5 Weeks old and we have a routine

Madison is now 5 weeks old and after much work and struggle she is finally gaining weight like she is supposed to and we have figured out the best way to get her fed. She is 8lbs 14oz today. So finally after going to the doctor at least once a weeks since I was put on rest in July we don't have another doctor's appointment until January! We are looking forward to having some of Andy's family coming to visit this weekend and looking forward to Madison's first Christmas.

4 Weeks old and still skinny

We has another appointment for Madison today to check her weight. Last week she finally made it back to her birth weight 7lbs 14oz. The doctor wanted to check her again today to make sure she continued to progress but she only gained about an 1 1/2 oz. So we are back to pumping to make sure she gets enough to eat and he is having us add a little formula to the breast milk to give her a few more calories. He also did some blood work to make sure she doesn't have a metabolic disorder and that she's not dehydrated and all that came back fine. So she's eating enough just not getting enough calories to grow. We have another appointment on Friday to check her again. We are also having a lot of snow and tomorrow they are expecting wind gusts up to 50 mph so they are forecasting blizzard like conditions. I am glad I don't have to work and I worry about Andy since he does have to go into work. I hope he is safe on the roads.Madison wants one million dollars.

Weight Check

We went to the doctor today to check on Madison's weight gain. She only gained one ounce. So we are back to supplementing her with some additional formula. The doctor gave us some samples and we are making it a little bit higher calorie so that she can get more calories each feeding. He said it's only 4 extra calories but that 4 calories can make a big difference at her size. We have another appointment on Tuesday so hopefully she is back to her birth weight by then, or at least a little closer. Also, I got to drive for the first time in about 6 months. It felt weird, but I didn't crash :)

Madison's Doctor's appointment

Madison had a second appointment with her doctor. She is doing great other than she lost weight. She is 19.8inches long and weighs 7.3 pounds. The doctor wants us to feed her as normal and then feed her more with formula or previously pumped milk just to "top of the tank" and make sure she is eating enough and starting to gain weight. Luckily I had been pumping between feedings to start a supply of milk for when I go back to work so we have some milk stored up. He said once she is past her birth weight we can go back to a normal feeding. She has another appointment on Friday so hopefully this little piggy can catch up. Andy got this picture of her right after a big eating trying to burp. It made me laugh until I cried. She will hate us later for this. I have also included some other precious pictures of her.

Home again

After 4 days in the hospital we are finally home. Madison seems to be doing well since we've been home. The doctors think it was just reflux that caused her to turn blue in the face. We are trying to keep her elevated after feeding to keep the problem at bay and so far so good. Her jaundice is also clearing up. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and thoughts. Also, we are so glad that our parents were here to help us while in the hospital. We are now trying to recover from having no sleep for 4 days. We are just glad it wasn't anything more serious.

Scare

We got Madison home and had a good night with her. When I woke up the next day I fed her and changed her clothes, when I went to get a blanket to put around her I looked at her face it was blue around her nose and lips. This was one of the things we were told to call the doctor about because it's a very bad thing. I called the doctor who told us to go to the ER. We brought her in and they did a barage of tests and admitted her. We have been in the hospital ever since waiting for the results of her spinal tap. The doctor thinks it is just reflux, but didn't feel comfortable sending us home without ruling out all posibilities. She seems to be doing fine and we are finally starting to get some rest. Hopefully we can go home today and it's just reflux. I feel bad for the poor little girl she has been poked and prodded so much since we've been here. It's worth it to know she is OK. We will keep you updated.

Meet Madison Rae

Meet Madison Rae Gray, she decided she didn't want to wait until Friday. My water broke on its own at around 4pm and at 7:43pm Madison Rae Gray made her entrance into this world. She weighs in at 7lb 13oz 19 1/4inches long. We are both doing great. Andy's mom was my Doula and thanks to her I was able to deliver with no pain meds and I am doing great as well. Thanks for all your prayers she made it! Andy and I are so happy.

My first look at my baby.

