3D Ultrasound Comparison

During pregnancy, I couldn't wait until I was far enough along to get a good 3D ultrasound to get a sneak peak of our little guy! Now that he is here, let's look at the comparison to see how accurate the 3D image was. Here is a not so great picture of his whole face (his nose is squished), but it really shows his lips and chin, along with a current picture. I think the ultrasound image showed exactly what his mouth would look like!

Here are a couple of the other good pictures from the ultrasound, but I couldn't find the best 'same angle' pictures.... these will have to do...

All in all, I think the 3D was so worth getting a sneak peek at our guy!




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35 weeks, 35 days to go!!

I mean, 35 days to go IF I make it that far! My doctor seems to seriously think that my return to work will make me go into labor before that.... and secretly, I hope she is right. Ok, maybe not so secretly! I am just so excited to meet Hunter! He kicks like nobody's business, hiccups like it is going out of style, and is just an all around wiggle worm. 

My mom came with me to my almost 35 week appointment, and she got to see another ultrasound! This one was pretty special, and immediately afterwards I was kicking myself for not asking her to grab my phone so I could video part of it and send it to Tim. It was just a growth ultrasound... he is 5 pounds by the way, and head down... but the ultrasound tech was being kind of rude! She never cracked a smile, and would answer my questions with one word answers. Usually, I ask what they are doing or measuring (even on the off chance that I already know what's going on) and after a couple of questions they kind of get the idea that I want to be informed and then they start just telling me what they are doing. Not. This. Time. Here is how it went down:

• What are we listening to? (I could tell it obviously was NOT the heartbeat)
• Cord.
• What are you measuring right there? ( I was pretty sure it was the femur, because they always measure it)
• Leg Bone.
• Can you tell what position he is in?
• Head down.
• Mom and I get excited because we thought he was still breech...
• Nothing. (from the tech)

I just felt weird because usually they are nice and friendly... or, I am by myself so I don't care too much because I am enamored with my baby. This time, though, my mom was there and I didn't want her to think the techs are always rude(ish). They also usually have warm jelly, and this was fah-reeeeezing! AND she kept digging the wand into my belly button even after I told her it was uncomfortable. I was even trying to suck in my belly to make it more obvious that it kind of hurt!!

All that aside, it was the COOLEST 2 minute ultrasound because when she did let us peek at his face we could see his eyes open. NO joking! We could also see him opening and closing his mouth, sticking out his tongue, and making sucking motions with his lips. See why I am almost crying now that I realize I don't have a video to share it with his daddy? Ugh. I have never seen a more clear 2-D ultrasound! Here is the evidence:

After the appointment, I was informed that there was going to be a blood draw. Fun. I seriously freak out. I am so embarrassed. If I have not said this before, I don't like it for the obvious reasons (needles and blood, eek!) and well as the fact that I am a super visualizing type of person. I am visualizing a needle in my vein and if I move or she moves or some freak accident happens that needle is going to poke right through. Plus, I am just visualizing a needle sucking blood out of me into all these test tubes. Yuck. I have said it before and I will say it again... it's all for Hunter, and I am glad to do it if it means we will be prepared for whatever comes up. 

As far as how the 35th week of pregnancy has gone.... it has been pretty uneventful! I am measuring at _____ inches around the belly and weigh _____. I think he may be dropping, but I am totally not sure. I am just noticing more of the I-feel-like-I've-been-on-a-bike-all-day feeling in the pubic bone and I am peeing more than usual. Not more liquid, more often. Sometimes I feel like I was going to pee my pants and a teaspoon of liquid comes out. I'm thinking he is either pressing on it so I feel like I have to go, or he is pressing on it so it can't all come out and that results in higher frequency. Either way, I am walking to and from the bathroom a ton! 

Heartburn is criz-zazy still. I finally succumbed to Tim's suggestion and started taking Prevacid. I like the Tums because it is pretty instant relief, but Prevacid takes a day or so to take effect. I finally started and have noticed that I still get heartburn, but it isn't killing me like before and it only takes one Tums to get rid of it. 

Last bit of important news is that I have been cleared to go back to work! I say that, but my doctor really did NOT want me to go. Tim heard her the first time back at 32 weeks and my mom heard her this time. If I can get at least one more GOOD week of work in before I go into labor, I will be happy!

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Labor and Delivery, Bed Rest, and 3D ultrasound.... oh my!

So.... 32 weeks has been proving to be pretty interesting.

All week-end I had been having very mild cramps, and I was totally torn. On one hand, I remembered that the doctor told me that period-like cramps mean real contractions, and she told me to call her when it happens. On the other hand I already had an appointment scheduled for that Tuesday, and figured I would just mention it then.

