With Caleb, I had three good reasons not to have maternity pictures done for myself:
1) I wasn’t really into photography at that point.
2) It would have just been me and my belly. Andy is not one to voluntarily go in front of a camera and I needed to share the spotlight.
3) Let’s face it. I’m a cheapskate. I would rather learn how to do something myself than pay someone else to do it for me.
I was content with a weekly documentation of my belly through a quick snapshot in front of a mirror. Now that I’m completely immersed in the world of photography and see everything as an art form, I wanted something a little classier than the traditional giant orange belly through a toothpaste-spattered mirror look.
My good friend Amber, who is also a photographer, totally gets my obsession with making everything into a photo shoot. She came over this past week to be my photographer and we had a ton of fun. It was refreshing to be the person in front of the camera for once; even though I know nothing about how to pose my own body or how to “smile with my eyes”.
So without further ado, my 31 week belly through the lens of my big girl camera:
During Caleb’s pregnancy, we splurged on a boutique 4D ultrasound. I still love looking at those pictures and comparing them to how he looks now. I didn’t want to miss out this time around so we found a reputable place downtown to get some awesome images of Nathan. The tech was amazing and Nathan cooperated for the most part. There was a few minutes where he wanted to bury his face into my back and cover his head with his hand. But we were able to jiggle him out of that position. Out of the 70+ images we got, here are a few of my favorites and a video of some highlight from the session:
I’m pretty sure Nathan and Caleb look almost identical. They have the same mouth, eyes, chin, and sleeping expressions. Caleb had huge poppo cheeks at this point and his nose was a little smaller but you can definitely tell they’re related. The tech also confirmed his gender (That would make this the third time we’ve checked. I just to make sure we don’t have to repaint the nursery!) and pointed out that Nathan has tons of hair already. Seeing these images just makes me even more anxious to meet our new little guy!
A few weeks have passed since my last update but everything has been relatively uneventful. First, I’ll update on our firstborn. Caleb is getting more and more grown up by the day. He is definitely easier to understand and has a huge vocabulary. I can’t keep him away from anything cooking-related - his kitchen, my kitchen, cooking shows, the appliance section at target…. I bought him an activity book the other day to help him develop his drawing skills and he’s taken off. He can draw smiley faces:
and flowers along with basic shapes and his favorite scribbles. Andy has already gotten him started on sports cards I think mostly so Andy can rekindle some old childhood memories:
He also learned how to ride and steer his tricycle and loves cruising up and down the hallway:
We’re working on decorating his new big boy room (Airplane themed complete with a big boy bed) before his little brother comes. Of course, me being the decorating fanatic that I am, he can’t sleep in there until we’ve painted it, hung up curtains, hung all the decorations moved in furniture, and His Aunt Brandi has painted airplanes on the wall. He’s already thrilled about the idea of a new room and has already deeded his old room over to his baby brother.
Now on to our new addition. We had the opportunity to sneak a peek at little Nathan at our 18 week ultrasound. He, however, was not being very cooperative. He was facing my spine the entire time and would squirm out of the way each time the tech needed to take measurements. Thanks to modern techology, we still were able to capture some pictures of him:
Here’s an image of his spine and torso.
It’s confirmed, He’s a boy!
His leg and two sets of toes.
His face.
Profile
3D of his face. Kind of sketchy based on his awkward position.
And here is a video of the the ultrasound. complete with captions so you can tell what you’re looking at.
First, let me get out the most exciting news discovered this week: we are having a boy! Caleb will have a little brother; a little pal to play with; Andy will have another little buddy; I will have another little boy to love. I can’t express how happy this makes me. Boys, to me, are simple, transparent, adventurous and have less obstacles to deal with in this society. I’m am so thankful and feel so blessed to be able to raise two of them.
Second most exciting news: we have a name! After much discussion and near misses, we’ve decided on Nathan Andrew. His middle name was known from the beginning as to pass down Andy’s name but the first name was nothing short of a challenge. We had a girl name easily picked out early on, but any boy name just sounded off. When Andy and I both heard this name, we knew it was a good fit for our next son and our family; plus, Caleb can pronounce it better than his own name!
Our little bun in the oven is 12 weeks old: his fingers can open and close, his mouth can make sucking movements, he can squirm in response to my movements. We had an ultrasound on Friday for some routine testing. Everything looks perfect and he’s right on track. The tech and the doctor were both certain he was a boy and were impressed with how well he behaved for the ultrasound, whatever that means. Here are some pictures and at the bottom is a video of the highlights. You’ll be able to see him moving around, his heartbeat, fingers, and a little dance move at the end.
