Peanut

Here's a quick update about my doctor's appointment today as there's not too much to report -- sigh of relief.  I've gained the pound I lost last week back.  However, the baby's only gained about half a pound since they took his measurements two weeks ago.  Most babies gain about half a pound a week during the last 6-8 weeks or so.  My doctor isn't too concerned, but said that based on his weight (5 lbs. 6 oz), and my frame and background, he's in the 18th percentile.  The fact that he's small isn't surprising since he's been measuring about a week behind the entire time I've been pregnant; and assuming he starts gaining a half a pound a week and IF (a big IF) I make it to my due date, he'll be about 7.5 lbs.  But at this point, there's no way for me to make him bigger since I still have to stick to the GD "diet" and watch my carbs and sugars.  SO, Dr. G commented that he'd be a little "peanut" (which BTW, I love peanuts!) when he got here.  Although not much has changed, she doesn't think I'm going to make it to my due date.  I'm not too much more dilated than I was last week -- she said about 1.5 cm.  She did tell me that she really, really doesn't want me to have him in the next week so I am to stay off my feet as much as possible, although I can still work (yay -- I do love my job!).  So I'm keeping my fingers (and legs!) crossed in the hopes that he'll hold off another 12 days so Scotty can go on his business trip.  After that, bring it on David Scott!!!

Lazy Weekend

Well, there's not too much to report, which is good. Scotty and I went to dinner and a movie Friday night. TJ Ribs and "Law Abiding Citizen" -- a pretty good combination. Oh, and did I mention the movie was watched along with what was the majority of the Auburn football team. I don't know if the theater sold too many tickets, or if there were people in the theater who bought tickets to another movie and then came to ours, or what, but there were people sitting everywhere. The Auburn football team came in just before the movie started, so there were guys sitting on the floor in front of us where the people in wheelchairs are supposed to sit. Anyway, I suppose they must not have been too comfortable in their makeshift seating given the poor playing they exhibited on Saturday. Oh well, their loss is LAU's gain. Geaux Tigers!!! On Saturday, I sat on my rear end for the entire day, watching college football and taking it easy; I could not be someone who's on bedrest for any length of time. Let me rephrase that, I could totally get used to having someone wait on me, but not really going out of the house to run errands and even keeping my domestic "duties" to a minimum sucks. Today, we went to Wal-Mart -- an exhausting and expensive trip, I might add. However, I feel even more prepared should David Scott come a little earlier than we expect him to. There are still a few little things we need to take care of in his room before I consider it to be "finished," including, but not limited to hanging stuff on the walls. However, his clothes are all washed and our bags are (almost) packed.

I've found a new obsession -- Etsy. It's a website, kind of like Ebay, but with custom stuff, handmade items, etc. You can find everything from burp cloths to furniture to artwork. Speaking of art, Rachel is having a giveaway for a holiday canvas. Check out the link or go to her blog http://www.thepeekabootique.blogspot.com/, leave a comment and get yourself registered for her giveaway on Wednesday. And tell your friends as well. She's been very busy getting ready for selling her stuff at a booth in Cedar Town (a Ruston thing coming up in a few weeks), but she'd love to be even busier with her art. She also has a site on Etsy. I've literally spent hours on this site this weekend looking at all the stuff you can buy. I'm considering several cute burp cloth designs, but with several thousand to look at, it's taking me a while to get through them all, just in case I see something I like better than the ones I'm currently liking.

Sorry for the uneventful post, although, for the time being, I guess I prefer uneventful. I'll go back to the doctor on Wednesday, so we'll see if there's been any change in my stats, although I'm not expecting there to be. Fingers crossed for no progress. :)

WOW! Week 35...

Well, this is me earlier this evening. I went to the doctor yesterday and was too busy catching up with my cousin (Meredith) who was in from Memphis that I didn't have any time to update last night. Anyway, my visit with Dr. G was exciting. Not only was my mom here to experience it with me, but there's been a slight change in my pregnancy. Namely, I am already starting to dilate! Yes, I realize that I could be this way for several weeks without much progress since my due date is about a month from now. However...holy cow! This baby is coming! The visit started with the usual ultrasound/sonogram. Scotty was able to leave his office for a bit to come do that. David Scott didn't show out too much, but he was doing everything he was supposed to be. This u/s was just to make sure he was moving, and going through the motions (like "breathing" or practicing breathing, anyway). He passed with flying colors, naturally. He's assuming the position (head down), and was showing us how flexible he was. For part of the u/s, he had one foot kind of across my belly and the other one, he had it kind of by his head. Again, Scotty commented on him being a ninja, or maybe that was me, but whatever. DS wouldn't give us any good pictures (again), but hopefully he will next week.

