36 Weeks...and Exhausted!

Hello Everyone!

I am 36 weeks pregnant as of today! I know I say this every week, but I cannot believe it's already been 36 weeks! Connor is doing great - as evidenced by his CONSTANT squirming, wiggling, and kicking! He's such a good boy! Jason and I thank God every day for blessing us with this miracle. I have been feeling pretty miserable lately and have NOT been pleasant to be around, poor Jason! Luckily, I have the best husband in the world, who suggested going to the pool and floating, which takes a LOT of pressure off of me and is WONDERFUL! We went almost every night last week! I had a doctor's appointment on 7/24, with my actual doctor, Dr. Samuel. He had reviewed the sonograms regarding Connor's size and told me that he wanted to do another sonogram at 37 weeks to find out if Connor was simply having a growth spurt when I had those other sonograms. He told me that fetuses have growth spurts like babies do, and that he could still be a good size and not as large as we think. He also informed me that sonograms are less accurate as pregnancies progress. Dr. Samuel told me that I have not yet begun to dilate and that he recommends that we try a natural birth, unless I get to 38/39 weeks and I still have not begun to dilate. Jason and I felt much better after talking to Dr. Samuel! I have to go back to see him again on 7/29. I have also decided that I will stop working at all of my jobs on 8/1 and am very excited to be able to relax, away from the stress I have been under! Here are some pictures from this week...notice that we now have the shelf up above the dresser and Connor's pictures are up, thanks to Jason's stepfather, Greg!

Did I mention that I have been VORACIOUSLY hungry this week? WOW!

Greg putting up the new shelf for Connor!

We hope you all have a great week! Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to prepare for Connor's arrival!

Love,
The Ratliffs

35 Weeks!

Well, we've made it to 35 weeks! Can't believe that we'll have Connor in the next 4 weeks, unless he decides to come sooner on his own! I could not be more ready! I have packed and repacked our hospital suitcase and Connor's diaper bag and everything is ready in our room for him as well as in his own room. Jason has been taking care of the yard and stuff outside - I think even he's nesting. He planted our very first garden (which only has 1 tomato plant, but hey - you gotta start somewhere) and is preparing to clean the gutters, trim the hedges, and pressure wash the porch next weekend. What a great Daddy he is already! This week we have to go to the doctor on Friday morning to discuss a c-section delivery on week 39 - should be exciting! I am not positive, but I think that Connor has "dropped" as I am able to breath much easier now and I feel a lot more pressure in my lower abdomen and pelvis now. This definitely has it's positives and negatives (some of which include having to go to the bathroom 6 or 7 times some nights). I am feeling exhausted a lot of the time now, despite my hot tea that keeps me going :) I actually spent all day Sunday, sleeping, which is SOOO unlike me right now when I have list after list to complete in preparation for Connor's arrival! Here are some pictures from week 35!

Yes, we all know "it's" huge! It's very heavy too! Connor continues to wiggle and stretch all around and I realized he becomes terrified when I am able to grab his foot that sticks out of my stomach. I did this once and he immediately yanked it back and gave me a HARD kick. Poor guy - I didn't mean to traumatize him - just thought if it was sticking out of my stomach an inch, it was mine to grab! :)

Have a great week and please keep us in your prayers as we near the end of this pregnancy and finalize our preparations to welcome our Connor into the world!

Hugs,
The Ratliffs

34 week sonogram!

Hello Everyone!

We hope you had a great week! We had our 34 week sonogram yesterday, 7/16, to see how big Connor is getting. Turns out he's approximately 6 lbs. 13 oz. right now (+ or - a pound) and will probably be delivered via a scheduled c-section at 39 weeks gestation, if not before. I have made my peace with this and just want him to be healthy so whatever that takes is what we will do :) Connor's heart rate was 140 and sounded great! My bp was only 102/62, and they said that was excellent. I have officially gained 23 pounds now! I asked the doctor if he felt that Connor was so big because of my having gestational diabetes, although I passed that second GTT test, and he said that although there's a slight possibility of that, based on the fact that my fluids are measuring perfectly, that is most likely not the case. I will be 35 weeks pregnant on Sunday and cannot WAIT until Connor is ready to get here. I am stretched thin - literally! Here are some pictures from yesterday's sonogram!

In this first picture, you can see his toes - which are really cute :) He has my toes (his second toe is longer than the other 4)!

