Pictures

Before I get to pictures, I thought I'd share the latest news from the doctor. We saw the doctor yesterday and she was so pleased with my progress that she doesn't see a need to induce next week! She said the bed rest has been good for me and as long as I'm resting my blood pressure looks great. It hasn't shown any signs of getting any worse. She knows my concerns about being induced and wanting a natural birth and thinks that having the extra week will be better for both the baby and I. Hopefully I'll go into labor on my own but if not than at least I'll be that much closer at 40 weeks. So baby Farns has another two weeks to come on his own before we need to schedule an induction. This of course is based on my continued good BP and no signs of pre-ecclampsia. I'm so happy - now I just need to relax and hope that my body is ready for labor soon! : )

Now for the pictures. Katie came over yesterday and took some maternity pics for me. Some of them turned out really neat and I wanted to share them with you. I wasn't really that excited at first because I don't really feel all that cute, but I really like how they turned out.

***Update***

So most of you know this already but I thought I'd update the blog and keep everyone in the loop. I plan to utilize this more as we get closer and closer. We'll also be hospital pics and stories when baby Farns comes!

Last Wednesday was my first weekly checkup. Everything was going great - I had only gained a pound (yay!), baby's heart rate was great and strong...then we got to the blood pressure. The nurse took my BP looked at me funny then left to get a different cuff. No big deal - she's done that before. She tried to make light of it by saying that I have muscluar arms. That's code for, your arms have grown a bit husky. She took it with the new cuff and then told me to lay down on my left side. I'm sure John knew what was going on but by this time she still hadn't told me what was going on. I don't remember the exact number but my BP was somewhere in the 150's over 90's. Not good. Especially since it's been perfect at every appointment up until then.

She had me lay there for about 10 minutes to take it again while I of course tried to hold myself together and not stress. Yeah right! I know that high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia run in my family and I've been terrified of it since I first found this out. The doctor came in and said she didn't like how high it was, that I should monitor it through Friday and then call her and let her know my results. When they checked it again it had come back down into the safe zone so I went back to work and just monitored it. When I got home it would consistantly be high and then take all night to get it back to normal. On Friday she sent me to SMMC to get a Non-Stress test done. The baby looked great but my BP was 158/103ish. It was enough to cause concern and I was sent home on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. The unknown is the scariest thing for me. I didn't get to talk to my doctor directly so I just got info from the nurse at the hospital who gave me the bed rest lecture (what it is and isn't) and said my little one needed to stay put for at least 15 days. I was to schedule a NST (non-stress test) twice a week on Monday and Thrusday. This is in addition to my weekly doctor visits. Luckily I was able to move the doc visits to Mondays so I only have to go into the office twice weekly, not three times weekly. So far I am considered to have Gestational Hypertension NOT pre-eclampsia.

We had a big weekend with Chelsee's Bridal shower and my baby shower. It was sooo much fun! Thank you everyone for everything. Baby Farns is truly blessed to have so many people who love him. Needless to say, it was not a very restful weekend but as much as it could be. That brings me to today's news.

We had a sonogram, a NST, and a weekly doctor visit. It all went VERY well. At least I am very pleased with the results. Here's what we found out:

~Baby is doing great. He has plenty of fluid (a concern if I were pre-eclamptic), has a healthy placenta, heart rate is good, blood pressure is good, and is adequately active.

~He is head down as he should be but currently "sunny side up." He needs to turn to face the back between now and delivery hopefully.

~He weighs approximatly 7 lbs, 2 oz. according to the sonogram. (Which could be off a little but fairly close.) He'll probably gain another pound before delivery. I think that's an excellent weight.

~My BP is still high when up and around but good when resting. As long as my resting BP stays below the 140's/90's than I will carry as long as I can until 39 weeks. Hopefully my body will go into labor on it's own but if it doesn't then I will be induced a week early.

~I am dialated to one centimeter. Yay for progress even if it's only one centimeter! She said she could feel his head. : )

That's about all for now. I'll keep you updated as I have PLENTY of time to do so now. Right now my BP is up again and John is begging me to lay down so I must comply. : ) He is taking great care of me. I love him so much.

3D Ultrasound

As promised, here is some footage from the 3D ultrasound. I thought you might like to see what baby Farns looks like at 32 weeks.


These are his little toes - yes there are 5 of them.


Here he is snuggled up to that silly placenta that was in our way.


Is that a smile?

I admit that I wasn't totally thrilled with the footage that we got from this experience but as I sit here now and compile it together for a shortened web version I find myself in tears as I look at the miracle that God has allowed me to be part of. I hope you enjoy this video.

Prego John

Since it's been a while since we updated the blog, I have some fun things to share...


This was at one of our birth classes. All of the guys - well the ones brave enough to try it - got to put on these sympathy suits and were asked to do common things that are hard for pregnant women to do.


Aren't we cute?



There's someone on each side of you and you are at a meeting at work. You drop your pen...try to pick it up.

You're in bed at home...try repositioning - it's not so easy is it?

I have to say that watching John strut his stuff in the belly suit was quite humerous!

I haven't forgotten...

the blog...at least not completely. I know it's been a while. I have been very fortunate to have such a wonderful pregency. No real complaints. I'm on the home stretch now - 35 weeks. I can't believe it's finally almost Baby day!

We had our 2nd 3D sono on May 7th. It was fun but honestly a little disappointing. We got a few pictures of his face but it's really hard to make out. I'll try to get the video up on the blog - there is a cute part where he yawns.

We got to spend this past weekend at the new Lake house! It was so nice and relaxing. It rained the whole time so I didn't get any sun but laying around and reading was very therapeutic. It was fun to "camp out" inside the house. There is no furniture yet but we made the best of it with air mattresses, card tables, folding chairs, and camping chairs! Baby Farns bonded with Aunt Katie one night while she was feeling him squirm around. : ) We took some cute pictures on the dock and I got to wear my new swimsuit! When I get the pictures from Katie I'll post those too.

The baby room is coming along great!!! Grandma Farnsworth has finished the blanket and bed skirt - they are beautiful!!!!!! Aunt Jenny has almost finished painting the wall. He is going to have one special room. : )

I hope to get better at this blog thing. Especially now that the time is getting closer. I have a question to pose... Any guesses on his birthday? These are the guesses we've made so far...

Mom - June 24th
Dad - June 20th
Me - June 21st (Fathers day!)
Katie - June 22nd

Working on the Baby Room

Well I was hoping to post a 3d sonogram video this week but our little guy needs to grow some more. We went with the fam but had to reschedule for May 7th. Hopefully we'll have some good pictures for everyone then.

It has still been an eventful week though as we had our first birth class on Thursday and then finally got our furniture for the baby room on Friday! I couldn't help but put a short video clip together.

29 Weeks

OK so it's been a while since I have posted anything so I thought I would give another "whats going on inside" post. This section is copied directly from babycenter.com just to give them credit and is generalized for the 29 week old baby.

"The baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day."

*Nursing side not - because of the calcium drain on women from pregnancy this is why women have a much more difficult time with osteoporosis later in life. So all you preggos make sure to supplement adequately!

Also according to the babycenter website our son is about the size of a butternut squash:


He's come a long way from a poppy seed!

Here's the picture of what things are shaping up like on the inside:


Starting to get a little crowded! Kristin it fortunately really starting to feel him move around more now too. I have felt little kicks here and there as have a few other family members but for the most part he's still a little shy. However, on this Thursday we get to actually see what he looks like (as long as the picture shows up well) because we are finally scheduled for our 3D ultrasound. I'm sure Kristin and I will figure out a way to get the video or pictures up on the blog for everyone else to see.