Almost time!

It looks like we have less than one week until our baby girl will arrive!  Time is sure flying and we are busy making preparations.  We are trying to prepare ourselves but preparing for the unknown is hard.  Our older daughter still has no clue what she is in store for but she is looking forward to Grandma and Grandpa arriving later this week.  She enjoys hugging Mama's belly but is far too impatient to feel her sister to move.

My blood pressure has been on the higher side but is still staying under control.  At my last NST (non-stress test) I had to go get my blood work done again since my blood pressure was elevated.  The blood work came back good - meaning I do not have preeclampsia, which is great.  But I have been working from home since then and trying to take it easy.  We have been monitoring my blood pressure to make sure it is not getting too high.  On a positive note, our baby girl has even made it easier on me by moving off my hip so that I am much more comfortable! 

Until next time...

Our Baby Girl is Full Term

Today our baby girl is considered full term!  This means that her lungs are fully developed and she can be born any time now.  Great news!!!! 

My non-stress test on Friday and ob appointment over at U of M went okay.  Our baby girl was responsive in her typical 20 minutes, which is great.  We were getting ready to get up and head off to my ob appointment and the nurse started up the ultrasound machine because U of M measures the level of amniotic fluid around the baby.  The levels were all really good. 

After the non-stress test, we headed over to the women’s clinic for my ob appointment.  We scheduled an induction date!  As predicted, it is March 19th.  But this isn’t really set in stone.  The ob said that when they call me on the evening of the 18th to tell me when to come in, we can reschedule if I am not having any signs of labor and my body doesn’t appear to be ready.  So maybe March 19th is the go date and maybe it isn’t.  Of course, our baby girl could always decide she wants to make an appearance before then!  We shall see.

We got some more questions answered and the only other thing of note was that my blood pressure was a bit elevated (even measured at the end of the appointment).   They sent me to get blood work to make sure it isn’t preeclampsia, which so far it is not.  It was a stressful week and this weekend we were able to relax.  So hopefully my blood pressure can come back down a bit. 

Stay tuned as the big day approaches!!

Leap Day Update

Happy February 29th!  When we first found out we were expecting a baby in March, I was worried about this day because I didn't want our baby to be born on it.  In elementary school there was a boy with a Leap Day Birthday and (unfortunately) we made fun of him for it since he only had a birthday once every 4 years.  I guess once you are older, it is nice to be a lot "younger".  Our baby girl will be full term on this coming Sunday so we are hoping that she doesn’t arrive until at least after that.  Despite the fact that I am tired and uncomfortable, we want her to continue to grow safe and sound for as long as possible.

Anyway, it has been a while since our last update because we have been busy, busy!  My husband’s sister and family are in town from Germany.  Our daughter is enjoying hanging out with her little cousin as he crawls after her, although she isn’t a big fan of him playing with her toys.  We are working on sharing.  To add to the craziness, we are having our attic finished up.  Hopefully this finishes up sooner rather than later. 

My non-stress test and ob appointment went well last week.  The little one had her active periods and rest periods within 20 minutes so we were able to get on our way.  My blood pressure was a bit increased, so we are keeping an eye on that.


Our meeting with our pastor went well.  We have his cell phone number so that we can call him to have him come over to the hospital for our baby girl's baptism before her first surgery.  We also received a nice blessing from him.  It feels good to have this sorted out.

I really cannot believe that I only have a week and a half left of going into work as I will work from home my last week before the induction.  On Friday we will schedule the induction date!  The bet is March 19 although it could also be the 20th, so we shall see soon.

One Month-ish Left

We have about a month left until our little one arrives.  I am definitely starting to feel very pregnant – uncomfortable and tired – with all the fun that comes along with that.  We want a big baby and I have a feeling that I will deliver on that one ;)

I started having weekly non-stress tests last week.  My first one went well and the little one cooperated.  The hospital was getting a new computer system so I was delayed 30 minutes.  Once we got going our little one had her two active periods when her heart rate increased with rest periods when her heart rate came back down.  This is what you look for so we were glad that she did so well!

My weekly non-stress test is followed up the next day by my weekly ob appointment.  No real news here.

We have a meeting with our pastor this coming week because he will be coming over to the hospital after our little one is born to baptize her.  This is something important to us so we are very excited to have this meeting!

Finally, if you want to stay updated without having to come back and check the blog all the time, you can sign up for emails on the right of the blog.  We have found that the alerts are not always timely as to when a new post is posted but it is better than having to remember to come here randomly.

Until next time!

CHD Week Story #8 - Meghan Roswick

Happy Heart Day!  How fitting that Valentine's Day is the last day of Congenital Heart Defect Week.  So this is the last story for the week.  Hope you enjoyed them as much as we did!  

Below is a "Day with Meg Roswick". Meghan Roswick is a 20 year old with HLHS. Her day is pretty long but she starts talking about her HLHS around 7:29. She lives a normal life and her story gives us great hope!  She has some really powerful messages at such a young age!




There is also a second video that Meghan just shared.  She did an interview at a  local news station with her Mom that aired yesterday for CHD Week.  It is great to see her spreading the word and spreading the hope!

CHD Week Story #7 - Sisters by Heart

In honor of Congenital Heart Defect Week, we are bringing you some stories of hope.

We would be remiss if we did not post this video when bringing stories of hope.  Sisters by Heart is one of the first places that we were able to get hope from.  It is such a great organization and they do truly help to provide newly diagnosed parents with the hope we so desperately desire!

CHD Week Story #6 - Mira Larrison

In honor of Congenital Heart Defect Week, we are bringing you some stories of hope.

Today's story of hope is that of Mira Larrison.  She had to have surgery while she was in the womb for her HLHS (that our daughter does not need) and was born in 2009.  It is really amazing what they can do at U of M and that was already 3 years ago!