Only a week to go?

Happy birthday Nich!!

We have all kinds of fun news to update on! We are in our 35th week and we found out on Monday that we are getting an amnio done Tuesday to see if our little boy's lungs are developed enough, and if they ARE, he will be born that day! August 4th! (Clinton's birthday I believe...Ha!) If they're not ready, they can calculate how much longer he needs to be in there for, and they'll take him out as soon as he's ready :) We still don't know if that means a C-section or an induction - I think most signs point to C-section though!

Today we had a biophysical profile done, and I am happy to say that although I have felt like my belly has been really expanding the last few days, the fluid level appears to be down to around 23 (from 27) which is excellent! I still am not sure why the last few days I have been so huge feeling and looking, maybe he has positioned himself in an interesting spot...these days his little butt is right under my ribs, hard to breathe! But I'll take a butt over a foot kicking my ribs!! We also found out today our boy has gained a pound, YES! He is officially over the "preemie" weight which was my personal hope before they take him out, and he is 6 pounds now! We got some very cute pictures of him - he is getting chubbier by the day. (yay!)

Here is his little foot, which is nearly 3 inches long now :) It was down by his head during this ultrasound, very cute!

Here is his little profile in 2D, the next one is a 2D profile of him yawning, so I put this one here as a comparison

Here's the YAWN! His mouth was WIDE open, and when they switched it to the 3D, he of course stopped. We waited a lilttle bit, but no more yawns...until they switched back to 2D and he yawned again! Of course :)

And the latest 3D shot of his face, I like the profile picture, it looks like a baby nose to me :)

So, we might be bringing home a baby next week! WOW! We called in the furniture so it will arrive Saturday, and I need to get all of his clothes organized now....now that they are all clean and ready for him! We are getting so excited, but still are kind of reserved since, well, it ain't over til it's over, and we are praying for a smooth, healthy birth where we can bring him home with us and not have to have him in the NICU for a few days. That's the hope :)

Ok, I also have to boast about my mom. She has been here for nearly 2 weeks now and has been so awesome with taking care of ALL the crazy last minute things that have to be done - on top of suprises like unexpectedly taking care of a mamma and 9 pups born one night in HER room! Just watching her take care of stuff and run errands makes ME exhausted - I am so greatful she has been able to be here for so long! :)

I'm sure it'll be funny in a few weeks...

I notice I really only blog about our soon-to-be-born baby :) and our crazy dogs, and since I've had so many baby updates, I thought it was about time to add a dog one, thankfully not our dog...anymore!! But first, it just so happens to be my birthday today, the big 3-0(!!!!) and I was thankfully feeling good enough to grab a quick lunch at Abuelos, with Nich who happened to have a few hours off, after a very good NST! Here's a picture to capture all the glory of being gigantic and 30! And yes, I think my face is definitely getting that "chubby" look to it all pregnant women seem to get in their last month, but at least my belly doesn't have stretch marks yet, knock on wood!! Of course, now that I've said that, I'm sure to wake up to a whole purple spider web drawn around my disappeared belly button tomorrow morning...

Ok, so on to the dog story. About a week and a half ago, a VERY sweet, white-faced golden retriever sat in our front yard and refused to leave. Nich saw the dog smiling at him with all teeth showing, and it took a minute to realize this was a happy face, not a growling, stay-away-from-me face. He quickly made friends with this sweet-natured dog and suprised me awake with this golden by bringing the somewhat dirty dog into the bedroom! He had to leave and so there I was with a dog, and I checked to see if it was male or female, but with my big belly and the somewhat matted fur, I couldn't really tell...so I dubbed the dog "Roger" and perhaps "Shirley." The dog didn't care, but I quite liked the name Roger.

Roger spent the day outside with a big bucket of water and some food, and wouldn't leave. Spent the next day outside right next to the front door, which is designed like an oven and is the hottest place outside. Poor Roger! I decided to crate this sweet dog inside since I wasn't ready to deal with FOUR inside dogs. We did this for a few days and nights until it was clear all the dogs got along, meanwhile having put up "FOUND" signs, an ad on craigslist, and an ad in the paper. No nibbles by any possible owners at any of our efforts.

