Full Term!

We are officially at 37 weeks now, which is considered full term. We had another sonogram on Wednesday and Bella is measuring approximately 7 pounds and 6 ounces. However, they say this estimate can be high or low by 8 ounces or more. I also went to my OBGYN today and found that I am still a little over 1 cm dilated and about 70% effaced. Since this is the same as last week, he is saying that she will probably stay inside for at least another week or so. We also decided to schedule a c-section for November 6th or 7th as that is when I will be 39 weeks. A c-section is much safer for Bella since she is going to be pretty large and because I have gestational diabetes. My first day of maternity leave from school is Wednesday, November 5th. John and I are looking forward to having that day together before the c-section to do any last minute preparations. Of course, Isabella could decide to throw all of this planning right out the window and come whenever she pleases!

This sonogram picture is actually from last week at 36 weeks. It is a picture of her hand. It is a little hard to see, but if you look carefully, she is pointing her index finger up in the air and sticking her thumb out to the side. Her other three fingers are bent down. The sonographer joked that she was saying "I'm #1!"

Fans reduce risk of SIDS

Several of my friends that are new mommies or mommies to be just told me about some new research on ceiling fans helping to reduce the risk of SIDS. Lucky for John, this meant that I wanted to go to Home Depot immediately and pick up a pretty white ceiling fan for Bella's nursery. He was a good sport about it even though I told him the nursery was completely done last week. He agreed that even if there is a small chance that it will keep Bella safer, that it was worth it to get a ceiling fan. So I think this is the last picture of the nursery I will be posting. John hopes so too!



Here is a link to one of the websites with the research study. http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/sids-deaths-reduced-with-ceiling-fan.aspx?googleid=248968

Stubborn Already!

I wish I had a better picture to show, but our baby girl is stubborn already. Because of my gestational diabetes, we have to get a sonogram every week. For the past 3 weeks, she has been completely head down, so they didn't give us any pictures. Finally, I just said give me one with her head down...so here it is. You can see her spine toward the top of the picture and her face is completely down at the bottom right corner. The good news is this is exactly how she is supposed to be for delivery. Her sonogram went very well and she scored an 8/8 on her biophysical. The sonographer even said she wished she could give her an extra point (9/8) because Bella is such an excellent breather! John and I thought it was very cool to see her diaphragm moving up and down so well. Also, my OB told me today that he thinks I will make it to the 1st week of November. The insulin is helping to slow her growth down. He won't let her go past November 7th though, so she will still be born before her original due date of November 14th. We have another sonogram next Wednesday, so I will give an update then.

34 weeks and counting...

John and I had another sonogram today and are very pleased to say that Isabella is doing very well. We didn't get any new pictures, but I thought I would share an update anyway. They estimate that she weighs 5 pounds and 12 ounces. This is slightly bigger than she should be, but not too bad. When we had our sonogram on September 8th, she was measuring several weeks (almost 5) ahead. Now, she is only measuring about 2 weeks ahead. I have been giving myself insulin shots every night before bed to help slow the growth, so we were glad to see that it is working. The sonographer and the doctor both agreed that Bella is growing and developing very well. It was so cool to see her heart beating and her lungs moving. Her head is pretty big, but the sonographer assures me that Bella was at a strange angle and it just looked bigger. Although my original due date was November 14th, they are now estimating that she will come by November 4th. We are so excited to meet her!

Nursery Mission: Complete

Well, I am happy to report that Bella's nursery is as complete as it is going to get until she is born. With all of the amazing gifts we received at the baby showers, John and I were able to put everything together and finish the nursery.John spent several hours putting together the awesome changing table/dresser combo for the nursery. My aunt and uncle bought it for us and it is just perfect!The proud soon to be papa after his hard work of putting the dresser together. Another shot of the changing table/dresser with all of the decorations surrounding it. Check out the white shelves that John also put up. We were able to get them online from Target because of all of the generous gift cards we received for Target.A shot of the finished crib with all of the bedding that Alison and Jen got for us! Sneak a peek at the cool video monitor that my Gigi bought. John is very excited to have this monitor all set up and has already tried it out several times. We added the white "Isabella" letters this past weekend and John hung up the Soft and Fuzzy Pooh wall hangings from Tammy. Everything is set...now we just need Bella! :)

Baby Shower Mania!

On September 19th and 20th, I had two wonderful baby showers! First, my Garrett Park ES family had a shower for me at Debi's house. She was a fabulous host...thanks, Debi! The very next day, my mom threw me a shower for my friends and family at my house. My mom and all of her helpers did a fantastic job. And yes...I did wear the same outfit to both showers. Don't worry, I washed my outfit Friday night. :) Enjoy the pictures from both showers.The second grade team got this awesome Soft and Fuzzy pooh chair for Bella's nursery! Can you tell that I love it?My mom really enjoyed coming to my Garrett Park shower and liked meeting all of my colleagues. We had a great time!One of my mom's friends, Cindy, cross stitched this bib for Bella. I tried to wear it, but it is a little too small for me!This is the beautiful quilt that my Gigi (my grandmother) made for Bella! It is absolutely breathtaking and we can't wait to hang it in the nursery. When Bella is a little older, we will be able to use it as a blanket for her. I know she will treasure it forever since it was stitched with love by her Gigi!I was thrilled to open my Soft and Fuzzy Pooh crib set! My friends, Alison and Jen, were extremely generous and I appreciate it so much. Tammy and I had it all on the crib the night of my shower...it looks great!
My cousin, Pam, made a diaper cake with a container of goodies inside. It was fun to "open" the cake and see all of the great things inside.This picture was too funny not to share. I wasn't quite sure what to do with this medicine dropper. I guess I will figure it all out when Bella is born!