36 Week Doc Appt:

First and most importantly everything is still looking good, baby and mommy are both healthy, although a few new items have come to light.

We started this appointment with an ultrasound to track the progress of my polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid). The ultrasound tech asked if I had been having regular contractions. I have not and she was shocked. Although I’m only 36 weeks and 1 day she said the all the measurements are at full term and was shocked that the baby had not arrived yet and overly shocked that I have had no regular contractions. She took a lot of measurements (all over at least 37 weeks); the baby’s current weight is between 7 and 7.5 lbs.

I only gained 1 lb since the last appointment which is great. My blood pressure and urine tests were normal.

We then met with the doctor. Because of 2 issues – baby measuring big and too much amniotic fluid – she foresees and recommends a c-section delivery. The main reason is the risk of umbilical cord prolapse. This would be an emergency situation that could arise if I go into labor or was induced for a vaginal delivery. Cord prolapse happens when the umbilical cord is delivered prior to the baby, when the baby is delivered the cord would be compressed and therefore the baby would not be receiving oxygen. This would be an emergency situation and most likely would result in an emergency c-section where I would have to be knocked out.

So the next step is to do biophysical ultrasound which is a more in depth ultrasound to look at the baby, this is performed by the doctor instead of the ultrasound tech. We have scheduled this ultrasound for Thurs (7/2). If everything is looking good and the same at that point a c-section will probably be scheduled around 39 weeks.

34 Week Doctor Appt

Back on June 11th, I went to the doctor for my 34 week appt. All labs from blood work at last appointment came back negative. I’m still measuring big (39cm at 34 weeks, suppose to be within 2cm of number of weeks) but since all the labs are fine there are no concerns. I have another ultrasound schedule at my next appt. (6/26) to measure the fluid levels again.

Heartbeat sounded great. My weight is up a little bit but last appointment I hadn’t gained anything so really it was over the past month not 2 weeks, again doctor was not worried about it, but just told me to watch it. They drew one vial of blood to check my iron again, routine for 34 weeks. Next appointment is on 6/26 for 36 week check, after that appointment I will begin going every week.

Baby Shower!!

WOW – I don’t even know where to begin on my baby shower recap because it was absolutely amazing!

My shower was actually a whole weekend event thanks to all the friends and family that traveled into Jacksonville!!

My mom arrived from TX on Wed evening; she stayed with John and I that night. Our life-long family friends Mary Kay and her daughter Allie also arrived on Wed from Chicago. Jacki another life long family friend arrived on Thursday from Indiana. Thursday while I was working all the girls drove around town shopping together. We all met back at my house and did dinner together. It was so great to be able to start the weekend with them on Thursday. My Dad, Stephanie, Bailey, and Brandon arrived on Thursday evening from Ft. Myers. I took Friday off work to spend some extra time with all my family and out of town guests. In the morning I had a doctor’s appointment, with ultrasound. See the post below! That afternoon we went up to Amelia Island (where Mary Kay and Allie were staying) and spent some time on the beach and the pool. Despite the awful Jacksonville weather we had the week before, we could not have asked for better weather the whole weekend! Friday night all 10 of us went out to Carrabbas for dinner. GREAT TIMES! Here is a couple of pictures from Friday:

The whole clan:

Almost forgot – While the girls were out shopping mom added a few gifts onto my shower gifts but did not want to wrap and take them to the shower. We got us the pack and play that will also be used as the bassinet in our room for the first couple of weeks till the baby moves to their room. Of course we had to put it together right away, here is a picture:
Now onto the actual shower day! Once again my shower was amazing. I have the best family and friends one could ever wish for. There was about 35 people and I was thankful for each and everyone one of them coming! Between co-workers, church friends, John’s aunts and cousin from Cocoa Beach, college friends from FL cities other then Jacksonville, neighbors and all my other Jacksonville family/friends. Special THANKS to John’s Aunt Jo for opening up her beautiful home to fit us all in! I tried my best to get around and talk to everyone but that was probably the hardest part of my day!! We received an amazing amount of gifts and are so thankful for each and every item. We received a lot of the useful items, even though they may not have been the most fun to buy. I believe not knowing the sex of the baby helped here!! We have a very short list of remaining items that John and I actually have to go purchase. Here are some pictures from the day!

