away from home should we go anytime soon. I didn't want to be caught rushing to the hospital with nothing ready...just not the way we roll here!!

We have a Dr. appointment on Friday this week and a super fun baby shower on Saturday to look forward to. After all of that fun, we are doing pregnancy pictures with Darby (www.darbyrosephotography.com) on Sunday afternoon. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures and fun stories after all the fun next weekend.

Ally's Big Sister Class

Today Mommy and Ally went to a class called Mommy and Me...a class for big sisters and brothers. Kelsey stayed at home and napped, because even though she will be a big sister, this class would have been too much for her. When we got to the hospital, they took us to a special classroom where the kids all drew a picture of their hand. The idea is that when the baby arrives, we draw his hand inside Ally's hand so she can see how much she has grown since she was a baby. After that we talked about the rules of holding a baby...we must wash our hands, get permission, and sit all the way back in a comfy seat. Ms. Carolyn, the teacher, came around and helped all the kids get the baby in the right position for holding. Ally did a great job and looked like a real pro. After that, we learned how to HELP mom and dad change a diaper. They took off the old diaper, rolled it up and threw it away. Then, they put on the new one and pulled the tabs tight to keep the diaper on baby. Finally, they got to learn how to wrap up and swaddle a baby in a blanket. Ally was very gentle and did everything she was supposed to do. She followed directions perfectly and was very proud of herself when the class was over. On our way out of class, we took a tour of the nursery and got to see a real baby going home with his mommy and daddy. He was so cute!! At the end of the tour, Ally got a special certificate that says she is a good big sister and ready to be a big helper. Plus, we got a few coupons for free ice cream at Chik-Fil-A. Enjoy the pictures.

33 Weeks

We hit another full week today...only about 5 left to go. This week the baby weighs a little more than 4 pounds, about the weight of a large pineapple. He is 12 inches from crown to rump and pushing 17 inches of total body length. He is filling in with more and more baby fat and his bones are beginning to harden.

As for me...all is pretty well. We had a Dr. appointment on Thursday and the heartbeat is still around 130...good and strong. I'm measuring about average and they even think the baby might be a little bigger than Ally and Kelsey were. I'll believe that when I see it. I don't think he'll hit the 7 pound mark, but we'll see. I can tell the baby is growing more and more each day. He is very active. More active than I really think has has room for in there, but what do I know. He is constantly moving and rolling to let me know he is awake and aware. I have gotten big enough to shelter small children in a rainstorm and I can feel it at different times. Getting up and down isn't too big a problem, but sleeping has been a challenge. I hope God is not preparing me for lots of long, sleepless nights. I just can't seem to find a comfortable position to lay in. It seems I get most of my best rest on the couch in an inclined position because it takes the pressure off of my hips and back. But, if that's the only complaint I have, I'll live with it. There's only a few more weeks to enjoy this and I certainly am not going to let a few sleepless nights get me down.

I made the last of my appointments this past visit and for those of you watching the calendar, I am picking February 20th as the big day. We have an appointment that day where they will check to see how far along I am. The appointment is at 9:45 in the morning and Bo already has the day off. we had planned for that because it is mid-winter break for the girls and we wanted to do something special with them one last time before the baby got here. So...we'll all go to see the Dr. and head off on some excursion afterwards. At least we'll all be together when I decide it's time to roll on in to the hospital.

32 Weeks and a Hospital Tour

We hit a major milestone today...32 weeks!!! If the baby was born today, he would need some support keeping warm and breathing, but for the most part, he'd be fine. Jackie and Stefan had little Ava at 32 weeks and her perinatologist told her that the advances made in pre-term care since Ava was born is incredible and baby's born at this stage of the game, while still at high risk for lots of different things, grow-up to lead normal, healthy lives. And that's a good thing to hear!!!

Right now, baby continues to plump up with baby fat. At this point, he is head down and his legs are long enough to reach my rib cage. Every once in awhile I feel him kicking me right there and it takes my breath away. He is about 11.6 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 4 pounds. His latest development is hearing...mostly the sounds of my heart beat, food digesting and blood rushing through my body. The constant sound of those things is why babies find dryers, vacuum cleaners, and sound machines so soothing after birth. Our sound machine for this baby has been ordered and is on the way!!

