Swollen

My appointment with Dr. Tabor went well today. Everything still looked good. He said I'm overdoing it, and need to stop because he does "not want to deliver this baby earlier than planned." He said, "I have a schedule you know...and emergency c-sections don't fit." :) He is concerned about the swelling in my legs and feet. My blood pressure was still (barely) ok. This picture does them NO justice, but here were my feet earlier today:

See? They look like they belong on the Michelin Man! And, I only saw 4 of my 10 patients today! At least it's only temporary! The biggest problem? I'll likely be wearing croc's to church on Easter Sunday! Oh well...we'll just call it a memory. :)

Dr. Tabor said to make sure my lower legs are massaged at least once daily, if not more. He wants to make sure that the blood is pumping around like it's supposed to, not pooling and clotting.

Other than the swelling and overdoing it, he was happy, so I am too. I go back Monday morning (4/5). I'll be back Thursday with a 36 week post.

35 Weeks

Today is 35 weeks! He'll be here in 3 weeks! First, according to all my "info," he should be about 5 pounds, and 18 inches long. Ha! According to my appointment with Dr. Tabor today, he weighs almost 6 pounds, and wasn't cooperative enough for a length measurment, but based on the length of his thigh bone alone, he's definitely much longer! :) B said "Alright! He should be able to LAUNCH a baseball!" Dr. Tabor did another ultrasound today, and said everything looks "GREAT!" I love that man! The sonographer girl always comes in first and takes measurments so he can just look. She measured everything, but then, she went back to his head, measured again, then measured his ventricles...that's where the concern of water on the brain would be. SCARED ME TO DEATH!! She, of course, can't say anything except for what part she's looking at. It was a LONG few minutes until Dr. Tabor came in. I immediately asked what his head looked like. He smiled and said "big." I said "big like how?" He said, "big like, be glad you're not going to have to go shoving that out of any small holes!" We laughed, then I said, "NO! The brain!" (he knew what I meant the first time.) He said "perfect!" I love it! I told him she scared me. I could see there was no fluid in them, but I don't have any idea how many millimeters is considered normal. He said she was just being complete. Phew! Really scared me! Good thing they had already taken my pulse and blood pressure!

As for me, I'm still doing well. My temperature and weight were good. My blood pressure was BARELY within the normal range. But, it was at the end of the day. They told me not to go by the swelling anymore, but rather watch for headaches, feeling dizzy, and seeing spots. All things that have been happening lately, but they pass within 30 minutes or so. The swelling is still...unbelievable. That's the only word I can think of...Wow! I also have a bladder infection. We got antibiotics for that.

I will now be going every week. My next appointment is this Tuesday (march 30) at 10:15am. Then Monday(april 5) at 9:15am. Then, Monday April 12th for the amnio to make sure his lungs are ready for a birthday on Wednesday the 14th! That makes it sound even closer! :)

Here we are today...

And, this one is just a bonus. I've been hauling my camera around everywhere I go for the last month just waiting. My poor old car...Sparky has been such a great car...was creeping up on 150,000 miles. I wanted to catch it. Today, I caught this...

I MISSED IT!! By 5 skinkin' miles! Ugh. My own mother LAUGHED! Brandon, on the other hand, said "cool...you got close." I'm not certain which was worse! I didn't want to get CLOSE...I wanted EXACT! Oh well. (Note: the speed. I was NOT driving and taking a picture. I had stopped at a fast food place to borrow their potty.)

That's all I have tonight. Please continue to pray! I'll be back Tuesday night after my appointment with Dr. Tabor!

Shower 2, Part 1

Ok...so I'm still having trouble with the shower pictures. I have them, but canNOT get them downloaded to my computer. Ugh. I'm still working on it, but some of  you are getting restless, so here are the one's I DO have. I'm not in the mood to mess with blogger, so these are in no particular order. I know you don't care! :)

Megan...my photographer...and cousin. And, she will definitely NOT be happy I posted this. She hates having her picture taken. I'm certain that posting it is even lower on her list. :)

Some of the hostesses.

Shaula made this quilt. His name is on the back. Very cool.

Aunt's and Cousins

Some grandmother's and an aunt.

My mom made this quilt. Love it...and so does B!

My mom also made this one. Definitely love it! We are ready for baseball and football seasons! :) And, the back of this one is SOOOO soft!

From my parents...ya think they're excited?!

More from my parents. Ha!

This isn't everything from Aunt Vasha and Uncle Matt, but she made these things! I'm impressed! That onsie is on the short list for comming home outfits.

My Memaw made these things. There is more comming...the rest of the green, I assume. He will be warm from head to toe!