After the u/s, we waited to see my doctor. She was running a little behind, so Scotty went back to work. That will be the last doctor's appointment he misses (pre-baby anyway). I had my list of questions (as usual) and then I got "checked." I'll leave out the details of that, but suffice it to say, Dr. G informed me that I was already 1 cm dilated. I think Mama thought I was going to pass out when Dr. G told me this. In some weird way, I was kind of expecting this, but in another, I totally was not. I still have a ton of stuff to get done before this baby comes. Two of which are to pack my bag and have Scotty install the car seat, which my doc told me to go ahead and take care of this weekend. At this point, I really don't need to have the baby b/c he'd be considered a premie. So she recommended for me to take it easy and to slow down even more if my contractions, which are currently sporadic -- not consistent or regular at all, became regular. However, anytime after the next 10 or so days, if I'm experiencing regular contractions, she said for me to start walking around, which would speed things up a little more as he'd be considered full-term at that point. Geez Louise! But, she also said that things may not progress and in a few weeks, we might have to talk about inducing me. I am a-ok with this baby not coming for a few more weeks, although I'm starting to experience some moments of uncomfortableness, it's nothing I can't handle. PLUS, Scotty is supposed to go out of town on an overnight business trip in early Nov. With this being the busiest time of year at my office, the longer I can be there and take care of my clients, the less my coworkers have to take on in my absence. Not to mention, the longer I am working, the greater likelihood that I'd be able to take 8 weeks off after DS' birth b/c my vacation and sick days start again in January. A ridiculous reason to want him to wait, but I don't care. I'm sure there've been more ridiculous reasons that mothers-to-be have had in wanting their child to be born at a particular point in time.

My stats during the visit: BP was good, BS is good and I've been testing it every other day, have I told you that already? Yep, my doc has me on an every other day testing schedule b/c my numbers are so consistent -- more on that in a minute. My feet and ankles are starting to swell ever so slightly, but I'm not to the point where I have cankles...yet. And, I've lost a pound since my last visit -- so back to 17 lbs in total baby weight gain. Yipee! So back to the BS. One of my questions for Dr. G was how soon after I have the baby can I have a coke, as it pertains to the GD. #1, she said I could be having a few sips right now if I wanted some. However, I've been coke-free for nearly two months (since being diagnosed) and will continue my "sobriety" until at least 5 minutes after the baby is born. After that, any coke within a 5 mile radius is fair game! And, #2, she said she thought my GD diagnosis was a fluke. My numbers have been too consistent and too good for GD. She thinks I was just tested on a bad day. Hmmm...I think I've said that same thing, or something similar before. It's good to know, though, that my doctor has the same sentiment concerning this that I do. And, if nothing else has come of this, I have avoided pigging out, and will continue to do so, which has attributed to the small amount of weight gain here lately...that and great genes -- thanks, Mama!

So that puts me at right now. Currently, I have one hard little booty perched right at my sternum -- I think that's where your ribs meet -- and I've got to get him to change positions b/c it's beginning to be uncomfortable. I'm probably going to go take a nice, relaxing bath and continue reading one of my baby-related books, while simultaneously making a list of all the little things that need to get done. One by one, I'll cross them off and if this baby comes sooner rather than later, well, somebody else will have to do some of the dirty work for me.

Lola: My POV

Mama is letting me be a guest blogger just this once. I am currently sitting beside her on the couch, trying to figure out what I'm going to say. I'm sitting beside her and not in her lap as I'm prone to doing because she's running out of room. There used to be plenty of room for me to sit wherever I wanted to on her, but her belly has gotten big and I'm now relegated to sitting beside her most of the time, or behind her, which is my second favorite place to be -- really anywhere within the vicinity of my Mom is fine with me. Oh, I know what I can talk about. To start with, Mama and Daddy will not stop talking about this "baby." Well where is it? That's what they've always called my toys -- babies -- as in, "Lola, go get your baby." So where is this new toy? I haven't gotten anything new to play with in a while, so I hope it's something I can drag under their bed. I love taking stuff under there! Q-tips, bottle caps, if I can get it under there, it's mine for the taking.

I hope they're not talking about bringing home another dog. I hate most other dogs. I tolerate the ones at Grandmother's house and at Mimi's or Mamaw's, but I DO NOT want another one in this house. I'm Queen Bee in this household. BUT, I have noticed a big cage in the room that used to be the office. A few weeks back, Mama and Daddy changed up some stuff in the other two rooms -- moving furniture around and bringing in some new stuff. The office is now called the "nursery" or the "baby's room." My cage is small and perfect, just like me. It's the perfect size for somebody of my stature. This other cage is kinda like mine except that it's pretty big and it doesn't have a top on it. Something big's gonna go in there, I just know it. Daddy brought home this big tiger a while back. I'm not too bothered by it because it doesn't move all that much; it pretty much just sits there. For a couple of weeks, Mama had it sitting in the big, no-top cage, but it's on the floor now. Maybe that'll stay in there.

