Week 38 - ONE WEEK TO GO!!!!!

Oh my goodness my sweet little baby girl....this is probably the last post before we SEE you...HOLD you...MEET you!  I am so stinkin' excited and that's an understatement!


First things first - I went to my last OB appointment today (and had an AFI and NST - you looked great on both of those - fluid was up even to a 12.7 - and the tech thought you were a lot lower in there too!).  The OB told me I was all scheduled for next week - November 30th - at 7:30am!  That's our time!  We check in and get the ball rolling from there.  I am so happy that we have a morning slot too...it'd be waaay too painful to wait until any later!


We have a few things left to get done before you get here - but honestly - it isn't that much.  I feel like I did back in high school or college when I had a major test to prepare for.  And I did all I could for it, and the night before the test I felt like I should be studying more, but I knew everything I thought I should...and that almost made me more nervous because I felt like I forgot something major and didn't prepare right in the end for it!  I feel like that now with you - I have prepared for you intensely all along the way - and all the stuff around the house is in good shape too (I even have several frozen meals ready to go in the freezer!).  So...what's left?  Did I forget something?  I don't think so, and even so, I am still pretty nervous for all of this to happen.  I am sure this is normal....the little tiny amazing thing that I have been waiting for FOREVER (it seems) is finally coming and scheduled to come, at that, and I am nervous?  I truly can't wait and am nervous all at the same time little girlie!


Thanksgiving is this week - and usually I am all about thinking about food and family - but to be honest - I haven't thought much about anything at all but you.  You are overriding everything this week!  Plus, we don't have your Sisters this Thanksgiving, so your Daddy and I are on our own really.  Without much to do on a major holiday, we thought it'd be great if you just came along and we could celebrate in the hospital with you?  What do you think?  =)


This is a week all about "lasts".  Will this be the last time I get to the grocery store before Avery is here?  Will I fill up my car with gas another time before Avery comes?  This will be my last weekend to walk and exercise for a long time before you are here!  It may sound crazy, but I really do think about all of this now!  Your Sisters are dying to meet you too.  Kyndall has made it clear that I need some really good contractions (bigger and badder than the ones I always have) to get things rolling soon or she's going to go crazy.  =)  Megan still loves to feel you rolling in my belly.  I love how excited they are.  They already love you so much too!


Speaking of your Sisters, we put up the Christmas tree tonight!  Another "last"...the last time we will put a tree up for Christmas without you with us!  Here are some pictures....

 The start of the tree - we got this tree from Pa and Mimi and it's HUGE - 8 foot!

 Whew!  All the branches are on!

 The girls decorating

And your Daddy finishing it off with the star!

Putting up the Nativity set too

Our new Christmas stockings - handmade by Renie - an old family friend.  They are so cool!

Here's the final product - how good does it look in our living room?!  There's even a couple wrapped gifts under the tree already - from your Daddy to me!

The other half of the family room/dining room with the stockings and Nativity set - we are not only ready for you, but ready for Christmas too!

Drum roll please!  Here it is Avery Jo...The FINAL piece to our countdown! In honor of ONE week until we see you, here is the #1 best thing about you!  (And your Daddy and I both came up with this one together!)

You are the unifying piece to our family.  You will be the ONLY person in our family that "shares blood" with each of the other members.  No one else can say that.  You have a little of each of us in you - how cool is that?  Me...I just share you.  Your Daddy shares you and your Sisters.  Your Sisters share each other and you and your Daddy.  But you, my darling, you have a little of us all in you!  We love that thought.  You are the piece that molds us officially into ONE.  You combine us ALL together!  And for that reason, we cannot wait to meet you and love on you!  We can't wait to see what you look like - WHO you look like!  We can't wait to know your little mannerisms and if that was more like me, your Daddy, Kyndall, Megan....I'm sure we will all be fighting over who you most resemble in cuteness!  Whomever that is, the bottom line is is that you will have a little of all of us represented in your personality, skin, face, hair/eye color, genetics and temperament!  


