36 weeks with baby #4

I can't believe we are under a month from the due date!!!

Some friends from church gave me a little girls' night out/baby shower on Monday (so nice!), so we have diapers and I've pulled out some of Bo's baby clothes, so I'm slowly getting ready. :)

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along: 36 weeks on Wednesday April, 8th. 
• Size of the baby: The estimated weight at 36 weeks is 6lb 7oz. Dr. G commented that this baby shouldn't be as big as the others, but he has said that the last two times, so I'm still expecting a 9+ lb baby. Mae measured 6lb 4oz at her u/s around this same time. Baby boy's head was too low for a good picture of his face on the u/s. 
• Total weight gain: +27 lb. I am about 5 lb from my usual end of pregnancy weight, so looks like I'll end up about the same again...phew!
• Gender: Definitely a BOY on this last u/s. 
• Movement: Lots of big movements now and they often hurt. I do love this part of the pregnancy though!
• Sleep: Waking up more for the bathroom and because I'm sore from laying on one side and I need to roll over, but still getting a good night of sleep (for another month anyway!). 
• Cravings: Pretty much enjoying food (except steak and hamburgers). 
• Symptoms: Started having some sciatica here and there in the last week, so I've started going to the chiropractor weekly and will continue until delivery. 
• What's next: Weekly Dr. appointments from here on out!

One month to go!

16 weeks and it's a boy!

Ahhh, the Dr. appointment we've been so excited about! Wednesday, at my 16 week appointment, Dr. G did his freebie ultrasound and showed us if we were having a boy or a girl. Most OB offices have an ultrasound tech do all their ultrasounds and find out gender at the 20 week appt, so it's really nice to have the Dr do them and that he does this free sneak peek a month earlier than most people get them!

Here's a few pictures of our baby BOY!!! I'll try to explain them in case you can't tell what is what.

This is a profile picture with the head on the right of your screen.

This is the baby's face looking up with the hand right beside it's face. That dark circle on the head is the eye.

Close up of the baby's profile. I love that I can already see his nose and lips!

This is your money shot. It's not the best view we got, but pretty obvious there. You're looking at the baby's bottom from the underside (sorry baby!).

Alien baby view....baby's facing looking up. I have one of Bo like this and they already favor. Ha!

Pregnancy highlights:

• How far along: 16 weeks 3 days today. 
• Size of the baby: About 4.5 inches long and the size of an avocado
• Total weight gain: Back up to the positive side! +4 lbs. 
• Maternity clothes: Yes, when I put on regular clothes, which isn't very often! I live in stretch fleece or cotton pants at home. Regular shirts for now. 
• Gender: BOY!!! So excited that we get to have two girls and two boys! I couldn't have planned it any better! We ended up taking all the kids with us to the appointment because Mae and Bo were sick and couldn't go to pre-school. It was a zoo in that tiny room. Dr G measured the heart rate first, then started looking for the gender. I saw it immediately and said, "It's a boy!!!". He confirmed I was right and we were all so excited! Bo said, "I was right!" pretty quickly. Arabelle didn't say much, but was grinning. 
• Sleep: I had a good 7-10 days of sleep between colds. Back to coughing and sleeping sitting up because I'm too stuffed up to lay flat. :(
• What I miss: energy, enjoying food and water.
• Cravings: Not hating food quite as much as I had been. Not really craving anything though. 
• Symptoms: Nausea is fading away!!!! I have to eat pretty quickly in the morning and take the Zofran and keep snacking all day to keep it at bay. It gets worse in the evenings no matter what. 

Overall, feeling a bit better than 2 weeks ago and hoping to be feeling 100% in a couple more weeks! 

Baby #4!

Here we go again! Baby #4 is due 5/11/15!

Remember when we went to Disney World for Arabelle and Bo's birthday? Well, we had discovered the big surprise that morning, so it was quite the 'magical' day in addition to the Disney fun. 

My first thought was to calculate how long I had until I started being sick (about 12-15 days). I decided right then that I would be EATING ALL THE FOOD I wanted until I was sick. Ha! 

We didn't tell anyone for several weeks (well, I told Mae...ha!), then told Arabelle and Bo after their beach trip with Papaw and Mamaw. Arabelle was SO excited and Bo seemed excited too, but pretty quickly asked if it was going to be a boy. :)

The sickness started Sept. 7th and got bad pretty quickly from there. Imagine being nauseated and on the verge of puking (and actually puking) 24/7 and hating all food/drink. I've tried all the 'morning sickness' tips three times now and nothing works. Zofran doesn't make a difference. Phenergan helps, but also knocks me out, so I can only use it in the evenings and when I know I can sleep 12 hours before being alone with the kids. So you can pretty much assume I feel awful now until November. Super happy about the baby, but just feeling awful. 

