Harper Update- 39 weeks and 4 days

If you would have asked me at week 37 if I thought I would still be pregnant by now, I would have said no. For some reason, I was always thinking this baby would be early. I was even hoping she would be born in July and that was weeks ago.... Well, here we are. Almost full term and still no signs that this baby is coming anytime (other than being dilated to a 3). At my last appointment, my doctor scheduled me for an elective induction on August 9th. We were so excited because that date worked great for seth's schedule and was even a day earlier than my due date! She said the hospital would call me early the next week to confirm that they could fit me in on that date.

Well, today I got the call that they can't fit me in on the 9th. ugh. 

So, now I have my regular doctor visit on that day instead of meeting my little girl. boo. That's no fun at all. I did however, get a new date for induction if I still haven't had her yet.... August 13th. Seth is concerned that she will have her birthday at some point on 'friday the 13th'. yikes. Ohh the things daddy worries about ;) We will hope that she comes on her own before then! 

On a residency side note- Seth has been working the night shift all week. It is such a weird schedule, I feel like I never see him! He goes to the gym at about 4:45 pm, goes straight to work at 6 pm, gets to work at 7, and gets home about 8:30 am. He then goes straight to bed (with ear plugs and a face mask) only to wake up for lunch around 1. Then back to bed it is till about 4! Needless to say, I've missed my husband this week. I'm just glad he only has 1 more shift and then he will work days for the rest of the month. YAY! He has done a lot of procedures that he's never done before, so at least he's learning! 

I meant to do a separate post about this, but I'm just going to include it with this one.... Last monday was my birthday and Seth and I spent it down in Galveston. We went to beach, the strand, dinner at Gaido's, and stayed at the Galvez (the place we got married 4 years ago and haven't been back to since). It was such a fun day, I told seth we need to try to make an effort to do more things like that on his days off!

Harper Update Week 38

I have had an interesting past 2 weeks when it comes to baby girl. Let's start with last Monday.

Monday, July 16- Had an ultrasound because my doctor wanted to check the size of the baby since my belly was measuring 1-2 smaller than it should be. After all the measurements were taken during the ultrasound, Harper was measuring small for what she should be at this point. She was 5.75 pounds and about 2 weeks smaller. It seemed very strange to us, because at all our past ultrasounds she has been measuring right on schedule (if not bigger than she should be). Let's just say on the way home I was kind of freaking out....

Wednesday, July 18- Had my regular OB appointment to discuss ultrasound report and get checked. Turns out Harper was measuring in the 22 percentile (normal range is 10-90 percentile).... but still, to me, 22% seemed really small! She referred me to a maternal fetal medicine doctor to get another sono and second opinion on the size of Harper. She said if there is no progress in growth they would have to induce me early since she's not growing. She also hooked me up to a fetal monitor for 30 min to check movement and heartbeat.... That was soo fun to hear her heartbeat for so long! It put Seth right to sleep in the office. He said it sounded like whales and he was out in 5 min! I took a short video of it because I wanted to document that sound and have it forever (the loud "pops" was her kicking... she was super active that morning). Turns out I had lots of contractions while being monitored (only felt one of them though). She checked me and I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced.

Monday, July 23- Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor- Let me just start by saying Dr. Rowe is awesome/hilarious! This appointment was another ultrasound and they measured/looked at everything from her heart to her pinky finger! He said she was measuring 6.5 pounds and she got an A+ for her report card. He was not concerned with her size at all! I was soooo relieved to hear that. He also said little Harper is going to have BIG lips (see picture below).... The doctor said Seth was going to be in trouble with her having those in about 13 years! haha! She definitely got those from her daddy!

Wednesday, July 25- Regular OB appointment- She told me that based on the new ultrasound she was in the 40 percentile... which she was much more comfortable with! I got checked and she said I was 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced. So I am making progress, but SLOOOOOOW progress. I told her that Seth is so anxious for this baby and wants her to come NOW! She said we should just plan on Harper making it to her due date (aug 10) and then be surprised if she comes early. Her last words to me before I left was "see ya in a week if you are still pregnant!" I think at that moment, I really realized that this baby is coming soon and my whole world is about to change. I can't wait!

Harper- Mom and Dad are anxiously awaiting your arrival.... We can't wait to meet you!

Courtesy of my amazing friend Anna Routh Photography

Love,
Katie and Seth

Baby Must Haves

So being 36 weeks pregnant and trying to make sure I'm prepared for little Harper, I posted on Facebook asking moms what their favorite baby item was. I got so many great responses that I feel like I should share this wealth of knowledge with other future moms out there.

