On Saturday, January 28, 2012, we had the privilege of having our first baby shower to celebrate the life God has been knitting together in my womb over the last thirty some odd weeks. Our best friends, Josh and Laura Wilkerson, hosted our couples shower at our home for our friends and family. The day was filled with fun trivia games based on old wives tales and baby factoids, delicious food, fun conversations, and lots of gifts for Annelisa! One of my favorite parts of the day was opening each of the gifts and seeing what book or books had been selected for Annelisa. Laura chose to have our guests give a book with their gift instead of a card, each book reflected the people who gifted it to us! Laura also took some couple pictures of us, the one above and this one! She is a gifted photographer, who I choose to utilize whenever possible!
Our next baby shower took place on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. It was hosted by my dear friends at school: Laurie Martini, Cheryl Derrington, Tracey Thompson, and Tricia Wong. Northwood Hills Elementary has become a home away from home for the last six years and it was a strange feeling to become the center of attention during the shower. My NHE family blessed us greatly with kind words, sweet advice to our baby girl, and generous gifts! I was very blessed to have worked with so many people that care so much about me and my family.
On Thursday, February 16, 2012, we had our next doctors appointment for 32 weeks. We had a sonogram to check Annelisa's growth and my amniotic fluid levels. The appointment revealed that I have developed polyhydramnios, or the condition of having too much amniotic fluid. This prompted my OB to refer us to a high risk specialist to check to make sure that Annelisa was continuing to develop well. Polyhydramnios causes both she and I to measure ahead and it frequently can cause preterm labor. This diagnosis left both of us in shock and greatly changed my expectations of what the next 8 weeks would be like. Through many prayers, we began to process what this could mean for us and our precious Annelisa. Polyhdramnios can be caused by some birth defects, chromosomal issues, or just be an anomaly that is unspecified by screenings. Our journey, into these new waters, continued on Tuesday, February 21, when we were able to see the high risk specialist, Dr. Hickman, at Children's Hospital in Plano. We had a level 2 sonogram that revealed our baby girl is growing and developing well! We were able to watch her for over an hour and got to see some really cool 4D images of her! Apparently, having too much amniotic fluid makes for better 4D pictures! Based on this appointment, we are very much expecting a March delivery, instead of early April. Of course, we don't know the day or the hour when she will make her debut, so our preparations have shifted into high gear at home!
Here are some 4D images from our appointment last Tuesday:
The weekend between our 32 week appointment and the high risk specialist was spent unpacking, putting together, and inventorying our baby supplies to determine which items we would need to purchase before being "ready" for her birth. We have been very blessed by generous family and friends, so thankfully we have a fairly short, specific list of what we have to have to bring her home. I'll hopefully post a nursery update next weekend. There are lots of changes to show you!
I now have two appointments weekly for various screenings to closely monitor Annelisa's growth and development. On Mondays, I'll have a Non-Stress Test, or NST, to monitor her heart rate and uterine movements and see one of the doctors in my OB's practice. On Thursdays, I'll have a BPP sonogram and another NST test. This past week Annelisa did great! Moved a ton to the point of being difficult to track! I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to hear her heart beat often and to have a doctor's office willing to track me so closely to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible from here to delivery! Here is a sonogram picture of her profile and one of her arms:
In the midst of all of these things, we have completed six of the eight childbirth preparation classes we signed up for. We took two weeks of baby care and four weeks of childbirth. Next weekend, we'll finish with car seat installation and breast feeding. We are very pleased with our choice of Centennial Medical Center in Frisco. They have a great parent education program and they are in the business of making us satisfied patients/customers.
My last two baby bump pictures:
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| Week 30 |
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| Week 32 |
Weight gained: about 27 pounds total
Cravings: Sweet (mainly in the form of Chocolate Malts) and Tart (Cherry Limeades from Braum's!)
Most frustrating symptoms: difficulty sleeping, going to the bathroom very frequently, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed
Belly bump: measured 35 cm at my last doctor's appointment two weeks ago
Annelisa's measurements: about 2 and 1/2 weeks ahead, 87th percentile, about 5.8 pounds, oh and she has lots and lots of hair!! :)