My Aunt Barbara made this one.

My Ninny made this one. She gave it too us back in early December. It was the inspiration for Davis' room.

Ok. Perhaps that's enough pictures! :) I do still need to post pictures of the "set-up." It was neat. The hostesses did a great job! I'll keep working on it, and get those pictures up as soon as I can.

Don't forget...my next appointment with Dr. Tabor is Thursday afternoon at 4pm. He'll be doing another ultrasound. I'll post when I get home. Thank you all for praying!

34 Weeks

Today is 34 weeks! Less than a month from today Davis will be here! He should be about 5 pounds and 18 inches long. Getting bigger! He continues to pack on fat, and his nervous system and lungs are continuing to develop. He still moves like crazy, and if I somehow find myself in a position that might be restricting his "area," he is QUICK to let me know! Ouch! He frequently moves all four limbs and his head at the same time, and I love it...except when those little feet find themselves between my ribs, and/or up in my lungs. :) Me? I still feel about the same. At 7ish months, I had all the same aches, pains, "issues" I have now and everyone said "just wait." Well, I've waited. I'm now 8 1/2 months, and the only thing that's worse is my ability to get up off of the floor. Some might say "then don't get down on the floor." Not an option in my line of work. It's getting difficult, but I have great patients and their parents are even better! :) The ability to wear my wedding ring is definately a thing of the past, but we went last weekend and bought a temporary replacement because it was driving me NUTS to have nothing on my fingers. The swelling...oh the swelling...it's gotten to the point where it does not go down at night. We'll see what Dr. Tabor says next week. I've been having LOTS of contractions, but rest and water still help so we're good there.

As always, B took our picture after work. Here we are:

Since we currently find ourselves in the midst of March Madness, the circles of the 8 and 0 are basketballs. He's so clever! :) March Madness always makes me sad. It's a harsh reminder that baseball season is here. The Rangers have been hard at work at spring training for quite some time now, and we watched the first "game" of the season last night. *Sigh.* I hate baseball. I know...Davis' room...I don't know what I was thinking.

I do now have the shower pictures, but I'm having trouble downloading them. I will "send" them to the store this weekend to be put onto a disc...then I promise...I'll get them up!

If for some reason I'm not back for the next week, my next appointment with Dr. Tabor is next week. Thursday, March 25th. I'll post about the appointment and "35 weeks" when I get home. Thank you for your prayers!!

1 Month, 2 Days

No, not until Davis comes. He'll be here one month from today. Brandon's cousin Becci is expecting another little boy on May 31st. My due date is actually April 29th. One month, and two days apart. The significance is that Brandon and Becci were born one month and two days apart. How cool is that?! Initially, we were hoping they would come on their due dates. Davis kinked that. We KNOW he will be here April 14th. But, Austin was early, so there's a very real possibility it could still happen. We've discussed it. Becci DOES work for an OB/GYN...surely someone can make it happen on May 16th! ;) We all met for lunch yesterday. Before we left, Brandon took a picture. And, Becci may very well kill me for this, but...

Here we are...not the best picture, and I canNOT figure out how to get the computer to save my changes when zooming/editing the picture. Oh well.

Brandon and I also went to the Mavs game last night. It was fun, but they did terrible! They lost by 34 points to a team the beat by 50 points the last time they played! See, I told you...TERRIBLE! But, it was fun none the less.

I know you're all still waiting on the shower pictures. Me too! As soon as I get them, I'll post them!

33 Weeks

Today is 33 weeks. In 34 days, he will be here! We've been slowly sorting through all the new stuff we received. I know, I need to get the shower post up, but I'm waiting on the pictures Vasha took with her camera. So, blame her! :) Though, even if I had them, they would likely still not be posted. Babycenter says Davis should now be well over 4 pounds and greater than 17 inches long. They also said that he's now "rapidly losing the wrinkled-alien look." Clearly they don't loose that fast enough. All babies are born squished, wrinkled, and alien-like. I know he'll be the cutest little alien I've ever seen though. They also say that his skeleton is beginning to harden, though it will be years before it is "hard."

