Off bed rest and anti-contraction medication!

We just got home from another doctor appointment. I think we are notorious up there. When the other doctor, Dr. Smith, saw us, she just looked at me and said, "seriously, Heather, seriously." That's almost as good as last week's comment, "you're STILL pregnant?" I just love those girls!

Our doctor, Dr. Haddock, was great today. She sympathized with me and calmly explained that the next couple weeks were going to be very rough. She knows I'm extremely uncomfortable and that I'll soon be in tons of pain again. But ... I am excited about this part because ... SHE TOOK ME OFF THE ANTI-CONTRACTION MEDICATION and BED REST! She feels comfortable enough to let him come! So now, we just wait for labor to start!! I am 1 cm. dilated, and Tyler has dropped. He hasn't engaged yet, but his head is definitely down.

We have our last growth sonogram on Monday. From that point, she'll be able to make a better estimate of his impending arrival. She did tell us today, however, that if labor hasn't started by August 14, she'll intervene. (Don't panic about pitocin or a c-section! We trust our great doctor, and we are sure she has Baby Tyler's best interest in mind. As she always says, "it doesn't matter how it happens. The end result is the exact same", and her "job is to deliver a healthy baby!")

Off I go to wait for more contractions... let's all pray we have a July baby!

Here are some candid moments from 2 weeks of bed rest:

Learning to bed rest

After showing signs of late-preterm labor, I have been put on strict bed rest.

We spent a few hours yesterday at the doctor's office and hospital. I was having mild contractions since Monday, which didn't seem so mild with all the pain they caused. The doctor said it was latent false labor, which basically means my body is preparing but not dilated yet. At the hospital, I received two shots to stop the contractions and some pain medicine. Good news, Tyler is perfectly healthy. They watched him on the monitors, and his heart rate was great, and he was squirming as usual.

So until real labor starts (hopefully not for 3 more weeks), I have to stay in bed minus restroom breaks and an occasional shower. Luckily, Chad gave me his laptop password so I can stay connected.

Belly blunders

Ya know, this thing really gets in the way. Last week, I closed my belly in the car trunk. I reached down to slam it closed after loading groceries, and little did I know my belly was all the way inside. I got my first silent treatment from my son. Not sure if he was punishing me or knocked unconscious.

Then yesterday, I went to use my prenatal massage gift card from Liz. I attempted to hoist myself onto the table, which had a massive attachment with a hole in the center. To my embarrassment, my belly wouldn't fit. That sucker would have had to be four inches deeper to accommodate this baby "bump." And don't think about recommending a chair massage. The tech was quick to point out that I wouldn't come close to fitting inside one of those!

All jokes (and moments of complaining aside), I'm thrilled to have this belly. I'll admit it's not the most pleasant experience, but every time Baby Tyler kicks, it makes me smile! And I love feeling--and rubbing--this little guy ... even if I am patting his behind!

Our not-so-little one

Well, well, well ... looks like our little Baby Tyler is an athlete in the making.

We went back to the doctor today for a growth sonogram. So, how much do you think our little one weighs now? The average at 32 weeks/6 days is 4 lbs. As they said today, "we have a good little grower." According to the sonogram, Baby Tyler is 5 1/2 lbs. Here are his measurements (feel free to make loud exclamations; we certainly did):

Length: 35 weeks and 1 day ... 94th percentile
Stomach: 36 weeks and 0 days ... 98th percentile
Head: 32 weeks and 4 days ... 44th percentile
Overall: 34 weeks and 6 days ... 95th percentile

He has already dropped and is head-down, ready to go. She will check in 2 weeks to see if I'm dilated and/or effaced. Today's calculations moved his due date to August 12. However, she thinks it's highly likely that I'll go into labor sometime between August 5 and August 12. (We are just hoping our 2-year anniversary on Aug. 8 doesn't turn out to be his birthday!)

If I carry him 6 more weeks, he'll be about 8.5 lbs., which is definitely deliverable. If I go until the original due date, August 20, he'd be about 10 lbs. She is fairly certain that won't happen though, especially since he has already dropped, and all my symptoms have been several weeks ahead of schedule.

So, we go back on July 27 for another growth sonogram. At that point, I'll be between 36.5 weeks and 38.5 weeks along. They will make a final decision at that point. We may be setting up a scheduled induction or c-section; it all depends on how ready little Tyler is to meet us!

I can't believe we will be parents in just a few weeks. We will definitely have a baby in fewer than 42 days! We are so excited! And we feel so overwhelmingly blessed that Tyler is healthy.

Although you can't see much, here are some pictures from today's sonogram:

She is measuring his fluid. Anything between 10-20 is normal, and he had 14. An amount more than 5 (I forget the unit they measure in) is healthy. Basically, Baby Tyler still has plenty of room for squirming.















Here is his femur bone. Tyler has very long legs, thank goodness!















Here is his spine, all nice and healthy.















And here is his cute little head. We couldn't see his face because he is already in the birth position.