This has been a busy week for us! On Wednesday we met with a pediatrician (Dr. Madden) who lives near us and both of us really liked her! She was very straight forward and clearly outlined things to expect, visit schedules, good things to have on hand at home, etc. I really appreciated that since this is a whole new world for both of us! Both she and the pediatrician we met with about a month ago (Dr. Fusner) seem great. They have two different personalities and approaches, but we know Maddie will be in great hands with either one of them! Right now, we are leaning towards Dr. Madden. We decided though that we'd try to fit in one more pediatrician visit. After seeing how different the personalities are, we thought it may be best to just meet as many as we can. We are very lucky to live in this area and have so many great pediatricians around us. We found out that the DC area has the highest ratio of pediatricians in the US! So, we have our last appointment with another pediatrician (Dr. Kulp) on March 19th. It scares me a bit that the appointment is so close to our due date, but that was his only availabile time before our due date so we jumped on it. I'll be calling his office back every now and then to see if any other dates have opened up!
Last night we had our car seat bases installed and it was really informative - they showed us how to remove and re-install the bases on our own (should the need arise) and also had us work with a doll to practice putting someone in the car seat. Once we had the doll in, they showed us how tightly we need to pull the straps on her to make sure she is secure. And boy, do we have to pull those suckers tight! It's probably going to freak us out the first few times we do it, but we want her safe! I think this may be David's job for the first few weeks!! We are good to go on this front though, and it's been fun today seeing a little car seat base in the back seat of my car. I can't wait until we have something to put in that base!
This morning I had my 36 week check-up appointment and everything went well! My blood pressure was up a little bit, but they said that is normal at the end of a pregnancy. It wasn't too high, or in a worrisome range at all, so there's nothing to fret about there. Maddie's heartbeat was good and strong too, measuring in the 140s. I was hoping that there would be big changes in my body this week, but unfortunately things are moving slower than I had hoped! I know it's only been a week, but I was wanting to see big progress since I'm so anxious to meet this little one! Maddie is at a -2 station, which is the same as last week. I have effaced a little bit more and am now at 60% (vs. 50% last week). I haven't started dilating yet either, but I know we still have three more weeks to go. So here's to hoping that we'll see some more changes next week! Oh, and I only gained a half pound this past week, so I'm now just a little over 167 lbs. This is the first time that I've gained less than the average - unbelievable!
From here on out, we don't have too much going on other than my weekly check-ups. We worked to have most everything done by the end of February so that we can just relax and take things easy in March. My next check-up is a week from today, March 6th.
I can't believe that our little girl is due to arrive just three weeks from tomorrow! We are so excited!
Love you all!
Nile & David
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The 9 Month Marker!
Saturday marked the first day of my 9th month! Wahoo! I can't believe that we are in the final month of our pregnancy - time has gone by so fast! We've loved every minute (so far!) and are so thankful for having such a great pregnancy. Maddie has been so good to us already!
Here's a new belly picture that we took last night to mark the start of month nine.

It's so strange to think that we have only 20-some days to go until we get to meet our precious little girl! We are both feeling so excited to finally meet her and be able to hold her!
All our love,
Nile & David
Here's a new belly picture that we took last night to mark the start of month nine.

It's so strange to think that we have only 20-some days to go until we get to meet our precious little girl! We are both feeling so excited to finally meet her and be able to hold her!
All our love,
Nile & David
Thursday, February 19, 2009
35 Weeks...and Progressing!
I had my 35 week check-up today and it went great! My belly is measuring right on track, my blood pressure is good and I gained about 2 lbs, bringing my total weight up to 166.8 lbs I think. Maddie is doing wonderfully too - the doctor found her heartbeat right away and it was nice and strong, measuring in the high 140s.
I also had my first internal exam today to see how my body is progressing. I wasn't expecting anything at this point, but things are starting to happen! I haven't dilated any, but I am 50% effaced! That sounded like a lot to me, but she said that's really normal for this stage of the game. I guess there is a lot of work to do in these last few weeks! Maddie is starting to drop down too and the doctor said she's at a -2 station. She's not fully engaged in my pelvis yet, but she's moving that way! Wahoo!! This was a really fun visit being able to learn all these new things about what is happening with both Maddie and me.
We've been able to get a lot done around the house this last week too, which has been awesome. We have just two more loads of laundry to do and then I think everything will be washed and ready to go! We set-up her little swing last night, put the mobile on her crib and got the lightweight stroller all ready. This weekend David is going to put together the bigger stroller and we're going to get the car seat out and ready. We're definitely keeping busy getting all the little things together, but it's so much fun getting ready for her! It's so strange to think that she's due in just four more weeks!
This next week is going to be a big week for us too. On Wednesday, we are meeting with another pediatrician who was recommended to us. She works in a practice with 2 other doctors and I've heard great things about all of them. Their office is about a mile from our house, so its very convenient for us. On Thursday night we're going to have our car seat bases installed in the cars, so that we are ready to drive Maddie home whenever she arrives! Then on Friday morning I have my 36 week check-up appointment. It'll be interesting to see if my body has changed any more in the next week!
