36 Weeks

On Wednesday I had my weekly sonogram. Lucas is looking great, the amniotic fluid is at a good level, the umbilical cord placement isn't as off as they first thought, and he's weighing in at a healthy 6 pounds 5 ounces.

Today I had my OB appointment and his heartbeat registered at 148, and my big ol' belly measured in at 39 cm. Which equates to a 39 week belly, 3 weeks ahead. So I'm a little big, but not too bad.

The countdown is on, just 12 days to go until we get to meet our new little monkey!

I have a pretty good sonogram photo to share this week too, it's his profile, can you see it?

35 Week Checkup

I went in today for my weekly sonogram. There are two things they are monitoring right now:

1. The amniotic fluid level.
2. The blood flow in the umbilical cord.

Both looked great today! I go back again next Wednesday and I'll let you know more on him then.

Sonogram

I had a regularly scheduled sono yesterday. Lucas is up to 4 pounds 13 ounces, and looks great! They would like to start seeing me every 2 weeks until he arrives, to keep an eye on my amniotic fluid, because of the problems I had with Colin. So far, my AI is at 17%, which is smack dab in the middle of the "normal" range.

As for my newest little monkey, he has been getting lots of hiccups lately. It started about 2 weeks ago and has steadily increased. He actually has them as I write this. It's funny because sometimes you can see my belly bounce with each hiccup he has.

We do have a photo from the sonogram, and I'll try to get it posted tonight.


Profile shot top of his head is towards the right side. His arm is wrapped around his head, so it's kinda blurry.

Sonograms

I have a few sonogram photos to share. The first two are from my stay in the hospital, and are dated May 30th. The last one is from a regularly scheduled sonogram on June 12th.

At both appointments Lucas looked very healthy, they did thorough checks on both occasions. The only thing they would like to keep an eye on is more with me than with him. The umbilical cord is connected to my placenta on the edge, which can mean low weight and nutrients for Lucas. That doesn't seem to be an issue with this "little" one.

At the June 12th sonogram, 27 weeks, he was weighing in at a healthy 3 pounds, placing him in the 78th percentile! I went back and looked at Colin's estimated weight for this time frame and he weighed in at 3 pounds 1 ounce at 28 weeks, so little brother Lucas is following pretty closely in his big brother's path.


25 week profile


Big foot!


28 week profile

Surprise Sonogram

I ended up going back into the doctor yesterday because I woke up with some sharp pains in my pelvic, to the point I couldn't stand up straight, and realized I hadn't felt him move since I went to bed the night before. So the doctor had me come in and thankfully, on the way there, I felt Lucas move twice. They sent me for a sonogram to make sure all was okay.

He was perfect, kicking and moving away, weighing in at 1 pound 10 ounces, which is what a 24 week baby should look like, so he is a big boy :) I looked good and Lucas did too, so all was okay.

I've been doing a lot of gardening lately, and both doctors thought I had probably just over done it and ordered me to rest for the next 24 hours. So, I'm taking it easy today, just happy that all is okay.

I'll post some photos from the sonogram soon!

Introducing...The New Mr. Baker

As you already know, we are now expecting our second son, and after much thought, discussion and debate, we've decided on the name Lucas Clarke Baker. How did we get to that decision?

Lucas was simply a name we thought fit well with the name Colin, it's a name you don't hear everyday, but when you hear it, it doesn't sound strange. Clarke is Brad's father's and grandfather's middle name, so we are following a family tradition.

So let's start from the beginning. We had been trying to get pregnant for a few months with no luck. We had decided to take a couple of months off at the end of the year to avoid an August/September baby. Then laying in bed one early January evening we realized I was already over a week late. Brad forgot about it, but I didn't. He went to work and I took a test. That was the hardest secret to keep for an entire day! I wanted to tell him so bad, I couldn't stop smiling. I wanted to tell Brad in a special, memorable way. So I made a onesie for Colin to wear that said "I'm the Big Brother" and had a picture of a baby and a toddler. So when Daddy came home, Colin was wearing the onesie and I had placed his jacket over it, zipped up. We were playing in the front yard when Daddy got home. We came inside and I asked Brad to take his jacket off while I went to the restroom. I waited to hear something, but didn't. So I came around the corner and Brad was holding Colin up studying his shirt. He said, "I don't get this, where did he get this shirt?" The letters were iron-on and the "B" in "Big" had started to fall off. I started laughing, and pulled the test out of my pocket. He caught on then.

We had our first appointment at about 7 weeks and got to hear the heart beat, a beautiful sound. That is when we received our due date of September 10. Our second appointment was at 11 weeks, and we again got to hear the heartbeat and got a picture.

Yesterday, we had our 18 week sonogram. We got a very healthy report card, Lucas is weighing in at 10 ounces and 5.5 inches. About the size of a dollar bill. This is also when we learned he is a he. We were very excited, we both really wanted a boy, thinking that he and Colin would play and get along better. Brad surprised me by taking the whole day off so we could follow the tradition we had set when we had Colin. We celebrated all the good news by shopping for Lucas. We bought an outfit, his bedding and a couple of blankys for him to cuddle with when he gets here.

Reminder: For the photos click on them, and they will pop up larger, so you can get a good look at Mr. Lucas.