Monday, I woke up with pretty bad cramps and as I worked that morning, they got worse and my lower back hurt pretty badly. I called the doctor's office and she wanted me to come in, so my amazing teaching partner took my class got them to large group in time... and then picked them up, did snack, and everything else in the afternoon! I went in and had an ultrasound, where it was determined that Hunter was in the breech position. Yup, his tiny booty is where his head should be, but there is still time for him to get the hang of it! She also took his measurements, and he is 4 pounds, and that sounds so tiny, yet so big at the same time! Then I saw the doctor, and after talking about what was happening, she did an internal exam to see if I was dilated at all..... I am not. Then she sent me to Labor and Delivery at the hospital. Yes, L & D.... it sounds so serious!

I drove over to my hospital of choice while my doctor called it in. They took me to triage, and hooked me up to two monitors, one for Hunter's heart rate, and one to monitor the contractions. After about an hour, it was determined that I was having them every 3-7 minutes, but I really don't think they were serious contractions! I am still wondering what would have happened if I would have never said anything and just rested when I got home from work that day... It's not like I was in labor, right?

The nurse called the doctor, and she ordered up to three shots of a muscle relaxer, one every twenty minutes if they did not stop or seriously slow down. The first one made me super, uncontrollably shaky and my heart felt like it was racing. They must not have stopped because twenty minutes later, they were back.... jabbing me in the other arm. And twenty minutes later they were back at the first arm. Fun stuff. Tim was there for the first one, but then had to go back to work, but luckily my parents showed up just after the last shot and kept me company. I felt bad with them just sitting there, they were so sweet to come rushing over!

After the last shot, they monitored me for an hour, and I only had one more contraction, so the nurse called the doctor and she made the call to let me go home, and start a prescription for the same med just in a pill form. She also put some limitations on me :( No work, very minimal walking, no lifting, no driving, etc.

I am going back on Thursday, I am sure that it would have been Friday, but that is a holiday so luckily that is one less day that I had to take off and one less day that I had to wait to see the doctor. Hunter and I have been laying very low here at the house for most of Tuesday and all of today (Wednesday). I did venture out of the house yesterday, my lovely sister in law drove me to school so that she could help me get some work ready for my students for the remainder of this week. 

After we finished up at school on Tuesday, she drove me to my 3D ultrasound! We have had this planned for about 2 months, and I was not about to miss it! He did not really cooperate last time, but he did this go around. I may be biased, but he is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen at 32 weeks :) I truly think he looks like his daddy with a cute nose and big ole lips. We got to spend 30 minutes looking at our little man sleep with his head resting on crossed arms. I know this sounds silly, but we even got to see his fingers move and a couple of 'dream smiles'. He is precious. We even found out that he has hair :) I can't believe that Tim and I made him all from scratch. I would say all by ourselves, but I truly believe that God plays the largest part in creating life, and I am not about to leave him out of this miracle. If one little thing would have gone differently on September 6th, 2011 (yes, I know the date...), my life would be going in a completely direction right now. If you remember, that was the month that I bought Phaedra, was going to start riding again, and stop trying to have a baby? God had other plans, and now I am growing a perfect little boy in my belly. See for yourself:

Daddy's lips, yes?

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29 weeks

Today is a great day! I turn over in weeks (only one more week in the 20's!!) and it is the first official day of Spring Break! 

A couple of things have started this week which are pretty cool, like feeling his hiccups! To me, they feel like a very slow, hard pulse. Not hard kicks, just something of his being thumped against my belly, whether it be his feet, butt, or head. At first, I thought it was my pulse, but they are much slower than that, and so much slower than his, considering it is still in the 120's to 140's. 


I also think I have a pretty good idea as to where he is at during the day. I have that silly heart shaped uterus (uterus of love...?), and so he is kind of limited as to what he can do in there. Most of the time he is head down, but not the good kind, he is facing the wrong way. So, his head is down and his body is up the right half of my uterus. When he decides to look for a change of scenery, he moves his head over to the left side and his butt follows and pokes out of the right side so he is transverse. I get the impression that this is happening because I feel tons of pressure on both sides of my belly, usually I am even able to feel hard lumps on each end, and during the movement process I feel all sorts of kicks and slides. 