Thank you for all of your continued thoughts and prayers! We are all doing good and are so excited to meet our little one!
Love,
Nile & David
I also had my first internal exam today to see how my body is progressing. I wasn't expecting anything at this point, but things are starting to happen! I haven't dilated any, but I am 50% effaced! That sounded like a lot to me, but she said that's really normal for this stage of the game. I guess there is a lot of work to do in these last few weeks! Maddie is starting to drop down too and the doctor said she's at a -2 station. She's not fully engaged in my pelvis yet, but she's moving that way! Wahoo!! This was a really fun visit being able to learn all these new things about what is happening with both Maddie and me.
We've been able to get a lot done around the house this last week too, which has been awesome. We have just two more loads of laundry to do and then I think everything will be washed and ready to go! We set-up her little swing last night, put the mobile on her crib and got the lightweight stroller all ready. This weekend David is going to put together the bigger stroller and we're going to get the car seat out and ready. We're definitely keeping busy getting all the little things together, but it's so much fun getting ready for her! It's so strange to think that she's due in just four more weeks!
This next week is going to be a big week for us too. On Wednesday, we are meeting with another pediatrician who was recommended to us. She works in a practice with 2 other doctors and I've heard great things about all of them. Their office is about a mile from our house, so its very convenient for us. On Thursday night we're going to have our car seat bases installed in the cars, so that we are ready to drive Maddie home whenever she arrives! Then on Friday morning I have my 36 week check-up appointment. It'll be interesting to see if my body has changed any more in the next week!
Thank you for all of your continued thoughts and prayers! We are all doing good and are so excited to meet our little one!
Love,
Nile & David
Thursday, February 12, 2009
34 Weeks and Growing Big!
Today I had my 34 week check-up and Maddie and I are doing great! My belly measured right on track and my blood pressure was good too (no pre-eclampsia signs which is always a good thing!). I also gained 4 lbs in the last two weeks, bringing me up to 164 lbs (32 lb gain overall). It was more than I hoped for, but I know that over the last two weeks I haven't been able to eat as healthy as I had wanted, so hopefully next week's appointment won't be so much! The doctors weren't worried about it though and said to just try and keep things to a total weight gain of 40 lbs.
Maddie was doing great too! Her heartbeat sounded good and she's been moving all over the place! The doctor confirmed that she is head down and has her back along the right side of my belly, with her feet wrapping around to the left side. I can't wait to see this little one!
My next appointment is a week from today, February 19th. Starting with that appointment, I'll also be getting an internal exam each time I go. I'm sure they're not the most comfortable thing, but it'll be interesting to see how my body is changing to get ready for the delivery.
We're working to get a lot of things done over the next few weeks too, so that we can just relax in March and wait for Maddie's debut! We're picking up the final baby things we need from the stores this weekend and will be doing a ton of laundry to get it all ready for when we bring Maddie home.
Our maternity classes have been going really well too! We took an infant CPR/first aid course on the 1st and then a breastfeeding class on the 3rd. Both were very good and informative, and were taught by really nice nurses. I am hoping we never have to use what we learned in the CPR/first aid class, but I'm really glad we went! This past Tuesday (2/10) we went to the first part of our babycare basics class and we're going to finish that class up this Tuesday (2/17). This last week we learned how to do sponge baths, change a diaper and swaddle a baby. It's been a fun class so far and I'm anxious to learn more next week.
Can you believe that we're only about 5 weeks away from our due date?! We are getting so excited!
Lots of love,
Nile & David
Maddie was doing great too! Her heartbeat sounded good and she's been moving all over the place! The doctor confirmed that she is head down and has her back along the right side of my belly, with her feet wrapping around to the left side. I can't wait to see this little one!
My next appointment is a week from today, February 19th. Starting with that appointment, I'll also be getting an internal exam each time I go. I'm sure they're not the most comfortable thing, but it'll be interesting to see how my body is changing to get ready for the delivery.
We're working to get a lot of things done over the next few weeks too, so that we can just relax in March and wait for Maddie's debut! We're picking up the final baby things we need from the stores this weekend and will be doing a ton of laundry to get it all ready for when we bring Maddie home.
Our maternity classes have been going really well too! We took an infant CPR/first aid course on the 1st and then a breastfeeding class on the 3rd. Both were very good and informative, and were taught by really nice nurses. I am hoping we never have to use what we learned in the CPR/first aid class, but I'm really glad we went! This past Tuesday (2/10) we went to the first part of our babycare basics class and we're going to finish that class up this Tuesday (2/17). This last week we learned how to do sponge baths, change a diaper and swaddle a baby. It's been a fun class so far and I'm anxious to learn more next week.
Can you believe that we're only about 5 weeks away from our due date?! We are getting so excited!
Lots of love,
Nile & David
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