39 weeks update

Well we heard from the doctor. They scheduled me for Friday at 7:15 am to discuss some options about breaking my water and where I am Friday morning.

39 Weeks

We went to the doctor again today, he was a little surprised to see us still pregnant. He said that I am 5cm dilated now and was surprised that I was not in labor. The baby is still a little high but he said he could schedule us to be induced. I asked about a cord prolapse since the baby is still high and he just asked if it was better to have my water break at home and have the cord prolapse or at the hospital. We chose hospital. So we are waiting to hear some options for day/time for that to happen but the scheduling nurse at labor and delivery was not in until 9am so we have to wait to hear. I am not really contracting regularly, but I am having a few. I think we will be able to meet little Gray soon. We will definitely keep you posted.

38 Weeks

We had another appointment today to check my status. The doctor said that he can't predict when I will deliver, but that I am still 4cm close to 5cm the baby is a little lower so it could happen any day. We are excited that we made it this far. Hopefully Baby Gray will make his or her appearance soon.

Can't believe I am still pregnant

We have been in and out of the hospital lately because I've been having contractions that are painful and consistent. Each time though, there is no change so we go home. This last visit on Sunday night we finally left about 5am. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday at 2pm. The doctor said that he can't believe I am still preganant. He said that I am still 4cm and fully effaced, but the baby has not dropped so they don't want to go ahead and break my water because it could cause the cord to get caught around the baby's neck. He also said he would be surprised if I don't deliver the baby within the next two days. We will see...we aren't too upset though since we are not quite to 38 weeks yet. The closer we can get to the due date the better, but I am starting to feel uncomfortable at times. I can walk around now and leave the house, but I can't drive. Hopefully some walking will encourage the baby to drop.

Back again

Right after my post last night I was having very strong contractions about 1 minute apart so called the doctor and went to the hospital. Of course, once we got there, they stopped basically all together. They checked me and I was the same as yesterday so home again we went. We are having a lot of practice runs with this child. I wish it would decide if it's ready to be born or not. Oh well, I can't be pregnant forever, at least I hope not.

37 Weeks

I started having contractions on Tuesday morning and we went into the doctor for our regular appointment. I was dilated to 4cm so they sent me to the hospital to be observed. The observation confirmed I was having contractions about 2-4 minutes apart. The doctor decided to admit me and gave me the option to have my water broken or wait. Since we were still just a little shy of 37 weeks we decided to wait to see if I progressed on my own first. We walked the hospital for about 3 hours and I had no change so we decided to just go home and I could at least be in the comfort of home for a little while. I am still having contractions that are getting a little stronger but are still about 2-4 minutes apart. We will probably be able to meet our new little one soon. I have included some more pictures of my belly from last week at 36 weeks and some pictures of the baby's room.

36 Weeks

Well we made it to the "safe zone" which is good because I am starting to have regular contractions around 15-20 minutes apart. The doctor checked me and I am still only dilated 2cm and she said usually with 15 minutes between contractions it's not enough to dilate me any further but if they start to get any closer together to come in. I will have some pictures posted soon of the giant belly and the baby's room. Andy's parents went ahead and came to for the baby's delivery in case I do go into labor and my mom has also come. We are so happy for the company, we just hope they don't have to be here for three weeks just playing a waiting game. Hopefully we can all meet Baby Gray soon.

35 weeks

We weren't sure if we would make it this far. We are so blessed that we were able to make it to at least 35 weeks. We went to the doctor again today and they said everything seems fine. The baby's heartbeat is around 140. They didn't check my cervix because they don't want to cause any problems and I haven't had a lot of contractions. We are hopeful that we can make it to at least 36 or even better 38 weeks. They said I can start to be up and walking a little bit more around the house but they said to listen to my body and if I start to have contractions to rest. We are so happy that all this rest has paid off and we didn't have to take any extreme measures. We are getting excited now that we are so close and it feels good that we can worry a little less and start to just be excited for the baby to arrive. I have some pictures of the new changing table/dresser for the baby's room. I will post that as soon as I can.

