Here's the latest on the belly front, taken on Christmas Day at 31 weeks + a few days:
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas and The Bump
We had a lovely, quiet Christmas at home, less by choice than by necessity, and got several new things for Baby Boy and for our impending parenthood, including a spiffy, high-tech camera! He'll be a well-photographed kid, that's for sure... :) We were sad not to spend the holiday with the mid-western branches of our families as we'd planned, but it's all for a good cause. Just two and a half more weeks to milestone one (34 weeks - sucking reflex), four and a half to milestone two (36 weeks - eating independently), and five and half more weeks to full term! Bake, Baby, bake...
Here's the latest on the belly front, taken on Christmas Day at 31 weeks + a few days:
Here's the latest on the belly front, taken on Christmas Day at 31 weeks + a few days:
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Update...sort of.
We saw the doctor today, but there's not much of an update. She just confirmed what we knew and reminded me sternly what the terms of my bed rest are, not that I'm violating any of them - just reiterating how important it is to stick with it. So far so good! Looks like she plans to keep me on rest until 37 weeks... We'll just keep doing what we're doing and checking off the weeks as they go by. We'll be at 31 tomorrow!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Bridges Family Bed Rest
May I just say, I have a singularly fantastic husband. Brant's done all the daily family maintenance - the cooking, the laundry and the dog wrangling, among other things, and he's taking so many trips up and down the stairs taking care of my every need that he's liable to wear out the carpet. In short, he's a magnificent caretaker, plus great company, spending as much time hanging out with me as possible. So far, the Bridges Family Bed Rest has consisted of movies, TV, a little reading, and some dog cuddles. It looks something like this:
This first week has been way more tolerable than I thought it would be, so here's hoping the next few weeks fly by and that Little Man doesn't make too early an appearance! We see the doctor tomorrow, so updates are imminent, though it sounds like this state of bed rest will be about par for a while...
This first week has been way more tolerable than I thought it would be, so here's hoping the next few weeks fly by and that Little Man doesn't make too early an appearance! We see the doctor tomorrow, so updates are imminent, though it sounds like this state of bed rest will be about par for a while...
Monday, December 12, 2011
Bed Resting at Home
We did get to come home on Saturday night, thank goodness, and I'm on strict bed rest as we thought. This means that I'm to stay laying down on my left or right side at all times, only getting up to use the restroom and to take an occasional shower, and I have to eat in a reclined position also, as sitting up causes contractions almost every time. Brant has been completely awesome getting everything all set up for me to be as comfortable as possible in the loft TV area, stocking my immediate reach with all manner of entertainments and snacks. What would I do without him?! He even brought me up a cooler of snacks and lunch before he left for work today. That guy's a real gem...
Brant's brought the dogs upstairs to visit me some, and they both seem to be attune to the new vibe in the house. They've taken turns laying with me and snuggling my belly, which is just so crazy cute...as if they're bonding with their little buddy already and being gentle with me in my fragile state. Love these fur balls.
[Sam resting his head on my belly]
[Rosie curled up around my belly]
Brant's brought the dogs upstairs to visit me some, and they both seem to be attune to the new vibe in the house. They've taken turns laying with me and snuggling my belly, which is just so crazy cute...as if they're bonding with their little buddy already and being gentle with me in my fragile state. Love these fur balls.
[Sam resting his head on my belly]
[Rosie curled up around my belly]
Saturday, December 10, 2011
A sharp curve in the road...
Friday morning brought on some interesting developments with Little Man's progress... I woke up with some cramping, not feeling well, and opted to stay home from work to rest and call my doctor. It was a very good thing I did! Turns out my doc needed to get ahold of me too about some concerns from the Wednesday ultrasound. She wanted me to come in right away to be re-checked, so Brant came home from work and took me in - just in case things got serious. They did, sort of...
The bottom line is that I'm having some complications that have led to early contractions and a chance of preterm labor. We were sent to the hospital where we stayed overnight last night (Friday, 12/9) to be monitored and given steroids for strengthening Baby Boy's lungs & brain since he's likely to come early. The Celestrone steroids I was given should reduce his risk for premie complications by 40% if given in time! As I write this, we're still at the hospital to receive the second steroid shot. Afterwards, if things are still looking stable, I'll be able to go home this evening! Little Man doesn't seem to mind what's going on - still moving around like crazy with a strong and steady heartbeat.
For now, we're just monitoring things and doing all we can to keep labor at bay. The contractions I've been having aren't progressive, which is good, but they will likely continue. Thus, once home, I'm on bed rest until at least 34 weeks when this bun is baked a little more.
Think happy thoughts! The positive JuJu is welcome.
