A year ago today I had an ultrasound that told us we were having a little girl.  It’s incredible how much our lives have changed since that discovery.

Do I regret finding out ahead of time?

Heck no.

I liked knowing, though I was somewhat paranoid that they were wrong.  One benefit of having lots of ultrasounds due to gestational diabetes is that we were able to look at her frequently.

And be reassured that I didn’t need to return the pink dresses.
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At this point, time feels fast yet slow all at the same time.  I can hardly believe our little one will be here in less than a month.  The weeks seem to go by quickly.  Yet… it doesn’t seem fast enough.  Work days drag on.  Having medical monitoring appointments twice a week (due to the diabetes) does help the weeks go by a bit faster.

I just can’t wait until she is here.  I want to snuggle her!

It’s really like my husband said the other day:

Waiting for her to be born is like waiting for Christmas morning.

The anticipation and excitement continue to grow!

Looking around the nursery, it really looks like a little girl lives here.  Brian put together the swing, stroller, and pack ‘n play.  This weekend I washed all of her sheets, blankets, bibs, towels, washcloths, hats, mittens, socks and 0-3 clothes.  At first, I was only going to wash a few things.  I had this moment of panic what if she isn’t a she but a he? And then it passed.  We’ve gotten more ultrasounds than most people.  I don’t think they were wrong.  Yet, there’s still that tiny bit of fear… not that I wouldn’t be happy with a little boy – just he wouldn’t be happy with all the pink and purple stuff.
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Today marked the start of my twice weekly monitoring appointments, which will continue until babygirl gets here.

On Monday mornings I will have a biophysical profile (BPP) and Thursday mornings I will have non-stress tests (NSTs).  4 weeks ago I had I growth ultrasound and today they combined that with my BPP.  I’ll have another growth ultrasound with my BPP in another 4 weeks.

They are going to keep close tabs on her growth and measurements, the condition of my placenta, and amniotic fluid levels especially because of the gestational diabetes.  Good news though, I’m still keeping my sugars under control quite well!

So today’s appointment was bright and early at 8am.  I was the first one of the day, woohoo.  The ultrasound tech took measurements and said fluid and such looked good.  Babygirl had the hiccups for a bit.  It was weird seeing and feeling it at the same time.  She continues to be head down and ready to go.  This is kind of a relief for me… one less thing to worry about come delivery time!  We also got to watch babygirl practice breathing! How cool is that?

Unfortunately, no new pictures printed out.  We haven’t gotten one for the third trimester yet.  She had her hands over her face again.  We could kinda see a cheek.  Oh! But this time she had hair! Hopefully she’ll be born with it!!

Per usual, she was a wiggly thing, movin’ and kickin’… just bein’ a busy body.  I love when the ultrasound techs comment on her activity (she’s really active!)…. Trust me! I know!  But of course, that is just a good sign that she’s a healthy baby.  Today’s tech said that babygirl got all her points right away.  She was very cooperative and the appointment didn’t last quite as long as I thought it would.

I wasn’t given a percentile today, but her heartrate was 150 and her measurements put her at 4lbs 2oz.  No wonder I feel more tired and my mobility is … hampered.  That’s a lot o’ baby!  Yet, I haven’t gained very much.  3 pounds over pre-pregnancy weight, max, so far.  (But since I started out a bigger girl, this is healthy)

When Brian and I were in the waiting area, I commented on seeing a 5th doctor’s name on the listing.  I swore there were only 4 before.  I’d met 4 different ones thus far.  I joked about having yet a different one today and whaddya know? We met with Dr. #5 to review the ultrasound and BPP.

He said she looked like a happy baby, which was great to hear.  I didn’t mind today’s doctor too much.  He had a decent sense of humor.  He did ask about my blood sugar levels and how much insulin I’m on.  But he didn’t say too much about it, just that things looked good and confirmed that I’ll be monitored twice weekly from here on out.

Oh, and I even let an ultrasound student practice on me… got to see babygirl just a bit longer that way!

And now to close out with something complete random… I like the smell of the goo they put on my belly for the ultrasound.  It has such a… baby product smell.  In fact, it reminds me of Baby Soft – a body spray scent I used to like when I was younger.  I don’t really know how to describe it.  It doesn’t smell like powder or wipes.. but it smells babyish.

I can’t wait til she gets here.

All the superduper extra monitoring is about to start.

