The Final Countdown

Welp. It is official. We are in "final countdown" mode for Miss Adalee's arrival, and we couldn't be more excited - or nervous - or happy - or anxious! Basically, we have a lot of emotions happening right now!

At 35 weeks, we had our follow-up sonogram appointment with the perinatal sonographer. At our 32 week sonogram, the doctor and sonographer had determined that my placenta was approximately 0.7 centimeters away from my cervix. We were needing to hear that it was at least 1 centimeter away, preferably 1.5 to 2 centimeters away, in order to consider moving forward with a vaginal birth. Because we were so close to the 1 centimeter mark, my OB allowed us to do one more sonogram at 35 weeks to see if we could get a little more movement.

At our 35 week sonogram, we got just that - a "little" more movement. The placenta had moved to exactly 1 centimeter away from my cervix. For me, this was almost the worst possible outcome. Being right on the line between needing to have a cesarean birth and getting to have a vaginal birth is not a comforting place to be. It would have been so much easier if the decision was clear either way. To make matters more stressful, we had a week and a half to dwell on the results before we could talk with my OB at our next appointment, as she was on vacation the following week. Michael and I spent a lot of time talking and thinking about the results - going through the pros and cons of both scenarios - but ultimately we wanted the opinion of our OB before deciding either way.

This past Tuesday, we finally had the opportunity to talk with my OB about the sonogram results. After a lot of discussion about the risks and benefits, we ultimately agreed that a cesarean birth would be the safest option for myself and the baby. Once the decision was made, I instantly felt this sense of relief. We have a plan - a plan that will keep Miss Adalee as safe as possible. And that is all I could ask for!

All that being said, Miss Adalee's delivery has been scheduled for December 2, 2014 at 12:00pm (noon) at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. We are in final preparation mode in order to get everything ready for her early arrival! Six days to go...it just seems surreal...

And in the spirit of tomorrow's Thanksgiving holiday...Michael and I have a lot to be thankful for! Here are some photos from the 35 Week Sonogram...

36 Weeks

This week...

Baby Bell is the size of a... honeydew melon! She should still be measuring around 18 inches long and should weigh approximately five and a half pounds - but of course, we really have no idea what size she will end up being. Even measurements from the doctor can be off base by 1-2 pounds! We are just hopeful that she continues to pack on lots of squishy fat in her final weeks!

My bump is... feeling ginormous, like always. However, when November 18th rolled around this week and I saw my note that it was one month until our due date, I realized that I am probably going to miss "the bump" a little bit. There will probably never be another time that I will have Miss Adalee this close to me all day and all night long, so I am going to try to savor the final weeks of this belly!

I have been feeling... accomplished! We have been getting lots of things done in preparation for Adalee's arrival. Her nursery is just waiting on some final decorative items that are being shipped. Her clothes are all washed and organized in her closet. We have finished our childbirth and breast feeding classes. We have slowly been getting other areas of the house organized and clean. And we have even managed to have a few date nights and dinners with friends! With just a few more things left to do, I am feeling at least logistically prepared for Adalee's arrival - even if I am not quite mentally prepared for it!

Here is a photo from our final Child Birth class, where Michael had to wear the empathy belly...
 

I have been craving... milk - too much milk! Michael and I have been going through over 2 gallons of milk a week, and at least 80 percent of the milk intake is from me! Hopefully this means that Adalee is growing some strong bones!

Our favorite thing has been... the wonderful Baby Shower hosted by my friends Alyssa and Gina in Kansas City! The shower was held at a beautiful dessert and pastry shop on the Plaza called Natasha's Mulberry & Mott! It was a great way to celebrate Adalee's upcoming arrival with some of my closest friends! I truly feel so blessed that Adalee will be surrounded by so many people that love her.

We are looking forward to... the Thanksgiving holiday and decorating for Christmas next weekend! We are going to enjoy the final weeks of "nesting" before Miss Adalee's arrival, but we really can't wait to have her here with us!

October Happenings

October was a busy month of fun! Michael and I having been trying to spend lots of time together doing things that we know will be more challenging once the baby arrives - e.g. date nights! Looking back on the blur that was the month of October, I feel like a majority of our weekends were spent attending sporting events - not that I am complaining! Here are some pictures from last month...

October 4th - K-State Football vs. Texas Tech!

October 10th - Sporting KC Game with Alyssa and Johnny!

October 14th - Game 3 of the ALCS - Royals vs. Orioles

October 25th - K-State vs. Texas!

October 26th - Chiefs vs. Rams!

34 Weeks

This week...

Baby Bell is the size of a... pineapple! She is about eighteen inches long and weighs around five pounds. It is hard to believe that we are only six weeks away from her due date - it seems like just yesterday that we found out we were pregnant - my how time flies! Adalee is quickly running out of space, so almost all of her movements have turned into "rolls" and "stretches" rather than sharp kicks - something I am actually thankful for!

