3D Ultrasound with Connor

We went to an elective 3D ultrasound place this past weekend. I'd been toying with the idea so the girls could see him and the deciding factor was that James was unable to attend any of the three ultrasound I've already had and wouldn't be able to attend the 4th one I'll be getting next month (due to his size, the doctor said he will be requesting another growth ultrasound just to check up on him, no concerns, just as a precaution for any potential concerns).

It was an enjoyable experience, though the girls lost interest quickly. Connor was mostly asleep the whole time, he didn't do anything worth watching for longer than the first few minutes. Yawns are only cute to moms, I think. Anyway, a few of my favorites:

It must have been a "stars aligning" moment, because the technician was just gushing about how well it all worked out. Comments about my fluid levels and position, etc. Many people have commented that they're not as creepy looking as other 3D pictures and I tend to agree. He looks just like his sisters, though. I can't wait to see those cheeks and that sweet mouth and nose in real life. The tech also said it looks like he's already got a full head of hair at 31 weeks. So the question is: red like James or dark like mine was when I was born? I should take bets. ;-)

After the ultrasound, we had a brief break before we took the girls to the drop-off daycare and James and I went on the hospital tour to get an idea of where to go on D-Day. It was a nice experience. The hospital isn't as nice as Bakersfield Memorial, but just about anything will be better than KMC, where I delivered Cadence. Ideally, I'll only be there a day, so... There wasn't anything new or unusual about the hospital but it's a good thing we went, since James and I got a little lost getting there. Not to the hospital, we made it there without an issue, but I did make a wrong turn trying to get to the parking structure and we had to stop and consult two maps on the wall to figure out where to go next to find the maternity section. Glad we got lost then and not while I'm in actual labor!

January Pictures

New Years Eve. We bought some Panda Express. Cadence saw me using chopsticks and asked to try. She did surprisingly well for a first timer:

After eating less Chinese food than I normally would, I felt pretty full. Laying down helps move Connor away from my stomach so the digestive system can actually do its job. James had his finger over the flash, but for some reason the picture amused me. The sticker on my belly? Megan wanted Connor to have it.

The girls have their own mini entertainment system in the dining room so they can enjoy their movies when James and I want/need the larger TV for ourselves. At first, we let them watch their quiet time movies here, but now that the novelty has worn off, they're back on the couch where I can keep a better eye on them:

Tonight, the girls and I made brownies for dessert. I instructed the girls they were not allowed to leave the kitchen until my beater was white again. They happily complied. I busted up laughing when I turned around and caught Cadence licking it:

29 Week Sneak Peek

Due to "measuring large" at my last doctor appointment, I got another little peek at Connor this morning. :-) It seems I'm not the only one measuring large. Little Connor is already estimated to be a hefty 3lbs 12oz (margin of error means he could be anywhere between 3lbs 3oz and 4lbs 5oz). While that may not seem like a lot to some, it is the 93rd percentile for his gestational age and is actually closer to the average weight of a baby 3 weeks older than him. If he gains the average of 5lbs between now and 40 weeks, he's likely to be in the 8lb range on his due date, closing in on 9lbs.

That is, of course, assuming the measurements are spot on. Megan herself measured 2-3 weeks ahead when they estimated her weight at 33 weeks. She came out "above average" for her age, but not by any extreme amount. So, it's just a wait and see.

Connor reacted as I've come to recognize as "normal". As soon as that wand pushed on my belly and invaded his space he was fighting back. He eventually accepted the poking and prodding and, other than a few stubborn kicks, he tucked his hands up by his face and went to sleep. Darn shame, too. The tech attempted to get me a nice 3D picture of his face, but with his hands in the way, she couldn't get a clear shot. Had a good laugh. To estimate his size/weight, the tech needed to measure his femur, but every time she'd get that focused, he's scoot over and "show off the goods". She eventually got the measurement, but it took 3 or 4 tries to make it work. And if the "borderline obscene" picture I had from the 21 week ultrasound wasn't enough to erase any doubts Connor is a boy, there's another one tucked into the 29 week pack of pictures. Definitely boy.

