Dean Nevitt Look-alike Meter

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Water Baby

As you can see, Dean loves the bath! It's our fool proof way to get him to stop crying.

Push Ups

Grant wanted to show off his skillz!

Cute Pictures!!

Well, Dean is a week old today!!! He's doing really well and we're starting to get used to being a family of four! Here are some cute pics from the week!

Introducing....

Dean Matthew!!!

We got to the hospital to be induced yesterday at 4am and he was born at 10:03am. He weighed 7 pounds even and was 19.5 inches long. He's just beautiful. His big brother was soooo excited to meet him. We'll post the video of that later.

and here we go!!!!

Well, I just got back from my doctor's appointment and there's been lots of change since last week. I had an ultrasound today and Dean's estimated to weigh 6 pounds 7 ounces. My doctor is starting to get concerned because his belly is measuring about 3-4 weeks behind (which could just mean he's a little baby). My amniotic fluid dropped and my placenta looks aged, so they're concerned that my placenta is not doing everything it should be. Based on that, he said he was going to induce me on Monday.

Then he checked and I'm 3-4 cm dialated and 100% effaced. I'm also having contractions, but just nothing regular. He said he really doesn't expect me to still be pregnant on Monday. I've noticed a lot more contractions today than usual and I definitely feel different, so hopefully that means that Dean will be here soon! Monday at the latest though!

Or Not....

I had another doctor's appointment today and there's not been much change in the past two weeks. Here, we've been thinking this entire time that Dean would be born early, at least in August, and it's not looking like he's coming anytime soon. Apparently, he's just fine where he is. I have another appointment and ultrasound next Tuesday to see how much he weighs.

Not much change

I had another appointment today, and there's not been much change since last week. The good news is that I had another ultrasound today and Dean is estimated to weigh 5lb 10oz. That's a gain of 11 ounces in two weeks. They were very happy with that growth.

Getting ready....

I had a doctor's appointment today and I'm starting to dialate and efface, so Dean's getting ready to make his debut!

Now, I just have to get the bathroom finished and we'll be good to go!

35 Weeks!!!

I have officially made it farther than I did with Grant! That's good news.

I had a doctor's appointment today and everything was looking fine. My cervix has shortened, but that's not uncommon at this stage and they're not very concerned. They estimated that Dean weighs 4lb 15oz which is 14oz growth from two weeks ago. That is also really good news because they were slightly concerned that his belly is measuring small. Apparently I just don't grow big babies. They'll do another ultrasound on August 19th if I'm still pregnant and we'll see how big he is then.

I officially start weekly appointments next week!

Before Pictures

In typical Matthew and Christine fashion, we decided that preparing for Dean's arrival was not enough for us to be concerned about. We decided to remodel our bathroom less than 6 weeks before Dean's due date. We have been thinking about it for a long time, but kept putting it off. The reason we decided we needed to remodel the bathroom is that, since our house was built in the 1950s and people didn't take as many showers, we have a window in our shower. The people who lived here before us did not use our room as the master, so it wasn't an issue for them. But after three years of showers, the window has begun to rot and cause problems. So, we finally decided to go ahead and remodel it so we can enjoy some of the benefit of it. We hired some great contractors and they started the demolition yesterday.

Here's what it looked like before:

The problematic window:

They are finishing the removal of the lovely tile today and should have the tub installed today too. The tile guys are coming tomorrow to lay the tile floor. I'll take more pictures tonight.

33 Week Appointment

My appointment today was not with my usual doctor, since he decided to go on vacation! Despite the fact that I did not like the doctor I had today at all, everything was fine. My cervix wasn't changing much, Dean weighed in at 4lb 1oz and my fluid level was ok. It was about 1/3 less than it was at the hospital, but it could have just been the position that Dean was in. I have another ultrasound next appointment to check again.

Little Scare

We had a little scare this weekend. I woke up 5:30 Saturday morning and I thought my water had broken. Given our history, we didn't want to take any chances. We packed Grant up and headed to the hospital. They admitted me to L&D for testing and observation. They hooked me up to the monitors and I was having quite a few contractions. They gave me medication to stop the contractions. I had an ultrasound which showed that I still had enough fluid. According to the ultrasound, Dean weighs 3lb 12 ounces, which is great news.