That said, three times now we've had 9.5 lb babies, so I'm certain he/she is thriving in there and will end up being another big one. :)

The first Dr appt was on 9/23 and the baby looked great! He/she measured 7 weeks and 2 days and had a heart rate of 160. I can't believe we'll be welcoming another baby in just a few months (and yes, we'll find out the gender this time)!!!!!

Before we left Orlando, we stopped in the Carter's outlet to get Mae a Big Sister shirt and we had a little photoshoot while the big kids were at the beach!

Next appointment is 10/22. Arabelle is so excited to go with me to that appointment and see the baby!  

You can see our announcement for baby #3 (Mae!) here. 

35 week update

I can't believe it's down to the last 5 weeks!

• How far along: 35 weeks 3 days
• Size of baby: On the ultrasound today, the baby measured 6lb 3oz (64th percentile). His/her head was in the 80th percentile....how fun. That should mean an 8.5 lb baby around the due date. 
• Latest Dr. appt: I've been going weekly for non-stress tests--NST-- (sitting in a cozy recliner while the baby's heart rate is monitored) and it has been fine each time (looking for variation in heart rate to match movement). The baby looked GREAT on the ultrasound today....lots of movement, practicing breathing movements, hands in the mouth, wiggling feet, and I even saw hair on his/her head! BP was 115/75.
• Total weight gain: 25 lbs. Surprisingly, I only gained a pound in the last 3 weeks.
• Gender: still a surprise!
• Movement: The kicks are really uncomfortable at times, especially in the evenings and it looks like there's an alien in there from the outside. Every now and then, I'll feel a foot or hand stick out the side. If I push it back in, he/she pushes it right back out. :)
• Sleep: I'm starting to wake up more to go to the bathroom, but usually go right back to sleep easily. I am generally uncomfortable in the bed by 6:30, so I just get up. I'm so fortunate to still be able to get about 8 hours at night!
• Cravings: Nothing in particular. After my last Dr. appt at 32 weeks, they called to tell me that I was anemic, so I've been trying to eat more red meat. I still can't handle the thought of a steak, but I've eaten a few hamburgers. I started taking iron supplements and feel a lot better!
• Symptoms: Just feeling BIG! Still going to the chiropractor regularly, but having some sharp sciatica pains every now and then. Nothing too terrible though.
• What's next: Continued NSTs each week and I'll see the Dr. again in 2 weeks, at 37 weeks. 

He got a great shot of the baby's face today!

The big 35 week belly. I'm not so sure this will be a 'smaller' baby because of the 2 vessel cord. ;)

20 Weeks: Half Way!

I can't believe it, but we're half way to meeting this sweet baby!

*I never know what to call the baby, since we're not finding out the gender, so to avoid calling the baby "it", I'm going to refer to him/her as Baby C (since Arabelle and Bo are A & B....not saying the name will start with a "C"...you know we haven't even discussed it!)

I had my 20 week ultrasound today and got lots of cute shots of the baby's profile. Baby C had their hands up near the face the whole time.

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along: 20 weeks 4 days
• Size of baby: About the size of a banana, 10 inches from it's head to heel. On the ultrasound, Baby C weighed an estimated 13 ounces (40th percentile)!
• Total Weight Gain: 7 lbs since my last appt....YES, 7 lbs in a month! I guess I really DID enjoy the Christmas season to the full extent. ;) 9 lbs total. Not too bad for half way, but more than ever for me. 
• Maternity Clothes: Definitely for pants. I've got several shirts that still work and have been wearing Lindsey's size Small maternity shirts. I'm sure I'll grow into my Mediums soon! 
• Gender: We didn't look when he did the measurements on the lower half (bladder, femur, umbilical cord, etc.), so we really don't know!
• Movement: Definitely feeling lots of kicks and jabs now throughout the day. I can see and feel the baby move from the outside now too. This is my favorite part!
• Sleep: I am still exhausted by the end of the day and want/need my 8 hours at night. 
• What I miss: Having a lot of energy, running
• Cravings: No cravings really...still can't stand the thought of a hamburger or steak right now. 
• Symptoms: I still feel nauseated most of the day, but it eases a bit right after a meal. Obviously the growing belly and baby kicks!
• Best moment of the week: seeing the baby on ultrasound today!

The ultrasound did show one issue, a single umbilical artery (SUA). Normally there are two arteries (delivering nutrients to the baby) and one vein. In 1% of pregnancies, the umbilical cord just has 2 vessels, 1 artery and 1 vein. SUA can be a marker for other problems (chromosomal and congenital malformations), but everything else on the ultrasound looked fine and my blood work for chromosomal disorders was normal, so there's no reason to think there's any other issues. The only thing is the risk of the baby not getting enough nutrients and growth slowing later on in the pregnancy, so there will be some extra monitoring as I go along. I'll go in a couple of weeks for a level 2 ultrasound in Macon just to get a more in-depth look at everything. This may mean I'll have a 7 lb baby instead of a 9.5 lb chunkster! ;)

In the mean time, we're just praying that everything is fine and trusting in God's plan. 

20 weeks

*Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7