We had our first OB appointment and sonogram yesterday. Even after going through this process before, seeing the tiny flutter of a heartbeat was nothing short of a miracle. Baby is measuring right on track and is due August 12th. I’m actually going back at the end of January for another ultrasound at 12 weeks. We never had this one with Caleb so I’m really excited to see what that stage of development looks like. When we came home, we showed the picture to Caleb and tried to explain that those wavy gray lines were his little sibling. Of course he had no clue and was only concerned with holding the picture himself.
We are really impartial toward either gender. I’m a little more on the side of a boy just because I would love for Caleb to have a brother/best friend to grow up with. But recently, I’ve been beginning to wonder if we’re having a girl based on a few clues:
Clue #1. Before we were even pregnant with Caleb, we had a boy name picked out. Girl names were all but impossible to choose from and up until that ultrasound, we still had not decided on one. This time, we have already decided on a girl name but can’t agree on a boy’s name at all.
Clue #2. Today I asked Caleb if the baby in Mommy’s belly was a little sister or little brother. He repeatedly told me it was a little sister AND said it was a girl.
Clue #3. I’ll just claim this one as a maternal gut instinct. Some part of me thinks it’s a girl, but I’m also a little back and forth on it. Probably because I’m more partial to boys and am a little intimidated at the thought of having to raise a girl in this society.
Only time will tell. I’m assuming we’ll have that all-revealing ultrasound sometime in March. Here is the sonogram picture from yesterday. Baby is in the middle of the black circle. Head is on the lower right and the heart is the bottom middle bulge:
We’re off to the hospital. Pray that everything goes smoothly and everyone is happy and healthy. Andy’s bringing the laptop in hopes of some wireless connection. We’ll update when we get the chance.
It’s official. The date is set. This Saturday at 6am I’m going to be induced! A little after 38 weeks (which is today)
This morning we first had our biophysical profile ultrasound at the perinatologist that would be followed by a visit to the OB. When we went into the ultrasound room, the first thing the tech asked us was when we were planning on having our induction. I thought this was a pretty strange question being that we never discussed this with them. When I asked her why she brought that up she said that, for babies with arrhythmia’s, it’s standard to induce around 38 weeks and they should never go past their due date. This was good to hear considering our leaning towards induction.
After the ultrasound we headed over to the OB. I was a little disappointed with this appointment from the start. For one, he didn’t even remember our induction conversation on Friday so I had to rehash the whole thing with him. Then, when we told him what the ultrasound tech told us, he blew it off as bologna and said that it wasn’t always the case. In this situation, both Andy and I have sided with the perinatologist because this is what they specialize in and are primarily concerned with the health of our son. Regardless, he was a fan of inducing and I just got the call that we’re scheduled for Saturday at 6am.
So, with all that said, come Saturday, we should be parents! Sorry for all of you who voted on different days, If you want, I can nullify the points for the dates and we can base the scores strictly on weight and length so everyone still has a chance. I know some of you more competitive people out there would appreciate that.
We had another one of Caleb’s biophysical profiles this morning. Everything was perfect. And I mean everything. The tech couldn’t find any arrhythmia in his heart. She said that if they couldn’t find anything next time, we wouldn’t have to come in as often. Both Andy and I have noticed that with each time we’ve observed his heart, the arrhythmia has been less noticeable or less frequent. We have a cardiologist follow-up tomorrow morning so maybe they’ll confirm that his arrhythmia has resolved itself. That’s my prayer anyways. I’ll update tomorrow on what they say.
Other than that, we got another set of cute pictures today. The one on the right being one of them. I can’t resist putting them up here to show everyone. Although I think Andy and I are both in agreement that we’re tired of ultrasound pictures and are more than ready to see this little guy in person.
As far as myself, I’ve had a giant surge in energy. It doesn’t quite make sense since I’m waking up every hour because either I have to pee, drink something, change positions or the baby decides it’s party time. Also, since he’s dropped, I’m feeling a whole new set of aches and pains. I’m getting pretty tempted to ask my doctor about induction when we see him on Friday just to see where he stands. We’ll see if I have the guts to ask him. I’ve been wanting to but I chicken out because I feel like a horrible parent wanting to bring my child in this world when its convenient for me.
Also remember to put a guess in on our baby pool. Andy is apparently feeling generous and is going to give a prize to the winner. So it’s well worth putting in a vote. Oh, and If it were up to me, anyone who predicts him coming late (ahem Eric) or being a rediculusly large baby (ahem Robert) would have to give me a prize.
Okay everyone, put on your lucky socks. We’ve set up our official baby pool. On here, you can guess Caleb’s weight, length and date & time of delivery. I expect to see lots of early dates because I don’t know if I want to wait the entire 40 weeks.