Just for a bit o’ background info so you don’t have to try and dig through past posts: I’m 28.5 weeks now and was diagnosed with GD at 15 weeks.  They suspect possible Type 2 (T2) that was undiagnosed (but I honestly don’t think that’s the case due to previous testing I’d had done pre-pg.. although I was “borderline” for a period of time.  First A1C (blood test that shows average blood sugar level for past 90 days) came back normal (5.5))

Thursday I had my A1C drawn again to make sure things look good although I keep being told my blood sugar (BS) levels are looking good and I’m controlling it well (on insulin).  Had growth ultrasound on Thursday as well.  Babygirl is weighing 2lbs 15oz and is in the 64th percentile – so looking good there too.  Late in the afternoon on Friday, I received the results for my latest A1C… 5.2!! Lower than it was last time and I was told this was excellent.

Unfortunately, my blood pressure was high on Thursday and it hasn’t been before.  Had bloodwork drawn to see if it’s pre-eclampsia.
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This morning we went in to finish the anatomy ultrasound.  I asked babygirl nicely to cooperate with positioning while we were driving to the appointment.  Thankfully, she listened.

This time she was head down (I thought I felt an increase in pressure in my lower abdomen!) and not quite as scrunched up.  The tech said she was still a little scrunched up, but she was positioned better for getting the information they needed.

This was the same tech from two ultrasounds ago… around the 16 week mark… which is when I was referred to the Maternal Fetal Medicine Department of the hospital where I’ll be delivering due to having gestational diabetes.  (Boy, I still haven’t gotten any posts written about that yet…. I need to hop to it.)

At the 16ish week ultrasound, they said my lil one was measuring a week ahead.  They said it was probably due to higher blood sugar, since mine was not well controlled at that point.  (It wasn’t horribly out of control though either.)

At the 20 week ultrasound, they said she was where she should be for measurements and that a slight miscalculation when she was smaller can make a big difference.

THIS time, she was where she should be too! She weighed in at 1 lb 6 oz, had a heart rate of 155, and was in the 55th percentile for measurements.  This means she is doing well and is measuring at average – where she should be.  The doctor (I’ve seen a different one at each ultrasound so far! There’s only one I haven’t seen yet…) said that it was a sign that I was controlling the diabetes well.
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Tomorrow morning I have another ultrasound scheduled and I can’t wait to see my little girl again.  It’s only been 3 weeks since the last one, but I know she’s grown quite a bit since then.  Heck, my tummy proves it! (And so do her movements and kicks!)

This is just a continuation of the anatomy scan (measurements and whatnot) that was done 3 weeks ago… when they told us there’s a very flexible little girl inside of me.  Since she wouldn’t get into a position where they could take more pictures of her heart, they need to see us again.  Despite how expensive it is, I’m glad to see her again so soon.

And…maybe get a confirmation that she still looks like a little girl ;)

We had an interesting time getting our ultrasound today.  At first our child was being modest by covering her privates with her hands… but eventually those hands moved.  The tech seemed pretty confident it was a girl, pointing out the dots and lines that form little girl parts.

So we’re pretty excited! I bought the first couple girly outfits today.  In the event this baby is born with an extra limb-like structure…. we do have enough neutral stuff to get us by for a bit!

What was amusing though, was this lil girl showed her stubborn side as well as her flexibility.  She stayed in the same folded up position for over an hour! No amount of prodding with the ultrasound thingamabob, turning me on my sides, or walking around made a difference.  She was bent in half with her feet over her head!

She’d wiggle and kick, but wouldn’t flip or unfold.  Sometimes her feet would be on her forehead, then her hands would be up there too… then she started playing with her feet.

It was adorable.

I can’t wait to meet her!

Supposedly some mothers-to-be have intuition about what they are having.  I… I really have no idea.  Sometimes I think “oh yeah, probably a girl” and other times I think “naw, probably a boy.”

A few people have told me what they think I’m having, so they can’t wait to find out if they are right.  One good friend of mine feels quite certain that I’m giving off “boy vibes.”  Jokingly, she said either it’s a boy or a lesbian.

Even the old wives tales give me mixed signals.  I’ve had fairly mild morning sickness, I don’t have super strong cravings.  Sometimes I crave sweets, sometimes spicy.  I haven’t craved any weird combinations.  In the beginning I would randomly have cold feet.  At 16 weeks, baby’s heart rate was 152.

I’ve had dreams about having a girl…. and dreams about having a boy.  My hubby has even dreamt about us having a boy.

So now’s your chance to make a guess if you want.  We have an ultrasound this Thursday and should be finding out then!

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