37 weeks

Last Wednesday (Dec 1) I had the stitch removed. Yesterday I went to the Dr (37wks 1day) and I haven't dropped or dilated. I asked if she could just go ahead and induce me. She said without any cervical change it wouldn't do any good. Ugh! I am still measuring big so she sent me down to ultrasound. The baby is measuring 38wks 3days. She said she weighs roughly 7pds 3oz. They also did a 4D ultrasound for us. Poor baby is so squished in there. Here little ears are flat up against her head.

Tessa got to see the ultrasound for the first time. She was so concerned about me the whole time she barely noticed the ultrasound. She kept saying " You ok mommy? you ok? you hurt? I sowwy I hurt you! You ok? " When the tech popped the 4D up Tessa said "oh wow a baby!" It was so sweet!

34 weeks

I went to the Dr today. I was just there last week, but my Dr had me on rotation with other Doctors in her office. Well they thought my BP was a little elevated so she wanted me to come in again this week. Everything looks great. My BP was 120 over 82 which they said was fine. Dr Stradtman has scheduled my stitch to be snipped on December 1st. Then it's a wait and see when Jenna is ready to make her presence known. My Dr said she wouldn't let me go more than one week past due if it comes down to that. She also did an ultrasound today and verified (what I already knew or felt) that Jenna has indeed turned. She is ready to go.

Ultrasound and Doctor's Visit

The past few weeks I have been measuring on the large side. My doc said I was measuring 37 weeks...EEK! She ordered and ultrasound to make sure baby was not really THAT big! Well I went in for the ultrasound and since my Doctor's ultrasound tech was not going to be there today I had to go down to the mammogram clinic. That was interesting...man the looks I was getting. They must have thought "Lady you in the wrong room"...heehee. Anyway they were weird and wouldn't let Michael come back until all the measurements were taken....odd! So I am 31w 2d today and the baby measured right at 33w. They said that was normal. They guesstimated that she weighs around 4 pds 8oz, but they said the ultrasound could be as much as 11oz off. So she could weigh around 3pds 12oz. Who knows? Oh and she has a head full of hair...which explains the heartburn. She measured great, but she is in full breech right now. After the ultrasound I went up to see my doctor. She said the baby measured fine on the ultrasound and that I am probably measuring big because she is breech. She said breech babies tend to measure larger and carry higher. Bad news...if she doesn't turn they will have to preform a C-section. Praying that she turns!!

As for Tessa she is finally coming around to this whole baby thing. She points to my belly now and says "Baby Jenna in there". I think Tessa maybe coming down with something. Yesterday and today she ran a low grade fever and had a small appetite. Then this afternoon she would scream every time she swallowed anything. So it looks like I may be calling the ped tomorrow. Ugh!

Update..

I noticed today that I haven't updated this in a little while...

A couple of weeks ago I went in for the gestational diabetes screening. I was told not to eat breakfast...so I didn't...and still failed. It probably didn't hurt that I had a TCBY milk shake at about 9 or so the night before. Whoops! My score was 173 when it was supposed to be lower than 130. So I had to go in for the 3 hour test. I was told if to eat a high carb diet of 150grams of carbs a day for 3 days, then fast on the 3rd day after 12am. The first test was the fasting test which had to be 60-105. Mine was 85...Passed! After the first hour I was to test lower than 190. I tested 182...Passed! After the second hour I was to test lower than 165. I tested 156...Passed! Since I passed the first 3 they let me go home. I do not have gestational diabetes.

Last Thursday I went to see my OB and I measured big for the 3rd visit in a row. So next Thursday they want me to have an ultrasound to make sure the baby is growing the way she should. My doctor said I was carrying high and that was probably all it is...but they want to make sure.

Released for MFM (high risk Dr)

Thursday I went to see my high risk dr for the last time. He said my cervix looked great and doesn't see any reason to see me anymore. He said we should have a December baby and there is no reason we shouldn't be able to have more children if we want. I'm excited about this release, but also a little scared. It was nice getting those bi-weekly ultrasounds. I just have to have faith that all will work out....and it will!!

