October 28th - busy day

October 28th = the day of doctor appointments. 
The boys and I started the fun off in Little Rock at 8:15 am with an appointment with ultrasound. Dr Henry (or rather Karen) set up my appointment at my previous OB appointment since I am measuring so far ahead of schedule. I did not get any super cute pics, nor did I get to see baby Lex's sweet little face. I was a little bummed about that. As of that morning, he is measuring roughly 6 lbs 10 oz. I have a little over 5 weeks left and at this stage it is said that most baby's gain on average 1/2 lb a week. I don't think I am going to have a newborn, he will just be too big. I had hopes of having a smaller boy this time, oops. Also, since he is measuring so much bigger, the ultrasound is predicting my delivery date to be around Nov 27th, instead of the Dec 7th date we currently have set. This meant plenty to talk to my doctor about. 
We then headed back to Conway for appointments for Aaron and Garrett for well child checks and Aaron's basketball physical. Both boys checked out great. Aaron was little embarrassed by his physical when they had to do the hernia check but all and all, they are doing well. The doctor just told Aaron that he needs to get more active and eat more veggies. 
After we finished there we  headed over for vision exams. This was so awesome. Our new vision doctor has some of the coolest technology. Garrett is in prime vision, he has almost perfect vision and the slight vision imperfection the doctor could find would normally never be predicted if it weren't for the new technology he has. Aaron's left eye has gotten stronger since his last vision appointment but it seems he has a stigmatism in both eyes. We ordered him a new set of glasses. And for me, well, I was told that I need to go back in after Lex is born so that he can make sure where my vision is, since pregnancy causes vision changes. I was told I pretty much wasted my time coming, but better to come now than not at all. 
After vision was the dental exams for Garrett & myself. Aaron's dental  appointment had been during my previous doctor appointment. Again, Garrett passed with flying colors. We are going to see about having him fit for a "Crib" since he is still a thumb sucker. This should help keep from needing braces later. We need to make appointments to have his impressions made for the crib device, an appointment to have Aaron's filling done, and I (like with my vision exam) need to make an appointment for after Lex's arrival, however so far on me, no cavities, which is always good. 
By this time it was close to 2:30 and we still had not eaten, so we ran through a drive thru and headed back to Little Rock for my OB appointment. 
Dr. Henry did not seemed concerned about the new "due date" the ultrasound had given me and I was too tired at that point to make sense of it. After 2 years and especially 8 months of telling me that I can't go into labor naturally or risk the chance of rupturing and bleeding out, he told me this last visit that if things happen to progress naturally that they will just let me have a vaginal delivery. Seriously???!! This now makes me nervous. My weight gain is still going well, with only 1 lb gained during the last 2 weeks. My measurements are still 3 weeks ahead of where I am, and apparently Lex was tired of being poked and prodded since every time they tried to find the heart beat he would turn or kick the device away. My next appointment is Nov 11th. This is almost comical to me.Since both boys were early, I am more likely to deliver early with Lex. Even more comical since Garrett was 5 weeks early and Nov 9th would be 5 weeks early for Lex from my original due date of Dec 14th. I guess nature will decided. Dr Henry decided against putting me on oral meds to keep me from going into labor. My question, what happens if I do go into labor and I rupture? How much time will I have? With where I live it's a good 15 minutes to the nearest hospital, and a good 30 minutes to a hospital where my doctor practices. Yes, this is a little scary to me.

On a lighter note, today is Halloween. The boys are ready to go walk the neighborhood tonight and beg for candy. Aaron tried to have a Halloween party last night but it kinda fizzled. Maybe next year will be better, we didn't have much planning time this year. His friend TJ did get to come over and stay the night. This year for Halloween we will have a "Jason" and a "L". I hope the pictures turn out well.

October 14th visit

I had another doctors appointment on Thursday, October 14th. 

That morning, I got up, got the boys off to school, got dressed and went to work. Aaron was scheduled to have an appointment with his FINS officer and a dentist appointment that afternoon right after lunch but before my appointment. Unfortunately, his officer called me mid morning to tell me she would have to reschedule since she was not feeling well. I left at lunch anyway to pick Aaron up from school since I told him I would be picking him up around noon and knew he would not be eating lunch at school. We stopped by and grabbed a bite to eat before heading back to my office so I could finish up some work before heading to the dentist. The dentist office visit went well. I was amazed at some of the gadgets they had. We are trying a new dentist in Conway.
After the dentist we headed to Little Rock for my appointment. We arrived about 15 minutes late but I had called in advance to let them know I was running behind. I forgot my schedule of blood sugar checks, and Dr Henry wasn't happy about that. I have to fax them over to him. We measured my belly which is measuring almost 4 weeks further along than what I am. I was just 31 weeks, but my measurement was over 34 but just shy of 35. This coupled with the contractions I had been having, Dr Henry asked Karen to make sure she faxed my chart over that day to St Vincent in case I go into labor before my next visit. He did do a cervix check on me to see if I had started to dialate, and so far so good, everything is normal, no progressing at all. Although he did seem concerned, after doing the check, Dr Henry decided to wait once again before putting me on medication to keep me from going into labor.

