We'll be meeting Amelia very soon...

I've been meaning to write about this, but the last few days have been crazy! I was supposed to go to the doctor on Monday while Kurt was in Las Vegas for work, but my midwife had to cancel. Now, I'm kind of glad she did and I didn't have to hear all the news alone.

I went in for my 35 week ultrasound/biophysical profile and non-stess test. Kurt and I noticed Amelia was measuring a small on the ultrasound, but of course they don't tell you anything. Went in for the non-stress test next and my midwife came to find us there. She said the blood flow from my placenta wasn't good and the baby was measuring very small. They were already trying to get me an appointment with a specialist ASAP.

We went to the specialist yesterday and he confirmed that Amelia has IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction). She is very small and my placenta is not giving her what she needs. He used the word "malnourished" to describe her which makes me sad. She will not continue to grow inside, so we need to get her out. He would have taken yesterday, but we can't be sure her lungs are mature. The only benefit to leaving her in is to allow her lungs more time. He wanted to wait until Monday when I'll be 36 weeks. I'll have an amnio at his office and we'll get the results in 2 hours. If her lungs are mature, we'll induce immediately. If not, I'll be admitted to the hospital for constant monitoring until her lungs mature, but he doesn't want me to keep her in longer than 37 weeks. So, it looks like we'll be having a baby next week no matter what.

Over the weekend, I'm supposed to keep a very close eye on her movements. I am thankful to have one more weekend to get everything ready. I want to spend some extra time with my girls before we have a newborn in the house again.

The last few days have been stressful, but one funny thing is that the doctor called Amelia a "he" during the ultrasound yesterday. Kurt and I didn't say anything, but we got to talking about it on the way home. We're pretty sure he didn't look and was using a generic "he" term, but there is nothing like putting a little doubt into your mind right before you have the baby. :) If it is a boy, I hope he likes pink. ;) Kurt has liked the same boy name since we were deciding on names for Ava. If we get our surprise boy, I'll let Kurt name him. For those of you that know me, I'm only saying that because I'm 99.9% sure we're having a girl.

33+ weeks

It's been a little while since I've blogged. I totally skipped Christmas, but I honestly haven't even uploaded the pictures to my computer. Sad, I know! But, right after Christmas, we painted Amelia's room. Then, we left and spent 4 days traveling to and from a wedding in Oklahoma City. Then, we took down our Christmas decorations and Kurt went back to work. Where did the holidays go??? Sigh! So, I feel like we are just now catching our breath and Ava' s birthday party is this weekend.

We are making progress on the nursery. The room is painted and the furniture is being painted at my house as I type. My mom started making the curtains last weekend and hopefully we'll be able to finish this weekend. I have all of the baby bedding ready to go on the bed and we're having a canvas painted to hang above the crib this week. This is the latest I have ever put together a nursery, but it will all come together, hopefully, before she is born. We still need a few accessories, but I'll need to see the room mostly put together to see what we still need.

I am still feeling pretty good. The contractions are getting more painful and more frequent, but we haven't entered into the "go to the hospital" zone yet. I go back to the doctor in two weeks for an ultrasound, biophysical profile, and non-stress test. This will give us a better idea of what (if anything) is going on. I'm measuring small *again* this time. I'm curious to see how much she weighs in a couple of weeks.

I really need to get baby clothes down from the attic to start washing. Of course, this will require the furniture so I actually have a place to put her clothes. I love pulling all of the tiny baby clothes out, but I'm not looking forward to washing and hanging them all up. Any volunteers??? ;)

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Ava was born less than 3 weeks from now and Audrey was born less than 4 weeks from now. I can't believe we'll have a cuddly little newborn in the house again soon. Of course, after all this worry and preparation, she'll probably wait us out until her due date. :)

I'll try to post Christmas pictures soon and pictures of Ava and Audrey's new room.

Can't wait for baby...

Ava is really getting anxious to meet Amelia. Here is a conversation we just had...

Ava: I can't wait for Amelia to come out of your tummy. I wonder what she is going to look like.

Me: Do you think she'll look like you?

Ava: I think so. Or...(as her eyes light up) maybe she'll look like Santa!!!

Now, I'm going to start having nightmares that she comes out looking like Santa. Of course, that is a very real possibility if the amount of heartburn I've had is any indication. :)