As for me? Getting out of bed has become a major process. I have to determine whether or not I really want to get out and pee or just try to hold it. Getting out of bed always wins. Its not like I am a huge whale of a pregnant lady or anything. Its just that my stomach muscles have gone from so-so, all the way down to obsolete. It is really hard to lift straight up from a laying position, and even just switching sides is an ordeal. I also decided to super clean my kitchen this weekend, and found out that mopping takes a great deal of ab strength, way more than I thought it did, and way more than I have right now, haha! 


My rib pain is at an all time high, and I think it is because of how he lays. Any kick goes right to those organs. When I mentioned it to my doctor, she got a super concerned look on her face, which completely freaked me out! She said that it could be gallbladder disease, which is pretty prevalent in pregnant women because of the hormones, and if that is what it was then they usually try to REMOVE them in the first trimester! She didn't think that is what is was because of my history and body type, but you never know, so she ordered another ultrasound. They looked at my gallbladder, liver, and kidneys; but found nothing out of the ordinary, so it must just be his positioning. I am glad that I said something rather than just thinking it was all normal, because it could have been something very serious! 


At the appointment, I also had my 1 hour glucose test and an ultrasound. I finished my drink in 5 minutes as instructed, and had my finger pricked an hour later. I was so nervous that I would fail, have gestational diabetes, and have to prick my finger every time I eat. Nervous me had nothing to worry about, I passed with a 107! I think you are allowed to go up to either 130 or 140, so I was totally in the clear! Also, I didn't think the drink was all that bad. I was able to take it home after my last appointment and refrigerate it, and I drank it on the way. I can see how it may be gross if it was luck warm, though!

Here is a picture of our perfect baby boy :) I will say that I am growing more and more certain that he will have a 'large' nose..... about half of his pictures show a rather large nose and the other half show the typical cutesy baby nose. Either way, he is perfect! Have a look for yourself:

This was a growth ultrasound, and the tech was in no mood to just let us look in awe and wonder at our baby boy. I think we only missed a commercial break (they always play Food Network in the waiting room) and we were done in just a few minutes. Luckily, we will get another 3D ultrasound in about 2 weeks, and then another growth/position ultrasound in 6 weeks. Then 4 weeks from then (or sooner!) we will get to meet our little man!


My weight is up 15 pounds and the belly measured exactly 38 inches this week. Still growing pretty consistently in the measurement department, not so consistent in the weight gain department. How can I go from 18 weeks of gaining zero pounds, to gaining one pound every week, and now I am up to gaining 3 a week?! This cannot be!! To look at all of the bump pictures and get a list of my weight gain and belly measurements throughout the pregnancy, check out the tab up on top that says: The Bump! I will update that once a week, because I like to compare them side by side :)

26 weeks

Finally! On time for the first time in a month or so! I am 26 weeks today, and that means only one more week until I am in the third trimester and home stretch of this pregnancy! 

We had our 3-D ultrasound this week and heard, yet again, what a little stinker he is! He kept his head in the placenta the whole times, and when he wasn't doing that, he had his arms, hands, and sometimes legs in the way! He wasn't overly active which is usually the problem, but when he would move.... it was totally not what we wanted! Boy has some spunk! When I look at this picture, it is all totally obvious what body parts are which, but I was looking at the same picture upside down on the kitchen counter last night and I swore it was a picture of nothing. It's like one of those Magic Eye pictures, haha!  We did get to see him yawn once, and suck on his thumb for a bit. While I am still glad that we did it, I think that patience would have been a virtue in this case. Our package comes with two sessions, one earlier on and one at 30-36 weeks, so we scheduled ourselves for 32 weeks. Hopefully he will be a little less camera shy, and be able to show us smiles, yawns, stretches, and eyes opening!

As for symptoms, here are the updates:

• Sciatic Pain- after about two days sleeping on my side, with a pillow in between my knees on a firm mattress, my back and sciatic pain is gone! I am so relieved to have found something that works! A few nights ago, I tried sleeping on my back with a pillow under my knees and woke up at 2 with terrible pain again. That next night, I slept the 'tried and true' way, and felt 99% better!

• Heartburn- Tums are one of my best friends. I have a baggie in my purse, the bottle by my air mattress, and some in my classroom. Where ever I go, I am covered!

• Movement- He is moving a ton! Today I felt him all day and all over the place. Some kicks above my belly button, some way down low, Tim even felt something poking out (foot, hand, elbow, knee?). I am getting some sliding movement feelings, along with pressing motions, like his head is pushed across one side of my belly. I have even gotten multiple movements at once!

• Braxton Hicks- I am pretty sure that I have started to get these... I am feeling the whole front of my belly harden, tighten, and it just flat out feels different! It is either that, or he is pushing his entire back and head across my whole belly for about 20 second intervals. Either way, weird stuff is happening!

