Bristol is 2 Months Old!

Bristol is now 2 months old!  She was actually two months old a week ago today, but I have been waiting to do a post about it until we had her well-baby visit and knew her stats.  On Thursday, she weighed 9 lbs, 11 oz, was 22 1/2 inches tall, and has a 14 1/2 inch head.  So she gained about a pound and a half, grew an inch and a half, and her head grew some, too.  She is just below the 10th% for weight and is between the 25th% and 50th% for height.

Dr. Akrawi said he would have liked to see her gain a full 2 pounds and is a little concerned that she dropped percentiles this month (from the low-end between 10th%-25th% to just below 10th%).  He said she looks healthy, though, and doesn't look skinny or anything.  She's growing and she is surpassing all of the development milestones, so he's not super concerned about it... but he does want us to come back in a week for a weight check.  He wants her to eat more and wondered if we are doing BabyWise/scheduling her feedings and if I am producing enough milk.  I said nope, we aren't doing BabyWise, that I know his views on that... and explained how demanding Bristol is when she is hungry, that you cannot put it off.  She eats till she won't take anymore.  She'll eat, then need a burp break, then eat some more and will burp again.  I always offer her more after her burps.  Sometimes she'll take more, sometimes she won't, but she definitely has the option.  I also told him that if she does eat more than normal at each feeding (like during her growth spurts), she oftentimes just spits up a good portion of the extra milk she drank... her stomach can't hold anymore.  Yet he wants us to try to get her to eat more... so we'll give it a try, but I'm not going to force Bristol to overeat if she doesn't want to.

We've been using cloth diapers now for about 6 weeks.  They are awesome.  I think the prefolds with covers are actually my favorites.  We have both Thirsties Duo Wrap covers and Bummis Super Brite covers and they are both great.  We also have a good variety of pocket diapers... Perfect Size Fuzzibunz, One Size Fuzzibunz, one-size Rumparooz, one-size bumGenius, one-size KatyDid, and one-size Blueberry.  We haven't been able to wear the Blueberry diaper yet b/c the waist will not get small enough, but we've used all of the others.  My favorite pocket diaper overall are the Perfect Size Fuzzibunz and my favorite out of the one-sizers are the Rumparooz, with bumGenius being a close second.  The others are all great, too, though.  Bristol's raw butt and rash are all cleared up now, thanks to the cloth diapers and CJs BUTTer diaper cream (safe for cloth diapers).  We tried two other cloth diaper safe diaper creams that didn't really help, but they're fine to use now that she's healed up.  And we're still using Rock'n Green to wash the diapers, which we've been very happy with.  I have been amazed at the power of the sun to get all those newborn poo stains out of the white diapers.  An hour in the sun and its like we have brand new diapers again!  It is wonderful!

Ok, now back to Bristol.  :)  She is such a happy little baby and really doesn't cry very often (for her mama, at least... others would beg to differ, I'm sure).  She smiles so much and gets super excited when you talk to her and sing to her.  She "talks" to us quite often, too.  If you say "hi" to her in a sing-songey voice, she will make the same noise back at you... it honestly sounds like she is saying "hi."  She has also learned how to click her tongue on the roof of her mouth, make a kissy noise, and gurgle and blow bubbles.

Bristol loves to play Pat-a-Cake and This Little Piggy.  She loves her playmat, her bouncy seat, and now loves her swing finally, too.  Her favorite person is still Carson.  She will just watch his every move and she gets most excited to see him.  He is awesome with Bristol, too.  He really is the best big brother.  :)
Bristol continues to be so strong.  She really is controlling her head and neck very well now.  She is such a curious little thing and always wants to be looking around so she knows what is going on.  Her favorite way to be carried is facing outwards from your body with your arm across her belly... both to help relieve gas bubbles and mostly so she can see what is happening. 

We really think Bristol has started the teething process.  She is a drool machine, chews on her hands, and just naws on your fingers or her paci.  We haven't gotten a good look in her mouth to see if we can see any teeth under the gums yet.  We're just hoping she has an easier time with it than Carson did. 

