Porter Will Be Here Soon!!!

Just one week until my due date! I went to the doctor yesterday and he doesn't think that I will go early, but he also doesn't want me to go past my due date because of the narrowness of my frame. In his technical words, he doesn't want me to have a "big ole' honkin baby." We are scheduled to be induced next Thursday, July 9th. I'm very anxious, so I would be very happy if I go into labor before then, but it is kind of nice to have a few last moments of quiet!

Here's one last belly picture, taken today at 39 weeks. It's funny, I don't think my belly has grown a lot in the past few weeks, but it has gotten a lot tighter.

Great News!

I can't believe I've let so much time pass since my last update! I've had lots of good news since my last post and failed to share it with everyone. First of all, we found out that the cysts on the baby's brain were never there to begin with. A normal part of the brain was misdiagnosed by the sonographer as being choroid plexus cysts. We were so relieved! Also, we just found out today that the baby finally flipped and is positioned perfectly for birth! We were starting to worry that the doctor would have to manually flip him.

Today I am 37 weeks and 4 days, meaning that I just have a little over 2 weeks until my due date! A combination of excitement to meet out baby and becoming more and more uncomfortable is making me ready to give birth beyond belief! I suppose it could happen any day now at this point, but I have a feeling that I will make it all the way to my due date of July 9th. My doctor will allow elective induction, so I'm thinking that I will decide to induce labor on or around my due date if I haven't gone into labor by then.

We had an ultrasound today to see the position of the baby, so we got a new picture. Also, the sonographer estimated that baby Porter weighs around 6 lbs, 6 oz. That means that he will be a little over 7 lbs when born. I'm very excited that he will be well within the range of normal, but on the small side! Here's today's picture... doesn't he look a little angry? I think he's ready to get out of there!

The Countdown Begins

I have officially started counting down the number of weeks left until my due date as opposed to counting the number of weeks that have passed. I only have 7 weeks and 2 days left! I can't wait to meet little Porter West!

We had another Doctor's appointment this week. We got good news and not so good news. We learned that the echogenic bowel has disappeared (yea!!), but that a cyst has now appeared on his brain (boo!!). I am extremely relaxed about the latest abnormality as the last two disappeared within a few weeks. I hadn't created the blog yet when the first abnormality occurred so many of you may not know about it. At 8 weeks the Dr. discovered a cyst on the umbilical cord. It was gone by 10 weeks. I have another sonogram next Thursday to check it out again.

We were very busy this past weekend. My very good friend from high school, Brooke, was in town wedding dress shopping, so I went along to look at some of the dresses with her. She found a gorgeous dress and bridesmaid dresses (lucky for me!) My church friends threw us a baby shower on Sunday. They decorated so cute with monkeys! I was so blessed to have so many friends come bearing gifts and new mommy advice. Here's a few pictures from the shower. Also, we went to the pool this weekend, so my latest belly picture features swimwear!

Pictures!

We had our 28 week check-up today. Other than the "echogenic bowel," everything is looking great! The little problem is still there, but I'm still staying quite positive that it is not an indication of anything serious. The good thing is that I get to keep having sonograms. We got some incredible pictures today!

In addition to increased doctors visits, we are starting to get very busy with other things. We are planning on taking parenting classes at our church on Sundays and birthing classes at the hospital on Mondays. Add to that the family reunion, three showers, friend's wedding and garage sale we have planned. I'm so anxious to hurry up and have this baby, but I don't think I need to be worried about time passing slowly or being bored in the meantime!

Here are the pictures we got today. Also, I posted a new belly picture. Notice, the first picture of the baby... those aren't his hands in front of his forehead, it's his feet! So precious...

Yesterday's Check-up

I went to the doctor again yesterday for another check-up. I had to have another sonogram to measure the baby because I'm measuring small. We got good news that the baby is in the 43rd percentile, so a tiny bit smaller than average, but well within the range of normal! He weighs 1 lb, 12 oz. Also found out today that I do not have gestational diabetes. The Dr. was a little concerned that I might because I had a high amount of glucose in my blood last visit.

We got another profile picture of the baby, but were disappointed that we weren't able to get a 3D image. The baby had his hands in front of his face the whole time! They did find something that could possibly indicate an abnormality, so I'm scheduled to have another sonogram in 3 weeks. Maybe we'll get our picture then! I'm not freaked out at all about the possible abnormality. The doctor seemed to be very confident that it was probably nothing, so I'm not going to worry myself to death over the next three weeks.

Here's our latest picture:

Just 16 Weeks To Go!

It has been a while since I last posted, mostly because very little has changed in the past few weeks... except for my belly, that is! I've posted an updated picture below. Otherwise, I'm at the best stage of pregnancy. I'm feeling great other than a few lower back aches and pains. I'll take that over nauseous and sleepy any day! My last doctor's check-up was a couple of weeks ago. He was concerned that I'm measuring small and not gaining enough weight, so I have to go in for another sonogram on March 31. At first I was concerned, but I started really packing it on right after that doctor's visit. The good news is that I will get to see another picture of the baby!

We have been "hard at work" picking things for the nursery and starting registries. I use quotes, because it's actually been a lot of fun. Seeing all of the adorable baby things make me really anxious for the big day, though. We have picked bedding that is a jungle animal theme. The colors are mostly green and brown. I fell in love with it because of the cute monkeys!

Grow Belly, Grow!

I've had several requests for belly shots. Unfortunately, even though I am 19 weeks today, I'm not showing very much. I guess it's not such a bad thing, but it's hard to find clothes that fit. I'm busting out of my normal clothes, but too small for maternity. When I first got pregnant and Googled, "when will I start showing," I read that in some rare instances, a woman will not start showing until 20 weeks. This is normally because the woman is either obese or has six pack abs. Well, I'm certainly neither, so I never imagined I'd be one of those women. The good news is that I started feeling the baby move this week! I was starting to wonder if he was still in there!