Look at all those gifts!!!

Everyone playing games! The blanket my mother in law made :)The quilt my mom made :)

Because so many family and friends traveled to Jax for the shower John and I had family and out of town guests back at our house after the shower for a BBQ. It was great to spend the rest of the day with family and friends!

Later that night I went back through all of my gifts with John and my dad since they were not at the shower. It so a lot of fun to go back through everything!!

Sunday Mom and Jacki came back over to my house to hang out for a bit before they had to catch their planes home. We went through all the gifts again and started some of the organizing :) Here is a picture; I was having too much fun!
Thank you again to EVERYONE who came to my shower and for every gift we received. We are so grateful for the amazing group of friends and family that we have. We cannot wait for each and every one of you to meet Baby Payne!!

33 Week Update – 32 week Doctor’s Appointment

So again a month has flown by since my last update!

Yesterday (Thurs 6/4) I hit 33 weeks. The time is still going really fast but we are getting more and more excited to meet Baby Payne, even though we don’t want an unhealthy early arrival!

On Friday, May 29th I had my 32 week Doctor’s Appointment. Everything is still looking good. They started with an ultrasound to take a look inside since I had been measuring big over the past couple of months. They determined that I do have a little too much fluid. You are considered to have to much fluid at 25 (not sure what the measurement is) and I am at 26. The doctor said she would not be concerned until someone is in the 40’s. They don’t have an exact reason for the extra fluid but one reason can be caused by an infection. They drew blood to perform tests for infection. If there is something wrong they will contact me immediately, if not they will update me at my next appointment. So far I have heard nothing (its been a week) so I think we are fine! The doctor said its nothing I should lose sleep over, so if she is not concerned I’m not going to let it concern me. My next appointment is next week – Thurs June 11th (34 weeks).

My mom and John’s mom came to the ultrasound with me. We were small talking with the tech and mentioned that my shower was the next day. During the ultrasound she clicked over to the 3D/4D portion. This is something that you normally have to pay extra for (insurance does not cover it). But she was just doing it to be nice and mentioned it was her contribution to the shower. We got some amazing pictures and video of Baby Payne. I could not believe how clear the images were. She mentioned if we had paid for the 3D/4D session we would not have gotten this good of pictures, the baby’s like to hide. It was very nice of her and we appreciated it very much. Here is one of the pictures:



The baby is constantly moving and kicking. Its still an amazing feeling every time. I have felt a few instances of the hiccups recently too, so neat!!

My baby shower was also this past weekend. It was amazing and I have lots to share so I will save that for another post :)

Week 28, Doctor’s Appointment, and the Nursery is DONE!

Wow, it has been awhile since I have updated the blog, this may be a long one!

Week 28 –
So Thursday 4/30, I hit week 28, last week marked the official move to the third trimester. I cannot believe how fast time is going. The baby now weights a little over 2 lbs and measures almost 15 inches from the top of the head to the heels. The baby is blinking it’s eyes and may be able to filter light through the womb. The baby’s body fat is increasing daily for preparation of life in the outside world. The baby is very active. It’s still an amazing feeling every time the little one is moving around. It is always active 30 – 60 minutes after I eat!! John got to feel a really strong kick the other night and that was exciting for both of us!!

John and I started our child birthing classes this week as well. We go on Tuesday nights for 2 hours. It’s a 6 week class. The teacher is really good! We learned a lot about relaxation techniques this week. They all sound like a great plan but we will see how that works out when labor actually kicks in!

Doctor’s appointment –
I also had my 28 week appointment this week. I met the last doctor w/in the practice. She was ok, but my least favorite of them all. Everything still looks good. My weight is up a little bit but I now start going every two weeks so I’m going watch what I eat these two weeks and then see how the weight looks at the next appointment. The baby’s heartbeat sounded great. I took the glucose test to test for gestational diabetes. I had to drink a sugar substance and then they drew blood, the results will be back early next week. The baby is still measuring a little bit big but no concern at this point. If it continues to measure big closer to my due date they will do an ultrasound to get actual measurements. I will not have another ultrasound unless one is needed for something specific. My next appointment is on May 13th.