Sibling Love!

Carson was so excited when we shared the news that we were going to have a baby.  He had been asking us for a brother or sister for over a year at that point, so he was so thrilled.  His excitement and anticipation grew as the pregnancy progressed.  We found out he would have a baby sister and he looked forward to the day she would join us almost more than Kevin and I.  Throughout everything, we wondered how Carson would actually be once Bristol was born.  Would the novelty wear off quickly?  Would he be wishing for his only-childhood again within weeks?  Or maybe even within days?  Or would he just continue to adore her and protect her?

Bristol is now 7 weeks old and Carson adores her more and more every day.  As soon as Carson met Bristol on her first day out of the womb, he was immediately filled with a sense of pride, love, and "big brotherness" that you could just see emanating from his whole little self.  It was incredibly sweet and so awesome to witness.  And Carson has continued to just adore Bristol.  He is so protective of her.  He showers her with affection - hugs, kisses and praise.  He asks to hold her many times a day.  And each time he holds her, you can see the love he has for her.  When he's not holding Bristol, he is telling her how beautiful she is, how cute she looks, how much he loves her, what he is going to do for her, etc.  When Bristol is upset, Carson is often right there, holding her hand and telling her "your big brother is here sister, everything is going to be ok."  It is so sweet.

Bristol also just adores her big brother.  He is her favorite person.  He was rewarded with her first true smile.  He just captures her attention like no one else.  Bristol loves it when Carson is holding her, singing to her, talking to her, reading books to her, and playing with her.  She already looks up to him so much, it is incredible.  And so sweet.  We really hope they never grow out of their  love for one another.  I'm sure it will be tested at times, like when Bristol becomes mobile.  But who knows, they may surprise us again.

Having two kids is such a blessing.  Our family feels complete and perfect.  We are so thankful for these two children.  We are loving every minute of it (well almost... the gassy evenings and sleepless nights wear on us/me... but I wouldn't trade it for the world, either).  We look forward to watching Carson and Bristol grow up... and hope their love for one another continues... even once Bristol starts going after Carson's toys.  ;) 

Bristol is 1 Month Old!

Its hard to believe it has already been a month since our beautiful little girl joined our family, but it was a month on Wednesday!  I just wanted to wait to post until we had our 1-month well-baby check-up, which we had this afternoon.  Bristol is growing very well.  She now weighs 8 pounds, 4 ounces, is 21 inches long, and has a 14 1/8 inch head circumference.  This puts her in the 10th percentile for weight, between the 10th and 25th percentiles for height, and between the 5th and 10th percentiles for head circumference.  She's still pretty tiny, but she is growing very well, considering her weight dropped to 6 pounds, 6 ounces at 4 days after birth.  She is still wearing mostly newborn size clothes, but has been able to wear a few 3-month outfits that run a little smaller.  She's our little peanut.  :)
 
Bristol is such a joy to us.  We love to see her grow and develop her little personality.  Based on the way she was in the womb, I figured she would be demanding.  Turns out I was right, at least so far.  Kevin says she is dramatic, I say she is a diva.  But really she just knows what she wants, when she wants it, and she lets you know.  Which I don't think is a bad thing, really.  It means she is decisive and will hopefully continue this trait on and become a good leader.  :)

Bristol is developing well.  She loves to play and kick on her playmat.  She gets so excited when she is playing there and will start cooing and squealing.  Bristol is so strong, too.  Since her first week, she has held her neck up incredibly well for being so young and she is learning to control it already, though she still has a ways to go with that. :)  She really likes tummy time and can pull her knees up under her already and scoots around a good deal.  She is always rolling over onto her side from her back and tries so hard to roll from her tummy to her back. 