Today, we went for a tour of the Northside Forsyth Hospital. It's located in Cumming...a small town north of Atlanta and is closer to us then the baby factory known as Northside Atlanta where Ally and Kelsey were born. It's a new facility that just opened in August, but many of the Labor and Delivery nurse/staff who worked at the Atlanta hospital transferred to the new hospital because of the closeness to their homes. That's nice to hear because that means it's not a new staff just learning how to run a Women's Center. The facility itself is amazing. I wish I had brought the camera to take pictures of all the things we got to see. To begin with, the foyer you walk in to feels more like a hotel than a hospital. There's not much "medical" about this place. When you get inside, there is a separate off-shoot for admissions...a private, personal corner of the atrium to get checked in. Once you get checked in, you are taken to one of 6...just 6...labor and delivery rooms. They do have another 6 Urgent Care rooms that are exactly like the Labor and Delivery Rooms, but they only use those if there is ever an overflow. And so far, they haven't needed them for that purpose. As we walked to the LDR, we passed the nurses station which had somewhere between 4 and 6 smiling nurses all ready to greet us. We walked in to the LDR and it was HUGE!!!! There was a flat screen TV with a DVD player. There were 2 long couches that convert in to beds for dads-to-be and visitors. The bathroom was amazing...a sink and toilet of course, but they all have whirlpool tubs for showering and relaxing in. All the rooms have huge windows with privacy shades that still allow for natural light. And each room has a private "newborn nook" with all the paraphernalia a newborn station needs...a warming bed with lamps and all the equipment to do initial check-ups, baths, and so forth. After you leave the LDR, you head up to Family Centered Care for the rest of your stay. The rooms there are smaller than the LDRs, but still just as nice. The showers are glass enclosed and each room has a flat screen with a DVD player as well. And, of course, there is the couch that converts to a bed for dad to stay the night. On our way back to the first floor, we passed by the nursery where 3 little babies, 2 boys and a girl, were sleeping and getting checked out. They were all so cute. And it was hard to imagine a tour group walking by in a few weeks and seeing our little guy in there. We toured the cafeteria after the hospital tour was over and that was nice as well. More like a food court with tables than a cafeteria. The only downfall is that there is no McDonald's right in the hospital like there is at the Atlanta facility, but there is an Atlanta Bread Company just outside the facility...which Bo may have to visit before he comes to see me.

After all that, there really is no reason we wouldn't go there...other than insurance. We have a Pediatrician that does not visit that hospital, but they do go to the Atlanta location. If for some reason our insurance is not accepted by the in-house pediatricians, we'd have to go to the Atlanta facility...which is just as fine for us. But, there's no reason to go there if this place will take our insurance. The smaller atmosphere made it very cozy and we KNOW we would get expert care and more personal care because of the smaller facility...all good things in our book.

At the tour, we found out that we were by far the "most experienced" parents there. 2 other couples were there for their first child and another couple was there for their second. We were there for our curtain call...because little Andrew will be the last!! It was almost a smack in the face to go in to the LDR...so weird to think we are doing this one more time. It brought back lots of memories of being there with Ally and Kelsey. And, it was kind of exciting at the same time...we get to do this one more time!! Next week, I am taking Ally to a class for big sisters and brothers. They get to learn how to hold a baby and change a diaper. Should be fun. Kelsey is going to stay with daddy because it's just too much for her to handle right now. The hardest part will be convincing Ally that she is NOT the mom and she can't just pick the baby up or change his diaper whenever she wants to. I'll be sure to bring the camera for this fun experience and post them next week after our special class.

31 Weeks, a Dr. Appointment and a Nursery

So much has happened since the 4D ultrasound a few weeks ago. We have been to the Dr., created a room for this little guy, and gotten an update on baby's growth.

So...for 31 weeks, we are looking at a baby that is about 3 and a half pounds and he continues to put on more fat to keep him warm once he arrives. His hearing is almost completely developed. And the best news for this week is that his lungs are now secreting surfactant...a substance that keeps his little lungs inflated with oxygen once he takes his first breath. Should he arrive now, he might still need some help breathing, but the lungs are well on their way to working on their own.

At our appointment, we got to hear the fast heart beat again...never a sound I get tired of hearing. It's still beating strongly at about 140 beats per minute...right on cue for a baby boy. The Dr. says my measurements look great and we are in plug and chug mode. Keep doing what we're doing to keep that baby growing and healthy. Should this little one decide to arrive as early as the girls did, we're looking at a mere 7 weeks before his arrival. That number gets smaller with each passing week and I can't believe it is really almost here. I'm at the point now where I am still enjoying the pregnancy and am sad it will soon be over. But...we'll see how I feel in 4 or 5 weeks.

And last, we busted it at the end of Christmas break to get the nursery finished. We had kept the guest bed in the baby room for several months anticipating some holiday travelers, but now that those have come and gone, it was time to get things rolling. In a matter of 3 days, we primed the room, put up a chair rail, painted the room, put together the crib (which I never thought we'd put together again), rearranged furniture, decorated, washed and folded 3 loads of baby laundry and packed a diaper bag for the hospital. Needless to say, we both crashed on Sunday night. We still need to get a bookshelf for the room and plan to bring in the recliner once it is professionally cleaned, but for the most part, what you see is it. I'm so glad we went with the frogs. And we both love the room. I think the girls have more fun playing in the room with all the baby stuff than the baby will.