February 21st appointment

So I have been going ever two weeks since about 26 weeks because Cole has been measuring so big. So I was not surprised when Dr. Macey measured me and then walked over to my chart and said "have we already done a weight measurement ultra sound of you?" I said yes, I had one at 28 weeks. He said, oh yeah, I see...and he was measuring big then too, I think we need to schedule another ultra sound. I laughed and asked what did I measured? he said "I don't want to tell you" and I said come on, I am sure it will not surprise me since he has been big the whole time; then he said almost 36 weeks. Now for some that may be shocking, but my big guy has been measuring big since they started measuring me at 23 weeks.
Everything was good with me (weight, sugar level, blood presure, etc...). Cole's heart rate was 135, which is the lowest it has ever been. Dr. Macey said it was good. I said why is it so low? he said it is not low, but it is lower than it has been because this is the biggest he has ever been. The heart rate goes down the bigger the baby gets. So I go back in two weeks, March 8th, for my next appointment and an ultra sound to see about how big he is now.
He is kicking like crazy as I type, he must know I am talking/typing about him! :)
I am getting brave...here is a picture of the bare belly!!!!

The front view...

...and from the side

9 weeks and 3 days....left!!!

Can you believe it? That sounds so crazy. Well, that is until his due date, I guess he could come sooner! I am now going to the doctor every two weeks. I had an appointment this afternoon. Basically you come in for them to check your weight, blood pressure, urine (sugar level), listen to baby's heart rate, measure you, check for swelling and ask how you are feeling. We checked out good :) Cole's heart rate was 152, I measured 33 weeks and everything else was in the normal/good range. The only issue I have been having is heart burn, which I have had everyday for the last two weeks. Ugh! I have had heart burn and acid reflux a few times during my pregnancy, actually heart burn was one of my first symptoms, but didn't realize what it was until Casey told me. This is very common and typical for third trimester women. There does not seem to be an end in sight until delivery. On what to expect it says "the muscle at the top of the stomach that usually prevents digestive acids from splashing up into the esophagus relaxes, allowing digestive juices to back up.That's the burning sensation you feel when heart burn strikes." So apparently that is what is happening to me. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat, which I am not a spicy food person anyways. Oh well, I will just continue with the Tums and Maalox.
So if you did the math, I am still measuring big, but only about 2 weeks now. I asked Dr. Macey about that today. I asked him when 38 weeks came did he see them inducing me? He paused and said there is a lot that goes into deciding what to do. Things like is my cervix thinning already, have I dilated any? how much effaced is he? Basically we just have to wait and see, but for right now he is not planning on doing anything to me as long as everything is going well. It is very exciting being in the home stretch. I cannot wait to see him. He is a busy little man these days. He moves all the time. It is a very strange and amazing thing to experience. It blows Casey's mind every time he feels him. We are excited and praying for everything to go smooth for whenever this little guy does decide to come. I will keep you updated as my visits are more frequent :) Here is a picture of me being silly showing you how big my belly is getting.

Ultra Sound at 28 weeks

Today was the ultra sound that Dr. Macey had originally scheduled when I was measuring 7 weeks early, then at the last visit I was only measuring 4 1/2 weeks early, but he still wanted me to have the ultra sound so he could get a better accurate measurement on him. No, it is not two and he is not an enormous baby. They are saying his due date is about 7-11 days earlier, they were saying between April 10th-14th. That is what they estimated back at the ultra sound at 18 weeks and 20 weeks. He does have a big head though! When they measure all the parts, it gives you a different estimated date. His head estimated that I was due March 30th! Well, Casey has a big head and so does my mom. It was in his genes to possibly have a big head :)
Dr. Macey said I looked great! I asked him about measuring early and he said everyone is shaped different and sometimes that just happens. He said I am taller and long waisted so that could be it, but really they do not know (since I hear different reasons every time I go :) and they said that the measurement is just an estimated guess, that is why he wanted to do the ultra sound, for accurate measurements.
I am still feeling good and all is well. Just really hard to believe how fast it is coming now. In some ways I feel like I have been pregnant for over a year and then sometimes I cannot believe how fast it is coming! It is exciting talking and getting ready for baby showers. When I look at the calendar and count the weeks through baby showers and things going on it really seems fast.
We are excited and very anxious for the arrival of Cole.
Here are two pictures from today. It was so different than the one at 20 weeks. It was harder to get pictures and tell what it was because the space is getting smaller and smaller. The picture at 20 weeks had him from head to toe and now all that would fit was his head! The other picture is of him trying to flip around! which he is good at and does ALL the time. The ultra sound lasted about 15-20 mins,  and in that time he went from breech, to head down, to transverse (side ways). He is a little monkey for sure! I am down to visits every two weeks now. My next appointment is February 7th.
A picture of Casey and I with Cole's future girlsfriends, Jessi and Julia. They turned 1 this past weekend.