Bristol also loves her bouncy seat and loves to be read to and sung to.  She basically just likes to hear your voice at all times she is awake.  If you walk away for a second or get distracted and stop talking to her, she is likely to get impatient and let you know she is still there and wants your attention.  :)  Bristol tolerates the swing for a short time, but its not her favorite thing... it mostly makes her spit up.  ;)  She also is a big fan of cuddling and loves to be worn in the Moby wrap.  Sara wears her around quite often, both of them loving every second of it! 

Bristol has started to smile quite often and has begun to smile when she recognizes one of us.  Carson was the first to get a true smile out of her and he has definitely achieved the most smiles from her, too.  But Kevin and Sara have each gotten some good smiles, too.   Its just so sweet! 

We're still having some rash, poo, and reflux issues.  Poor baby girl has had an awful rash since her first week.  It turned into several raw spots quite quickly and still remains that way.  Her poo is quite runny and the pediatrician believes it may be acidic, which does not allow the rash to heal.  I still suspect the disposable diapers and wipes are a culprit, as well.  We had planned to begin using cloth diapers during her 2nd week, but can't make the switch while we're using the different diaper creams and prescription ointments on her rash.  We did stop using the disposable wipes at home now and it does seem to help.  Bristol no longer cries out in pain when we are cleaning her up, at least.  Even the sensitive disposable wipes seem to have been too much on her skin.  Since things aren't getting any better, I'm considering making the switch to cloth and forgetting all the ointments and creams and just using the cloth diaper safe stuff we have to see how things go.  I just hope it doesn't make it any worse. 

We are still trying to figure out what in my diet is causing her the runny poo, gas, and reflux, too.  At this point, I am avoiding all dairy, chocolate, caffeine, coconut, gassy veggies, and things with a lot of sugar in them.  But Bristol's poo is not improving.  Her gas is better, though.  But she still has the reflux, though it doesn't really phase her now.  So there have been some improvements.  If only we could get her poo to not be quite so runny/liquid. 

In spite of the poo, gas and reflux issues and her demanding temperament, Bristol really doesn't cry a lot.  She will get quite upset, very quickly, and gets very loud fast (she has her mama's temper, we think), but she also calms down very quickly once she gets what she wants.

So far, life with two kids is great!  Bristol has fit in almost seamlessly, really.  Of course, life is different (I am really missing my sleep - lol!), but its not as different as we/I expected it to be.  I was prepared for more acting out from Carson, feeling disconnected from Carson on some levels, etc.  But we haven't experienced much acting out at all, nor have I felt any disconnect, for which I am very grateful!   Maybe these things are still to come, but for now we are just rolling with it and enjoying life, trying to make the most of my maternity leave! 

This weekend Bristol will get to meet some of our extended family from Wisconsin.  They're coming to town for a family reunion out at Aunt Sharon's house.  Hopefully we all hold up well and are able to make it through the weekend of festivities. 

Bristol's Birth Announcement

The First Couple Weeks

The first couple of weeks of Bristol's life went by far too quickly for our liking.  Kevin was home with us for them and it just seemed like he had to return to work much too soon.  But you gotta do what you gotta do... and we did. 

Bristol had a lot of visitors during the first couple of weeks.  Lots of family and friends.  Grandma, Grandpa, and Carson were our first visitors in the hospital the morning after Bristol was born.  Carson was so excited to meet his little sister.  You could tell he was totally smitten with her immediately.  He was such a proud big brother and he just adores his sister. 

Carson stayed up at the hospital with us all day that first day.  Grandpa and Grandma went home in the morning and we were able to spend some time together as a family of four.  Carson was so well-behaved all day at the hospital and was just loving our new little family.  We all were.  :)   We had a lot of visitors on that first day... Great Poppy, Papa and Nana, Aunt Lindsay and Dave, Uncle Danny, Aunt Sharon and Uncle Reno, Uncle Jason, Aunt Julie, Anna, Joel and Jonah. 

On Tuesday afternoon around lunch time, the room we were staying in started leaking from the ceiling near the entrance.  So we were switched to a new room.  The new room was like a palace compared to the other rooms.  It was so huge, spacious, bright, and wonderful!  It had a whirlpool tub, even!  It is the old water birthing suite, I guess.  But it was so nice to be in such a beautiful room! 