This is a profile picture - the pictures are more difficult to get now, as Connor is so big. But you can see his head on the right and his hand is up by his mouth...
This is a picture of his HUGE abdomen (on the left) and his little face on the right - you can see his cheeks and his little nose and forehead.

Here you can see his forehead, cheeks, and nose on the right and his hand at the bottom under where his nose is.

Here you can also see his eyes, nose, cheeks and forehead on the right and his little hand under his face.

Have a great weekend and we'll post our 35 week belly shots this weekend!

Hugs and Kisses,

The Ratliffs

A Few More Nursery Pictures!

Just wanted to share some quick pictures with you of some new stuff in the nursery!! Jason and I put the decals on the wall! Lots of little monkeys in Connor's room and now the fun ones are on the wall too! We also got a light switch that matches our set - you can see in this first picture under the decals on the far left!

Oh - and I caught the kitties laying together in their bed - this NEVER happens! It's about time I posted some pictures about them!

We just have to paint the letters for Connor's name and put those up and then we have a couple more things to hang, including a shelf so I can put up Connor's pictures above his dresser! It's getting SOOO close! We are sooo excited!

xoxo,
The Ratliffs

Oh, How Time Flies!

34 weeks ALREADY!!!! Wow - time has really flown by this year! We officially have about 6 more weeks (or less hopefully) until we get to hug and kiss our precious Connor! Connor is a man on the move these past few days - more than ever before! He enjoys wiggling around and trying his very best to get that little foot under my ribs! Oh and the hiccups are never ending now! Poor little guy! We go to the doctor on Thursday, 7/16, for another sonogram to find out how Connor is measuring! We are very excited to see him again! Here are some pictures from this week.

Don't forget to check back later in the week to see more pictures of Connor!!

Hugs and Kisses,

The Ratliffs

32 Week Sonogram

Hello Everyone! These are a little bit more difficult to see, but I'll explain them. Connor was at 32 weeks, 4 days gestation when these were taken on 7/2/09 :)

This first one is his little hand - you can see that he has his forefinger and middle finger up (like a peace sign)...I like to think he's saying, "Chill, mom, I promise not to get too much bigger! Just relax and have some more cantaloupe and everything will be just fine!"

This one is a picture of his glorious foot, just as he was in the middle of kicking me! In this picture, I believe he's saying, "Although there's much more of this headed your way, I'll try my best to contain it and be gentle with you, Mom!"
And finally - this is his face - really smooshed - that lovely placenta again! But you can sort of see him :) His face is on the right - look closely and you can see his eyes and his nose and forehead - then on the left you can see his knees that are curled up to his chest. In this picture, I'm pretty sure he's saying, "Mom, seriously, I love you, but PLEASE give me some more room - I'm choked in here...my knees are hittin me in the chin when I try to kick you!"

They took one more picture because for some reason they feel that we continuously need reassurance that Connor is, indeed, a boy - however, I'm gonna spare him the humiliation that will come later in life...so just know that we are 400% sure that Connor is a boy! Trust us! No questions there! Hope you've enjoyed! We will have more sonogram pictures after our 34 week sonogram next week!

Hugs,

The Ratliffs

33 weeks and READY!

Hello Everyone!

We are at 33 weeks in the pregnancy now! Can't believe how quickly time flies! We have most of the nursery done - just have to hang pictures! I've washed all of Connor's things and packed his diaper bag! We are ready for him to get here as the passing of weeks means the discomfort grows and grows. We had our 32 week appointment on 7/2 - my blood pressure and weight were great as was Connor's heart rate. My belly is now measuring 34 cm...that's up 3 cm from 2 weeks ago! We also had a sonogram which revealed that Connor is a little bit on the large side...and that although he's measuring normal, his abdomen is kinda big. They said that this is typical of a baby when the mother has gestational diabetes, so I have to have another sonogram at 34 weeks, on 7/16. They said if he is still measuring big, then they will have to watch him carefully as this could alter our plans for delivery :) Not a big deal - we all had a pretty good feeling that he was pretty big...guess we'll see for sure next week! I'm going to scan the ultrasound pictures tomorrow and post them! Below are our 33 week pictures - I am exhausted and did not have the energy to dress nicely for the pictures so you're getting pajama pictures! Sorry!

Have a great week and don't forget to check back Wednesday for the ultrasound pictures!

xoxo,

The Ratliffs