We watched the big box on the wall on Saturday. That's a pretty nifty thing -- the box on the wall. Daddy likes to watch me go crazy when I see other animals on it. Daddy was the one going crazy on Saturday watching people run around chasing after a little ball. He kept screaming, "Go, go, go!" or "Are you kidding me?" Mama kept telling him, "Enjoy it while it lasts. You're not gonna be able to scream like that much longer." I don't quite know what she meant by that. She keeps telling him that about lots of things. Like when we're getting in the bed ready to go to sleep. Daddy usually tries to play with me and get me all riled up right before bed. I usually bark at him because I don't like being disturbed once I'm in the bed. He knows this yet he consistently tries to do this nearly every single night. Mama keeps telling him, "You're not gonna be able to make Lola bark like that in a few more weeks; the baby will be sleeping." He's been antagonizing/playing with me for forever, what's a few more weeks? And now we're back to this "baby"...again.

We've had a few visitors here lately. Uncle Lee is here at this very moment. Grandmother and David came a couple weekends ago. I love having people come stay with us. I only like a handful of people. It takes me a while to get used to new people/things, but once I do, it's for life. So maybe whatever this "baby" is, I'll like it. As long as it's not another dog, I think I'll be okay.

Love,
Lola Bean Rainwater

T - 6 weeks and counting...

I had my weekly sonogram/ultrasound today. No cute pictures to share or too much noteworthy news. David Scott was still measuring about a week behind my due date -- currently about 33 weeks and a day vs. 34 weeks and a day. His weight was estimated to be 4 lbs., 14 oz. The u/s tech said that he may slow down the weight gain as it gets closer to my due date, so he may not reach the 8 lb prediction my doctor mentioned at my visit last week. That's a relief...although he'll be whatever size he needs to be whenever he decides to come and join us on the outside world. I'm excited about my u/s and doctor's visit next week (see previous post) as we'll possibly have a better idea of things and I'll be able to pre-register at the hospital so that'll be one less thing to have to worry about once I actually do go into labor. Anyway, the baby was pretty calm and wasn't trying to communicate with us today. He was just maxing and relaxing in his crib, so to speak. We were able to watch him breathe a little bit. You could see his little mouth opening and closing so that was pretty cool. Then we noticed that he had his little hand across his forehead like he was trying to convey to us that he was exhausted after a hard day's work of lying in womb-goo. That was pretty cute! But, we didn't get a picture of it.

Mama and David came in town this past weekend. While Scotty was getting ready for the LSU-FL game and David was taking a test, Mama and I rode around town picking up some must-have baby things. I feel better prepared just in case the little booger decides to come early. I'm sure I'll spend the next few weekends doing the same thing, picking up a few items here and there. I don't know that you can ever have enough "stuff" when it comes to being totally prepared for having a kid.

Is it weird that I feel oddly calm about bringing this baby home? I mean, you're probably reading this and thinking, "How naive Sarah is," especially if you've already had kids yourself. But seriously, I've had many years of hands-on baby care starting with my brother Brad who was born when I was 7, and continuing through college when I kept my Leslie (part of my extended family) for a summer. It's just kind of strange. I think most soon-to-be-mothers -- especially those who are first-timers like me -- are probably a little freaked out about being responsible for a child for the rest of their lives and nervous/anxious about actually taking care of it. I'm just really confident in my abilities to raise a child. I know it's not always going to be easy -- nothing that's worth it ever is. But I do know that this is going to be a fun adventure that we're about to embark on...and I can't wait!

David Scott

This pic was taken at my visit yesterday, and I'm loving these weekly sonograms/ultrasounds Here is your first look at the silhouette of David Scott Rainwater, Jr. AND, in case you didn't know, he will go by David Scott -- the double name. Scotty and I decided on his name a while back but we never could figure out what to call him. As you may be aware, there are a number of Davids already in the family -- my dad (David R. "Bud"), my brother (David B. "Brad"), a cousin and his son, my grandfather and great-grandfather, my step-father David A. and on Scotty's side, we have Scottty -- David Scott, obviously -- his grandfather (David B. aka Papaw to us), his uncle (David B. "Davey"), another uncle David M. (Mike), and I'm sure I'm leaving out someone, but you get the idea. We have a LOT of Davids already in the fam. And then there's the Scott part. Although most everyone refers to my hubby as Scott, I've always called him Scotty and always will. He wanted me to start calling him "Scott" and we'd call the baby "Scotty." I refused. And that's how we finally arrived at calling him David Scott. In fact, I'm starting to believe I really do have a little genius inside me b/c as I was telling my sister of our decision a few weeks back, the baby kicked me as I said his name. So I said "David Scott" again. And again, he kicked me. I thought I'd be pushing my luck with a third time, but I tried it again, and I was right. No acknowledgment that time. BUT, two out of three ain't bad...PLUS he had never acknowledged me talking before, so I was pretty impressed with that.