Tuesday was a tiring day with all the visitors and trying to figure out breastfeeding and getting to know our little one, but we were so excited for everyone to meet Bristol, too.  She actually still did not have a name for the entire day.  We knew her middle name and last name, of course.  But we could not decide on a first name.  Throughout the day, we narrowed it down to Bristol, Liliana, and Harper.  By the time we went to sleep that night, we had narrowed it down to Bristol and Harper.  But we still had no idea what it would end up being.

On Wednesday, we had to decide on her name.  We ended up choosing Bristol.  It just seemed to fit her best and we both liked the name a lot.  We had just been hesitant to commit to it because we feared too much association with Bristol Palin... whom Kevin and Sara cannot stand.  But we figure our Bristol will make the name look good.  ;-P 

We were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, just after lunch.  We were anxious to get home and get settled and to get Carson back with us!  He had spent Tuesday night with Grandma and Grandpa again so Kevin could stay at the hospital.  Sara was finding it slightly challenging/painful with the stitches to scoot in and out of the bed to get Bristol from her bassinet when she woke, so it was nice to have Kevin there to help out. 

We settled in at home pretty well.  The nights were rough at first, as Bristol had her nights and days mixed up, but that is pretty normal.  She's still adjusting now, but she's doing pretty well, I think.  We had lots of visitors during the first two weeks - Aunt Jeri and Uncle Mike; Kyle; Megan, Marty and Haleigh; Dianne; Great Poppy and Marion; Becky; Aunt Mary, Uncle Justin, Rebecca and Abram; Great Grandma Jackie; Lina, Sean and Vayla; Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Van; Uncle Chuck and Aunt Marcia; Bev and Brian; Aunt Ann, Michelle and Tyson.  And of course, Grandma and Grandpa and Nana and Papa made several repeat visits during the first couple of weeks, too.  :) 

We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful family to welcome our little girl into.  We are so thankful for all of the love and support everyone has expressed towards us and her.  We couldn't ask for a better family and group of friends! 

We made quite a few trips to the pediatrician and hospital during the first couple of weeks, too.  At the 24-hour newborn screen in the hospital, Bristol's bilirubin levels were only 5.6.  When we went for our first pediatrician appointment on Friday, when Bristol was 4 days old, her bilirubin level was 14... which meant she had developed breastfeeding jaundice.  Most likely due to my milk not coming in until Wednesday night and not really fully coming in till Thursday afternoon.  So Dr. Akrawi wanted us to feed Bristol every 2 hours and to start supplementing 1 or 2 ounces after every breastfeeding... starting Friday afternoon and ending Sunday afternoon/after we got her bilirubin checked again.  After speaking with the lactation consultants, we decided to supplement with pumped breastmilk, rather than formula.  This meant that Sara was to nurse Bristol, then go pump immediately while Kevin fed Bristol 1 or 2 ounces of pumped breastmilk.  And we were supposed to start this routine every 2 hours... which meant by the time she finished feeding and then the bottle, Bristol had only 20-40 minutes "downtime" before having to wake her and start all over.  She handled it well at first, but eventually just was plain not hungry and was refusing to eat so soon.  It was an exhausting weekend for all of us, to say the least.  We went up to Hurley hospital on Sunday morning to have her bilirubin checked again.  It was still 14.  It wasn't coming down, but it wasn't going up either (which is very good).  We were able to stop the supplementing and return to nursing on demand, which was very much a relief.  We then had to go back to Dr. Akrawi's office on Wednesday to have it checked again - it was down to 12.  We went back the following Monday to have it checked again and it was down to 11.  We haven't had to go back to have it checked since it was going down steadily, but slowly. 

We also made some time for some fun stuff during Bristol's second week.  We wanted to make the most of our time together with Kevin home.  So we did some shopping, made a trip to a local park, played outside as much as possible, and did lots of swimming in our pool.  It was so fun and Bristol did awesome! 

