As promised below....

Here are the ultrasound pictures from yesterday. I marked them all up so that you can tell exactly what is what. (Click on them to make them bigger!)







And, check out the adorable little outfits Gene & I picked up for Ms. Tinkerbell at a local children's boutique:









Cute, huh?! :) I can't wait to see this little girl all dressed up!

Thanks for looking!

Back from another doctor's appointment....

Not much new to report, but I did get some darn cute pictures of our little Tinkerbell!

We had the ultrasound first. It was going well until I started to black out. Apparently, Tink hit the nerve that send the blood supply to your brain, and it almost knocked me out. We tried everything - moving positions, sitting up, getting on my hands and knees, I just couldn't shake the feeling like I was going to pass out. So, they finished up the u/s as quick as they could, and they sent me off to the exam room.

Because Tink looked SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good on the ultrasound and passed some measurement test, they didn't do the fetal monitoring today.

The doctor that I saw is the only doctor in the practice (so far) that I HATE. Even Gene didn't like her, and he can find something good in everyone. Anyway, I asked her how I'll know when I'm really in labor if my contractions don't hurt. Her response? "Well, if they're coming every 3 minutes, you need to go in." I told her that they DO come every 3 minutes (or less) and I was not going to take a trip to the hospital every day and every night just to be sent home. I spent 8 1/2 hours in triage on Thursday and they sent me home, so why the heck would I go back?! She just continued to insist that I go in if they're every three minutes. So, I turned to Gene and said, "Looks like we're leaving for the hospital right now." (In the most sarcastic tone I could muster.)

She checked my cervix and I'm still at a 2. No progression at all, even though I haven't stopped contracting once since Thursday. Go figure. I'm really upset, though, because she HURT me when she checked me. She had these amazon nails, and she scratched me! Now I keep having this awful brown discharge, and I know it's from her stupid exam.

She did tell me that if I continue to contract but not dilate, that they'd schedule an induction for 39 weeks. So, it looks like this baby will be coming sometime around September 16th. At least now I know how to plan, and I know I've got 2 1/2 weeks to make sure I'm absolutely ready for this baby!

I'll have to scan the u/s pictures later because they are really cute. You can totally see her chubby cheeks, and that she has a TON of hair! The u/s tech said I need to bring a bunch of bows with me to the hospital, because she's going to pop out with a head full of hair. Sounds like she'll be the exact opposite of all my other kids! Oh, and she's still growing a couple of days behind where she should be, but she's measuring about 6 pounds, which is really, really good for a two-vessel cord baby. And, her cord looks good - no sign of any knots or anything else that shouldn't be there.

So, there's the update! No baby comin' any time soon!

Never shared these with you all....

Back in July, I had a very sweet photographer friend come into town to take some maternity portraits for me. We wanted to do them early, because we just weren't sure how early Tink would be arriving, or what sorts of problems we might endure.

She took these at exactly 32 weeks along. She did a fantastic job, and I can never thank her enough. These will forever be special to me. Here's the link: http://www.vinezfamily.com/maternity.html

And, if you're ever in Michigan and need portraits done, I highly recommend Beth. You can check out her website here: http://www.betheggertphotography.com/

Thank you, Beth! I owe you - BIG TIME!!!! Love ya, girl!

Spent most of yesterday at Labor & Delivery...

And I was really hoping this was it! No such luck, though.

I called my doctor's office around 12:30pm yesterday. I had been cramping all day Wednesday, and I spent Wednesday night throwing up. On Thursday I spent the morning feeling like a Mack Truck had run me over. I just didn't feel right at all.

Around 2:30, the doctor's office calls me back and says that I need to go into labor and delivery. They need to make sure Tink is handling the stress of how I'm feeling ok. Gene had been home and sleeping for about an hour, so I woke him up. We found a ride for MIL to come up here to watch the kids, and around 3:20, we finally got to the hospital.