• Placement- At our ultrasound, we found out that he is head down, facing my belly (I believe this is called 'Frank Breech') and I have an anterior placenta which means that it is right across the front. I am surprised that I have been feeling so much movement when my placenta is kind of cushioning things in there. 

• Weight Gain/Belly Measurement- Measuring right at 36 inches and weighing in at +9 pounds. Still growing!!

• Swelling- So far, I have not had any swelling anywhere. I am a little surprised, but totally happy about this! Ok- wait, I wrote that, and then was thinking about how my face looks fat in all the pictures of myself lately, so maybe my face is swollen a little... Crossing my fingers that my nose doesn't spread or swell, as I have read that it can happen. There was too much money and time recovering spent on this sniffer to be stretched and widened with pregnancy swelling!

• Looking forward to? Setting up his nursery!!! We ordered our furniture around the beginning of the year, and were told it would take 12 weeks. I get a call this week-end (only 6 weeks later), and am told that it is already in! I am BEYOND excited! I have been saying that I am at a standstill until his furniture gets here, but that is not going to be the case much longer. After it is all set up, I can decide which drawers I want what things in, put away some clothes, put the bedding on, decide what color/size bins I am going to need to order for storage. 

No belly picture this week! I have a severe ear infection, it ruptured my eardrum :( , and I think Hunter's picture is cute enough to stand alone this week!

And the color of the day was......?

BLUE!! I was still in shock for a few days after the gender scan, but I am so excited for our new baby boy!


Here is how it all went down:

We had an appointment set for Monday, December 12 for the gender scan because that was the day that I turned 16 weeks. We also had to go see the doctor about the bleeding that I had 10 days prior.

Tim and I had talked the night before about how we would react. I really wanted a girl, and Tim really wanted a boy, but we also just wanted a healthy baby. So it became more of a game than anything else. It turned into, "Who is right?" We decided that if I was right and it was a girl, he could say, "OH MY GOSH!", exactly one time, and vice versa if it was a boy. We were pretty much joking, but the overall consensus was that it was ok to be surprised/shocked.... but then happy!

Well, I am laying on the table and she was measuring the cervix and getting her bearings. Tim was looking at me, and I see her scan across what was obviously two wide spread legs and a, well, a pee-pee. Boy parts. There is a little boy growing inside my belly. I wasn't thinking, I was just so honestly shocked, that I literally shouted, "Oh my gosh!!!! Was that the gender?!?!"


Tim said, "Oh no, did I miss it already?!" She went back and he was smiling bigger than I have ever seen before. He went to rub my shoulder as I am still saying, "I cannot believe it!" over and over again.

Let's get one thing straight. I am/was not disappointed. At the 13 week NT scan, the ultrasound tech took a peek (at my request) and saw two things. One: the dangle was clearly pointing straight down. According the the internet, that means girl. a boy would be pointing more up. Both genders have basically the same thing at that point in the pregnancy. Two: she looked in between the legs and saw what looked to be hamburger buns. It really did. She saw it. I saw it. We all saw it.

Since then, I still never called the baby a 'she' or 'Harper', or purchased any of the adorable little girl things. I wasn't convinced, and hey, I'm realistic.... 13 weeks is way early. But nonetheless, in my head the wheels were turning. When I would look up nursery ideas, they would mostly be girl. So when I found out we were definitely having a little boy, I had to switch gears. It may have taken me few days, but I am now totally on the 'Boy Nursery' wagon! Watch out debit card, don't get too comfy in my wallet!!

I had originally wanted to do a gender reveal party, but I got so excited after the 13 week gender guess, that I told everybody anyways. Then we were thinking that if we did the gender reveal party and it was a girl, everybody would say, "We already knew that anyways". Tim was never 100% on board with the party. He doesn't like a big fuss, and he hates when he gets too much attention. He is hoping the baby is born on his birthday so that his is forgotten altogether! In the waiting room afterwards, he was actually on his phone googling bakeries to see who could get gender reveal cake balls made quick enough! But by then, we already had friends and family anxiously texting and calling, we couldn't make them wait any longer! It is a must do for our next pregnancy, that is for sure!

I wish that I could have recorded my mom's reaction. She must have asked if I was joking about 10 times, and then she finally said in her I-am-super-serious tone, "Jenny. Are. You. Serious? No joking, is it really a boy?" It was hard to keep from giggling, which probably extended the persuasion, but she finally believed me. She was elated! The first little baby boy in a long time! Everybody else was just so happy, too!

Now that I know the gender for sure, I am going to look at all of the old wives tales to see how many were correct!