My baby is 3

Well Tessa turned 3 on Monday. She woke up yesterday singing "Happy Birdday Tessa, Happy Birdday Tessa, Happy Birdday Tes sa a, Happy Birdday Tessa". It was so cute and she sang it all day! I didn't have a party for her this year for fear I would be in the hospital. That and the added stress of a party. Her Nana and Gramps (Michael's parents) came down to see her on Saturday. The gave her a barbie bicycle. She has been all about that thing. She doesn't know how to pedal it...so she just sits on it and says "It don't work". Every now and then we will push her around the living room or kitchen. We haven't figured out what to do with it yet. She doesn't really have anywhere to ride it...living in a townhouse.

Since Sunday was my dad's b'day. The whole family got together and went to hear him preach. We haven't done that in years. I believe we truly made his day. We also celebrated his b'day and Tessa's b'day that afternoon. We got her a princess cupcake cake and him a Bama cookie cake. The princess cake had a tiara and wand on it. Tessa has not taken the tiara off except to sleep and calls herself "Queen Tessa".

We went for her 3 year old check up today. Tessa is doing great! She is still a shorty in the 5-10th percentile (35.5" tall), but is caught up in weight at the 50th percentile (31.8 lbs).

Baby Jenna seems to be growing fine. She has really been kicking lately. Last night Michael had his hand on my stomach and it felt like she flipped. We go to the high risk dr on Thursday. Hopefully everything will still look good with my cervix and we will be smooth sailing until December.

Hopefully I am out of the woods...

I went to see the high risk doc today and he said everything looks great! Cervix is holding steady!! He said "Stacy I have some bad news for you...it looks like you are going to be pregnant for a long time". I was like YEA!! He said, "Most women don't tell me yea when I give them news like this". I told him that given my history I would take it!! He even told me there isn't any reason why I shouldn't be able to make it to at least 36 wks. He also said he wouldn't be surprised if I made it past my due date and had to be induced!! HA!

They also took a look at the baby's heart and said everything looked great there too!! They kept having to chase her down. She has been so active the past few days. Last night I thought she had a tennis match going on in there. She kept me up until after 3am. Everytime I got comfy she would start another game...hehehe. I wouldn't trade it though!!

As for Tessa we moved her to a twin bed this past Saturday and she is doing wonderful. She loves her "big girl" bed!! Potty training is still a work in progress. One day she will do great then the next 3 days she does horrible! Hopefully one day it will click!

23 weeks

Well today I am 23 weeks. I have made myself a couple of goals so as not to dwell on the past. My first goal is to make it to September 21. That is one day past Tessa's birthday and puts me at 26 weeks. I went into the hospital with Tessa at 24 weeks so this would be 2 weeks past. I am trying to heed my daddy's advice and not let the past control my thoughts. This baby is a gift from God and I am trying to put this pregnancy in his hands. He is in control not me!

Official due date Dec 28

I had a check up with the high risk doc today and he said my cervix is still holding strong...no change!! Yea! They did a targeted ultrasound and baby girl is measuring perfect at 22.3 weeks. They said she weighs roughly 1pd 3oz. Dr G said he was going to see me again at 24 wks and if nothing has changed he is going to release me. He said anything that happens beyond 24 weeks is not related to the cervix and he didn't see any reason why we couldn't go full term with this one!!! Wha Hoo!! This gave me (much needed) confidence.

Terrible 2's or just boredom?

I do believe we have offically entered the terrible two phase. Although it could be that Tessa and I are just cooped up in this little bitty house all day and she is bored. I have tried to be more couch bound since I had the stitch put in and Tessa doesn't seem to understand why mommy can't get in the floor or dance around with her. Hence the acting out and 3rd potty training regression. We were doing so well with the potty training. Only having maybe one accident a week and then all of a sudden last Thursday she just up and decides she's done with the whole potty training process. Yesterday she blatantly wet her pants 3 times. And then to top it off the little attitude she has aquired....I was in tears by the end of the day.