Then my mom came into town to take over for Nich's mom, and she took one look at this sweet dog and knew a family in Houston who would LOVE to take this golden to replace their very sweet, OLD golden whom they lost a few months ago, YES!! We made arrangements for my dad to drive the dog back to Houston the next day, but decided to get Roger checked out at the vet just to make sure all was fine. As it turned out, Roger was pregnant with about 3 pups (via ultrasound), due anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks from then, and about 8 years old. I figured that's why she refused to lift her leg to pee...she's a she. That ruled the Houston family out, and we made a phone call to the Humane Society of West Texas, whom we used to do a lot of fostering for. The HSWT has a freeze on all animals since all foster homes are full, but after hearing our sob story managed to find a foster who could take her on Tuesday.

That night, Roger was really growly with the other dogs and so slept in the room with my mom, the future nursery. I woke up to dogs barking to what sounded like the smoke detector chirping, and my mother woke up from a dream wondering how you could hear puppies barking from within the womb. "So far, there's 9 of them" was all I heard when I went to check out the smoke detector...9 whats? Only 9 puppies! YIKES! Roger gave birth all over the carpet to 9 cute, whiny, blind, puppies all struggling to get to the too few 8 teets; afterbirth all over and their cords still hanging off of them. My mother's comment? "This is why I wouldn't recommend a home birth." Ha ha ha ha ha! The blood and GREEN amniotic fluid was everywhere!

Oh the smell. We couldn't really clean anything very well with all the pups, and our dogs were just way to interested in everything, so my mother (oh, my poor mom, thank you mom!!!!) cleaned up Roger from head to toe of all the bodily fluids, and got the carpet as clean as one can get it with soapy water and rags. Another phone call to the HSWT to explain how 2-3 weeks turned into 12 hours, and 3 pups turned into 9...he would get in contact with us soon. One day, two days, three days...we would call with no answers back. Oh dear, surely they couldn't be avoiding us... And after a bunch of online research, my sweet mother was feeding special food to Roger every few hours, trying to get her away from her puppies to go potty at least a few times a day, and sleeping in the room with one ear on Roger and a smell that is unlike any other.

FINALLY we heard back from the HSWT, YES!! The foster family was going to come get them the next day, woohoo! The next day, I get a phone call at 5:30 PM, "No, we can't come out because my dad is sick today. How about tomorrow after 6:30 PM?" Noooooooo! My mom offered to drive Roger, whom she renamed Ethel and Goldie, yes two names for this very seasoned dog, and puppies out to Post herself. They were fine with that, and I snapped a few pictures to remember these sweet puppies, this really wonderful mamma dog, and the whole craziness surrounding this fun-filled week!

Everyone made it to Post where "Goldie" immediately made herself at home (again), and we were trying to figure out how to replace the carpet before our baby gets here. Well, thank goodness for Carpet Tech! They came the next day and cleaned, steamed, sprayed, and did all kinds of fancy things to the carpet, and now it looks brand new! Can't tell a single thing happened in there, and now my mother can sleep in peace and a nice smelling room again - and all sterilized for baby when he gets here :)

"Roger"

All the puppies were black (labs mixes?) with one tan one with boxer markings.

Cute puppies!

The odd one out, but also the PUSHIEST!!

33 Weeks! Yes!

Woohoo! Only 3 1/2 weeks to go until Oliver (?) is born! We are getting so excited to see him and the fact that we're considering laundering all of his clothes and crib stuff is making it more real! We have had several ultrasounds measuring the amniotic fluid, and it is still high and unfortunately getting higher. The number is currently 27, and they like to have it under 25, under 20 being ideal. Once it goes over 30, then they might consider taking some of it out. Fortunately it's better to have too much than too little and since our boy seems otherwise completely healthy, including kidneys and all, it's just "one of those things." But we might also be having an amnio done to check the development of his lungs next week, so if needed they might go ahead and remove a little fluid then. It is mostly just uncomfortable to have a stretched out uterus, can make it more difficult for me to breathe, and the baby has extra fluid to swim around in that might keep him from engaging into the pelvis (sounds like an imminent C-section), but also actually helps protect the cord from being compressed by our now 5 pound baby! And, I did ask, there's nothing I can change in my diet or drink to help the fluid, it's all up to the baby and placenta and has nothing to do with me at all. I think this pregnancy is definitely a lesson in how to stop being a control freak! Ha ha ha! I can control NOTHING! Ahhhh!