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

I am beyond excited to go to the doctor tomorrow. In fact, I even had a dream about it, lol! Then I woke up because it was not a good dream.... I went to the doctor to have an ultrasound and appointment (exactly like tomorrow). I had my ultrasound first (just like they'll do tomorrow). While in the ultrasound the tech would not talk, she would just do the images, and it would change from the normal 2D image to what was called 'Cartoon Image'. She made about a 5 minute video, then still without talking let me know that the doctor would play the video in my appointment, and would do the 'talking' and explaining. We waited for about 2 hours, then went home. At about 9 at night, I remembered, "Oops! We never saw the doctor!"..... So I snuck into her office and waited as if I never left, but of course it was too late and I never found out thr gender or health status of my baby.

Great dream right? Then I woke up at 3 in the morning to pee, and couldn't go back to sleep until 5.

HOPEFULLY.... that is not what is going to happen tomorrow and HOPEFULLY that is not foreshadowing that we will not be able to see the gender! Anyways, I can't wait to do an update tomorrow for Team Pink or Team Blue!!!

First big SCARE....

I woke up this morning and started my morning as usual. I turned on the shower to warm up and went to use the bathroom. I found lots of bright red blood. I kept wiping and it kept coming. I woke up Tim, and told him what was happened and that something was wrong. I cried in the shower and prayed harder than I ever have before. I checked again after the shower and was still bleeding so I started googling. Not a great idea.

I called the on call doctor and she said that I could either go into the ER or wait until 8:30, and they would see me there. I decided to head to school to get my classroom ready for a sub, and headed to the doctor to be there at 8:30. Luckily, I have some of the best team members in the world, who listened to me cry, prayed for me and the baby, and helped get my classroom ready for the day.

Tim met me over there and we waited for the ultrasound. We were both so relieved to see that our little baby has grown even more, has longer arms and legs now, and was very active! The doctor also took a look at me, and luckily the bleeding had stopped by then. It is so hard to relax and be happy after you are so worked up! I was very tired from worry and crying, and was happy to hear the doctor say that I should rest.

I do NOT want another scare like this, and I will pray every minute for the health and safety of our baby!

So this post doesn't end on a somber note, we did have a few positives! We got an extra ultrasound, yay! When I went to pay, I was expecting a $100 bill for the ultrasound, but we already met the deductible because of the crazy pay for delivery in advance at my doc's office, so I was ELATED when I only had to pay $19. I am going to beg for one very time!

13 weeks!

At 13 weeks, the Monday before Thanksgiving, Tim and I had another appointment. This one was for out NT scan, which tests for Downs Syndrome and a few other disorders. Of course, I was totally positive, thinking our risk must be really low, and the day of, all I can think of is, OMG- they are going to see a huge nuchal fold!

Baby Thompson actually had a very small nuchal fold, only 1.1 mm. They consider up to 2.5 healthy and anything over that is when risks go up. I also got brave and asked the ultrasound tech if she would take a peek at the gender. She did, and she thought she saw..... a girl! I was overjoyed and Tim was in a little bit of denial. He would be so happy with a little girl, but he has made all of these mental plans for a little boy! Of course, we still have not purchased anything for either gender because we are trying to be realistic and know that 13 weeks is super early for a gender guess!

I acted like a big baby for the finger prick which is the second part of the NT scan, but luckily Tim was there to hold my hand!

We were so thrilled to see our baby bouncing around, kicking and punching in his or her little sac! The heartbeat was a strong 167 bpm. Tim took a video on his phone, but when it gets enlarged the image is a tad distorted! Now I am always stealing his phone to watch our baby. I am in love. I LOVE my little growing family!

It's supposed to look like that, right?

We had to wait until we were 7 weeks until the doctor would see us for an appointment. It was so hard to wait that long, but we were so excited!

Being the great husband that he is, Tim came and even though he was painfully uncomfortable during the pap smear/internal exam, he made it through. I got the great news that we didn't need to get blood work done, and the even better news that we could get in to have an ultrasound!

I had a friend who had a blighted ovum, so when she pulled up what looked like an empty black circle, I freaked. Then she said, "You have what looks to be a B..." and I almost flipped out. In my mind I heard blighted ovum. In reality, she said 'Bicornuate Uterus'... meaning there are two parts. The best way to visualize it is a heart shaped uterus.

Then she showed us the baby! Just a blurry little blob with a heart flickering away! We heard the heartbeat (121 bpm), and I think that was THE moment that Tim got excited, and knew this was for real. Like, for real, for real.

Here is our 7 week blob of Thompson love: