Doctor's Appointments

Today we had a very busy day. We had an 8:45 am appointment with Dr. Chandler. Ethan is now up to 7 lbs. 5 oz. One more ounce and he'll be back to his birth weight. Ethan was measuring 20 inches long today. Not bad considering he was 21 inches with his conehead at the hospital. He also got his second heel stick today. No more pediatrician appointments until April! Yay!!!

Then we ran by Target to pick up a few items before heading to my doctor's appointment. Everyone at the doctor's office thought Ethan was absolutely adorable with his crocheted bear hat and pretty blue blanket that his aunt Mary made him. My incision is healing nicely and I got a prescription for my chest congestion. I can't wait to feel normal again! Next appointment for me is in 4 weeks.

After our doctor's appointments we went to lunch at Rico's. Ethan was very well behaved and enjoyed a bottle while enjoyed our mexican food.

Final Doctor's Visit!!!

I just got home from my final visit with Dr. Richter. We are all set for my induction on Monday February 8th. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am to get the party started. She said she'd be by around 8ish to break my water, and hopefully he'd make his arrival by 5 pm. I am so excited! We can't wait to meet Ethan!

My blood pressure was up to 140/90 but she's not worried about it between now and next Monday because I'm not spilling protein in my urine or anything. NST results were fine. Had quite a few lengthy contractions while hooked up to the monitor though. My cervix was at 2 cm, 70% effaced, and he was "very low". She said she was able to tap him on his head.

Dr. Richter seems to think Ethan will weigh 7 to 7 1/4 lbs and that we'll be able to go home on Wednesday Feb. 10th after his circumcision.

Our bags are packed, fridge & pantry stocked, & all his gear is ready to go. All we need is our baby. Hoping this week speeds by!

P.S. Final pregnancy weight gain 12 lbs!! Woot!

35 Week Doctor's Appointment

Today was my 35 week appointment. NST & blood pressure both looked good. Had my Group B strep test and will get the results next week. I am now 1.5 to 2 cm dilated which she said is great news.

Dr. Richter said one of three things could happen:
1. I go in to labor on my own some time within the next 3 weeks
2. I go to my next doctor's visit and my blood pressure spikes so they admit me
-or-
3. She induces me on Monday February 8th

Either way Ethan will be here within the next 21 days!!! We are so anxious to meet the little guy, but we are hopefully he will hang in there at least until February gets here.

Drew got the carseat installed today and hopes to get it inspected next week. Then this Thursday we meet with the pediatrician. My last ultrasound for sizing the bay is Friday afternoon. It looks like this week may be a little bit more laid back, so hopefully we can relax a bit.

The Latest News

Yesterday I had my 33 week appointment. According to last week's ultrasound the baby weighed 4 lbs. 4 oz. (They grow at roughly half a pound a week at this stage.) Ethan is measuring in the 70th percentile, and he's grown into his head so it's no longer considered big. Hallelujah!!! It did appear that he is going to have big feet like his daddy though.

My NST yesterday went very well. He was squirming all around the entire time. My blood pressure was still decent. Dr. Richter says if I start to dilate in the next few weeks she plans to induce me on February 8th, when I'm 38 weeks, in order to lessen the chance of my developing pre-eclampsia. (She does this with all her patients that have chronic hypertension, so it's not because of a problem but rather to lessen the chance of a problem occurring.) If the baby is still healthy and my blood pressure is okay but my cervix is not ready then she'll let me go a little longer. I'm praying for the 8th though because I can't wait to meet my little one! When I told Drew the news I think it finally hit him that he's going to have a baby here in the very near future.

In other news, we have our newborn care class tonight and our last childbirth class on Monday. They've been rather informative, so we're happy we chose to attend. With Ethan's arrival coming a little earlier than expected we've really got to get in gear. There is still so much to do!

To Do List:

Week 33

• Pack the hospital bags
• Fill out all leave paperwork
• Wash baby clothes/bedding
• Order breast pump

Week 34

• My doctor's appointment Monday 1/11
• Last childbirth class Monday 1/11
• Baby shower with church friends Tuesday 1/12
• Baby shower with friends and family Saturday 1/16

Week 35

• My doctor's appointment Monday 1/18
• Meet with babysitter Monday 1/18
• Meet with pediatrician Thursday 1/21
• Breastfeeding class Saturday 1/23

Week 36

• My doctor's appointment Monday 1/25
• Baby shower at work Tuesday 1/26
• Last ultrasound

Week 37

• My doctor's appointment Monday 2/1
• Make sure everything is in order for my substitute at work
• Get the house spotlessly clean (yeah right!)

Week 38

• Induction Monday 2/8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! Only 32 days left! I need to stop blogging and get to work. :)

31 week Doctor's Visit

This morning I had my 31 week doctor's appointment. I didn't get to see her 2 weeks ago because she was delivering 3 babies that afternoon so I only saw my nurse. This week we finally got to go over the results from my last ultrasound which was Thanksgiving week lol. Back then he was 2.5 lbs and in the 57th percentile. She said everything looked great except he had a "big head". Oh joy! Perhaps I should start re-thinking how long I intend to hold off on the epidural. She said, "I knew you would be excited to hear that." Cruel doctors lol.

The results from my gestational diabetes test & anemia test were great, and I was measuring exactly 31 weeks according to fundal height.

Blood pressure's looking good too but she wants to go ahead and start my weekly appointments with NSTs (non-stress tests) next week. She says it's probably overkill since my meds are keeping everything in check but she'd rather be 100% certain that little Ethan is healthy than take a chance.

I can't believe I'm now on weekly appointments! It is becoming so real. Next week I have another ultrasound to check on his latest progress. I'm excited to see how much he's grown in the last month.

26 week Doctor's Visit

Today was the dreaded gestational diabetes test. Luckily I got the Fruit Punch drink, so it wasn't too horrible, just super sugary. I should know something by Thursday. Let's pray that I don't have diabetes.

My blood pressure is looking perfect, so that's a big plus. Even still she wants me to have once a month ultrasounds from here on out to make sure the baby is growing at the right rate, so I have another ultrasound scheduled for this Thursday at 3. I can't complain though because I love seeing my little boy! I will be seeing him in 3D the day before Thanksgiving too!

After my appointment, I went over to the hospital and finished all my registration paperwork. I got tons of stuff to read over and my bag packing list. Eeeeek!!! I can't believe I'm almost in my last trimester. 14 more weeks til my due date.

Doctor's Visit

Today I had my 22 week appointment. Dr. Richter said everything on the ultrasound from last week looked good, and Ethan is measuring just as he should. I go back in 4 weeks for my glucose screen. Eww! I'm so not looking forward to drinking that gunk. Then after that I start my every 2 week appointments. I can't believe I'm almost to that point already. I guess time flies when you're having fun.

Doctor's Appointment

Today I had another visit with Dr. Richter. Everything is going perfectly so far. We were even able to pick up the baby's heart rate with the doppler. She said she could even hear him wiggling around.

Our 1st Doctor's Visit

Today we went to see Dr. Richter-Werning for my first ob appointment. We got to catch a glimpse of our teeny tiny baby via ultrasound. The baby is the size of a Tic Tac, only 1.72 cm, so that's what we're calling it for now. I'm measuring right at 8 weeks 1 day. She also let us hear the heartbeat which was at 168 bpm. Quite fast for such a tiny little heart.