1 Week, 2 Days!

Well, we are almost there! I am so excited. Every appointment brings more excitement. Yesterday, I woke up at 4:15ish (AM) to take one of my usual nightly trips to the potty! When I was done, I continued to hear and feel a trickle that I had no control over. I thought that it was odd. In the morning I called my doctor and he was out on a delivery. His nurse said she wanted me to go to the hospital to be checked to make sure my water hadn't broken. Luckily it had not. They checked my cervix as well. It is still closed tight and her head is not "engaged." That was all good news as I reached 36 weeks yesterday. Today we went for my normal appointment. I have just been feeling very tired today! I kind of almost had the blah's! the doctor said that is normal for how far along I am. He did a quick sonogram and checked the baby. She is head down. She has plenty of fluid. Her heart rate was high, but he said she was just wide awake and moving like crazy! She was breathing and kicking her legs. He also guessed that she is already close to 7 lbs!!! That is big! He said I was measuring big and looked big. All of this is good news because it means there is a better possibility that she will be ready on next Friday. I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to come on her own! If not, I would be shocked if the amnio says she isn't ready. I am praying and counting on the amnio showing that she is ready! I am ready! I just want her to get here safe and sound. I want her to be healthy!

In the meantime, Jesstine and I are planning on spending a lot of these remaining days out of the summer heat and with my feet up! We hope all of you are doing well!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen, and Jesstine

2 Weeks Left!

Well, we have made it to 35 weeks. The last appointment was on Thursday. It was a bit different because my doctor was out of town on vacation. I had to see the other doctor. It ended up being just fine. He was very informative. I was checked for Strep B. Still don't know how that turned out. Also I have a bladder infection, so I had to be put on antibiotics to my dismay! I guess that is why the movements Jesstine has recently been making on my bladder have been a lot more sensitive (forget the fact that she is likely about 6 lbs. now)! As far as we know, she is growing well. My belly is measuring perfectly at 35 cm. I have video taped her moving and you can see my belly move.

There isn't really much else to update. I am still anxious. We are getting so close. People keep reminding me that this baby has been checked numerous times and has been given a clean bill of health. I appreciate their sentiments, but we were told that Babe B. was healthy as well. I know this baby doesn't have her heart defect, but I know that there are other things that are out of anyone's control that could still happen. I am just going to be anxious until she is in my arms crying! I have decided to only check the baby's heartbeat twice to three times a day. I am no longer counting how fast it is. I was just driving myself crazy!

Thank you for your continued prayers. Again, we are specifically praying that the amnio on August 8 will determine that she is ready to come and that everything goes smoothly from there. We really do appreciate all of your prayers and encouragement! It has been such a long road. We are looking forward to the new beginning that is to come!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen, and Jesstine

You do the hokey pokey....

and she's turned herself around....

We had another doctor's visit today. Firstly, my belly was measuring 34 cm. which is great because I am at 34 weeks! (If you remember last week, it was a week behind). Her heartrate was 144 which has been about the average lately when I calculate it myself. The best news is that she has flipped herself head down! We were talking to the doctor trying to set an actual time and date for the amnio. and he said he would really like to look and see if she was head up or head down. We stepped into the sonogram room and sure enough, she had turned herself! Again I was able to watch her breathe! I asked the doctor if it was possible to feel her breathing. He said that she is so big now that it is most certainly possible! I have been feeling her breathe a few times a day! It is just amazing. Seeing her breath is actually a promising sign that her lungs are developing correctly and she will be ready by August the 8th.

So, we have been scheduled for an amnio. on August 8, at 9:00 AM. They will likely get the results within and hour of that time. If the chemical levels look good, they will induce (or do a c-section if she flips again! They will be able to determine that during the amnio.) shortly afterwards. He says he thinks things will go fast and he will probably be able to get her here that day. If she is born a day later, that is okay too. That would put her birthday halfway between Daddy's and Mommy's birthdays.

We hope all of you are doing well! Please continue to pray for the health of Jesstine and I as we try and get through these last three weeks and two days!