Bristol's Birth

I just realized that I never posted a birth story for Carson.  Maybe I'll go back and do one for him soon, too.  Just to have record of it.  But for now, here is the story of Bristol's birth.  If you are grossed out by details of births, you might want to skip this post... :)  I should also forewarn you that this post is rather long..

As I've previously mentioned, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes after my glucose tolerance test at 29 weeks and was officially classified as a high risk pregnancy.  Luckily, I had a pretty mild case of it and was able to manage my blood sugars during the day by watching my diet closely.  I did have to take a drug called glyburide at bedtime every night to control my fasting blood sugar, though.  I had pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome with Carson, which worried my doctors at first b/c generally gestational diabetes can increase your risk of pre-eclampsia... and I already had a higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia again anyway.  My blood pressure had actually been rising throughout my 2nd trimester and was getting quite high, especially for me.  It was up in the 140s/80s.  But then I got diagnosed with gestational diabetes and my blood pressure actually started dropping back into what is my normal range when I'm not pregnant (100s/50s).  It stayed quite low for awhile and then started creeping up towards the end, but it never got higher than 124/72 at that point.  It totally stumped my OBs... my body is just strange. 

So at 29 weeks, I started going to the doctor once a week instead of the typical once every 2 weeks.  Then I started glyburide at 31 weeks and started going to the OB twice a week - on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Plus some random weeks where I would have an appointment with the Hurley Maternal Fetal Medicine, making 3 doctor appts. during those weeks.  It made for some crazy work schedules, but I was very thankful all of my doctors and nurses were monitoring things so closely.  And I was very thankful to have such understanding and flexible bosses at work.  Gestational diabetes babies are generally larger than the average newborn and can develop problems with the placenta and excess amniotic fluid, so I was having ultrasounds once every two weeks to monitor Bristol's biophysical profile.  I was also having non-stress tests every Tuesday and every other Friday to monitor Bristol's movements and heart rate reactions. 

My OBs discussed the need to birth Bristol a little early due to the gestational diabetes.  I wanted to have the option to be induced so that I could try to push her out, rather than have a scheduled c-section.  This meant I needed to be induced during the 38th week - they'd have waited till 39 weeks for a c-section.  Following my last ultrasound on Friday, June 15th, Bristol was estimated to weigh around 7lbs, 9oz.  My body was also dilating, effacing, and my cervix was softened.  So Dr. Moreno recommended we schedule induction for Monday, June 18th. 

So on Monday morning, we dropped Carson off at his Grandma and Grandpa's house and then headed to the hospital.  We had to be there by 9:00am to get things started.  After taking care of all the admitting bureaucracy stuff, getting settled, and getting my IVs going, we were finally ready to start the pitocin around 10:00am.  They start pitocin at 1 drop per minute into your IV and increase it every half hour by 2 drops per minute.  The max they will build up to is 20 drops per minute.  Literally right after we started the pitocin drip, all patients on the floor were put into a holding pattern due to 6 emergency c-sections that came up all at once.  They only have 2 operating rooms for the emergency c-sections, so they cannot take the risk of getting labor going on other patients that may potentially also need an emergency c-section.  So we stayed at 1 drip/minute with the pitocin until about 3:00 pm when they started increasing it every half hour.  I was able to eat lunch, even, which is generally a big no-no during a hospital labor and delivery.  Not only because they had no idea when they'd be able to start increasing the pitocin, but also because my blood sugar was dropping really low - it was down to 62 right before I ate lunch. 