Cole's big head that was measuring 3 weeks early!! I think he is going to be really smart! hehehe

Casey and I with Jessi and Julia at their first birthday this past weekend,January 22nd.

Balancing out...a little.

Not a whole lot to say, but I did have a regular check up on Tuesday. If you remember from my last post I was measuring really big (7 weeks ahead). As of Tuesday I am only 4 1/2 weeks ahead of schedule, so that was good. Maybe I will balance out a little more :) I am still scheduled to have an ultrasound on January 24th though just to get more actually size ( they said that ultra sounds in the thirst trimester can still be off a pound and half to two!) and measurement for Cole as well as see how much fluid I have and fun stuff like that :) This is week 26, which sounds kind of crazy when the doctor is thinking I may go around 38 weeks, only 12 weeks away and Cole could be here but even if he doesn't come a little early that is only 14 weeks!! Casey says it seems sooner when you count in weeks.
Casey has been asking me for a couple weeks now, when would he be able to feel Cole kick? I was not really sure the answer to that. I know he has to get some more weight on him (according to what to expect he is around 16 inches and 2.5 lbs) and since my placenta is in the front? I was not sure, but last night we were watching TV and he was going crazy. Then I felt a few big kicks so I put my hand on my belly and thought I could feel him, but he is in me so it is hard to tell if I am actually feeling him on the outside too. I told Casey and grabbed his hand and Cole performed, well just for two kicks, but Casey's eyes lit up and he thought it was great. Then he started shaking my belly asking him to kick more, but he wouldn't, but Casey was excited that he got to feel him twice. I am sure there will be many more kicks ahead!
It was a fun moment. :)

Glucose Update and cramps

Well I finally got the call back from my glucose test results...I am good! :) Blood levels look good, no gestational diabetes. The day that they called me I had been cramping. They seemed to be getting stronger as the day went along. So I go to my "what to expect book" and I notice that it does say that cramps are typical this month, but then it said if they become worse, intense or severe you should call your doctor. So since they called me I mentioned it to them. The nurse said I was probably fine but if I wanted to come in the next day (Wednesday) I could come in at 2:30 just to check me out and reassure me. So of course I went! I was really not that worried, but I figured I was off work, why not just go in and get some reassurance. Well, my doctor was not working so I had to see the doctor on call, Dr. Thornberg. She was fine and nice. She just checked my cervix again, listened to heart beat, checked blood pressure and asked questions. I looked great she said. She did mention drinking fluids. I seemed to be a little dehydrated, which was probably the cause of the sharper pains. She said I need 12 cups of fluid a day. I know I have not been getting that. Drinking is not something I am good at-drinking anything. I am fine with water, which I know some people have a hard time drinking it. I actually got an app on my phone that I use to count my water intake. It has helped, but I still do not reach my water goal for the day. I must do better. I will seriously be living in the bathroom now, as if I wasn't already :) As she left she said enjoy plenty of those water cocktails! Oh let me back up a few minutes...I asked her if she would measure me before she left? She said I do not measure until 28 weeks, have you already been measured? I said yes, last week and I measured big so I was just wanting to see what you measured me at. She said what did you measure? I said 30 weeks. She said no way! "Ok, well I have to measure you now. We will not put it in your chart or tell Dr. Macey and I will just see what I get". So I laid back and she measured me. Then she says, well yeah you are measuring right at 31. Which still has me measuring 7 weeks ahead! Remember in last post Dr. Macey said he is not that big, but definitely ahead of schedule. I am having another ultrasound January 24th to get a more accurate measurement of Cole. I will let you know what this big boy is measuring then. I am so thankful about my blood results and that everything is checking out great! Thank you Lord!

Brad, Craig and I at grandmothers for Christmas. Just wanted to show you the big ole belly he measured.