The hospital we'll deliver at has a triage room that you have to go in before they actually send you into a room. Stupidest thing ever, because there are always 12 people in there at the same time. I hate it! Anyway, they hooked me up to the machines, took my blood pressure (really high), and let me lie there for awhile. After about half an hour, the nurse comes back in, and doesn't like how fast/hard my contractions are, and doesn't like the fact that my blood pressure is so high and Tink's heart rate is so fast. They decide I must be dehydrated, so they gave me 2 full bags of fluids and took a bunch of blood. After the first bag, the contractions were still just as strong, and coming one on top of the other. The doctor comes in, checks my cervix, and says, "You're at a 2 right now. If you dilate anymore, we'll admit you and let this baby come. I'm not going to do anything to stop your labor." YIPPEE!! It was such a relief to hear that, especially after going through what I did with both boys. So, I laid there for hours on end, and at 8 o'clock, he came back in to check me again. Shock of all shocks, no change. Tinks heartrate is better by this time, and my blood pressure has gone down as well. The contractions haven't even slowed down by this point, though.
The doc then orders an ultrasound. They want a Level II to make sure the baby is ok, and then they want a trans-vaginal to make sure my cervix is all right. After that, we can go home.

We wait for u/s to get up there for ever, she finally does everything, and by 10:30, there's still no "official" report. (The u/s tech did tell us that everything looks ok, but Tink is now measuring a few days behind, rather than ahead of schedule like she was before.) Well, by this time, I'm so worn out, hurting SO badly from lying in bed, I walked out to the nurses station and asked if I could just go home and they could call me with the report. The nurse apologized up and down and said that would be fine. So, they discharged me around 11 or so, and we came home.

I'm still contracting constantly, but my cervix just isn't doing a darn thing. I go back to the doctor on Tuesday, unless the contractions worsen.

Here's the thing, though, my contractions NEVER hurt - not even when I'm in full blown labor. I've never once had consistent contractions that send me to my knees, so I'm terrified that I won't know when it's really time.
The girl that was in the triage room next to us cracked Gene and I up the entire time. On the monitors, you could see her contractions AND mine. Every time one would hit her, she'd start with the lamaze breathing, and just act like she was about to die. Funny thing was, my contractions were about 4 times as strong as hers, coming one on top of the other, and I couldn't stop laughing because she was in so much pain. (I'm bad, I know, but come on!)

So, there's the whole ordeal. The good news is, if I go into labor, they won't stop me. Bad news is, I don't think my body knows HOW to go into labor on it's own. So, I plan to discuss all of this with the doctors on Tuesday and see what they think.

I'll keep ya posted. Double fudge brownies to anyone who made it this far!

Yesterday's Doctor's Appointment & Fetal Monitoring...

Well, I was able to talk the doctor out of sending me to the hospital. (((SIGH)))

Got there, they hooked me up to the monitors, and I was contracting - strong, fast, and HARD. The doctor came in after half an hour and asked if I was feeling them. DUH. For the past few weeks. So, he tells me they're going to watch me for awhile longer. Another hour goes by and the contractions show no sign of slowing down. Doc comes back in and says, "Ok. You need to go to the hospital and get a shot." I reply, "No. I don't." I explained to him that this is what my body does. Shots don't help, Mag Sulfate doesn't help. Nothing helps. My body contracts but won't dilate.

I told him that if he checked my cervix, he'd find that I hadn't dilated at all in the past two weeks. I was a fingertip dilated then, and I would be this time, too. He tells me that there's NO way I'm not dilating. The contractions are too fast and too hard and he just KNOWS I'm going to have to go in. He said that if I've dilated just a teeny tiny bit more than the last time, I have to go to the hospital immediately.

So, he checks me. Gets this look on his face, and I asked, "No change, is there?" Nope. Nothing. Not even any additional effacement.

If the contractions get to the point where they send me to my knees, I have to go in to the hospital immediately. DUH. But, I narrowly escaped this time!

Also had my Group B Strep test done. Hopefully that'll come back just fine.

Next Tuesday is an ultrasound, more fetal monitoring, and a tummy & internal check. Should be lots of fun!

There's my exciting update. At least I'm not at the hospital right now! Jace's birthday party is next Saturday, so I just need to make it past then!

I'll keep ya posted!

Another doctor's appointment update....

Get used to seeing these regularly! :)

Had another visit today. Met another one of the doctors and he was very nice. He and Gene hit it off really well, and I think Gene's hoping he's the one who will deliver. (I still want Doctor Wilson from last week's visit, but would be just fine with today's doctor.)

Anywho - I told Gene that he was coming with me today, because if I ended up in the hospital again, I wanted him THERE with me!

We got to the OB's office and they took me back and did the normal stuff - BP, urine sample, weight check. SIGH. I passed the mark that I absolutely did NOT want to pass with this pregnancy. Guess there's nothing I can do about that now except try to keep from putting too much more on!

