New Pictures!!!

Well, these pretty much speak for themselves... knew everyone would want to see them!

A profile shot: that's her arm across the top, she had her hand on her forehead. Then you can see the nose and mouth and little chin. So cute! :)

Chubby cheeks, anyone?
Look, Yaya... she's already trying to do fish lips! :)

Apparently, Miss Elena already has lots of hair. All that stringy stuff that looks like hair, well, it's hair! That's the back of her head it's coming off there (not that you can really tell, but in case you were wondering). The technician said it's common for babies to have lots of hair when their mom has gestational diabetes, though she didn't know why.

Anyway... I had my doctor's appointment yesterday, obviously. It went pretty well. They will do an ultrasound on me every week now ($$$) because of the "sugars." So I'll be seeing (and hopefully getting) lots of pictures between now and September! This ultrasound was initially scheduled because my placenta was so close to my cervix, but they turned it into a "bio/physical profile," whatever that means. I think it just means an ultrasound with a non-stress test. In the ultrasound they look for 3 good movements, check the amount of fluid, and want to see her practice breathing for 30 seconds straight. The good news is, all of those things looked good yesterday, which is awesome because the breathing is especially hard to find, even more so before 32 weeks. Then I had to do a non-stress test, which was basically me sitting in a big recliner with my feet up while they monitored my stomach for contractions and baby's heartbeat. Everything looked great with that, too. It was so funny, though, because she apparently has her mother's affinity for napping! They had to buzz her during the ultrasound and the non-stress test because she wasn't moving enough! During the ultrasound she was laying with her head down again and the lady couldn't see my cervix. So she took this weird looking instrument that vibrates and makes a noise and stuck it on my stomach. Man, Elena went nutso, it was so funny watching on the screen. She went from laying there still to all apendages flailing in nothing flat. They did it again during the non-stress test, and I couldn't see her move, but I sure could feel it! The doctor said my non-stress test looked "perfect," no contractions for me and Elena's heartbeat was good. Apparently she weighs about 4 pounds now, which puts her in the 80th percentile.

As for the original reason for the visit, the not so good news is that my placenta has not moved, so it's still really close to my cervix. They're just going to keep watching it, though. I guess as long as it doesn't actually cover my cervix it's ok, but if it does then it could cause bleeding, and I'd have to have a c-section. Which I REALLY don't want to do. I kind of just want to experience the whole giving birth thing, plus, I don't relish the idea of being cut nearly in half! But, if that's how it is, that's how it is. They won't check on the placenta for another month, which is nice because, since Miss Elena likes to hang upside down, they have to do a vaginal ultrasound to check that, and those are no fun. So for now I'm going to enjoy all the new pictures, and get very familiar with Dr. Grant's office!

Everything is going pretty well with the diabetes, it's not a huge adjustment. I just am watching what I eat, and my blood sugar so far has been fine. It's just about making better decisions about what I eat- instead of doritos with my sandwich, I had carrots today (not as good), and instead of a Dr. Pepper, I had milk. All in all, the changes are probably better for me and Elena in the long run anyway! Though I am getting tired of pricking my fingers. You can just see lots of little dots where I've been doing it for the last couple of days. My actual appointment with the nutritionist isn't until Friday, so we'll see then if I'm actually doing a good job with the diet and such. Here's hoping she doesn't take away everything I like to eat! :)