I was admitted for overnight observation just given our history. In the morning, they repeated the ultrasound and I had the same amount of fluid, which was good news. We got to see the perinatologist that we really like and he felt pretty confident based on my cervical measurements and amniotic fluid measurements that my water had not broken. So, that was good news to us. We were not quite ready for a July baby!

31 Week Appointment

I had another appointment today, at 31 weeks. Dean was measuring 3lb 3 ounces and everything else seemed to be holding strong. I got the first of two steroid shots today and I will get the second one tomorrow on the off chance that Dean decides he wants to arrive early.

29 weeks and counting

My 29 week appointment went really well. Dean is measuring 2 pounds 13 ounces and my cervix is holding strong. The fFN test was negative again, which is great news. Other than that, nothing new to report.

Weekend Project

Daddy and Papa worked for 9 hours this weekend (Happy Father's Day!) to put together a swing set for Grant. He loves it and he has been trying to push through being sick just so he can play.

Status Quo

My 27 week appointment was today and I am happy to report we are maintaining the status quo. My cervix has not changed much since two weeks ago and the fFN test came back negative! I have been having some contractions the past week, but my doctor is only really concerned about them if they start having affects on my cervix, which they haven't so far.

Dean is weighing in at 2 pounds, 3 ounces! Grow baby grow! No new pictures this week as Dean was in a very unusual position, hiding as much as he could.

Another good two weeks.....

I had my 25 week appointment today. Everything went really well at my appointment. My cervix was measuring longer than two weeks ago, which is very good news. The fFN test came back negative again, so we're good to go for two more weeks. Dean is measuring really well. He weighed 1lb 11oz and was as cute as can be. The u/s tech and I have become "friends" and every time I come now, she does the 4D scan on me too. I definitely won't complain about that. Here's my latest pictures of Dean.

Counting...

Grant has learned to count to 10, and he loves doing it.

Basketball

Grant's getting ready to play for Jesuit....

Wow.... that was fast!

My doctor's office just called with the results of the fFN test..... and it's NEGATIVE!!!!

That's great news. That means no PTL and 99.2% chance of not going into labor in the next 14 days. I know that doesn't seem like much of a reassurance being so early, but these next few weeks are critical for development, so every day is precious.

So, we're off to Dallas this weekend and looking forward to seeing all our family.

23 Week Appointment....

Well, I had my ultrasound first today. My cervix was measuring a little shorter, but there was no beaking (opening), so they're not too concerned. Dean looked great and is measuring really well (1 lb 2 oz). My doctor was out of town this week, so I saw a different doctor in the practice. He's very nice, but he's not nearly as invested as my doctor is.

This was the first week of getting the fetal fibronectin tests (fFN). I will be getting these tests every 2 weeks until 36 weeks. I should get the results by tomorrow morning at the latest. Here's some info on the test.

WHAT THE fFN TEST IS:
Fetal fibronectin (also known as fFN) is a “glue-like” protein that bonds your developing baby to your uterus. Fetal fibronectin is a special protein that literally holds your baby in place in the womb. After the 35th week of pregnancy, it begins to break down naturally, and is detectable. If your body is getting ready to give birth prematurely, fetal fibronectin may be detected before week 35. From weeks 22 to 35 in your pregnancy, there should be very little fetal fibronectin detectable.

WHAT THE RESULTS MEAN:
A small percentage of women who get the test will get a positive result, indicating that your body is "leaking" fetal fibronectin. This means that there is an increased chance that your baby could arrive early, and signals to you and your doctor that you may need extra attention. It is important to note that not everyone with a positive test result delivers early.

A negative test result, on the other hand, can give you great "peace of mind". 99.2% of women with symptoms of preterm birth who have a negative fetal fibronectin test result will not deliver their baby within the next 14 days.

Daddy's Little Helper

After watching Daddy mow the lawn from mommy's lap, Grant finally decided to get out there and mow the lawn himself.... only after Daddy turned the big mower off.

21 Week Appointment

We had out 21 week appointment today. Everything looks just about the same as two weeks ago. My cervix was a little shorter, but nothing to concern my doctor. He wants me to keep doing what I'm doing, so that's what I'm trying to do. I haven't gotten any really good pictures of Dean lately. Hoepfully there will be a good one next time.

According to my doctor, the next three weeks, until 24 weeks, are the critical weeks for cervical issues. Most issues present at this time. He says this is when most women are admitted to the hospital for cervical issues. Hopefully, that won't be us. That's all for now. Thanks for checking in on us!