My bump is... feeling a bit "attacked" lately! With Adalee getting bigger by the day, it seems like my insides can't catch a break. She is either moving her body into my ribs, my back, my bladder, or my lungs - sometimes all at the same time! This makes for a very sore belly... Luckily she is starting to move lower in my pelvis, which has given my lungs a break and I can breathe a bit easier, but it also means she is putting more pressure on my bladder - making me have to go to the bathroom constantly! The other night, I am pretty sure I got out of bed at least five times to use the bathroom! Michael went to the point of getting a nightlight for our bathroom because I have had multiple run-ins with the walls trying to get to the bathroom at night.

I have been feeling... stressed - and that is probably an understatement. With the multiple sonograms and doctor's appointments over the last two weeks, I became a little overwhelmed by all the information coming our way. Despite knowing that a c-section was a possibility, when we got the news at our 32 Week Sonogram that the placenta hadn't moved and a c-section was probable, the information seemed to cause me to panic. This information, combined with the fact that Miss Adalee will likely be arriving a lot sooner than we had originally planned, also made me feel very unprepared. For those that know me well, I am a type A personality - needing to have every aspect of my life organized and planned to the last detail. Essentially, I am always prepared - for everything. But over the past few weeks, all of my planning and organization has gone out the window and I have had to adopt the attitude of "waiting and seeing how it goes". After a few chats with Michael and a few chats with my Mom, and a much needed day off work to de-stress and sleep - I can now report that I am doing a lot better. We are focused on checking items off our to-do list, but knowing that we will most likely not get to everything - and that is okay... :)

I have been craving... Nachos! This is probably less of a "craving" and more of a "what is something you have been eating a lot of". With all of the sporting events we have been attending lately - Royals games, Chiefs games, and K-State football games - I have made a point of getting nachos! I could eat nachos any time and any place. In fact, we just had Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner the other night - and what did I get you ask? A chicken salad? A healthy wrap? Nope. I got the Ultimate Nachos. And ate them all by myself. And they were awesome! :)

Our favorite thing has been... working on Adalee's nursery. We finally got around to unpacking all of the gifts we received from our baby shower earlier this month - and all of her things have now been neatly organized in her room. In addition, I was able to wash the clothes she has acquired so far and put them into her dresser or hang them in her closet. Mostly, I just loved playing with her little socks. Michael kept laughing at me for saying "Awww" every few minutes while folding her clothes. I can't help it - they are just too cute! We have also been enjoying our birthing classes,  including our recent tour of the Birthing Center at Shawnee Mission. It was really cool to finally see where Adalee will be born! We got to meet some of the nursing staff and I am confident that I am going to be well taken care of!

We are looking forward to... another Baby Shower this weekend! My friends, Alyssa and Gina, will be hosting a lovely shower on Sunday and I am really excited to celebrate Adalee's upcoming arrival with my friends in the Kansas City area! We are also looking forward to some downtime over the next two weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday is upon us - rest and relaxation is definitely on the agenda!

Our 32 Week Sonograms

We were fortunate these past two weeks to not only have one sonogram, but two! I will talk about the "fun" sonogram first, where we got to see Miss Adalee in 3D!

Leading up to our appointment, I had heard a lot of stories about 3D sonograms - some stories were good, but mostly I had heard stories about uncooperative babies who spent the entire time hiding their beautiful faces! I was hopeful that Miss Adalee would not be shy and that we would get to see her face and a little bit of movement. As you will see from the photographs, she definitely delivered! From the moment the ultrasound started, Adalee was a busy bee! The first thing we saw was a big yawn, during which she threw her head back, arched her back, and opened her mouth super wide! We were also able to see her put her fingers in her mouth, then put her toes in her mouth, the her fingers back in her mouth. We had known that she kept her feet and hands near her face, but it was so cool to see her actually putting her fingers and toes in her mouth - as unsanitary as it sounds! We also got to see her stick out her tongue, wave to us, and even open her eyes - it was one of the coolest moments thus far in the pregnancy! Overall the sonographer said that everything about Adalee looked great and that we have a very active little girl! She weighed in at four pounds and one ounce - right on track for her December 18th due date! We had around 30 photos taken, but here are some of our favorites, as well as a short video of her sonogram...

One of the first pictures we got to see of Adalee!

Big yawn! She was a tired girl this afternoon!

Opening her eyes! Too bad we didn't catch this one in 3D...

Waving hello to Mom and Dad!

Our other sonogram this past week was to determine the position of the placenta relative to my cervix. For this sonogram, we were referred to see a perinatal sonographer, which is essentially a sonographer who specializes in performing ultrasounds for high risk pregnancies. The ultrasound felt the same as every other ultrasound, however, the images were a lot more detailed. The doctor and sonographer took a lot of measurements and ultimately determined that my placenta is approximately 0.7 centimeters away from my cervix. Womp. We were hoping/needing to hear that it was at least 1 centimeter away, preferably 1.5 to 2 centimeters away. Being my emotional self, of course I started to cry, but ultimately I want Miss Adalee to be born in the safest way possible. Our doctor is allowing us to have one more sonogram at 35 weeks to measure the distance again, but we have moved forward with scheduling an early cesarean section in case there is no movement again. It looks like we may have Miss Adalee here sooner than we originally anticipated!

Miss Adalee's side profile at 32 weeks!

A great picture of her full lips - which she gets from Mom!