More....

It's a Girl!!!

05/19/2008 - Had my first regular ultrasound today and as I have felt since 6 weeks... it was confirmed that we're having a girl!! Yeah! Emmalee Sylvia Arabella. She is growing fast. Her measurements are now showing at 17wks 6days even though I am only 16wks 3days. Either she is going to be big or she'll slow down a bit later on and kind of even out. The due date according to the ultrasound is October 22nd. Now I can go buy a girly thing instead of neurtral.

08/06/08 - Well I'm already approaching the end of week 28 and time seems to be flying by at this point. I've had the usual issues (ligament aching, constipation, restless interrupted sleep, heartburn, emotional ups & downs & cravings) but all in all I'm doing well. I'm using my elliptical nearly 7 days a week each week as well as water therapy at least 2 times a week. It's been fairly hot but I haven't had too much swelling etc. I did take a protein test stick home from the last OB appt to test at home for the bad signs of pre-eclampsia. It did come out with a very slight green color for the protein result (which is the lowest positive result I believe) so I went and bought a blood pressure cuff so I can monitor that from home. It seems to be great! 103/75 roughly. Maybe the test was wrong or the result got tainted from the stick being in my purse... I'm not sure but we'll be doing another at my next appt 08/11/08. I also am VERY excited because I'll be having another big ultrasound that day and am really hoping to get an awesome look at the baby's face and see how large her measurements are. I think she's growing a lot. She's been very active and I love every precious kick, roll, twist and squirm!! Destinee & Robert are getting excited for their baby sister to come along. We still have another 12 weeks to finish out and I just hope time goes just as fast from now til the end as it has so far but that the 3 months of maternity leave drags on and we get to relish every moment to the fullest extent!! I hate mere thought of putting her in daycare so early but I must take care of the business of a single parent. I will just enjoy our time we do all have together even more.

08/15/08 - So Monday I had another ultrasound (see pics) and my glucose test. I had eaten a bagel w/cream cheese for breakfast but didn't realize it could mess with my test results and of course it did so on Wednesday I had to return for the more extensive 3 hour test. Praise the Lord the results came back normal. At the ultrasound we did see that at 28 weeks pregnant she is measure in the 95% at about 30 - 31 weeks. Her Daddy was 12lbs at birth and is 6'6" so I suspected she may be a bigger baby and that does confirm that things are leaning that way. She was asleep when we started and had her chin to her chest and all curled up but we messed with her and I talked to her and she finally woke up. It can be seen on the ultrasound that she wakes up, lifts up her head and stretches up her arm above her head.

My cousing Amber gave birth 2 days ago to her 3rd and now I'm so anxious for time to pass and to have Emmalee out here with us. She still has lots of room because my uterus is measuring 36 cm. She was still breech on Monday so I've started doing the exercises the midwife recommends each night to encourage her to turn. If she is still breech in a few weeks we'll try the acupuncture technique to turn her and then last resort will be a manual turn to prevent the need for a C-Section. I'm so happy and thankful that I do not have toxemia or diabetes. I'm still exercising every day and drinking lots of water. I go through ups and downs as far as energy goes, especially when a growth spurt seems to be taking place. I will be going to the midwife every 2 weeks now for the next 2 or 3 visits and then weekly after that. My cousin got a nurse at the hospital that was very overbaring and controlling (this is my cousins 3rd child) so I'm all the more hopeful that all goes well and I will be able to deliver at the birthing center.