Once the pitocin was increased around 3:00pm, I started progressing quite well.  I dilated to a good 4cm by around 5:30/6:00pm and started the transition phase.  At this point, the contractions were getting very strong and were running 30-60 seconds apart.  I progressed through the transition phase very quickly.  I started shaking uncontrollably and asked for the epidural much too late again.  The same thing happened with Carson, too.  I was totally ok, handling things very well, breathing through contractions, and then BAM!  I hit a wall of pain and progressed extremely fast.  It was much worse, pain-wise, this time around than it was with Carson.  I was actually asking them to take me for a c-section while we were waiting for the anesthesiologist to arrive with the epidural.  Of course, they wouldn't take me for one, though. :)   Once the anesthesiologist arrived, I had been shaking uncontrollably for more than an hour and was having a really hard time breathing through the contractions.  The nurse checked my progress and at first thought I had fully ripened - I was totally freaking out inside my head at that point, thinking there was no way I could make it through these contractions and delivery without an epidural.  But she checked again and realized I was not fully done, but was at a good 7 cm, pushing 8 cm... JUST in time for the epidural.  Having to sit up on the side of the bed to get it almost put me over the edge.  I was very thankful to have a very supportive and caring nurse with me since my mom and Kevin had to leave the room during the epidural. 

I did not feel the same relief I did when I got my epidural with Carson.  I had been having a lot of back labor and tons of pressure with Bristol - I kept thinking I was for sure going to poop during every contraction (I never did, though).  I expected this all to go away, along with the pain from the contractions, once I got the epidural.  But the epidural only covered the pain from the contractions in my abdoment, not the pressure.  So it was still quite an uncomfortable labor, though my pain levels were very much decreased (thankfully!).  I also never stopped shaking uncontrollably.  By the time every thing was all said and done, I had shook for a good 4 to 4 1/2 hours straight because it continued for a bit after Bristol was born.  I had some pretty intense muscle fatigue from it for a few days afterwards. 

Around 9:00pm, Dr. Moreno came in to check my progress again.  I was just about fully there, with just a little bit of cervix left.  But he thought I could probably push through it.  The nurse asked if she should call the residents and other nurses, but he said no, we could do it on our own.  He told Kevin to get on one side and my mom on the other side and to each grab a foot.  On the contraction, he told them to push my feet up towards my chest as far as they'd go and I was to lift my head and shoulders up and curl downwards as far as possible and push as hard as I could.  The only other people in the room were Dr. Moreno, my nurse Ashauntae, and another L&D nurse, Chris, who would get the baby.  I should also mention here, that Kevin wasn't too happy to be in the same position he was in when Carson was born - LOL!  He claims its nothing he has ever, nor ever wants to see again.  Haha! 

As we were waiting for the next contraction, Dr. Moreno was stretching and pulling all around down there to help minimize any tearing.  The epidural had been turned off, so I was able to feel quite a bit more again... and all that stretching and pulling was quite uncomfortable.  I kept saying I felt like I was going to poop - Dr. Moreno kept reassuring me it was ok and totally normal if I did.  He was so supportive and kind. 

Then the contraction hit and I had to push.  With Carson, I was so quiet and did not make a sound during the pushing - I just bore down and pushed.  With Bristol, I was screaming... LOUD!  The residents and other nurses were down the hall and heard me and came running - LOL.  Kevin said he thinks people on other floors probably heard me - haha!  The entire time I'm pushing and screaming that "it hurts so bad," Dr. Moreno and my mom are yelling and exclaiming that "her head is right there" and "look at all that hair" and "keep pushing, Sara!"  That ring of fire as they call it truly feels like a ring of fire.  And the whole time Dr. Moreno is still stretching and pulling.  And it still hurts terribly.  And I still feel like I'm going to poop.  LOL. 

That was one push.  Then we paused to wait for the next contraction.  I was begging for a c-section at that point.  Dr. Moreno always responded with - "so you want this kind of pain for 2 weeks?!"  Always with a smile on his face and encouraging words to go along with it.  And always with a little dig about being such a screamer - he says he never expected that from me.  ;)  The next contraction hit and another push.  It hurt even more than the first and involved more screaming and yelling.  This time I got her head to crown.  The next contraction and third push and she was out, along with tons of fluid that was built up behind her.  3 pushes and about 10 minutes and she was out at 9:18 PM!  She wasn't crying immediately, which freaked me out.  I kept asking why she wasn't crying.  It felt like an eternity to me, but was probably less than a minute.  They were suctioning out her mouth - she had swallowed a lot of fluid during the birth.  But then I heard her sweet little cry!  Relief, joy, and love flooded through me. 