So today was a new day. I got up this morning, prayed and decided today is a new day. I was going to rejoice and be glad in it and not let Tessa control my mood! It did seem to help. I took her potty every 30 minutes and tried to give her my undivided attention. It also helped that PaPaw was in the area and stopped by to play with Tessa for a couple of hours. Then when she got up from nap I thought I would try something new. I pulled out the "big girl" panties (we have been using the plain jane Gerber cloth training panties) and I told her we had to keep our "big girl" panties and Elmo dry. She was all excited about this and it worked the rest of the day. She stayed dry. Now mine you she never told me she needed to potty, but each time I asked her or took her she went!! Hopefully this will work!

On a lighter note tonight in the car she started saying "I can't reach it". I asked her what it was she couldn't reach and she said, "I can't reached the moon". I told her "I can't reached the moon either" and she said "Me too". It was just too cute! Her daddy and I got a little chuckle out of that one.

It's official...

We went for another check up with the high risk Doc today and it is official....we are having another girl. I guess this will be easier in the long run. We already have the "girl stuff" and the two will have to share a room for a little while. Plus who knows maybe this baby will pave the way for another. We asked Tessa if she was ready for a little sister and she said "No, no baby". She is in for a rude awakening....cue the evil laugh. I go back to see the high risk doc again in 2 weeks for the targeted ultrasound. This will determine if my due date is still December 28 or if it will be pushed back to January 5.

2 Doctor Visits this week

Monday I went to see my regular OB. She said everthing looks great and wants to see me back in 3 weeks. Then I will be seeing her weekly until 27 weeks.

Thursday I went to see the high risk doc. Ultrasound revealed my cervix is still holding strong...no change (yea!). He wants to see my back in 2 weeks. Also I will be having the targeted ultrasound in 4 weeks. This should determine my actual due date and if the baby is in fact a girl. Right now the high risk has me as 17.2 wks and my regular ob has me as 18.4 wks. Interesting I know!

On a lighter note I have been feeling little flutters here and there since about 15 weeks. Sooo sweet!

Went the High Risk Doc last week

Last Thursday I went to see the high risk specialist. He said my cervix is 7cm and is 2-3cm from the stitch. He said the cervix could possibly weaken and funnel down to the stitch. If the cervix shows signs of weakness over the next few weeks he said they may have to go in and put another stitch up higher. Just praying that it doesn't come to that! It also appears to be another girl at the moment (it's still a little early). After the initial shock and tears I have accepted the fact that God has his reasons. It may be that we are already prepared for a little girl or that girls do better in NICU...only he knows. Now for the hard part....coming up with a name!!

15 Weeks Today

After this week I will be going for bi-weekly check ups with high risk OB and will also be followed by my regular OB. Whatever it takes to keep this baby baking!

We had a wonderful July 4th weekend. We spent some time with my parents on Saturday then went to Florence and spent time with Michael's family Sunday and Monday. I was afraid we weren't going to be able to travel to Florence, because Tessa had her first ear infection since getting tubes. I must say ear infections are not as bad with tubes. Three days worth of drops and the ear infection was gone. Whoo hoo!

Stitch Looks Good

I went to the Dr this morning for a follow up of last week's surgery. She said everything looks great! Baby's heart beat came in loud and clear. I can bend over...yea (or at least for now). She still doesn't want me doing any lifting until the baby is born. I am having to get creative on how to care for Tessa.

Cerclage is now in place

I am going to try to update this frequently throughout this pregnancy to help keep everyone up to date.

I had the cerclage placed Monday (June 21). Everything went well. We were able to see 2 ultrasounds. One pre surgery and one post. Each time the baby was movin' and groovin'. So far everything is looking good. I spent this past week with my parents so they could tend to Tessa, since I was told no lifting or bending. I go back to the doctor on Monday (June 28) for a check up.