Must Have Baby Items:
1. Baby Bjorn bouncer
2. Walker
3. Swing *that plugs in*
4. Electric nail file
5. Summer infant swaddle with velcro (CHECK!)
6. Primo euro bathtub
7. Nap Nanny
8. Bouncer that vibrates
9. Nose sucker from hospital (will get for sure!)
10. Aden and Anais swaddle blankets (CHECK!)
11. Sleep Sheep (CHECK!)
12. Boppy (CHECK!)
13. Pack and Play (CHECK!)
14. Ergo or Becco Carrrier (CHECK!)
15. Miracle blanket
16. Sofie the giraffe  (CHECK!)
17. Infafeeder
18. Rocking chair (CHECK!)
19. Basket for washing bottle pieces in dish washer
20. Rock and Play sleeper (CHECK!)

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post! I feel pretty prepared considering I have lots of these "must haves".

Back to blogging

Sooo..... as you can see my last post was in 2009- woah! It's been awhile. Since then a lot has happened. I had a great teaching experience in Fort Worth and Seth just graduated medical school. He matched to an ER residency program at UT Houston (Memorial Herman Hospital). We are so glad to move home but it was also very bittersweet leaving our house, friends, job and the city we have lived in for over 9 years.

We have a baby girl on the way-- due August 10! We are so excited for Harper's arrival.... I almost can't contain myself! Don't get me wrong, I'm also terrified for what is to come.... This blog will be a way to document our journey through parenthood--the good, the bad, the funny, the messy, the lessons learned, and the precious moments we will share with our sweet daughter. Here is a 4-D sono picture of her a week ago. Everyone says she has my nose and Seth's lips.... we will see ;)

  

It will also be a way for me to share Seth's journey through residency.... I know at times it will be tough on him working long hours and tough on me not being able to see him near as much as I would like to (especially with little Harper here). I know we will get through it..... I thought med school was going to be bad-- and it really wasn't bad at all (well, I take that back, it had its moments). Seth does a really good job of balancing the important things in his life and I know that won't change. 

I have a baby shower on Saturday that I am so super excited for! After that, I feel like I will go into full "nesting" mode and really start preparing for Harper! I'm also going to pack up a hospital bag this week, just in case she decides to come early (I'm 32 weeks right now)...so any advice on what to bring and not to bring would be greatly appreciated! 

More samples

Here are a few more samples of some boards I have completed...... I can do any size canvas but so far the most popular are 9x12 (for teachers) and 10x20 (for a child's room).... but I can do any size between those two... as well as go smaller and larger. I also think they would make really cute sorority gifts or college themed gift! Im eager to try new designs!!

Trying to keep busy.....

Since I last blogged, a lot has happened.....I went to Lake Travis for my best friend's bachelorette party. It was really fun to meet all her girlfriends from high school. They are funny! I cant wait to party together at her wedding (which is going to be A-M-A-ZING!)--- oh ya... and she got some super cute lingerie (sp??)! One thing I thought was pretty funny was that out of 15 girls, I was the only one from Texas!! oh ya, and I guess they don't have mosquito hawks in Kansas because they scared the pants off those girls :)

Besides that... my name board business seems to be taking off a little, which I'm soo happy about! I just finished 3 today and started another one!! Tell all your friends to order one! 

I was kinda bummed today because all the schools around me started today.... and I don't have a class full of little kiddos. I know there is still hope, but now if it happens its going to be crazy... but I'm up for it!! I should start subbing soon... so Im sure I will have some interesting stories to post about that experience. 

Here are some pics of the new name boards... Enjoy!

Baby Bella

So Seth and I have been really wanting another dog for a while now..... and he finally got the itch to really start looking! So I've been googling all the animal shelters in our area and looking at all the pictures. Seth really wanted a lab or lab mix. Sooo...... I was on the Arlington Animal Shelter website and saw the cutest little girl! 2 days later we drove out to arlington to look at her, I was really hoping she had not already been adopted (she's THAT cute!). We walked around the shelter looking at all the puppies and found her! She was way smaller than I had expected but sooooooooooo cute! Then we met her in the Meet and Greet room and fell in love. She's very playful (which is what seth really wanted) and then we decided to get her! We couldn't take her home that day because she has to get fixed first. But Seth is going to get her today!!!!!!!! I am going out of town for my friend, Lauren, bachelorette party... but I cant wait to get home and play with her!!!