Baby Update & Special Ultrasound Pictures {29 Weeks}

I have been so behind on writing about this pregnancy, and I could list a myriad of reasons.  Mostly, this has been an exhausting pregnancy in which I spend most days just barely caring for my household duties.  I do want to remember this special time though, but we have been having a lot more concerns this time around from the very beginning.  It started just a couple of weeks after we found out we were expecting this little surprise when I was about 7 weeks pregnant.  I awoke in the middle of the night to that dreadful sensation of bleeding.  Sure enough, there was enough bright red blood in the bed to raise serious alarm.  I cried and prayed, and we headed to the hospital in the morning after seeing our oldest boys off to school.  Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped in the night so it was not too severe which led me to hope for the best.  After a long and lovely wait at the ER and a very quiet and nontalkative ultrasound attendant who did nothing to relieve my concerns, I was finally given positive news that everything still appeared to be as it should be.  The cause of the bleeding was ruled a minor subchorianic hemorrage which seemed to have already corrected itself.  I still had to wait anxiously for a follow up appointment with my obstetrician to see a heartbeat and confirm all was well.  The months that followed were not too eventful, and I just experienced the increased exhaustion of pregnancy with four other children to care for.  At 19 weeks, my obstetrician wanted me to have my anatomy scan performed at a high risk specialist because of my age, hypothyroid condition, and history.  At that visit, we did see a healthy baby girl and were very relieved, but we also did find one cause for concern.  Her placenta was shaped abnormally, and the specialists wanted to keep following me closely to see if it corrected.  If it didn't, it could cause some issues with baby getting enough blood and nutrients from it later on and thus not growing like she should.  We were scheduled to come back in a couple of months for a follow up check.  My obstetrician was monitoring me in the meantime, and I was only mildly concerned that each time I walked into their office with kids in tow, I was so out of breath and tired that my blood pressure would be slightly elevated.  I had never had any issues with blood pressure before.  It was not too high to be a major concern, but it did alarm me a little.  I decided Eddie would need to accompany me to future appointments to help with the kids.  I also started back on my daily iron supplement which also seemed to help my extreme exhaustion and did seem to help keep the blood pressure in check.  Last week, we had made it to 29 weeks and made a trip home to NC to visit family for an early Christmas celebration.  While there, we scheduled a special 3D ultrasound session to get some special pictures of this precious baby.  She was a very active girl and did not make it easy to get her pictures, but she was adorable and still appeared healthy.  When we got back home, I had my follow up appointment with the high risk specialist for another medical ultrasound.  This time, they not only confirmed that the placenta was still shaped abnormally, but there was also a higher level of fluid around the baby and even a slightly elevated amount on one side of her brain.  As a genetic specialist informed me, the fluid in the brain was not a major cause of concern at this point because it was not a significant amount at this stage of pregnancy.  It would have been more concerning had it appeared earlier in the pregnancy with more time to increase.  We did some extra blood tests to check on a possible cause for the fluid such as an infection or other genetic concern and those results did not show any problems.  I also followed up with my obstetrician the next day for my glucose test.  The nurse called with my results.  My sugar level was in the 170s.  Normal is under 140.  Sigh.  So I got to experience the 3 hour glucose test to find out if I have gestational diabetes.  Thankfully, I did pass the 3 hour test so apparently my metabolism just takes a little more than an hour to process food and sugar these days.  Another sign of old age I guess.  With all that I have been feeling and the increased fluid around the baby, I was very anxious about all of those results.  I had never experienced any of these issues before.  The only light I can see from any of this is that my physicians will be following me much more closely in the next couple of months.  I already have to go weekly now to the high risk specialist for BPP checks on the baby.  It just feels like it has been one thing after another.  We are praying and believing that this baby and I are in the Lord's hands.  He definitely gave us this little gift!  Thank you for your kind prayers and thoughts through these anxious days.

For now, I enjoy gazing at these pictures of our sweet girl's little face and dreaming of what she will be like when she is here safely:

Such a sweet face.  I think she looks mostly like Grayson here with her little nose and lips. 

Cute little feet that would not be still. 

She has such a cute little nose. 

I think she looks like Mattox here. 

Cute little feet and toes. 

A little frown as she may not have been too pleased with having her picture taken. 

A cute little ear and maybe some peach fuzz hair on her head already.  She also had her cord close to her face.  

Puckered up for a kiss. 

We can't wait to meet you, little princess. 

All of my precious miracles together in one picture.  We have been so blessed!