Monday and today we had ultrasounds, and here are the latest pictures for your viewing pleasure :)

Those cheeks are just getting bigger! :) He was also partially opening and closing his mouth!

In this 2-D image of his head, the outermost white line that has little lines coming off of it on the top left is hair! I'm guessing blonde :)

Update

Ok, first I have to say that my husband is a trooper...he did his first pelvic exam yesterday! (Yes, Ick, as Cara said! Ha ha!) Wow! His first rotation is Ob/Gyn and apparently they've already gotten them doing "real" medical stuff on only his second day! It's almost like he's ACTUALLY going to be a doctor one day! Ha ha ha!

Ok, life in other areas have had its share of drama too. We are now scheduled to have DAILY NST's and 2 ultrasounds a week to measure fluid. I think it's mostly for my personal sanity, but anyone who's been with me in the room during an NST can confirm that I do not handle "non"-stress tests well! Baby has always passed and looks good, but it drives me crazy to listen to his little heartbeat for 30-45 minutes a day. You'd think it would put me at ease...no way. Every time it speeds up and slows down, I look and see if it's still in normal range, then when he moves away from the monitor and there is no heartbeat sound, it drives me crazy! I think it's mostly because Julian's heart actually STOPPED during an NST and started up again several seconds later a few days before he passed away, so I am completely stressed out during these things. That said, I always feel better when we leave when the nurses tell me how great the baby looks :)

But our little boy still looks great and was sleeping during today's NST, so they had to buzz him. Yes, that woke him up with a huge startle and huge increase in heart rate and movement, and when I got home, he was out for a good 3 hours, poor guy got stressed out I think! I'm happy he's been back to his more wiggly self the last hour or so.

I also have to say that while Nich has started his rotations, I am so thankful that his mom has been able to stay with us for 2 weeks to help take care of me! :) In all honesty, I was a little weirded out by how all that would work since it's not every day your mother-in-law takes care of everything all day long! But it's been wonderful having her here, and chit chatting with her really helps the days go by faster, that and delicious home cooked meals every night! Mmmm. Our dogs are totally infatuated with her since she takes them for a run in the morning, then frisbee, then another walk at night after Nich's taken them to the park to run around like crazy, well, animals. They are sooo going to miss her when she leaves! But, then my parents come up for 2 weeks, so there will always be some fun excitement going on! :)

Our next ultrasound is Friday, so hopefully we'll get some good pictures to post :) Thank you also for all the prayers, I know they are definitely a comfort for me and Nich.

I must have drama or I'm not happy! Apparently...

Happy July 4th!! Some baby news updates...we now have NST's three times a week and a Biophysical Profile (NST + ultrasound measuring fluid, baby breathing motion, fetal movement and something else) every week. That is supposed to start on Monday, BUT, and there's always a "but" isn't there, since the office was closed this Friday for the July 4th holiday, we were scheduled to have our NST done over the weekend at the hospital. So today we went in and did the NST, and I always show with an "irritated uterus," but the contractions were showing up as huge waves on the monitor every 2 minutes. The tech was concerned and called the on-call high-risk doctor, who we have seen before, and we went in for another Ffn test and ultrasound to see how everything was going. Luckily the Dr was right there and waiting for us and we had a fun conversation and ultrasound.

The Ffn test came back negative again, so I won't be going into labor in the next few days, and the ultrasound looked great, except...and here's the drama that my life cannot lack...the fluid is on the high side. The baby looks great and has put on another pound in a little under two weeks, 4 pounds 7 ounces :) and doesn't seem to be affected by any of this! But normal measurements for amniotic fluid at 32 weeks is up to 25 depending on what chart is used. I measured a little over 25, then was measured again and it was a little over 21. He said his cutoff is 25 while my doctor's is 20, so that's something we're supposed to be watching. I read online about having high amounts of amniotic fluid and of course freaked myself out, so I am really ready for Monday to come around to talk to my regular doctor about all of this. Insert scream and pulling of hair here.

I keep telling myself, just 5 more weeks, just 5 more weeks! But we'll be happy with two more weeks, then we'll be at 34 weeks, and the baby should be over the premature weight, meaning over 5.5 pounds. So, for the praying types out there, please keep us in mind! :) I'll give a report after Monday's biophysical!