SMILE!

My first scheduled Nonstress test was Tuesday, and it went about as good as anyone could have hoped! We have a real person in there! Kicking up a storm, and the tech was FINALLY able to get me a 3D picture. 

Our baby- and his little fingers waving

The hands were going- which made it VERY hard!

Sleeping away tucked into my bladder

I could have cried! He kept putting his hands over his mouth in typical pain in the butt fashion- but she managed to get a few shots- the regular ultrasound shots are very hard to distinguish, and after finally seeing him in 3D it was like something clicked. Uncle T said that it is just like looking at a picture of him- and I would have to say that for me, that is exactly what it was like- he’s REAL. Not that the jabs, kicks, and constant growth aren’t enough- it was like hitting a milestone that there is a normally proportioned little baby boy in there with a smooshed up nose and wiggly fingers. I could look at the picture all day. So yes, hormones are still in full effect! 

 He measured good, and passed again with flying colors. Heart rate was 140 and my BP was a normal low of 100/68. We could see his little lungs inflating from his practice breaths and despite his attempts to eat his hands and burrow into the wall of my uterus- the tech worked her magic and got some shots of him. Technology is pretty amazing- and yes, for those with no kids, I understand that it looks a bit creepy- but i can totally understand why people say that it all changes when it is yours. He looks perfect to me, and I can't wait to have him in my arms!!!

Me and the hubby have such a hectic few weekends planned that I am hoping to sneak him off for a date night tomorrow- a little dinner and a  movie. Then we have class all weekend, and with any luck and lack of rain pictures on Sunday! Next weekend we have our class at the hospital and then a wedding, a wedding the following Saturday and then a weekend of trunk or treating (I will have to find Miss Vienna a suitable costume before then). Then it will be November!

My original decision was to make the week before my due date my last official “working week,” but I am leaning towards the last week in October- two weeks earlier- which leaves me ten weeks with little man after he arrives and two weeks to not stress about the hour drive to and fro and to get thing settled at home. I think I will play it by ear and see how I feel once I hit the last days of this month and go from there. Everyone says just stay as long as possible- and I understand the point- and I know I will want as much time home with him as possible- but being so far from home and the hospital and the drive to work each day is getting very exhausting and I would like a little time to re-charge before being up all night sets in.  I am glad that my husband is supportive of whatever decision I make in that regard, and I feel much safer knowing that at home I have an ambulance of friendly faces and a husband a mere 5 minutes away should I need them.

I haven’t packed our bag yet-baby is all ready to go, short of getting car seat bases installed- and I am still reading the endless suggestions of what to bring and not to bring to the hospital. I have also allowed a mild anxiety to set in about what will happen when I am in labor- who will watch Vienna, who will think they need to be at the hospital watching me writhe in pain?- and what will happen after he is born. I brought up the subject to dad the other night and I think after our childbirth class we will be more prepared for what we need to think about preparing. I am still of the idea that I really don’t want ANYONE there until he is born. Parents and grandparents included, I would like those first hours to be ours, and to rest after what I am sure will be a long painful and stressful night/ morning/day/whatever. I also don’t want anyone at our house when we first get home- again, I want to be able to settle ourselves in and gauge what is going on before having hoards of people come and visit to ooh and ahh when all I want is a nap and a shower.

There are so many things to be anxious and nervous about- and our lives are a constant moving target- which adds to the feelings we are each having anyways, but I know that we are both excited (and scared shitless) about where we will be in seven short weeks! There just aren’t words to describe the feeling

The tech said it looks like he was giving a mischievous
little smile here with his hand over his mouth- his
eyes kept opening and closing too.