Kohls Children's Museum in Chicago

We went to Chicago last week and while we were there, we took Grant to the children's museum. One of the exhibits they had was a grocery store. Grant LOVED this. Here are some videos.

19 Week Appointment

Today was my appointment with my regular OB for my 19 week visit. I had an ultrasound first, which went very well. My cervix was measuring 3.4 cm at the perinatologist last monday, and today, it was measuring 3.3 cm. That was great news since two weeks ago it measured 2.6 cm at my doctor's office.

While everything is going well for Dean and I, my doctor seemed more concerned today than usually. I found out why, when he told me that the clinic has 7 women in the hospital on bedrest for short cervices, and they're there for the duration. He was concerned by that number and would like to do everything possible to avoid that for me. He said they had just sent one woman home who was in the hospital for 12 weeks! Ugh!

So, for now, there's no cause for concern for Dean and I. Dean is a very active little man, even more so than Grant. He likes to kick me all day every day. It's fine with me becuase I LOVE knowing he's ok in there. He's measuring ahead of schedule, which is great and he weighed in today at 10oz.

Me, Normal???

I honestly never thought I'd ever have a doctor tell me my pregnancy was normal!!!!!!

Because of my appointment last Thursday, my doctor sent me to see the perinatologist. At our appointment, they did a very in depth ultrasound looking at Dean and making sure all his measurements were right on. It was so cool to see how much they can see at this stage. At one point, the u/s tech looked down his spinal column to make sure there weren't any bulges, and it was so cool, becuase you really could see the spinal column. Dean is measuring perfectly and he was not cooperating when she tried to get pictures of his heart. She got most of what she needed but he was transverse (horizontal across my uterus) and belly down. She tried desperately to get him to flip to be back down, but he wasn't having it.

After the ultrasound, we met with the peri. He said that everything we were doing sounded great to him. He was very pleased with some of the preventative measures my doctor was doing, and he actually said that my cervix was NORMAL!!!! I've never heard that before, but I guess normal to a high risk OB is different than normal to a regular OB.

So, as of right now, we're back to appointments every two weeks with my regular OB. Yippee!!!

Appointment Update

Today was my 17 week appointment. They started with the ultrasound and the baby is perfect. He was so cute! He had his feet tucked up under his bottom, just like Grant always did. He is measuring right on schedule and is so adorable.

Now for the not so good news. Well, we knew last week was too good to be true. My cervix was measuring 4.1 cm last week which is great for me. With Grant it was always 2.3cm. Well, today it measured 2.6 cm. That is a pretty concerning changed in the past two weeks. I have an appointment to see a perinatologist on Monday, but until then, I'm pretty much on bedrest.

I am also due to start the 17-OHP progesterone shots this week. As soon as my doctor's office get's it precertified, I have to get the shots every week until delivery. I'm not really looking forward to that, but I'll obviously do whatever I have to do for our baby!

One bit of good news - the previa has resolved itself, so there's no concern about this anymore.

That's all for now. I'll update more on Monday.

15 Week Appointment

I had a great appointment today. The baby was measuring perfectly and is healthy. All the measurements that she took today were very good for both Mom and baby! My body is doing exactly what it should be doing at this point. The doctor did note a bit of previa on the ultrasound, but said that it is very common at early scans and should resolve on its own. So, for two more weeks, we are good.




And of course, the ultrasound tech gave us a beautiful picture of the "goods."

Yup.... it's a boy! We are very excited that Grant's going to get a little brother to play with and torture!!!

13w Appointment

I had another doctor's appointment and ultrasound on March 6. Baby was measuring almost an entire week ahead of schedule. Nothing of concern has changed since my 8 week appointment, which was a relief to hear. The ultrasound tech said it was still early, but that she thought it might be a boy. We should be able to find out for sure at our 15 week appt on March 19.

8w Appointment

I had my 8 week 2 day appointment with my doctor on 2/7/08. I got an ultrasound, as I will be getting one every appointment this pregnancy. Everything was measuring exactly as it should be.

Here are the pictures from this ultrasound.

Picasa Web Albums

We frequently update our web album with new Grant pictures, so for your reference, the address is picasaweb.google.com/cnevitt.

Welcome

Welcome to our new blog. I think this will be a lot easier to keep up with and keep current. I'll be posting some videos soon. Please check back...