Pics from the Past Month

Kristin Zandstra came to visit with Mica and baby Meghan. Meghan and Els were born extactly 4 weeks apart.

A quick family pic in front of the fireplace for Max's preschool. Max standing in front of his playhouse after this winter's first snow. Max being silly or maybe this is what happens when you live the first 4 years of your life in Amsterdam!

Cheeks

Elisabeth Ruth

Per the request of many, here are some pics of Els. The 2 with her in the light pink were taken within the first week of her being born. The one of her in the hot pink was taken last week. As you can see, she has rightfully earned her nickname of "fatty". The cheeks are plentiful and seem to have Buikema written all over them. You would think a baby this well fed would be sleeping through the night...not a chance.

Any Day Now...

As of yesterday, the cerclage is out. I can't begin to say what a relief it is not to have to worry any longer about tearing through it. It was not quite the easy procedure I had hoped. My doc couldn't do it (after trying by herself for 5 minutes which doesn't seem long but felt like an hour due to pain and pressure) so she said we may have to go to the hospital for an epidural. I looked at her and said "No I'm fine just keep trying." At this point she pushed the emergency call button. She warned that a lot of people would come storming in the room but don't worry, she just needed another doc to try to help her. Well, with my luck, no one came in for at least 2-3 minutes. Finally the other doc came in and after another 5 minutes of working together they got it out. Then I started contracting. So they had me hang out a while and walk around. However, all is fine. The contractions stopped and I am STILL pregnant.

On Sunday, I will be 37 weeks...full term. I am now allowed, after 6 months of being limited in my activity, to do whatever I want. All I want is to have the baby. We'll see, the doc said it could be any day now.

By the way, I should mention that Bas was along for the appointment yesterday. He stood by my side and held my hand which was great...until I started to feel like it was raining. I look up and my 7 foot giant of a husband is sweating so badly it is dripping all over me. I did ask him "What is the matter with YOU?" He replied that he was fine. After the procedure the doc offered him an extra BEDSHEET to dry off. He excused himself and went to the bathroom instead. My doc looked at me and said "Should he be in the delivery room?"

Closer and Closer

Almost 36 weeks now. Amazing to me as I never thought I would carry a baby this long. I had a"mini" ultrasound on Wednesday. The baby's head is quite low and she is practicing her breathing which the doc said is one of the final things to develop. So that means this baby is quite far along. I like to think this means that if the baby is born now she wouldn't need any breathing assistance. Anybody out there know if I am right on this?

I will go back next week Wednesday and my doc will remove the cerclage. While I am not looking forward to any pain that may occur with this procedure, I WANT that cerclage out so that I can try to regain some level of activity without worrying about pulling through the stitch. There is a possibility that removing the stitch will start things up...we'll see!

Good for Now...Bad for Later

Well, I made it to 32 weeks! No further dilation so that is also good. I had a 32 week ultrasound... estimated weight... 5 POUNDS! Needless to say this is great that the baby is so big if she is born early. However, by week 36 or so, not so much.

This is definitely another one of Bastiaan's babies. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. When Max was born all the docs said the he was huge for a 24 weeker, weighing in at 2 full pounds. In the back of my mind I have been worried about how big this baby would get if I carried it full term. But obviously, the main concern has been keeping her in so I haven't dwelled her being too big...until now.

Status Quo

I have made it to 30 weeks! I saw my doc yesterday and all is the same, so no further dilation. And since I have made it to 30 weeks and my pelvic muscles are starting to bear some of the weight of the baby, I can now have 2 hours a day of "minimal activity". This means I can go out to eat or to a movie and sit in a chair for 2 hours as long as someone drops me off and picks me up at the door. I am so thrilled by this as over the last week I have felt myself going a bit crazy. I long to do such simple silly things like go into a store, any store. It has been 3 months since I have done even this. I am sick of books and magazines and TV and DVDs. I just want to be out!

So this added activity definitely helps. Tonight Bas, Max and I will go out for dinner to celebrate Bastiaan's 36th birthday which is today.

Next baby target...32 weeks!