Sweet Baby Face!

Can you see the face of our baby? When I look at the image, I have no problem making out the features of our sweet baby's face, but Mark has a harder time. I have an advantage over Mark, though, as I saw the baby's face multiple times during the ultrasound and he wasn't able to attend my appointments last week.

If you are having a hard time visualizing a babies face in the the blurred image, I'll try to help you out. The baby laying on it's side and is looking straight at you in the picture. The chin is on the left (one of the brightest spots on the image) and the forehead is on the right. The baby's left eye (top) looks like a small black circle and right eye is kind of in the shadows of the picture. The nose does look a little snout-like due to the position of the ultrasound and the lips are the darker area to the left of the brighter nose. Do you see it yet? I do...and it melts my heart!

This image is a little easier to figure out...the bottom of the baby's foot:

With an ultrasound at this point in pregnancy, there are no whole body baby pictures as the baby is just so much bigger than at the standard twenty week ultrasound. I've been lucky (depending on how you look at it) to get a glimpse of all of my babies closer to birth with an additional diagnostic ultrasound at around 31 weeks. I have really enjoyed getting a sneak peek at my babies during these extra ultrasounds. This baby was very active during the ultrasound and so the images in my pics aren't super clear, but during the ultrasound I saw some beautiful sights. My favorite was seeing the baby grabbing at his or her toes! In case you are wondering, I didn't "see" anything during the ultrasound and still do not know if Isabella is getting her requested baby sister...

The baby checked out fairly well during the ultrasound. It measures okay, though on the smaller side, which isn't a surprise. The kidneys checked out better than James' did at this point. There were no visible issues with the baby's left, but their was some dilation on the baby's right kidney. The plan is that the baby will have a VCUG to test for kidney reflux when it is a day or two old. Aside from feeling terrible at my Dr. visit due to all the chest congestion, I was told that my blood pressure was only 80/60. I don't think I have ever had blood pressure that low! The low blood pressure would also account for my lack of energy and feeling faint and dizzy... My doctor wasn't too concerned about my blood pressure being so low as it is much better for it to be low than high during pregnancy. She just told me to drink as much fluid as I can and to be careful when I am going from sitting to standing so I don't pass out.

THE BABY BELLY

I've had a few friends request pictures of my growing baby belly, so here they are in all their glory. To be honest, we haven't taken as many pictures of me this time around...

November 28, 2008 --18 weeks

February 5, 2009 -- 27 1/2 weeks

March 4, 2009 -- 31 weeks

At 32 weeks along, I'm finally tipping the scale in the other direction and packing on a few pounds. I clearly look pregnant now. For several months my baby belly has been obvious to those who know me well, but acquaintances at church and other random places are finally comfortable asking me when I am due... And, that due date is getting closer and closer! Yikes!