The countdown to Ty's birthday has officially begun! Its been a very busy couple of weeks since my last post! So just FYI...this is a LOOONG post! We have since started our weekly OB appointments...which meant we were within a month of Ty's due date! Updates from our 36 and 37 week appointments in a few...
We snuck off to the beach with Patrick, Alaina and Brayden a couple of weeks ago. We hadn't been to Galveston since my brother's wedding 2 years ago! I bought a maternity swim suit and I was determined to get to wear it somewhere! Pics from the beach...and no its not a beached whale, that's me!
from the front
from the side...holy belly! 34w1d...5.15.2011
and sitting down
In the meantime, we had a wonderful family shower at Melissa's house on May 21st. I was 36 weeks to the day. I remember a few weeks back, wondering if I would make it to the shower...LOL and I am still very much pregnant! I also took Emily's 2 year pictures that morning. Here's me the day of the shower...
It was so great to have family in town and altogether in one place! When the shower was over, I could only think of one word to describe how I felt...the same thing I felt after the last shower...beyond BLESSED. Here's a few of my favorites from the shower...
the cake matches the bedding in Ty's nursery!
Breastfeeding gift basket...it says Tyler and has camo ribbon around the top! Love it!
Buc-ee is on top of the diaper cake!
me with my hostesses...Melissa and Lindsey
super soft Pottery Barn blanket with Tyler's name on it
This is Zugly. He was Cooter's when he was a little boy...so now it's Ty's!
Cooter wore this home from the hospital!
my Mimi's piggy (well, froggie) bank
tiny board shorts!!!
Gram is expecting 2 more great-grandbabies this year!
me and the kiddos...Anna, Ava, Justin and Emily
With such a busy day, I forgot to take my 36 week belly shot. So here it is at 36w1d. I know its a little late, my bad...
left side
right side (Ty's side)
front...I think I ate a basketball?!?
On to the baby updates... Last post, I was just over 34 weeks and we found out that little man was breech. The butt and feet that I had been poking all this time, was actually his head and hands. We left the doctor with a wait and see approach...after all, he still had 6 weeks to get head-down.
So we began our weekly appointments at 36w3d. We had another ultrasound to check his position. No pics...sorry, he wouldn't cooperate for us. He was, of course, still breech, but face down into my ribs so we couldn't get a profile pic of him this time. He weighed an estimated 6lbs 15oz...holy geez! That means he gained an average of 0.75lbs each week. Ty was also rather mellow during the ultrasound...receiving only a "slightly active baby" label for the record. So the doctor came in and we did the usual...blood pressure was up a tiny bit at 128/80, but still perfectly normal, no protein in my urine, no swelling, and heaven forbid, I gained 3lbs in the last 2 weeks. I was tested for Group B Strep (totally routine) and had my first pelvic exam (wa-hoo). Much to my dismay, I had made absolutely no progress...cervix is still high and closed. I know, I know, I still have plenty of time. Then I received a huge shock as my doctor started trying to manually move the little guy into a more preferable position (called an external version). Um...OUCH is all I can say! I haven't been through labor so I have no comparison, but it was up there on the pain scale. I couldn't breathe. Basically she has one hand manipulating his head and the other pushing his butt. Its not just pushing though, her hands and fingers are dug so far into my ribs and hip that I could no longer see her finger tips. The entire time, Ty pushed her right back, causing immense pressure in my abdomen. His head is currently (well, always) under my left rib...she was only able to push him to my right rib this time. Eventually she gave up and said we would try again next week. As soon as I sat up, you could watch the knot on my belly that is Ty's head move from right to left and settle exactly where he was before. Seriously?!?
So then, due to his decreased movement during the ultrasound and pressure from the attempted external version, I was hooked up to a fetal monitor for a non-stress test (NST) and to track my contractions. For the longest time, little man remained pissed off...he wouldn't move unless it was to disrupt the heart monitor. I don't know how many times he fell off the scale altogether and they kept having the readjust me. I ended up on my left side and they showed us how to adjust the monitor ourselves since he was being such a turd. Finally, after bringing me some apple juice, he started moving a bit. I had to push this button every time he moved and they wanted to see spikes in his heart rate coincide with movements. After about 45 minutes, he produced the results they wanted and we were sent home. Whew!