After that, they took me back and hooked me up to the monitors. I had just eaten a little bit before the appointment, so luckily, Tink was quite mobile today. No need for the shocker this time! (Gene was a bit disappointed. He wanted to see it! Silly man!) They left me on the machines for awhile, and I only contracted a handful of times. I had been so worried, because I'd spent most of the morning contracting! Luckily, they were pretty tame during the fetal monitoring.

After awhile, the doctor came in and said that everything looked great. He could tell that Tink was moving quite a bit, and he commented that the contractions seemed to be doing better than my last session also. He didn't even want to check my cervix! (YIPPEE!!!) He said that I was given the "all-clear" until my appointment next week.

And, that confirms it. From now on, I will be shaving my legs and taking my husband with me to each appointment. I was prepared for *anything* today, and didn't even need to be! I love updates like that!

I'm still on restrictions, and I still need to take it easy, but I'm feeling really good right now. Can't complain about a thing! Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll have an easy few weeks ahead of us! How nice would that be?!

I go back next Tuesday for another tummy check and more fetal monitoring. Then, the week after that, I have an ultrasound, more fetal monitoring, AND a tummy check. That's going to be a heck of an appointment!

I'll keep you posted!

Oh my gosh! Where has the time gone?!

I have SO much to update on!!!! Things have just been utter chaos around here with Zander's birthday, followed by Ashley's birthday and now we're getting ready for Jace's birthday! I need a break!

Ok, let's see..... where should I start? Oh! How about the July 31st ultrasound with the perinatologist? Well, I am THRILLED to report that it went really, really well! They checked the baby out completely (still a girl!), and she's growing just fine. At that u/s, she was about 4 pounds 11 ounces, which puts her in the 61st percentile for weight. Wonderful news, considering 2 vessel cord babies are normally smaller. It doesn't appear that there's any threat of Downs Syndrome or other abnormalities. Her kidneys, lungs and other organs all look perfect. They checked the amniotic fluid and she has plenty of it left. And, the blood was flowing nicely through her cord, so it's not looking like there's a knot. (Jace had a true knot, and I have 2 friends that lost babies this summer because they had true knots in their cords. I'm a little paranoid.) The perinatologist gave Tink a clean bill of health and told me I don't need to come back to him! I can finish out the fetal monitoring and future ultrasounds at my regular OB's office. We couldn't be happier!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and started the fetal monitoring. I got there and they did the normal BP check, urine check, weight check... fun stuff. Then, they hooked me up to the monitors. The nurse came back after about half an hour and asked if I was feeling the contractions. I told her I was, and she asked if the baby was moving much. I told her no, because the baby doesn't like it when I contract. So, the nurse pulls out this thing and sends a shock through my belly. I screamed (LOL!) because I totally wasn't expecting that, but Tink started moving - for a second. She told me she'd be back, and I waited for another half an hour. Then the doctor came in and asked about the contractions again. He couldn't get over the fact of how fast they were coming and how strong they were. He shocked the baby again, and stood there and watched the monitors for about 10 minutes. He left the room and came back 20 minutes later with the Fetal Fibronectin test. (The test to determine if you're actually in pre-term labor - had it with both Z & Jace and it was negative both times.) He did the test and decided I needed to head to the hospital immediately for closer monitoring.

I made my appointment for next week, and called Gene while walking out of the doctor's office. I wanted him to come to the hospital with me, but I had the carseats and he had the kids. We called everyone we knew, trying to find someone to watch the kids so he could come. He ended up getting to the hospital almost an hour and 15 minutes after I did! GRRR.

They gave me a shot of Brethine to stop the contractions, and had me give a "clean-catch" urine sample. The brethine didn't stop the contractions, but it did really slow them down. So, the doctor came in after quite a bit of monitoring and told me I was free to go.

I really didn't want to start this already. In fact, I even told the doctor that if I wasn't contracting, I'd be worried something was wrong! But, they have to do what they have to do, so I had to go in. I'm just praying this doesn't turn into a weekly thing. I'll be hooked up to the monitors every week, and I already know I'm going to contract. I did it with Zander AND Jace. It's just what my body does.

But, overall, I feel good, and I don't have much longer to go. Scary thought, though, because I don't have half the stuff we need for this baby! Anyone seen that darn money tree I thought I planted?

My next appointment is August 15th. I promise to do better about updating then!