Hospital shot:
The bottom line is that I'm having some complications that have led to early contractions and a chance of preterm labor. We were sent to the hospital where we stayed overnight last night (Friday, 12/9) to be monitored and given steroids for strengthening Baby Boy's lungs & brain since he's likely to come early. The Celestrone steroids I was given should reduce his risk for premie complications by 40% if given in time! As I write this, we're still at the hospital to receive the second steroid shot. Afterwards, if things are still looking stable, I'll be able to go home this evening! Little Man doesn't seem to mind what's going on - still moving around like crazy with a strong and steady heartbeat.
For now, we're just monitoring things and doing all we can to keep labor at bay. The contractions I've been having aren't progressive, which is good, but they will likely continue. Thus, once home, I'm on bed rest until at least 34 weeks when this bun is baked a little more.
Think happy thoughts! The positive JuJu is welcome.
Hospital shot:
Thursday, December 8, 2011
29 Week Sonogram
We had a second sonogram yesterday at exactly 29 weeks! It was really great to get to see him again.
The updates:
-He turned, so he's now head-down! This means no breech c-section. Woohoo! This also means his cute little feet are digging into my ribs... small sacrifice.
-His estimated weight is 3 lbs, 4 oz., which the sonogram tech said means he'll be 7.5 lbs minimum if he goes to full-term. She said he also has a big belly and a good amount of fluid around him which tends to mean a bigger baby... Yikes!
-He's measuring exactly to his due date! 2/22 it remains.
-He still has a little fluid in his kidneys, but the tech said it's a small, almost negligible amount the likes of which will filter itself out by the time he's born or in the first days after birth.
Without further delay, his latest round of photos and the sonogram video!
The updates:
-He turned, so he's now head-down! This means no breech c-section. Woohoo! This also means his cute little feet are digging into my ribs... small sacrifice.
-His estimated weight is 3 lbs, 4 oz., which the sonogram tech said means he'll be 7.5 lbs minimum if he goes to full-term. She said he also has a big belly and a good amount of fluid around him which tends to mean a bigger baby... Yikes!
-He's measuring exactly to his due date! 2/22 it remains.
-He still has a little fluid in his kidneys, but the tech said it's a small, almost negligible amount the likes of which will filter itself out by the time he's born or in the first days after birth.
Without further delay, his latest round of photos and the sonogram video!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
And we've reached the third trimester!
Yesterday marked day one of our third and final trimester! We have just twelve weeks until our little guy arrives, give or take, which means it's time to buckle down and get ready for his arrival. I've been feeling a little more tired in the last few days, but I'll get my rear in gear this weekend! Probably...
According to the email newsletters I get on a daily basis, Little Man is roughly 16 inches long and weighs about 2-3 lbs. He'll get just a little longer and triple his weight! Let's hope for my sake he's on the smaller side of that weight range. We have another ultrasound scheduled for this Wednesday, so we'll get a closer read on his size and hopefully get some updated pictures of him! I'm looking very forward to that.
Baby Boy has been moving around like crazy lately! Just the other night we were sitting on the sofa watching TV, and my belly was jumping and shaking around so much that we paused the show we were viewing to watch his moves for a few minutes. It was the coolest, strangest thing! I can feel now, too, when he stretches his legs out and pushes a foot into my ribs. It's pretty cool to know he's moving and flexing his muscles in there.
Well, we stopped by the ocean on our way home from dropping Grammy Jyl and Grandpa Dave off at the airport from their Thanksgiving visit. We were on the coast just in time to watch the sunrise on Sunday morning, and Brant took the opportunity to take a few pictures of the belly with the beach. It's a little dark, but you can see the outline. Here we are at 27 weeks and growing:
According to the email newsletters I get on a daily basis, Little Man is roughly 16 inches long and weighs about 2-3 lbs. He'll get just a little longer and triple his weight! Let's hope for my sake he's on the smaller side of that weight range. We have another ultrasound scheduled for this Wednesday, so we'll get a closer read on his size and hopefully get some updated pictures of him! I'm looking very forward to that.
Baby Boy has been moving around like crazy lately! Just the other night we were sitting on the sofa watching TV, and my belly was jumping and shaking around so much that we paused the show we were viewing to watch his moves for a few minutes. It was the coolest, strangest thing! I can feel now, too, when he stretches his legs out and pushes a foot into my ribs. It's pretty cool to know he's moving and flexing his muscles in there.
Well, we stopped by the ocean on our way home from dropping Grammy Jyl and Grandpa Dave off at the airport from their Thanksgiving visit. We were on the coast just in time to watch the sunrise on Sunday morning, and Brant took the opportunity to take a few pictures of the belly with the beach. It's a little dark, but you can see the outline. Here we are at 27 weeks and growing:
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