Baby Shower

Our shower turned out amazing, I could not believe how great it was! It was really nice to see family from out of town come share that with us. My mom hosted the shower and so many people pitched in to help, it was great! Here are the photos:


Us on the red carpet that my dad got us, I was super excited about that since it was a Hollywood theme.


The room all set up.


I loved these on the ceiling


"A Star is Born"


Table decor


Best cake ever made by Bekah!


Super cute bassinet watermelon that Bonnie made :)


The food was so good!


Super awesome star sandwiches that Jackie made, I loved them!


Candy bar/dessert table


Diaper pins for the "Who has the poopy diaper" game


Guess the Celebrity Baby game, Sarah won :)



Prizes that my mom made, they are movie nights in a can with a Blockbuster gift card, popcorn, and candy


Decorated onesies for the baby


Fun water bottles


Bratiest manned the popcorn booth


Us with mom by the cake



The cake Bekah made was rainbow and sooooo cool and that's the invitation too.


Family photo minus Josh and Stacie who had to leave early for work


Walter's family


Mom's family minus a few who already left

Sonogram

We had another sonogram today. That is definitely a perk of having gestational diabetes, extra chances to see our little girl. We went to St. Joseph's again for the sonogram which is much better than having one on the silly little sonogram machine they have at the Dr.'s office.

We had the same sono tech we had when we came for our 18 week sonogram and she was great. We confirmed again that she is still a girl (thank God!) and after about half an hour of measuring and looking and checking fluids, the Dr. says everything looks perfect! We even got to see her little hair! That was nice because with Walter and I's very thin hair, I was afraid she may be bald but you could clearly see her hair, we thought that was awesome. The tech even tried to get a 4D photo of her face but she insisted on grabbing her toes the entire time and sticking her arm in front of her face making it impossible. We saw her lungs and she was practicing breathing, we could see her heart beating, and even her brain. It was amazing. The photos weren't that great because she is so much bigger it is harder to see but we had fun watching her wriggle around in my belly.

As far as the more technical things, I have been worried that she would be too large because of the diabetes. That is why they plan to induce me at 39 weeks because diabetes babies tend to be fatter and born with low blood sugar which is not good. There is no reason for this with me because I have strictly been controlling my diabetes and my blood sugar numbers are great, but it still could happen. At the last growth scan at around 26 weeks, she measured about a week and a half ahead and in the 50-60th percentile for her weight. That is very normal. This time, however, she is measuring about a week behind (still normal) and only in the 25th percentile which means she is definitely on the smaller side. I was relieved to hear this, it means that I am not making her fat because of my health problems and that definitely makes me feel much better. She is approximately 5.5 lbs but keep in mind that this can be off about 2 pounds which is a big difference in a little baby, but both Walter and I were under 7 lbs as babies so she really shouldn't be that big.

I think (keep in mind I am not a Dr but this is what makes sense to me) that she had a really big growth spurt when I hit the third trimester and that's why she was a little larger and I was HUGE! I have not gained any weight this trimester and even lost some and I am really about the same size as I was at 6 months. At six months I got so many comments about how huge I was and if I was having twins or about to give birth any minute. That sucked! Now I get "you look good" comments which is much better. I just think she got big fast and now is taking her time growing, at least that's how I am explaining it.

I have a Doctor's appointment tomorrow and I plan to talk to them about not inducing me because she is on the smaller side and I will definitely continue to work at keeping the diabetes under control. I think that they will induce me either way but it's worth trying. I don't mind having her at 39 weeks, that would actually be ideal, I just don't want to force my baby and body to do something it is not naturally ready to do. We'll see what the Dr. says but I doubt they will want to budge. The good news is, that I seriously doubt I will be earlier than 39 weeks, again, I have no idea but with her measuring small and all, I am thinking she will stay in there the full 40 weeks if they let her. That's just my opinion but, if I am right, then I won't miss my other baby shower that Christi and Lauren are throwing me and she'll wait for her Aunt Katie to get here from Germany. I think it will all end up perfect like it's supposed to.

When I was diagnosed with diabetes I felt like such a failure that my health problems were going to cause problems with my baby but things have really been great. It has forced me to eat healthier, exercise more and I feel great, no sickness, no problems, and I still have plenty of energy. Plus my blood pressure has actually been going down which was another thing I was worried about. The diabetes has not been bad at all, but you better bet I want a large sweet tea from McDonald's after I give birth. Oh, and the dietitian said that one day won't hurt anything if I want to have cake at my shower. After the sonogram today, I am going to take her up on that since my cake is being made special just for me all the way from Atlanta by my wonderful cousin, Bekah :)

Thanks for listening to all my baby stories and I can't wait to see you all at the shower this weekend :)

Photos

We had a maternity photo session scheduled weeks ago with a friend of my mom's who lives in Orlando. I bought a couple of new outfits, had a pedicure at her request, my eyebrows waxed, etc. When I e-mailed her Sunday morning to confirm our scheduled time Sunday afternoon, she e-mailed me back about half an hour before I was supposed to leave and cancelled on me. Great! So with Walter's new job and all, it is just impossible for us to try and reschedule. Since we were ready to take photos, Walter suggested we go to my favorite park and photo spot in Lakeland and try taking them ourselves. This is not easy to do and I had tons of lighting and shadow issues and we only got a few but at least it's something.

If you have not seen me in a while, or at all since I have been pregnant, please do faint in shock at the site of how huge I am. I mean I didn't even realize how big I was until I saw these. I have the biggest, round belly I have ever seen and I have 5 weeks to keep growing! You would think I have gained 50 pounds but I swear I haven't. I was so hesitant about taking these photos because of how awful I look but this has been a fun experience for me and I know I will want photos to remember it later on. We may take more or even try and have someone take them soon before I get all swollen but for now, here are a few maternity photos taken by a tripod and Walter.

Induction

Since I am high risk with Diabetes, I now have to go to the Doctor's office twice a week where I am put on a machine for 10-15 minutes that monitor's the baby's heartbeat and movement. I need to remember to bring a book or magazine next visit because it gets a little boring. The Dr. says everything looks good and she is very proud of my blood sugar numbers, she says I am doing a great job. That's nice to hear because I do feel bad about having to take medication at night.

At my last appointment, I was informed that if I did not go into labor naturally, I would be induced at 39 weeks. This puts my new date at November 15th, I am not sure if they will induce me on exactly that day or maybe the following day which is a Monday but that is what I was told. I do not like the idea of being induced and would rather do things naturally but I also don't want her to get too big or have complications because of my diabetes.

I have a growth scan at St. Joseph's hospital on October 22nd and we will see how big she is then. Maybe if she is on the small side, they will let me try for 40 weeks but I doubt it. On a good note, this gives us a chance to see our baby girl again which was tons of fun the last time.

I have to go to the Doctor again this week on Tuesday and Friday and I will update if there is anything else to update you on. For now, I am still at a 12 pound total weight gain and still hoping for a maximum of 15 pounds total :)