I'm still feeling pretty good. Tons of little aches and pains, but the sleeping is still better. I only got up to pee twice last night! Small victories! Back hurts; bladder is squished; back hurts; each drop of pee thinks it should be let out all by itself; back hurts; the in/out, up/down, sitting on the floor, or at tiny "made for children" tables is KILLING my back; driving is getting tricky; and the swelling...oh my the swelling! At one time, I would have told you I considered my legs an asset. I wouldn't venture into that realm now. Picture: ankles with no clear definition going up into the calf, feet too swollen for some of my shoes, socks that aren't "tight," but leg spills over the edges by the end of the day...attractive...let me tell you! :) And, I did mention the back hurting, right?! Sheesh! And, some say "just wait...if you think it's bad now...just wait." I have to say...I don't feel any worse now than I did 5 weeks ago at 28 weeks. We will see what "fun" month 9 holds. ;)

Shower Sneak Peek:

Nice...like the way that all three of us are looking at a different camera?! Ha!

32 Weeks...8 Months!!

As of today, Davis has officially been cooking for 8 months; if you prefer...32 weeks. He's still moving like crazy all the time. I still love it...even if it is painful sometimes. He should be almost 4 pounds and about 17 inches long. Babycenter felt the need to inform me that he's running out of room. Ya think?!

Here's the picture we took this evening:

(the "10" part of the sign is a bat and baseball because today is the official start of spring training)

The shower is this weekend. I'm excited. Vasha flew in today, and we'll be headed to Clyde in the morning.

This has nothing to do with the above, but I didn't get around to posting it earlier in the week. Tuesday afternoon, I pulled up to a patient's house and this was sitting in the neighbor's yard:

It was sooooo kind of them to think of me. Perhaps next time they could also leave a roll of toilet paper. I would likely use it. Since the tank appears to be broken, I wouldn't have to worry about the lack of running water/flushing, though handwashing would be a tad difficult.

BUT, I am polite...I would leave a monetary donation.

Uneventful!

The appointment with Dr. Tabor went well today. Short, and simple...uneventful. They should all be this way! Blood pressure was good, heart rates were good...mine and his, temp was good, pee was good. He's measuring appropriately, therefore growing nicely. I gained one pound. In almost six weeks, I've gained ONE DARN POUND. Before I went in, at 4pm, I drank 2 Capri Sun's, had a six-pack of cheese crackers, and waited to pee until after they weighed me, and still only one stinkin' pound. Dr. T did mention it this time, but said Davis is still growing like he should, so he's not concerned yet. Yet?! Great. He said everything looks great, and he'd see us back in 2 weeks (for another ultrasound). He then realized that he'd be out of town in 2 weeks...something about wanting to spend time with his family during spring break...yeah, yeah. :) He said things were going so well with me and Davis, we could wait 3 weeks because he didn't want us to see another doctor...so uncharacteristic of Dr. Tabor! I love this man! The next appointment is March 25th.

Oh, I almost forgot...we got the preapproval back from the insurance company for the c-section. I'm approved for surgery day, plus 5 additional days. April 14-19th!! Yay!!

Over the weekend, we had the 3D/4D ultrasound done. It was so cool! He was a bit of a stinker that day, but he IS a baby. He wouldn't move when she needed him to, and wouldn't stop moving when she needed him to be still. B said that makes him his...I agree...I always cooperate with medical personel. The 4D part is an actual video of him moving around. In it we were able to watch him breathe, blink, yawn, make lot's of faces, stick out his tongue, and lick his hand. Yes, he licked himself multiple times. I said that also makes him Brandon's...I don't lick things...ever. I thought he was going to put his hand in his mouth (ugh), but he didn't (phew). Nope. Just licked it. Ha! I said before that it's a good thing I'm carrying him for 9 months because no one would ever believe he's mine. He looks just like Brandon! Everyone who has seen the pictures, says that immediately. I agree. The only thing that MIGHT be "mine" is his toes. It's hard to explain. He has them pulled up/back the way I do. I don't know. I think that could be the way they're squished up against the wall. Either way, we'll see them for REAL in 5 1/2 weeks! We have many pictures, but here are the best ones.

One of my favorites!

Looks like teeth, but it was just where he was moving and it was out of focus. His hands are open, and to us it looked like he was "fussing." :) The black spot on his nose is where it was pushed up against the placenta wall. Look at that chin. Screams...WYATT!

Boy parts! :) (His butt is at the bottom right, if that helps.)

Sweet baby feet! They are crossed at the ankle. Look at those perfect feet! Not turned up, toes aren't curled...perfect! The one foot is "blurry." That's because it was also mushed up against the placenta wall. This was the best and only picture of the feet because he wouldn't keep them still. It's like he knew she was trying to get pictures of them and he kept kicking them, and pushing them out against the placenta wall. Oh well! Fine with me! I'd rather watch them move! You can really see them moving around in the video. We've watched it several times! :)

Thank you all for praying! My friend Jodi says he's a rockstar...I must agree! Keep those prayers comming, and I'll keep you all posted!