Maternity Pictures

On July 15th, 2012 - Chuck & I had Maternity pictures taken by our good friends Lauren & Tim.  We took pictures at Promontory Point which is located just south of downtown Chicago.  I want to thank my wonderful husband for taking pictures in jeans on an extremely hot day!! You are the best!! Not sure what I would do without you! 

Many thank yous to Lauren, who did such an amazing job capturing a once and a life time moment for Chuck & I.  We can't express enough how much we really love the pictures you took.  Thank you again!!!

Hospital Tour

On July 11th, 2012 - Chuck and I went to Hinsdale Hospital to view the Birthing Center.  The Birthing Center just opened in May this year and is absolutely amazing!!  We found out that during our stay we will first be in a labor and delivery room and then 2-3 hours later be moved to a mother baby room for the rest of our stay.  All of the rooms are private which is always a plus!!  Some of the labor and delivery rooms even have a huge whirlpool tub!! I think Chuck was eyeing that up last night!!  We really liked that visiting hours, they are 24 hours for whoever would like to come and no limit on how many in the room!!  There also isn't an age restriction either, so if our nieces and nephews would like to visit they are welcome!!  I think one of the most exciting things for Chuck was finding out they have a "Baby Cafe" where he can get coffee, bagels and wait for it a SLUSHIE Machine!! I think we were both excited about that one.  Hopefully labor and delivery will be quick!!

Labor & Delivery Room

Mother Baby Room

Dr. Check-up

On July 10, 2012 - Chuck and I went for our weekly doctor visit at the OBGYN.  The doctor said that I was measuring just right still and the heart rate was at 144.  Baby Jenks didn't stick around long to get his heart monitored though he kept moving all over the place.  They also took me off high risk!!! I do not have to come back to the doctor's office for 3 weeks.  So that is definately exciting, but then again sad as we were use to hearing his heart rate every week.  We will miss seeing and hearing you Baby Jenks!!  See ya in 3 weeks!!

Adding More to the Nursery

On July 7th, 2012 - Chuck & I went on the hunt to see if we could find a couch or 2 chairs for the playroom.  To our disappointment we were not able to find any playroom furniture, but we did find a rug and two statues that were perfect for the nursery!! I can't wait until we get everything that we need for the nursery and it is all setup!!

Not as bright blue as it shows in the picture.

Ultrasound Check-up Week 26

On July 6th, 2012 - We went for our ultrasound checkup to see where my placenta was at.  The doctor said that the placenta was out of the way of the cervix and that everything looked wonderful.  No further need to go for anymore ultrasounds!  It's exciting no more ultrasounds (cost wise), but also a little sad as well.  We were really getting use to seeing the little guy every so often.  Baby Jenks' heart rate was still at 142, 2.5lbs and 14 1/2 inches.  I guess I am measuring 1 day a head of schedule.

Follow-up OBGYN Appointment

On June 25, 2012 - We had our weekly scheduled appointment with our OBGYN to monitor the heart rate.  The heart rate was ranging from 135 - 143 which is great!! The doctor said that it sounded really good!  We have a follow-up ultrasound on July 6th and the doctor was going to say to go ahead and cancel it but I guess I can't because the ultrasound doctor wants to recheck where the placenta is.  I guess it is really low so they want to check the positioning of that on July 6th.  So we shall see what happens on that date.  From what I have been reading about a low placenta is that they may have to do a planned C-Section.  Baby Jenks has been extremely active this week kicking me all over the place.  My mom has gotten a kick out of how much he is moving and how strong he is already!!!

Some Nursery Decor

On June 20, 2012 - We bought some more stuff for the nursery!! It has been a lot of fun finding stuff to go into the nursery.  For those who don't know our theme for the nursery is Vintage Airplanes.  It has been rough at the beginning finding stuff but now it looks like airplanes have become a popular theme!! Below are some pictures of what will be going into the nursery! More to come soon!!!