Profile


His fingers spread out by his face.


Another profile.


The first one is a front view of his face, hands by his head, and body. The second photo is the "male proof." hehe

Ultrasound

We just had another ultrasound, little Colin is weighing in just under 7 pounds, at 6 pounds 14 ounces. This means, by the time he is born he'll be right around 8 pounds. They measured everything from his head, to his belly, to his kidneys and all is looking great. Everything on me looked good as well, including the placenta and the amniotic fluid. Little Colin is still breech though. We got some really good photos, I'll post them as soon as I can. We're still trying to unpack.

33 Week Sonogram

Well, we had a great appointment today with the ultrasound doctor. Colin looks nice and strong and healthy. They checked each chamber of his heart, took measurements of nearly everything, checked my amniotic fluid level, the placenta, etc. Everything checked out "great." As the doctor said, "This kid looks great." He is measuring 5 pounds 6 ounces, so a little above average, but not too big. He is in the 63rd percentile for weight. He is also practicing breathing, which according to both doctors we saw today, is a very good sign. We even got to see that Colin has hair! We could actually see it floating around in the amniotic fluid.

The only downside to today's appointment is that Colin is still breech, meaning his head is still up. Not only is he breech, but he is what is called Frank Breech. This means his bottom is in my pelvis and he is basically in a "U-Shape," where his feet are directly in front of his face. Being 33 weeks and the size he is, the doctor said realistically he most likely will not be able to turn on his own and because of the position of my placenta, it would be dangerous for the doctors to try and turn him. Therefore, I will most likely end up having a C-section. Though this is disappointing, the only real thing that matters is that he and I are both healthy.

The picture below is a close up of Colin's face. You can see the brighter white spot in the middle is his nose, the shadows on each side of that white spot are his eyes, the shadow below it is his mouth and the two lighter patches of white are his chubby little cheeks, really chubby according to the doctor. The two little smudges below all that are his hands, which are tucked up under his chin. If you ask me, he looks just like his Daddy! He definitely has his nose I think!

We're so anxious, maybe only 1 more month if they end up getting him out early!

28 Week Sonogram

We had our fourth sonogram this morning and got to see little Colin again. He's still in a breach position (his head is up toward my ribs and his feet are down lower), which he's been in every time we've had a sonogram. The doctor joked that someone needed to teach him how to turn around. Hehe.

He's gotten quite big! He's at 3 pounds 1 ounce. Which means he is measuring in at 30 weeks, which gives a delivery date of December 8. This doesn't change our due date, just means he's a little big, but not "alarmingly" big. The doctor says everything looks nice and healthy and that unless I have any problems with my blood pressure he doesn't need to see me back. Which is a little disappointing, I like to see my little boy!

I've posted the picture below, unfortunately it doesn't come out very well on the computer. If you look to the left of the photo you are looking at Colin's little face staring right back at you. You can see his nose, the roundness of his head and the shadows of his eyes and his chubby little check. Towards the right is his round little body and a foot. I wish I could explain it better, but I don't know how!

Sonogram 2

Today we had our second sonogram. It was very nice to be able to see Colin. The doctor said Colin and I look healthy and we are progressing normally. Colin weighed in today at 1 pound, 7 ounces. No wonder I can feel him move more and more each day, he's getting big!

We've been blessed with some really great doctors, always very pleasant and helpful and they both try to put us at ease as best they can. When the doctor asked what we planned to name him and we told him Colin, he informed us that Colins are predisposed to have a mean mischievous streak. Apparently he has a son named Colin who just turned 14 and "discovered his Mohawk." lol!

We're not scared, right Brad?

I was also given the good news that he would like me to stop taking my blood pressure medication I've been taking for 3 weeks, he doesn't feel it is necessary, so I am very happy about that. I didn't want to take it in the first place, but am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure Colin and I are safe and healthy.

Thanks for all the prayers everyone!

19 Weeks

We had our 18 week sonogram on Tuesday and were delighted to find out that the baby is nice and healthy, developing nicely, and shows no signs of birth defects. The doctor informed us he has even learned to swallow (a skill he might need later) as he had liquid in his belly. Oh, and he is in fact a he. At the insistence of Gramma Baker we even got to see his "manly parts" on the big screen. He is weighing in right now at 11 ounces, a good 2-4 ounces ahead of schedule.

We will get to see him again in 4 weeks, the doctor would like us to come back once his heart is a little more developed.

With each passing day he is becoming more active, I feel him move pretty much everyday now, including a few good kicks.

As for mom, I'm becoming more and more uncomfortable as Colin's home becomes larger and shifts things around. My nauseau continues, so I'm still taking the medicine from the doctor. Though I haven't been quite as tired lately. My cravings come and go, the two that are most consisitent are milk and fruit (both good things to crave!).

As for this blog, I plan to post a few times each week and give updates on the progress of Colin, mommy, and daddy. Starting next week, I'm going to have Brad take weekly "belly shots" so we can keep an eye out on how big the bump grows over the next 4 and a half months. Also, this page has the ability for users to post comments on each of the blog postings, so feel free to leave a message for any of us.

Below are the sonogram photos from Tuesday. See his nice big head and that handsome profile?!