We had another biophysical profile done (the ultrasound that checks his overall health). I’ve learned that during these ultrasounds, they check for practice breathing, movement, muscle tone, amniotic fluid levels and heart rate. Each category can get up to a score of 2 to total a maximum score of 10. Since his heart rate is a little off due to the arrhythmia, I think the tech doesn’t count that one in. He scored an 8 out of 8 today after waiting a little while for his practice breathing. Here’s a 3D picture taken last Friday. It’s a picture of a picture so it’s sort of odd-looking. You can see his profile (eyes, nose, chubby cheek, lips and chin) and his fist right over his eyes.
Right after that, we ran over to the OB’s office for my first check-up in three weeks, He was out of the office last tuesday so he’s missed all the latest drama. He didn’t seem too concerned with Caleb’s heart issue either. I got my first cervical check today and based on what he could feel, he said the baby’s head is “right there” meaning his head is engaged in my pelvis and ready to go. I’m also 1 centimeter dilated.
Looks like we’re in the home stretch. Let’s just hope he stays put for at least a week and a half so I can finish up my classes. I’m really feeling the last minute rush with all my projects, papers and presentations along with these constant contractions reminding me all too often of this impending transition into parenthood. I think once school is finished and I finally pack my hospital bag, I’ll be as ready as I can be.
I’m really beginning to feel why women complain so much at the end. It literally takes me twice as long to walk anywhere. Andy often forgets this fact when we’re walking somewhere together. He often sets off at his usual long-legged pace. Eventually he notices I’m not beside him anymore and looks around to see where I went. Finally he spots me waddling 50 feet or so behind him and has to come back to get me. This is only getting worse as the belly and waddling increase. I need a scooter.
We had both the follow-up ultrasound and the fetal echocardiogram today.
The first was the follow-up. Everything was basically the same - the arrhythmia was still there, amniotic fluids looked good and we even got to see him practice breathing. What’s better is that he’s now officially head-down and in the correct position for a natural birth.
Our second appointment was a visit to the Heart Center at St. Joe’s Hospital to get a fetal echo and visit with a pediatric cardiologist. It was a long appointment…we were there for almost 3 hours, but it was also a good appointment because the doctor was an expert in all this craziness.
The final conclusion from him was that Caleb has a “benign heart irregularity” or arrhythmia. I wish I could remember the specifics, but it had to do with electricity going through the wrong ventricle or something. Essentially his verdict was that Bri does not need medicine, that these are fairly common and only mentioned that about 10% of babies with this condition end up with a “high heart rate” so they will be following up with us in 2 weeks. We also now have twice-a-week appointments with the standard perinatologist, to verify blood flow, fluid levels and overall health. Phew. Long day full of long words and long drives.
If you’d like to know how you can specifically pray for us, please pray that we may not be anxious but have peace in God’s plan for our little guy. Pray that God will be glorified within any of these physical hardships and that we may have opportunities to testify of his glorious grace, no matter the outcome of all of this.
We love our little guy so much and know that God has a plan for him that is beyond our hazy vision. Thanks to all of you who have been praying and thinking about us.
We just got back from the growth scan that was supposed to be only about 20 minutes. We ended up staying there for 2 hours.
The original reasons we went were to check the baby’s position and to check to see if he was on track with his growth. Here’s how it went:
1) Bad news: He’s breech…again. I knew it too. He turned sometime Tuesday night because when I woke up he feet were so low and his head was right under my ribs again - his favorite spot.
2) Good news: His growth is absolutely perfect. Well, I should be honest, he’s one day ahead. But right smack in the 50th percentile. The tech estimated him to weigh about 5 1/2 pounds. You just can’t get better than that.
3) Bad news: The following is why we were there so long. Part of the growth scan is to check the heart rate and structure of the heart. As the tech was looking at it, it would be resting in the 140’s, skip a beat, and then speed up to the 180’s. At first she didn’t catch it but when she went back, she noticed it. At that time, another, more experienced tech came in and noticed it right away. The first thing she asked me is if I had any caffeine today (which I hadn’t). The four of us sat there watching his heart continue this pattern for what seemed like forever. It was strange how consistant it was; every minute or so it repeated the same pattern. After a bunch of questions, they still didn’t know what was going on with his heart.
After the ultrasound, they sent the data to the Perinatologist on duty for a consult. When he came in, he wanted to see it for himself. I told him about my personal and family history of heart issues (undiagnosed arrhythmia, tachycardia, and bradycardia for me, treated arrhythmia for my mom and WPW syndrome for my oldest brother). He seemed to think that Caleb seemed to inherit some kind of genetic pattern that runs in my family. He didn’t seemed too worried because of how healthy Caleb appears and that he didn’t see any structural defects in his heart.