I didn't actually talk to the doctor at the hospital today like I normally do once the whole thing was done. He got called in for a consultation and the nurse offered to just have him forward the results to my personal doctor and go over them with him at my appointment next week. The tech said there was nothing that stood out as unusual to her, so I decided that's "good enough for now" and we'll see what my doctor says when I see him next Tuesday.

Sunbeam, Take 2

Megan's first day is a Sunbeam this morning. Try as we could, nothing would get Megan excited about going to primary. In fact, mentioning the inevitable was likely to prompt a protest and a few (or more) tears. Still, when the time came, she clung to my hand, followed me into the noisy, kid-filled, chair-filled, stranger-filled primary room and quietly sat in the chair I led her to. She watched James and I as we edged out, as silent as ever, and we thought we were in the clear. But a few steps down the hall and we heard her start crying.

Learning from past mistakes, James returned to the room and I fled. While sitting in my own class, I heard Megan's tears as she and James walked the hall for a short time, and when I had to run out to the car, I peeked in the primary room window and saw Megan in James's lap with her fingers in her mouth. James was able to leave and another parent took over keeping her calm, which is promising that she'd allow a stranger to step into that role. Another teacher of junior primary told me she did well from the on, but was not happy with the transition from sharing time/singing time to class time, but I did peek into her classroom and saw her sitting quietly and when I picked her up, she was all smiles, so I assume that part went well.

Cadence slipped into CTR 4 without issue. James says she was misbehaving as usual from the get-go. I am amused that she'll be friendly with her little partner in crime in the ward, but when the little girl waves and says hello to Cadence anywhere else, Cadence is suddenly shy and won't acknowledge them. In fact, Cadence's friend got dirty looks for even looking at her over the back of the pew this morning.

James and I had a good laugh when we were in the foyer (the church pew was just too uncomfortable for me this morning and I had to get up and walk, and then needed somewhere extra comfortable to sit, so we claimed the couch in the foyer for the last half of Sacrament). For a large portion of our time in the foyer, another person came out with their 1 year old daughter. For some unknown reason, this little girl terrified Cadence. When the toddler toddled over toward where Cadence was coloring, Cadence picked up her crayons and book and backed away then ran over to us and sat between us. When the little girl walked along the couch and used James's knee to hold herself steady, her next hand grip was Cadence's foot and Cadence lifted her foot out of reach, refusing to let her touch her. It was highly amusing.

I am now teaching CTR 8 this year. I was teaching CTR 7 last year, which means I have kept the same group of kids. I am very pleased with this change, because I genuinely enjoy teaching the class I have and am looking forward to teaching them for another year. Plus, I get to teach lessons that are scripture based, rather than themed. Motivation to study my scriptures more!

Connor is doing well, as far as we can tell. He is kicking hard and often, and I'm pretty sure he has regularly schedule dance parties (or gymnastic practice). It's not uncommon for my stomach to be bouncing, especially on his busy days. Megan, who tends to lean against my stomach the most, gets kicked frequently and generally ignores it. I can't coax the girls to hold a hand in place to feel when he's actually kicking, but they've both felt it. He's easily the most active of the three in utero. I think he's doing everything he can to earn the "most uncomfortable pregnancy" award. This morning he got his foot or fist or something wedged against my hip bone and pushed with all his might. Kind of hurt. I'm also pretty sure he flips from head-down to head-up position every other day, because the location of his movement is not regular in any way.

Due to the doctor's minor concern over how large my fundal height (pregnant stomach) was measuring, we'll be going in for an ultrasound this Tuesday. I'm not concerned and am quite certain I only measured large due to a recent growth spurt/weight gain, but better safe than sorry. I should get a nice estimate of how big he is and I'm always happy to get another peek at the boy. We'll also be doing an elective ultrasound that both the girls and James can go to (due to limited scheduling options and James's high-demand job, getting a medical ultrasound appointment he could attend without issue proved difficult). We'll be doing that in 2 weeks, which is the absolute latest for a "good" 3D ultrasound, before he starts getting squished and running out of space.

29 weeks today, so, in 8 weeks, it'll be "safe" for him to come, and he should be here 11 weeks at the latest (because at that point, he doesn't have a choice). Time for time to start crawling...