Nursery –
When we originally bought the crib and dresser/changing table, the armoire piece was on backorder. It finally came in last week!! The nursery is officially done. Here are a couple of updated pictures:

This next month is really going to fly by with child birthing classes, 2 week doctor appointments, a friend’s wedding in West Palm Beach, and my baby shower at the end of the month!! I will try and update with new news when I can! Thanks for following!!

24 weeks, Babymoon, and Doc Appt

Everything is still going great with the baby and me! This past weekend was very exciting as I finally felt the first kicks! It was a weird feeling but amazing! It happened the first time at work on Friday; I could actually look down and see my belly jumping, WOW! John was able to feel the kicks on Saturday! The baby has continued to be active at times when I’m sitting or relaxing. Many people feel the baby at night but this baby seems to be pretty active mid-morning, maybe we could be on a good schedule already :)

I will be 24 weeks on Thursday, April 2nd. This week the baby weights in at just over a pound and measures about a foot long (picture an ear of corn). The baby is a pretty lean figure at this point but will begin filling out and pluming up soon. The brain is growing quickly now and taste buds are continuing to develop. The skin is still thin and translucent but that will start to change soon too.

John and I took a 4-night cruise this month as our Babymoon vacation or last getaway before the baby’s arrival! It was a great relaxing trip. We spent 2 full days at sea and 1 day in Cozumel, Mexico. In Mexico we took a catamaran sail boat trip with some snorkeling and beach time. We met a nice couple from Austin on the ship that was on the same sail trip; we also hung out with them the rest of the day in Cozumel! Here is a couple of pictures (and bump pictures) from our trip:

Today I went to the doctor. They did the routine urine, blood pressure, weight checks. I have gained 10 lbs to this point; doctor seemed to be ok with this. I met another doctor (the only male doctor) in the practice during this visit. He was super nice and I really enjoyed meeting him. He gave me some prescription samples for my acid reflux to try. He measured my belly and said the baby is measuring a little big at this point but he is not concerned. If it continues we will cross that path down the road. We also listened to the heartbeat and everything sounded great. All other tests up to this point were normal too. I will go back in 4 weeks to meet the final doctor in the practice and have my glucose screening test. This is a test to check for gestational diabetes.

Second Trimester Ultrasound and 20 weeks

On Monday we had our second trimester ultrasound and doctor's appointment.

Here is some new pictures of the baby:

In this one the baby is looking directly at the camera:

In this one you can see how developed the spine is, amazing!

During the ultrasound the baby was very active. It kept bouncing around and stretching like it had all the room in the world, I hope it doesn't get used to that :) The legs looked very long. When they measured the head it measured about 21 weeks, I was only just over 19 weeks at this appointment, so right now we have a big head.

This would have been the ultrasound they could have told us the sex, as you know we are waiting. The ultrasound tech got very quiet at the end but we could not see anything, she wouldn't tell us if she knew or not, I'm sure she did. We are still excited for the surprise!

The doctor's appointment portion was good too. We listened to the heart beat and it sounded great. Doctor said all my prior blood work and everything looked great. She did mention that I had a weight jump, but it was still ok. I had only gained 1 lb up to this point so it was expected. She didn't tell me how much and I didn't ask!

Our next appointment is in 4 weeks - March 31st. I will meet another doctor in the practice at this appointment, the only male doctor in the office.

On Thurs (3/5) I will be 20 weeks - half way there! I cannot believe how fast time has gone. The baby weights about 10 1/2 ounces now and is around 6 1/2 inches from head to heel (the size of a cantaloupe). The baby is swallowing more these days, which is a good practice for their digestive system. I have still been feeling great. I am having a bit of acid reflux, up to this point I have been able to keep it down with water but tonight I broke down an bought tums. The doctor recommended tums and said they are good b/c of the calcium.