Airplane Hooks

Hanging Airplane

Cardiologist Appointment

On June 19th, 2012 - We went to meet with the prenatal cardiologist. Baby Jenks was up to his usual stunts of trying to hide and kicking the doctor. The doctor monitored Baby Jenks for at least 1/2 hour - 45 min; looking at every aspect of the heart and measuring the beats in each valve, watching the blood flow in and out of the heart, and making sure everything looked normal. The heart rate was 153 again today and stayed at that rate the entire time. The doctor said he didn't see one irregular heartbeat the entire time we were there! I will still be monitored weekly in case the pacs (premature atrial contractions) show themselves again. The doctor said for sure no heart block which is great! He also said if he didn't see my file he wouldn't know why I was hear since the heart looked and acted to normal. C-section would only have to be used now if the heart rate went low again! After the appointment we went and celebrated with mom and dad at the Clubhouse in Oak Brook. Since getting good news decorating the nursery has been more exciting! We went and got our changing pad cover today! A picture of it is below!

24 Weeks Pictures

Pictures of me at 24 weeks.  Taken on June 16th 2012.

Heart Rate Check-up

On June 14th, 2012 - Since I have been placed on high risk, I have to see some kind of doctor to monitor the baby's heart rate.  Yesterday we went to the OBGYN to see where the heart rate was at.  Chuck and I were both kind of nervous the whole day.  We were both worried about the heart rate dipping even more.  When the doctor put the heart rate monitor on my belly the rate hovered between 83-86 beats per minute.  Then during the heart rate monitoring baby Jenks decided to give a good hard kick.  I think he is sick of people bothering him.  Because right after he kicked the heart rate went back to normal rhythm and went to 153 beats per minute which is normal.  The normal readings in the womb are 110 - 160 beats per minute.  The heart rate stayed there until she was done monitoring the heart rate.  So we don't know exactly what that means, but it was just nice to hear his heart at a normal rate and gave us some hope that this can fix itself on its own.  We will see what the cardiologist makes of this on the 19th when we see him.  We are hoping that the heart rate is still reading at 153 beats per minute and that the arrhythmia has gone away!!!

Follow-up Ultrasound

On June 8th, 2012 - We have our follow-up ultrasound due to the doctor finding an irregular heartbeat at our 20 week ultrasound.  When we went for our 20 week ultrasound the doctor said that alot of times the irregular heartbeat resolves itself by the next followup one.  We were all hoping that would be the case but Baby Jenks decided to throw us through another loop.  This time when the doctor listened to his heart rate it was a different rhythm instead of the bigeminy heart rhythm he was displaying last time.  He would occasionally go back into the bigeminy rhythm but, he was mostly in this other rhythm.  His heart rate has dipped down to 88 bpm which is very slow, but the doctor said that everything structurally that he can see looks like it is developing correctly.  The doctor is thinking it may be premature atrial contractions (PACs) or a slim chance it may be a heart block.  I have been placed on high risk now and have to see a doctor every week to see how the heart rate is doing.  The doctor has scheduled us to see a prenatal cardiologist on June 19th so he can evaluate what is going on with our little guy.  The 19th can't come soon enough!!!  We were told by the doctor not to worry about anything, but it is hard not to worry when something is obviously going on.  What I worry most about is that the heart rate will continue to go down.  Hopefully that is not the case!!  We are hoping that the heart rate will go back up and correct itself.  I guess there is still hope that this could just go away.  Which we are hoping Baby Jenks does soon rather than later. Here are some pictures from the follow-up ultrasound.  We really loved the nurse that did the ultrasound this time!! She gave us some great pictures!!

   

Chuck Feels the Baby Move

On June 3rd, 2012, was an exciting day for both Chuck and I.  Chuck was finally able to feel the baby move!!  His face lit up when he finally was able to feel baby Jenks move.  He did say that he thought it was a weird feeling as well, but also very exciting.  Baby Jenks have been a very active baby in my belly doing lots of somersaults.  It will be interesting to see if he will poke his hand or foot out of my belly eventually.