Kevin actually cut her cord (he couldn't do Carson's, so my mom cut Carson's).  The nurses ran through all their tests and whatnot that they do.  She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces, was 19 1/4 inches long, and had a 13 1/2 cm head... remember you only dilate to 10cm, lol!  Her apgar score was 9/10.  I think they knocked one point off for something to do with all the fluid she swallowed or something.  They told me, but I don't really remember.  I delivered the placenta and whatever else comes out and got stitched up.  I did have a very small tear that required 2 stitches... MUCH better than my 4th degree tear with Carson.  Oh and... I never pooped!!  Woohoo!  HAHA! 

Then it was time for her to nurse for the first time.  They had me roll onto my side for the side-lying position.  She latched right on and started nursing like a champ right away.  (Although she did give me a bruise during that first time).  She was so alert for quite awhile after birth.  Such bright eyes.  She looked so much like Carson.  She was just beautiful and perfect.  :) 

This first pic is Bristol - sorry for the quality, it was taken with Kevin's old-school cell phone.  She was only about a half-hour old.  The second pic is Carson at about 14 hours old.  Bristol's face is still a little swollen from birth, where Carson's has had time to settle down a little.  But you can definitely see the resemblance. 

We were transferred down to our post-partum room just after midnight.  I'll do another post soon on our first week with little Bristol.

Introducing Baby Girl Holleboom

Our daughter, Bristol Esther-Marie Holleboom, joined our family on Monday, June 18th at 9:18 PM.  She weighed in at 6 pounds, 14 ounces and is 19 1/4 inches long.  We are all completely in love with her and big brother Carson is already very protective of his baby sister.  Life is good!  :) 

 

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes that have been sent! 

 

I'll post more pictures and information soon.

 

 

Baby Girl Holleboom

Sara went to the OB again on Friday for another ultrasound and check-up.  The ultrasound looked pretty good.  The fluid levels are a little higher than they'd typically like to see, but they're not high enough for any serious concerns.  Baby girl was estimated to weigh around 7 lbs, 9 oz, which puts her in the 84th percentile for this point in the pregnancy.  That is the same weight Carson was when he was born.  Although, even though the same weight, they keep telling me she'll be shaped totally different than Carson, since he was a pre-eclampsia baby.  I guess they are generally long and skinny, whereas the diabetic babies are more rounded out.  So she may be our chubby baby at first.  :)  Either way, we'll love her to pieces!

The ultrasound tech was able to get a super cute 4-D picture of the baby's feet.  She tried to get another face shot, but it didn't come out very well since her head is further down. 

After the ultrasound, Sara saw one of her OBs, Dr. Moreno.  At my last appointment on Tuesday, I was only 1cm dilated and barely effaced with a normal/not soft at all cervix.  On Friday, I had progressed to 2cm, 60% effaced, and a "very very soft" cervix.  Dr. Moreno saw no sign of needing a c-section at this point, thankfully.  So he called the hospital to schedule an induction for Monday morning at 9:00 AM.  He expects this to be a much faster and easier labor than I had with Carson - I hope so!  Since my cervix is quite soft and shortened, I think that means I won't have to get the Cervadil for 12 hours, at least.  I think they'll probably just start pushing pitocin once we get checked in and settled.  I guess we'll find out for sure on Monday, though. 

I haven't been taking many pictures of my progression through this pregnancy, but I did have Kevin take a quick picture at 36 weeks - a couple of weeks ago.  I'll have him take one on Monday before we leave for the hospital, too.  But here is the 36 week picture.

An Evening Swim

We went out for an evening swim one night this past week when the water was 80 degrees.  Carson absolutely loves swimming in the pool!  Who am I kidding... we all do!  ;)