In a week, we’re going back to the ultrasound place for a follow-up and we’re getting scheduled for an echocardiogram in the near future. The funny thing about this is if Caleb has the same thing I have, I could finally get a diagnosis for this heart issue I’ve had forever. I really hope it’s what the perinatologist thinks he has because all of the heart issues in my family are non-life threatening or can be fixed by minor surgery/medication. We’ll keep everyone updated on the results of the follow-up and echo. Until then, please be praying for Caleb’s heart and that it’s not a serious issue.
4) Good news: To end the ultrasound on a good note, the tech turned on the 4D machine for us and gave us some pictures. They aren’t Peek-of-You quality but they’re cute regardless. Here are some of the images from the ultrasound:
The main event this week is our growth scan ultrasound tomorrow. It will be so cool to see how much bigger he is compared to 28 weeks. I remember seeing a baby born at 34 weeks on A Baby Story and thinking to myself, “Gosh, that sure looks like a real, full term baby.” Throughout this pregnancy, I’ve found myself trying to visualize what this baby looks like, even when he was just a little shrimp-looking thing. Now all I have to do is imagine a fully formed baby, all pink and plump.
Andy and I went on our Labor and Delivery tour on Sunday. It was all a little overwhelming to see exactly how the hospital process will go once that times comes. I have to say, the birthing rooms are very nice as are the recovery rooms. We both feel much better knowing where to go and what to expect from it all now.
We both have been growing increasingly excited for the big day when he’s finally here. If you think about it, 37 weeks is considered full term. That means there’s really only 3 more weeks of “cooking” until we could possibly have a real live baby in this house.
I have to admit I’ve given in to a bit of that crunchy granola parenting idea by playing music for Caleb. My rationale is that when he’s here, I am planning on playing some soft music before his nap as a bedtime routine. So why not start him off early? My sister-in-law swore that with her third child, the only thing that would calm her down in the car was Evanescence. She claimed this was because she listened to it so much while pregnant that acted as a soothing agent for my niece. So here I sit, typing this blog with ear buds tucked in my pants.
I have to take a moment to brag. A few days ago the rocking chair we ordered came in, not nicely assembled, but in lots of pieces. Since this was around noon, I just coulnd’t let it sit there until Andy came home, hoping he’d get around to it. No, I resolved to take on this beast of a project 8 months pregnant and all. About two hours later, I completely assembled the chair and ottoman all on my own. Now I just have to get Andy to hang some stuff up and the nursery will FINALLY be complete. Once it’s done, I’ll post lots of pictures for everyone. Leave lots of comments for Andy to “motivate him” (wink).
We just got back from our regular doctor’s appointment and everything went relatively well. The doc thinks that Caleb is now head-down (yay!). Hopefully he’ll get cozy enough to stay there until he’s ready to come out. I also got scheduled for another ultrasound to measure his growth. I was hoping to get one of those because of my concerns of measuring behind for the last couple of months. Today I was measuring 30 weeks even for him being in the correct position. The doc didn’t seem too concerned since that’s not a big gap but he wanted to get an ultrasound to confirm his head-down position and to see if he’s growing fine. I’m pretty confindent everything is okay because he’s plenty active and his heartbeat was great. I just have to keep myself away from researching too much or I’ll make myself paranoid. The ultrasound is next Wednesday so I’ll make sure to have an update for everyone then.
Other than that, things have been pretty uneventful. We ordered the final piece to the nursery (a rocker/glider chair). When that comes in, we’ll be able to finish the nursery for good. Caleb has recently found my ribs and especially likes kicking them early in the morning usually about a half hour before my alarm clock is supposed to go off.
Our calendar seems to be getting increasingly more full. I have my “big ole” teacher test this weekend. I have to pass it in order to get certified. It will be all day Saturday. Then on Sunday, we’re doing the Labor & Delivery orientation/walkthrough thing. I feel like once that’s finished, we can breathe a sigh of relief and really feel prepared.
I’ve been doing little things here and there to help myself feel like I’m doing something to get ready for D-day. I’ve made a list of things we absolutely need before the baby’s here and I’ve semi-packed Caleb’s hospital bag. I’ve also bought some not-as-fun-to-shop-for baby stuff like diaper rash cream and bottle sanitizing bags; you know, the itty gritty stuff people don’t usually think about in prepping for the big day. The way my brain has been failing me, I’m going to need well over a month to make sure we have everything ready.
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