All looks good!

Well we went down to Mayo (again!) today to have another ultrasound done to check on the baby. They did a BPP (Biophysical Profile) which measures the fluid, baby's breathing movements, baby's muscle tone, and significant body movements. The doctor said our baby scored an 8 out of 8 so that's very good news! Praise God! So now we see him again on Wednesday and if all looks good then he wants to see us back on Monday! But now he's talking like we are going to keep our original induction date of April 9th/10th! And here Jon and I thought we were going to get our little one this week! But we are so happy that the baby is doing good and can stay in just a little longer and get a little bigger and stronger! Again, thanks to all who have been praying for us...it is much appreciated!

Maybe next week?

Well we went down for our appointment today. We had to do a non-stress test first. The baby did really good with that. I even had a few contractions and the baby did fine during those, which is a good sign. The heart rate was really good and even though I was a little anxious my blood pressure was good too. Then we had an ultrasound to check the fluid levels and the activity in the cord. All that looked really good too! Even the ultrasound tech was amazed that they were concerned last time and wanted us to come in today. He didn't see anything that concerned him. All good news. We then met with our doctor and he seemed pleased with the results and just said he wanted to see us again on Monday to check again. So I guess we will be just taking it a few days at a time! Thank you to all of you who were praying for us. We definitely felt covered in prayers! Jon thinks this baby is going to be a teaser (like him!) since he or she is already keeping us on our toes (meaning at one visit they're concered with the baby and at the next visit the baby seems fine)! Well that's about it...I guess we'll see what they say on Monday!

Just a quick update...

We had another appointment down at Mayo today for another ultrasound and check up. We were told that we are now at a point where they will have to decide whether it's best for the baby to stay in and get a little bigger or whether it would be best if the baby was born. The baby didn't grow as much as they had hoped it would these last couple of weeks. They aren't sure if it's getting the sufficiant amount of nutrients through the cord or if it's the heart not being able to pump enough blood. So it's back down to Mayo on Friday. I asked whether I should bring my bag and all he said was that if he thinks the baby needs to come out they will start the process that day. So we could have a baby by Friday but we are really hoping and praying that it can stay in at least one more week, as that would ensure that the baby is more developed and a little bigger. So that's our prayer request for those of you who have been keeping us in your prayers...we thank you for that! We can use all the prayers we can get:) Oh...he did say that it was a good sign that the baby was so active so we are thankful for that. We just need this little baby to get good and strong! We'll update more on Friday. Until then...

More Ultrasound Pics

Our latest visit to Mayo was on March 12th and it was just for another ultrasound and check-up with our Dr. Nothing too new to report. The baby is measuring about 4lbs and 15 oz! So he or she is doing good. We got to have some fun with the baby during the ultrasound...our tech needed the baby to move so he kept bugging the baby until he or she moved...and we finally got the baby to move it's hands away from it's face! I don't know if you'll be able to tell from the pictures that there is a face there but I can and I think he or she looks like me! ha! And we were also able to see little fat rolls on the baby's back and we could even see the hair on the baby's head! Technology is pretty amazing! Alright, that's the scoop for now....I'll try to help you out with the pictures. Here they are:

This is the face....hint you have to look at it sideways....the baby is laying this way-->....you can see the forhead, eyes (or eyelids...his or her eyes are closed), cheek, mouth, and nose...then there is a little hand right underneath the chin....so cute:)

These are the baby's lips and nose...kinda looks like the baby is ready to kiss us!

They tell us this is the baby's ear....I think the baby might have gotten these from Jon:)

Okay....here we have the heart....we remembered to get one to show you all what they are saying. See how the right side (RT) is bigger than the left (LT). It should be that the left side is the same size or just a little bigger than the right. And then just above those two chambers you'll see that little canal opening (looks like 2 fingers with a gap between them) that's the AV Canal Defect that shouldn't be there. So once the baby is born they will do an echo to the baby and start to figure out exactly what they are going to do as far as surgery goes...that is if we don't have a miracle by then and all this is fixed before the baby is born:)

Another Visit to Mayo

Last Friday we went down to Mayo again for a full day of appointments. Our first was with Jeri, who gives tours of the hospitals. So now we have seen where the labor rooms, delivery rooms, and recovery rooms are. I feel a little more prepared...although Mayo (or Methodist Hospital) definitely feels like a real hospital! I made that comment and my doctor said....well yeah...Northfield is more like a hotel than a hospital! We also got to see the NICU which was kinda hard to see since there were so many babies there...so many little babies! Our baby will look like a giant compared to them! But our baby will probably not spend too much time there because he or she will eventually be transferred up to the cardio unit, which we also got to see. There was one baby up there that must have just had surgery...it just gave us a little dose of reality to see that little one with all the tubes hooked up to it...but it was definitely good to see all the different parts of the hospital where we will be at. Then we had time for lunch so we got to try Jimmy Johns, which Jon has wanted to try for a while and we also had time to just go exploring on our own and see what else is there at Mayo...I swear that place goes on forever! Then we had another ultrasound done...nothing too new there...they didn't even give us any pictures...but it was definitely clear to both of us how small that left side of the heart is....I should have asked for a picture of that so I could show all of you...maybe next time. The baby is measuring 4 lbs 3 oz so we have a good little grower on our hands. And the fluid level still looks good and the baby is still head down! So then it was off to see Dr. Davies....he basically just said that the baby is looking good...I'm doing good with my gestational diabetes too. He did set up our induction so....April 10th is the day we will be induced...we have to be down to Mayo on April 9th at 7 p.m. to start the process so that hopefully the baby will be born during the day on April 10th! I guess that was the biggest news of the day! The next appointment was with the baby doc...he's so full of energy which is probably why he's a baby doctor. He just explained to us what exactly happens to the baby after he or she is born. We'll have a few minutes to hold the baby and then they will take him/her to the next room and start a few IV's and get ready to transport the baby over to St. Mary's. But they will bring the baby by before they go for us to see him or her again and then Jon can go over to St. Mary's about an hour later to be with the baby. Then once I'm feeling okay they will let me go over in a wheelchair via a hospital shuttle to spend some time with our baby. So that was encouraging news. And then our last appointment was with a social worker who just basically helps us find a place to stay down there and answers any other questions we might have. So that was our long day...a good day full of information! Well....until later....