37 week belly
I hit 37 weeks and we made a road trip to Dallas for a wedding of a Maxwell family friend. Don't worry, the doctor okay'd the trip unless my contractions got regular or painful. None of which happened of course. So not only did I pack our bags for the weekend, but we had the carseat, boppy, Viacord kit, and hospital bag with us the whole time...just in case. Last night out as a couple!
Cooter and Justin all dressed up!
loving on the belly...he comes to check on my belly all the time!
Gonzalez family
Sis and Lindsey
Can't hardly see the belly, but its there!
Justin...LOL.
Rupert and Cooter...yes we're still at the wedding!
Sis, Cooter and Lindz
all dressed up!
The trip was flawless except for a little swelling on the way home that I attributed to too much time spent sitting in the car! I had to take my wedding rings off for the first time because my fingers were tingling. No worries...they are back on, no problem! So we went to our 37 week appointment yesterday. For a solid week I have been worrying about having another external version. I really wanted to be strong and give it a try...I didn't want to just give in to a c-section without exhausting every outlet we could. I think it was harder going into it this time, knowing what was coming. We started the appointment with another ultrasound to check his position. I told the tech that he was still heads up and sure enough, I was right! Ty received an "active baby" status on his report this time around...and boy was he! While the tech was measuring his right femur, he gave her quite a kick! We all started laughing. He weighed an estimated 7lbs 4oz...not near the weight gain he was experiencing weeks before! Whew! We were able to get a pic this time...kinda. Its not great quality, but not only is it hard to see him now, but he was on the move, complete with hands on his face and a foot up by his head!
Nice, big round head (measuring almost 40 weeks by the way!) and you can see his eyes and nose, but he has a hand in his mouth. You can't see it here, but I swear on the screen I saw a thumb sticking up...Gig 'Em!!!
Weekly stats were good. I haven't gained much weight this week, no protein in my urine, blood pressure remained the same as last week and my swelling went down. I continue to have braxton hicks contractions, but never anything regular and never painful, just uncomfortable. Sometimes I don't even think I notice them anymore. Doesn't really matter, because after another pelvic exam I still have yet to progress at all. Much is due to the fact that there are only tiny baby feet putting any kind of pressure down below. In a perfect world, there's a head putting constant pressure, or at least a breech butt helping move things along. But no...littlle man is considered footling breech, which means he is feet first.
And the moment I had been dreading. Time to turn him again. Luckily I wasn't even given an option to back out, she just got to work. I was prepared this time, had a fresh piece of gum to chomp on and lots of ceiling tiles to count while she worked. At first push, she was able to get his head to my right ribs almost immediately, so Cooter and I both became more interested in the procedure. She kept pushing and next thing we knew his head was on my right side! The pain is so worth it when you start seeing motivating progress! About 20 minutes in, his head is down to my right hip...SO close! But... Anytime she lets even the slightest bit of pressure off, he starts to gravitate back in the direction he came from. So she goes to get a nurse to help hold him in place which she pushed, but at that point he had enough. They brought in a small ultrasound machine maybe 2 minutes later to check his position for progress. During that time, I told Cooter that his head had moved and he was back up in my right rib. Only 2 stinking minutes later! Sure enough, ultrasound confirmed that he was well on his way back to being breech again. The doctor let me rest and then decided to try to turn him the other way. He was definitely NOT having that! He wouldn't budge that way, especially once she got him back into my left rib (his apparent sweet spot). After that she stopped pushing (thank goodness!) and we decided to go ahead and schedule a c-section. Not what I want, but my gut feeling says he isn't going to flip over. Between the fact that he's been in this position for so long, and after 3 attempted turns, he still manages to return to the same spot within minutes of the version.
So...baby Tyler will be here Friday, June 10 (that's NINE days away!!!)...or sooner if nature decides to take its course. Can't wait! I feel like I have done everything they wanted me to try. We've attempted 3 external versions and I've been doing stretches that are supposed to promote him to turn head down. If he should turn on his own, then we'll go with a vaginal birth when the time is ready, but for now I'll be delivering at 38w6d...just 8 days before my due date!
And this is how I know Cooter is going to be such a sweet dad!