34 Weeks

We went back to the doctor again today and had our last sonogram to check the baby. It is measuring about 5 pounds and everything seems fine with the baby. The doctor said the baby is growing well and the heart beat is good. I am still only 2cm dilated so that's great news! I am hoping I can last about 5 more weeks before I go into labor. I am allowed light activity, but we are still going to take it pretty easy to try to keep that baby in there as long as possible. I am very excited that things are staying steady for now. Of course our little one is being shy again and wouldn't show it's face, but we did get a picture of an ear. On a side note we had a great anniversary 2 wonderful years and we are so blessed.

33 Weeks

Wow a lot can change in a week!. Well, per Debbie's request, I have included a picture of my belly at 32 weeks.

We also got permission to go see "Wicked" at the Des Moines Civic Center downtown. Andy bought tickets for our anniversary way back in the beginning of the year and the doctors thought it would okay if we went as long as I didn't walk around too much. We both really enjoyed the show and it was so nice to have a date night, since it may be a while before we can find time to ourselves again. So I included some pictures we took before we left. This way you can see my belly with clothes on it.

On to the doctors appointment today they decided to check my cervix and the doctor said she felt that it was 2cm dilated and I am fully effaced. So she wants me to take it easy for the next week until they can see me again and check me again next week. She is not as concerned as she was when first came in with the shortened cervix, but they want to try to keep the baby in for a few more weeks if they can. I also got another steroid shot just as a precautionary booster to the last set of shots that I received to get the baby's lungs nice and strong. We are hopeful that we can keep gestating a few more weeks, but this baby really wants to be a part of the world. Next week we have another ultrasound to check on baby's growth and we will see the doctor again.

32 weeks

We had a doctors appointment today with an ultra sound but no pictures to share because the baby was hiding it's face between the placenta and the fibroid. My cervix has actually gotten longer. The last measurement was around 1.3 and today it was around 1.7 so they doctors are very pleased with that. Baby's heartbeat is still around 150. I asked if they anticiapte taking me off of rest and he said maybe by week 38 they will possibly take me off of rest. We will just have to wait and see what they say when we get closer to that point. He said they still want to see me every week so we will keep you all updated.

31 Weeks

We went to the doctor again today. No changes to report everything seems to be going fine. I have had no contractions or changes so they didn't check my cervix. The baby's heart rate was around 152. The doctor said I am measuring big about 35 cm but she said she thinks it's because of the Fibroid. We have another appointment next week with another ultrasound to look at baby so we are excited to see him or her again.

30 Weeks Sonogram pictures and baby'sroom

Here are the pictures we got from the 30 week ultrasound and some pictures of the baby's that Andy's parents were kind enough to get together for us while Andy was gone. It was such a nice visit and nice having some company here. Thanks again for all your work we really appreciate it.

30 weeks

Had another doctors visit today with an ultra sound. Andy is out of town so I have to wait for him to come back to scan the pictures in. We got some great pictures of the baby's face. The baby has also turned! Which is great news because I was worried it would stay breech. The baby is measuring 3 lb 5 oz so it grew a lot in the last 2 weeks. I hope it keeps growing but not to Andy's birth weight of 10 lb 6 oz. I don't think I could handle a baby that big. The doctor said everything seemed fine, my cervix is staying about the same length. So far so good. We have another doctors appointment in 1 week and an ultra sound in 2 weeks. I will post the new pictures as soon as I get them in.

29 weeks

Had another check up today. No ultrasound so I included some belly pictures as well as some pictures from Gina's visit a couple of weeks ago. It was nice having her come and play with me. She took a picture of me during my allotted 20 minutes allowed of "standing time." The baby seems do be doing fine heart rate was about 140 and the doctor didn't seem to have any concerns about anything so moving right along one more week under the belt. Happy to be a little closer and glad everything is moving along.