Karen has scheduled an ultrasound appointment for my next visit on Oct 28th. I will go in that morning for my ultrasound, then the boys and I will have another full day of appointments as we head to their well checks, vision and dental exams, after which I will go back in and see Dr Henry for my OB exam. In less than 2 weeks I will get to see my little one on the screen again and bring home new pics. After that, I will have only 5 weeks until I get to hold him. It is getting down to crunch time. This is a little intimidating. I realized the other day that if I work up until I have him, I have only 31 actual works days left. 

My baby shower is scheduled for Nov 13th at 2 pm in Conway. My friend Gena is hosting it for me. She told me last weekend she would have the invites out this past Tuesday. I hope she did get them mailed. 

Oh and here is a picture that Aaron took of me Wednesday morning I believe. See how big I am getting.

Busy weekend with Aaron home

I was finally able to get Aaron. He is home and I couldn't be happier. He seems to have adjusted well while he was gone. I couldn't ask for a better son since he's been home. It has been less than a week, but still, he seems to have made awesome advancement in so many areas.

I have been busier than busy since he has been home. Friday was graduation day and they asked that we be there by 9 although the ceremony did not start until 10. After which, we went out to eat lunch. Lunch included Razorback Pizza in Maumelle with my loving husband, Aaron, Aaron's best friend, Garrett, Aaron's father (aka the ex), his fathers wife, her daughter, her sister and my ex mother and father in law oh and my neighbor (aka Aaron's Mentor). To many this was a very interesting experience. To me, this is not really anything out of the norm. After lunch, we (Aaron, Garrett, myself and the best friend) came home to change and then we headed out to Aaron's school to get him registered for classes. After registering, we then ran to do grocery shopping. Friday night consisted of sandwiches for dinner followed by a movie that Aaron has been wanting to see, Resident Evil 4, Afterlife. Once we came home, it was time for unwinding and bed.

Saturday morning we woke up, I made french toast for everyone, then we headed out to the Jacksonville Airshow, Thunder over the Rock. I got some pretty cool pictures and we were able to see the inside of some of the big plans and sit in a helicopter.

Once we arrived home saturday afternoon, Aaron had friends come over. We bbq'd burgers and after eating all the "boys" sat around and played Halo.

Sunday we got up and went to church, but since I wasn't feeling well, we did not stay for the full service.

Since then Aaron and I have had a lot of talks. We have watched movies together as a family and he and Ben have spent time playing video games. Aaron is loving being back at school.

Tomorrow will be another busy day for us. He and I have to go meet with his FINS officer, and then he has a dentist appointment after which I have another 2 week check up.

Looking forward to an afternoon spent together. 

Ultra Sound Picture from 8.5.10

October 1 Visit

I had my appointment at 9 am on Friday October 1, 2010. I met with Dr Jones, Dr Henry's new partner. She is very sweet, quiet, reserved, but very smart. She is young I would say close to my age, but then some people are hard to age. 

I started with my weigh in, blood pressure, and basic info with Karen, Dr Henry's nurse. Karen is super sweet and I adore her. My weigh in again I had not gained any weight. I am seeing this as a good sign. My blood pressure was great as always. Both Karen and Dr Henry have been very impressed with how well I am taking care of myself. 

Dr Jones came in and reviewed my chart. We discussed several things. I have been having a lot of pain due to extra stress at work. And since with both Aaron & Garrett, I had back labor, I had to ask about some symptoms I have had over the last few weeks, which apparently are "normal" contractions. I have to monitor these and keep track of them. Dr Jones is unsure at this point if they are Braxton Hicks or true contractions since I have a history of preterm labor. We also discussed again the weird spells that I have where it feels like I can't breathe and my arms and legs go numb as well as my head starts to spin. I am to track these as well. It is believed that it is normal issues with my blood pressure and the pregnancy but I almost don't feel like that is the case. She was a little concerned about a few very high sugar readings that I have had over the past few weeks but I chalk it up to mostly stress. I was measured again and am right at 31 weeks. So not too much growth since last visit. Dr Jones thinks the baby must have gone through a growth spurt. The heart beat was good and strong. 

I will meet with Dr Henry again on Oct 14th. Dr Jones decided to let him see about placing me on medication for keeping me from going into labor. I believe it will be at that time that I will set up another ultrasound to track the development and growth of the baby. We are calling him "Lex", but since Ben is still somewhat in denial, we try not to use the "he" word. After this next ultrasound we will definitely know if this is a boy or girl. Lex is safe since we had picked out Alexis for a girl of which I would have called her Lex and Ben would have called her Lexi. 

As I was leaving Karen did confirm that we are scheduled for delivery on December 7th, 2010 at 11:30. It did take me a while to confirm the hospital but I was able to get that accomplished. Dr Henry had not yet scheduled with the hospital. I wanted to deliver at St Vincent so his office manager called over and it is confirmed with the St Vincent that we will deliver there on Dec 7th. I will need to be there by 9am. And they have me scheduled for a 4 day stay. This is where all the tricky stuff starts coming into play. I have to find out who is going to help out with the boys as well as with me once I come home. Ben does not have time off to be able to take, so this scares me a little. 

I think that brings everything up to date. Maybe next visit will bring "new" news, or something more exciting. Tuesday, Oct 5th, I will be 30 weeks along. I am delivering at 39. Time is going too fast. Only 9 weeks and 3 days from today.