Not too much happened at my doctor's appointment yesterday. I've gained 18 lbs., BS and BP were both good, no swelling (yet). Baby's HB was at 144 bpm. I asked Dr. G how big she was expecting the baby to be once he's born. If I go to my due date (November 24th), she anticipates an 8-lb baby. Holy cow! I was NOT expecting that. 6.5 or 7 pounds, yeah, I was totally expecting that. Not 8 pounds. Although both Scotty and Lee were 8-lb babies according to my MIL; all three of us were in the 7-lb range. Oh well, as long as he's not 19-lbs like that kid from Indonesia, I will be fine. My doctor did tell me that she would not let me go past my due date b/c of my being high risk with the GD. Babies whose mothers have GD tend to be bigger babies and are at higher risk for injuries at birth. Apparently, shoulder dysplasia and clavicle injuries are more prevalent in these babies. So, it looks like we'll have a little turkey of our very own just in time for Thanksgiving! Excited doesn't begin to describe what we're feeling leading up to this special time.

This past weekend several of my friends in North LA hosted a shower for me. We had a great turnout and had a wonderful time catching up with everybody. We're so lucky to have such great friends and family -- even those of you who couldn't make it. :) But it's still kind of overwhelming to look over my list of "things we still need to take care of this kid." The pic below is me with my fabulous hostesses -- Rachel, Betsey, Baby Mama, Jessie, Courtney, and Racheal.



I go back for another sonogram next Wednesday, so hopefully we'll get more pics of David Scott at that visit. In two weeks, I'll get "checked" to see if I've dilated any. Dr. G said that after that visit, she'll be happy for me to "go" at any time. Luckily for me, Mom and David are coming back in this weekend and Mama and I will be running around town picking up a few more items to get us a little more prepared in the event that the baby comes earlier than expected. So much to do...so little time!

Week 32...

Finally! We got to see the baby for the first time in 3 months today as it was our first of the weekly ultrasounds from here til it's time we get to meet our little man. Both Mimi and my hubby got to come with me to the visit today. As usual, he was hamming it up -- constantly moving around to the point that we almost didn't get a "good" picture of his little face or get a "good" reading of his heartbeat. But he finally cooperated and we were able to get both...along with a little bonus action from our son. We got a ton of pics from today's visit, but I've scanned in the 6 that I like the best. Well, I didn't scan them in; the guy at Kinko's did b/c I figured they'd do a better job than Scotty or I would. Wrong. As you can see, the genius guy at Kinko's scanned the top two pictures upside down. M-A-N is all I can say. No disrespect to my husband or any of the competent guys who read this blog; I know none of you would have overlooked this important aspect of the pics. This guy was just clueless, I guess, that u/s pics should be viewed one way -- and that's not upside down. Anyway, if you can't read what the captions on the top two pics say, the first one is pointing out his hair (if the tech says so -- she looks at these every day; I don't, but I still don't see any hair). And the second one is a picture of his balls -- "I'm a man." She kept trying to get a good shot of his business, but he wouldn't oblige. She kept saying, "Come on, show me your testicles." Scotty commented that she wouldn't be the first female to say that to him. Typical guy... The second two pics are of his face. You can see that he has chubby little cheeks. So cute! But then again, I am already partial to the beauty/handsomeness of this kid. The last two pics, and I think these are our favorites, are our son giving us the "thumbs up" sign and a "peace" sign. Just his little way of telling us that everything is fine and he's doing well. Which the nurse confrimed. Based on his measurements and such, he's still measuring about a week behind, but everything looks great. His weight was estimated to be about 4 pounds. I was expecting a little less although 4 lbs. at this stage of the game is average. I'm expecting him to be between 7 and 8 lbs at birth.

BTW, I don't really think he knows about "thumbs up" or "peace" just yet. I'm sure he was just about to suck his thumb or on his hand since that was part of the reason that it took us so long to get a decent facial picture of him -- he kept his hands too close to his face. But, it is funny to think about him communicating via sign language already. OR, maybe he's just a genius! I think I like that. Well, that's about it. I'll go back to the doc for another u/s and visit next Wednesday.

OH -- and this is big -- I found out from my boss, who is trying to help ensure us a spot in the daycare we want, that we're in the top 10 and that they're expecting 4-5 infant spots to become open in January/February. We may be #2 on that list, or #5, or #10. I don't care. I just hope and pray -- and I ask you to do the same -- that we get in this daycare when we need to. They are one of the best in BR. It's convenient to my office and Scotty's. I half-jokingly told my boss that if we didn't get in that I would be bringing my baby to work until we had a spot available at this particular daycare. We should know more in November or December at the latest. I'm just going to have faith that we will continue to be smiled upon and that things will work out. I've always done that and don't intend to stop anytime soon.