Week 28

We had another appointment today. They did another ultrasound to measure the cervix and it's measuring about the same a little over 1cm. We finally got to see the baby's face today so we got some pictures to share. So cute! The baby is measuring 2lb 11oz and heart rate 157. I am still on bed rest but things are looking good because the baby is staying there. The baby right now is breech, but the nurse was saying that it could turn in time to deliver. Hopefully we are only 8 weeks left in bed rest. Each week is one step closer to a healthy baby. We have another appointment next week and another ultrasound in two weeks. Hopefully we get to look at the baby then too.

Fetal Fibronectine

The fetal fibronectine came back negative again! So that's good news and I can have very limited increase in activity, which means I can stand for 20 minutes at a time.

27 Weeks

We went to the doctor again today, sorry no ultra sound, so no pictures of the baby. The doctor checked my cervix and said it is feeling like it should be no softness or dilation. He also did another fetal fibronectine which we are still waiting to hear to see what the result is. He said if it comes back negative I can start to have a little increased activity, which is very good news. If it comes back positive then I need to stay on bed rest like I am. My stomach has been feeling tight and sore so I asked him about that and he said he wants to wait and see what the fetal fibronectine comes back to see if he wants to look further into seeing if that may be irregular contractions or not. Our next appointment is next week with an ultrasound. The doctor did say that we will probably not need to do an ultra sound every two weeks any more to check the cervical length because he said that as I get further along the ultra sound starts to miss things when it comes to the cervix. I am sure we will still get quite a few to check the baby though, at least I hope so because we like to see our little one as much as possible. I am just happy to be one week closer.

26 week doctors appointment

Our doctors appointment went well today. We had another ultrasound to measure the length of my cervix the doctor said it's measuring shorter, from the ultrasound it looked like it was measuring much shorter .93 cm...we saw a doctor that I don't really like so he didn't give us much information, but he didn't seem concerned about the length. I will probably know more at our next appointment when I see someone different. The baby is fine 2lb 3 oz heart rate 148. We got a few pictures that I will update as soon as I can, no really good pictures, the baby does not want to show it's face at all, maybe next time.

Crib

Andy put the baby's crib

together today. We bought it online and weren't sure how close to the picture it would be. It's great though. Sturdy and beautiful. One step closer to being ready for the big day.

Latest Doctor's Appointment

We saw the doctor again today. We did not get another ultrasound this time so no pictures. The baby's heart beat is 148 and seems to be doing well. The doctor wanted to give me a steroid shot though. Because he said it helps the baby's lungs develop and just overall helps the baby develop a little faster. He said he's not saying I will have a pre-term baby, but I am at higher risk so he wants to give the baby the best chance possible. So we went to the hospital for the shot and we get one again today. He also did another fetal fibronectine test and it came back negative! So very good news! We have our next appointment next Tuesday where they will do another ultra sound for my cervical length. So far so good. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, they seem to be working.

24 week belly picture

My belly 24 weeks through

Bed Rest update

Baby Arianna Pickering. We stopped by Green Bay to visit Dave and Denise and thier 2 week old daughter. Isn't she beautiful!

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. Thank you to everyone who has asked about me and thanks for all the prayers. I am still on bed rest and the doctor said that I probably will be on bed rest until the baby arrives. At first it was quite a blow since work would not allow me to do any work from home. My managers are great and worked out a way for me to be able to work full time from home. This helps keep me occupied and keeps me from worrying about what will happen with my job in the future. The baby is still doing great. At the last doctors appointment on July 29, the baby is measuring 1lb 11 oz heart rate 152 so that's very good news. I guess the baby is just impatient to meet everyone. I have included another photo we got of the legs. Still no good face pictures. Also some pictures from the 4th of July.

baby pictures

Here are the pictures from our last sonogram. Sorry it took so long. Our internet is not being cooperative. The baby's head is behind my fibroid so they couldn't get a very good shot of the baby's face. The most we really got was part of an ear. You can see the spine really well though. I think this is such a cool picture.

This is the best they could get of the face.

At the top of this picture is my fibroid. You can see the bttom of it at least.