23 weeks and Glucose test

Well today was the glucose test and it was nothing. I am not sure what some of my friends were talking about, saying it was horrible. I drank the orange liquid, sat in the waiting room for an hour, had blood drawn and it was over. Oh well! So after my blood work I went upstairs to see Dr. Macey. Just a regular check. So he comes in and asked the usually questions, how do you feel, no cramping, spotting, etc... I am feeling good. So he says well we will check the heart rate (148) and measure you (my uterus). So I lay back and he says let's measure this little guy. I said " I do not think he is that little if it is anything like last time". So he has this ruler things and he starts somewhere around my belly button and measures down to somewhere around my pubic bone, I guess. He measured it and then he looked to make sure he was measuring from the right spot (or that is what it seemed like). He did that three times. Then he looked at my chart. He said I need to look at your cervix so undress from the waist down and I will be back in a minute. So he came back, checked me out and said all looked good. He wanted to make sure my cervix was not thinning yet. He said he wanted to see me back at 28 weeks for an ultra sound. I said ultra sound? he said yes and then  he said he did not want me to worry, but I was measuring 30 weeks!!! he said Cole was not that big, but I was carrying high, which sometimes made you measure earlier, so he just wants to double check and get a more accurate reading on how big he is. So I said 5 weeks, and he said no, I want you to come back in 3 weeks, but schedule an ultrasound for 5 weeks!
I knew my belly was really sticking out there, but 30 weeks!?! Holy Moly.
I am not worried. I know everything is good. Dr. Macey was not concerned, but he did say he just want to keep a closer check on him and how he is growing!! So I will let you know how my big boy is doing. Here is a picture to check him out! We truly hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I know we will. We have truly been blessed.

21 weeks

I meant to post last week at our 20 week appointment, but the time just passed and I totally forgot. Last week was our 20 week ultra sound where they do all of the measuring and they look at everything. Since Casey went to my last ultra sound he decided not to take off, especially after he knew they were going to give us a DVD of the ultra sound any ways (trying to save up some days! for when Cole does arrive). So I asked my mom if she wanted to go with me and she said yes! she was so excited. She asked a ton of questions and was so excited about the experience. She kept saying this is all new to me-they did not have all of this 30+ years ago. She was cute to watch. 

This ultra sound was a little different this time than the last one. I guess since the one two weeks ago was a reassuring one it was more laid back and we really just got to watch him. This one was more precise and medical. They would zoom in on everything and measure it ( feet, lips, eyes, head, stomach, leg) but everything was more than just one measurement. They measured and analyzed his heart, lungs, spine, etc...She would put in the measurements and every time she did it would change the due date, then it gave you an average estimate date. 

So to say all of that-Cole measured out great! Actually bigger than he should be at this point. He was measuring between 7-10 days bigger. The doctor said maybe we have your conception date wrong, then he looked up and said "oh no, we can't have your date wrong", well if he keeps this up we will have to watch you closely around 37-38 weeks to make sure he does not get too big. I know he is easier on the inside than out, but I have the days and wouldn't mind him being a little bigger and having a week or two longer with him at home before going back to work in August as long as he is healthy and big enough to come then :)

He probably will not come until April 25th (4 days late). Trying not to think about it. He will come when he is ready.

He was moving all over the place like last time! He is such an active little boy. It really is neat to see him on the screen. I am starting to feel him more and more. It is really funny. Especially after I eat, I guess he is excited, because he is moving like crazy then. We are so excited and cannot wait to meet our little guy (or maybe not so little :) It is crazy to think that we are a little over half way through it all.
So this past week I have had about three people ask me "so is pregnancy everything you thought it would be?." I am not really sure if I ever really thought what it would be like, but it is interesting. It is so crazy how one day you just look down and you have this round belly, then you start to feel these weird movements inside of you, then you get this kink in your hip, and you are gassier than you ever imagined! I love the way What to expect put it..."Are you making noises and sounds that you have only heard or smelled from your dad or brothers?" Don't worry guys if you are around me I am usually good during the day. It just seems to hit me at night. :) 
I can say this about pregnancy though...it has definitely been a journey and expereince. One that I am excited to be apart of, but also a journey of things I had no idea about (the anxiety and stress of the unknown-that has been the worst). I go back to the doctor on December 21st for my glucose test. That should be interesting. I have all of these directions and rules I must follow before being tested.  I have not heard good stories from my friends about this test, but I am sure I will be fine. I will let you all know how that goes-in two weeks!
Here is an updated picture of me with my baby bump :)