In Him,
Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine

33 Weeks..Only 4 weeks and 2 days left!

It's us again! We had another appointment with the doctor today. It has been a nerve wrecking week! I barely slept Tuesday night. July 9 is the day that we found out that Babe B. was no longer alive. Little did I know, I had scheduled a doctor's appointment for that same day this year for Jesstine! I was a little anxious to say the least. For the most part things went well. We discussed a birthing plan and talked to the doctor about who Jesstine's doctor would be when she comes into this world. (They gave us a sheet to fill out. There is a section on circumcision. You are supposed to check one of three categories: Would like, No Strong View, or Wish to Avoid. I told the doctor that we wished to avoid circumcision because she is a girl. He had a good laugh at that!) The only thing that didn't go so great is that when he measured my belly, I was a cm short for the week. (The number of cm is supposed to match how many weeks you are into your pregnancy.) He didn't seem concerned. He said it could just be the way she was lying. He also looked at my records and noticed that I hadn't had a fetal growth sonogram since week 20. So, he gave me orders to get one done. That is always done at the office of my PCP. I called my PCP's office directly after I got home and they were able to get me in that day! I was amazed. The results that we know so far are: 1.) Amniotic fluid levels are great. 2.) Placenta looked healthy and in a great place. 3.) Jesstine looked wonderful and was certainly not small! Her measurements calculated that she was actually 6 days ahead and in like the 59th percentile or something! The only measurement I caught out of all of that was that she weighs roughly 5 lbs! She is basically as big as a 34 week old baby. We were very pleased after that visit! What was even more special is that my mom, who is home recovering from surgery, was able to come with us. She was teary and all she could say at first was, "She is SO beautiful!"

So, here are the results of the latest photo shoot! There were times when she wouldn't let us see her face. Then she wouldn't hold her foot still so we could get a good shot of it! Also, she is currently breech again. I am okay with that if she stays that way. The doctor already said he wouldn't do anything to try and turn her. He would opt for a c-section because of what we have been through. There are greater chances of a cord problem when they attempt to turn a baby. Not to mention it hurts a lot! So, here is our glamor girl. I will try to describe the pictures as best as I can for those of you who see nothing but black and white when it comes to these things.

1.) In this first picture, her head is slightly tilted to the side (her head is on the left of the picture) and she has her hand under her chin. It stayed there for most of the procedure. That is why we say she was being a glamour girl! It was as though she was posing! 2.) Her head is tilted backwards and you can see her nose, lips and chin very clearly! This little one has some chubby cheeks! 3.) to the bottom left are her feet, crossed at the ankles. If you start at the top right, you will see her thighs. Follow those down and then you will see her calves. Then her ankles are crossed and her feet are at the bottom left.

1.) These are pretty obvious. They are the bottoms of her feet. The one on the left (which I think is actually her left foot) was always moving, so it was difficult to get a clear picture of her toes. It looks like her second toe curls under her big toe. That is characteristic of her Daddy's feet! 2.) these show her foot, ankle, and calf of both feet. I can't wait to see them playing soccer someday soon!

We hope you and yours are doing well. We are almost there.

Love,
Lacie, Stephen and Jesstine

5 Weeks and Counting

Well, we had another appointment this week. Actually I had one yesterday and then noticed a little dampness that wasn't usually there before, so we went back today to make sure I wasn't leaking amniotic fluid. The post title for last week sure is fitting for our little monkey! The doctor did a sonogram just to make sure the fluid level looked good. It was great of course! She is head up again though! The little monkey! I thought I felt her moving around last night! We went to my mom's to spend the evening with her and help her out (she just had surgery). As I was eating my dinner (steakburger from Freddy's Frozen Custard), Jesstine was a wild woman! It is because she is head over heals for Grandma I think! Anyhow, still looking good. I am feeling a lot of bladder shots today because her feet are really moving. We also got to see her breathing again! It was so cool! I have actually felt it with my hand, I just didn't know exactly what I was feeling! I can even hear it a little on the sonogram. It doesn't sound like Darth Vader or anything, but it sounds different when mixed in with her heart beat. Oh the joys of pregnancy! At least I can find something comforting about being pregnant! I am getting to that point where almost everything I do is uncomfortable!

I wanted to share a picture of this blanket with you! I am so proud of it. I had this blanket from Babe B. It was a really bright green color. I have SO many blankets, but most are green or yellow. Not really many are girly for Jesstine. So I thought I would get her name put on this one to make it more girly. (What the pictures don't show is that it was a very bright green before I put her name on it. The purple kind of toned it down a bit.) There is a place close to my house that embroiders stuff and it only cost $8.50! It turned out absolutely beautiful! So, I guess Grandmom will be happy that Jesstine has a "show blanket" now! I think it is something she will cherish later in life too.

Well, until next time! Keep praying that our girl arrives safely no matter how or when she gets here!

Love,
Lacie, Stephen, and Jesstine