Maternity Photo Shoot

Last weekend Steve and I got the opportunity to have a free maternity photo shoot.  A girl I went to high school with is starting up her own photography business (Studio One Two One) and approached me about doing a free shoot so that she could promote her business.  I was thrilled about the opportunity and excited to have professional pictures to document this amazing experience.  We agreed to meet at a local state park and let her use us as her guinea pigs.  All I  can say is that the photos were amazing, she was great to work with, and we are so letting her take baby girl's newborn pictures. And .. because you will see it in the photos, we have officially decided to name baby girl Grace Elizabeth.  Anyways .. here's a photo bomb of our pictures. Enjoy!!!

35 Weeks

Tomorrow I will officially be 35 weeks.  Time sure is flying by and I can't believe there are only a few more weeks left in this pregnancy.  Lots to update on .. so where to start?

Our amazing friends and family threw us a baby shower on August 26.  It was a lot of fun and we got lots of wonderful gifts from some really amazing friends and family.  The girls who put it all together did such a great job and I've had many people tell me it was the nicest shower they had been to.  Because I am a huge reader and really want to instill the idea of this in baby girl's life, we asked the guests to bring us a copy of their favorite story book instead of a card.  We got some really great books and I cannot wait to start reading them with her.  Here are some pics from the baby shower:

Last week I started weekly NST's (non stress tests), BPP's (biophysical profiles) and weekly OB visits.  The NST's are to test baby's heart rate with movement and to determine how she would fare during labor.  I had to go to labor and delivery for the test because my OB office does not perform them there.  They hooked me up to a machine with two probes - one to measure her heartbeat and one to measure any uterine activity (contractions). The nurse told me she would monitor for at least 20 minutes, but the test could take up to an hour.  She gave me a button to push every time she moved. The nurse told me what they are looking for is to see baby's heart rate go up at least 15 beats per minute with movement and they want to see this happen at least 2 times in 20 minutes.  At first baby wasn't being very active, but then she went crazy and passed the test with flying colors.  

On Friday last week I had my first BPP but they also combined it with a growth scan since it had been 5 weeks since the last one.  The BPP measures baby's heart rate, breathing, movement, and amniotic fluid around her.  They give a baby 2 points for each of the categories with a max score of 8/8. She passed the test with flying colors and measured in at 4lbs 14oz. She is now in the 50th percentile for her weight, which is good because that means she won't be too big of a baby. 

From this week forward I will have my BPP's on Mondays and NST's on Thursdays with an OB appointment mixed in there somewhere.  This week's BPP was great and she scored an 8/8.  NST is tomorrow and I imagine it will go well.  I also had my OB appointment today and got to meet the newest doctor in the practice.  This is nice so that when I go into labor I will know who is there delivering our baby girl.  

I also got interesting news from the doctor today.  Apparently because I have Gestational Diabetes, they will not let me go past 39 weeks.  I thought the only reason they would induce me would be if the baby was really big or if I went past my due date.  I guess that's not true.  So if baby girl isn't here by 39 weeks, which is October 11th, they will induce.  I was able to schedule my appointments for the rest of the pregnancy so I will find out for sure on October 8th when my induction will be.  I'm so excited but also nervous now.  I thought we had 5 weeks to go and now it's suddenly down to 4 or less .. crazy!!!