29 week update

we had jonathan's 29 week appointment today with my OB. we will start seeing her every week now, just to make sure everything is going well with my health and to start focusing on delivery.

delivery. i can't believe it's already time to think about it.

everything went well today at the appointment. jonathan's heart sounded good and we were able to get a recording of it! he's been pretty active lately so i've been praying he's on the move to get into the head-down position. we talked with our OB about having a breech delivery and since i've already given birth before, she indicated it wouldn't be as big of a problem as it would if i was a first-time mom. there is still time for jonathan to turn, but in this case where there are developmental problems with the baby, it is very common for them to be in the breech position at birth. at this point, it sounds like it would pretty much be a miracle for him to turn around.

i have been feeling pretty good except for the occasional cramping here or there. i still have not had any swelling and i still haven't gained much weight (just one more pound in the last two weeks.) i guess one good thing about having too little amniotic fluid is that i can really feel jonathan's movements, both inside my belly and from the outside with my hand. i can tell exactly where his head is at all times and i can usually feel his arms, hands, and body when he's moving around. he also gets the hiccups quite frequently now, and my entire belly shakes along with them. this is one thing i found quite annoying when i was pregnant with kate, where now i desperately soak up every movement jonathan makes.

we are starting to make preparations for our time at the hospital now. yesterday i spent the morning packing a suitcase, washing jonathan's blankets and getting his little outfits ready. i have all sorts of things packed to create memories like plaster, paint, etc. thanks to string of pearls. next week i will be meeting with the birth center's social worker, who will be a liaison between us and the nurses, and from what i understand, will help us with whatever we need while we're there.

we talked briefly at our appointment today about setting an induction date around 37 weeks, if we make it that long. this would be around the first week of november. i really need to start praying more about this and i would love for you to pray about this for us too.

an induction would be ideal because then everything would be in place for us: our own doctor, well-prepared nurses and staff, a room ready for us. we live an hour from the hospital, so going into labor at home might cause some serious issues for us. (just imagine what we might have to explain to a police officer or EMT.)

however, i still struggle with the thought of setting a date because i really want this to happen on God's timing. i don't want to think for a single moment, "what if...?" or struggle with feelings of guilt or regret. thankfully, we know that God already knows how this is going to turn out. my prayer is that we can look back afterwards and know that it happened the way it was supposed to. that even the perceived "glitches" in our plan would turn out to be blessings.

i do realize also, after talking with several experienced doctors, that a lot of times, these things just work themselves out to where an induction is actually better for the health of the baby and/or mother. this is what i am hoping for. i try not to worry too much about these details because 1) i have no control over them and 2) if i have learned anything during this journey, it should be that the Lord will go before us. can you tell i'm trying to convince myself of this??

just for fun...29 weeks with kate and then 29 weeks with jonathan. there is quite a bit of difference in belly size (may be hard to tell in jonathan's picture.) jonathan's due date is exactly what kate's due date was two years ago (november 30.)