If I could choose - I would give you your Daddy's passion and love for people and things you believe in.  There is no one else on this earth that has more love and fire in his heart than your Daddy. And his ability to learn and grow, especially in God.  I truly hope you get that from him.  And also, his amazing green eyes of course!  I would give you your Sister, Kyndall's ability to reason things out.  I would love for you to have her maturity of the heart and always be able to have that great perspective on life, especially in tough situations.  From Megan, I would give you her gentle, joyful nature.  I would love for you to always be a kid at heart, just like your big sister.  And then, at the same time, grow up to be an amazingly, mature woman...but always have a little naivety about you.   From both girls, I pray for your heart to be God's, just like theirs is.  Your Sisters amaze me with their love for the Lord and how they are so ready and willing to stand up for what they believe in at their age (they get that from their/your Daddy!).  And if you could have their Hispanic skin, that'd be amazing too!  From me...I'd give you my balance.  Your Mimi always told me growing up that this was one of my best qualities and I have realized what that means as I get older.  Just to be the balance in any situation and think logically...whether it's easy, tense, tough, etc. situations...to be able to see things from all points of views.  And if you could have my "good sleeper" trait as well....I'd love that!  =)


You see baby girl, you are The Marin melting pot!  You get to be a part of each of us.  A role that no one else in this family has.  And that's a big job, but I have a feeling you will be more than great in this role.  And one more thing, if you could NOT have the "stubborn" trait that seems to run rampant in this family and we all possess...that would be best for all of us!  =) 


We are ready sweet girl...I know that God has this all under His wings.  I am nervous, but letting God have all of that instead.  I am going to enjoy this last week with you in my belly and all the kicking and turning.   I have seriously LOVED being pregnant with you.  God was so good to me and gave me a great pregnancy with you - even though I had to deal with all the diabetes stuff - He really have me a great nine months with you.  He knows what He is doing!  He loves you already, baby girl....and I know without a doubt that His love is already tucked away in that heart of yours.  I can't wait to see what God created in you!

Fetal Echo Sonogram - AND - More Pics of You!!!!!

I'll start off with the wonderful pics of you!

Your adorable profile pic at 22 weeks 2 days - you always seem to be looking up at the "light" above!  I wonder what you are seeing in there!

3D pic of you - hands to your face which is what you seem to like lately!  Your Daddy and Sis (Kyndall) think that your mouth, cheeks and nose look like me already!

We went in for a check of your heart and we got a few extras on the side!  She even measured you again and you weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces!  That's the weight of a 20 oz bottle of water!  Your Daddy and I picked a bottle of water up tonight to see how heavy it felt and it was kind of crazy that you were that heavy in my belly!  I thought your weight was a little high for 22 weeks, but the doc looked at the percentile growth charts and you are at 54%, which is right in the middle!  So nice to hear for this diabetic mama of yours!  You had your hands to your face the whole time - your hands were either in praying position (I guess God is already answering MY prayers for you!), you were sucking on your thumb or arm, or your hands were to your face in general.  It seems that you are really exploring and experimenting with your sense of touch and taste right now!

There was only one slightly "off" thing that happened.  The doctor came in to do his normal check after the tech did hers (and this was after 20 mins each of studying your little heart beating - in super slow motion, with red and blue colors of your blood going in and out of your heart and everything in between!)...and when he was through he said everything looked good, just couldn't get a final view that he wanted, but as he was saying that, he did see the angle a bit better.  He then said the tech had just a little question about a spot on the heart that could be a hole (yes, a hole...Mommy started freaking out in her own mind right about here!), but the doc couldn't see a hole and he thought you had a healthy, normal heart.  Whew!  But, he still threw out the word "hole" and talking about your little heart!  So, I asked a few questions, like, what would that mean if you did have a hole in your heart (yikes, still sounds crazy to me!)...and he said that it would most likely not be there by the time you were born...and if it was, would most likely heal itself after birth.  Double whew!  He then said again, you have a healthy, normal heart.  Triple whew!  I know that docs have to be extra careful, as do the techs, especially with high risk patients like me.  So this is standard and normal, I'm sure.

I belong to a website called Babycenter.com and there is an ultrasound tech (for a high-risk pregnancy doc even) on one of the boards that answers a lot of questions (and even double-confirmed that your gender pictures were indeed absolutley "girly" once we found that new information out a few weeks back!).  Anyway, I told her all about what happened today and asked for her perspective on this whole hole-in-the-heart fetal echo sonogram find...and what it would mean to her...especially after our doc said you had a healthy heart in the end.  Here is here response (and this is being posted mainly so your Mommy can go back and look at this for reassurance as often as she wants!):

"Don't worry another second about your exam...if possible. The heart is VERY difficult to image...very! It can be close to impossible to fully evaluate it in many cases. There are times when we think we see an abnromality but then it can't be reproduced. The law in ultrasound is that we must be able to reproduce something over and over to prove that it is real. There is so much that goes into making an ultrasound look the way it does. We can get fooled by a lot of things. These cardiac defects can be very very hard to detect as well. Sometimes us sonographers are overly cautious and think we see things when in fact after the doc checks things out everything is normal.

It is routine in the office I last worked in (a perinatologist) that he came in and either watched us scanned or scanned himself on every patient....so the fact that the doc came in and looked doesn't mean there is a problem. Also, the heart is better evaluated in live mode so looking at the still images we get gives the docs little info. Sometimes they like to see the live action shot for themselves. Again...doesn't mean there is an issue just means that the doc is a good doctor and thorough!

Trust your doc. He wouldn't tell you things look normal if he had the slightest suspect that something was wrong! They are very cautious when it comes to the fetal heart. The liability is just too high for them.

Don't worry about what ifs....theres no what ifs here! Your baby's heart is healthy!"

A millions "WHEW's!" after I read that!  She is so nice...and I am so thankful to have her give her time to use her expertise on worried mama's like me!

All that to say...I am not spending another thought on any hole's in your heart.  Okay, it may creep in my mind every so often, but I'll shoo it quickly away with the nice ultrasound tech's words she wrote!  They'll keep checking up on you at the doc's office anyway, so no need for me to worry for nothing!

On an extremely COOL note - your Daddy felt you last night with that SUPER hard kick you gave.  We LOVED it.  I feel you a lot now - even when I am sitting in the car driving sometimes - so I am loving every minute of it as well and getting used to this new feeling.  By the way, that was ice cream I ate tonight that you seemed to really be estatic about!  You are already Mommy's kind of girl!  =)  Love you AJ!

15 Weeks! And it's SURPRISE week!

Hi baby!  Your Daddy and I are having an absolute BLAST in San Francisco over the past three days.  We have definitely made the most of our time here...wow...we've been busy!  I'll post some pictures below...right after I tell you a little bit about what's going on with you this week! 

You now measure about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weigh in at about 2 1/2 ounces - you are the size of an apple! You are busy moving amniotic fluid through your nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in your lungs begin to develop. Your legs are growing longer than your arms now, and you can move all of your joints and limbs. Your bones continue to harden and retain calcium very rapidly. At this point in my pregnancy with you, the placenta will begin to take on the job of hormone production to sustain you, which was the job of my ovaries up to this point. Your eyelids are now firmly shut, and will stay closed until the third trimester. And although that's the case, you can still sense light. If I would shine a flashlight on my tummy, for instance, you're likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for you  to taste at this point, but you are forming taste buds.

I am definitely feeling more and more pregnant all the time.  Even though to others I probably just look chunky in the middle.  =)  I can't wait until you are all curled up in a big ball inside my belly for the whole world to see!  Even though we have been on a mini-vacation tihs week, my blood sugars have been pretty good...especially with all the walking we have been doing here in San Fran!  I had one night (after I splurged on a chocolate shake at night and shouldn't have!) where I had a 200 level blood sugar from 2-6am....so hopefully you didn't get affected by that too much, especially since I have been darn good at all other times.

And, like the title says, we have a big surprise this week!  Can't wait to tell you!  But not yet...I'll write you again on Thursday or Friday and fill you in on the big scoop!  =)

So...a little about San Fran and what we have done so far.  We figured out the cable cars and public transportation - I think we are pretty proud of ourselves for this!  We can get ourselves to the San Francisco Airport, Wharf or the Golden Gate bridge, no problem!  =)  The cable cars are fun to ride on - and there are hills like you wouldn't believe in this city!  We had to walk up some major hills WITH our luggage the day we got here (we're too cheap for cabs!).  Luckily, the way back to the airport is now downhill...so that will be a big help tomorrow!  We have already checked out all of the Fisherman's Wharf and ate dinner there the first night, as well as picking some yummy chocolate up at Ghirardelli Square.  We also did a "Ride the Duck" tour yesterday morning, where 2/3 of the tour is on land (so we got to see all the fun spots around town without walking the hills - yay!) and then the other part, the tour bus turns into a boat, so we got to go out into the ocean and see the city from that angle instead, which included the Bay Bridge.  It was so very cold - I hope you were kept warm!  We also did an Alcatraz tour yesterday afternoon, which your Daddy especially loved and took a lot of pictures with his nice camera.  We checked on Pier 39 and ate some fresh strawberries (that tasted like they had been rolled in sugar or something!) and fresh cherries from a market there.  They were so good!  Oh, and today we went to Chinatown, which is pretty close to our hotel and ate some FABULOUS Chinese food and got the girls some cool gifts, we did a little shopping in Union Square, and then used our crazy cool public transportation skills to take the buses to the Golden Gate Bridge.  That was soooo cool  - we walked out on the bridge about a third of the way (so cold and windy!) and then back.  Your Daddy isn't a fan of heights - but he was all for walking it - although it was a little freaky once you got out more towards the center of it!  We had a great day because there was little fog (and I guess June is "fog month", so we lucked out).   Gosh, I guess that's about it.  We have been so busy - and our bodies are TIRED from all the walking and activities...but it's been a great three days! 

I'll leave you with a few pictures that your we took.  Love you baby!  I'll be in touch on Thursday or Friday!  =)

Your Mommy and Alcatraz Island (and you can even see you (a.k.a. baby bump) there a bit too!

Entrance to Chinatown

Cable Car and the crazy San Fran roads!

Cable Car in action - so much for seat belts!

Almost to Fisherman's Wharf - great view of the ocean!

First night in San Fran - at Fisherman's Wharf

Golden Gate Bridge - sun down and just a little fog

This is our land/sea "tour bus" - so much fun - the driver makes it that way!

The view from the boat portion of the tour - that's the Bay Bridge

We are coming in on the boat to Alcatraz - the prison portion is the top building

Entering into the prison at Alcatraz - we weren't sure they'd let us out!

Prison cells at Alcatraz

Staff's Apartments and Barracks - your Daddy's shot from his camera

This was one of just a couple tiny wimdows in the hallways where the prisoners walked - how crazy to see this view from the prison! (This is from your Daddy's snazzy camera)

Leaving Alcatraz Island - your Daddy's super snazzy camera shot

Amazing picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Your Daddy and I just had walked to the frist support tower and back!

Oh look!  There's your Daddy and me!

A look up at the first support beam on the bridge

On the bridge - a look back at where we started walking from

One great shot of the Golden Gate Bridge!

Okay my little baby love - time for me to sign off - we have a plane to catch tomorrow to get back home!  Love you bunches!

Your Amazing Dad!

I just had to share my thoughts quickly with you tonight about your Daddy.  He is one super guy.  First of all, he will be the best Father ever (besides your Heavenly Father of course!) to you...play with you, love you, make you giggle, and discipline you (yes, even my sweet precious baby will even need some of that!).  One of the major reasons that I fell in love with him to begin with was because I could see all these things lived out with him and your sisters several years ago.  Also, he treats me like a queen, more so than I ever deserve.  Especially with this pregnancy...he loves to talk about you, plan for you, kisses my belly, lets me buy new clothes for my expanding belly (albeit consignment store clothes, but I could care less - I've gotten some GOOD stuff!), tells me I'm beautfiul daily, and just plain loves me to death.  You will never doubt if your parents love each other! Whew...got a few tears going now!  And he's such a hard worker...he will provide for you so well.  He is big into gardening right now and he is busy at work with that.  He's got a whole garden going in the back with zucchini, squash, radishes (your Mommy's fav!), cantaloupe, green beans, lettuce, carrots....and I know there is more that I am forgetting.  He is so good at it though, it's crazy!  He's such a smartie pants...he builds stuff all the time and loves to get his hands dirty.  Anyway, I just had to tell you how amazing he is...you will soon know that well enough yourself...but always know that your Mommy knows and feels this way and it's only going to get stronger!  I love you baby!  Nighty night!