Updates

Today we had our weekly doctor's appointment!
The appointment went well overall.

We got the ultrasound results from yesterday and the results are...he looks great!

My doctor wanted to "check" me today. Last Thursday we had our appointment and I was not dilated at all and my belly measured at 33 cm. Today, my cervix is all thinned out and I am 2cm dilated! She said, "I can go at anytime!" My belly measured at 32 cm. He has also drooped a lot since the last appointment.

So...any day now..! Exciting!!!

Agenda for the rest of this week:

• 9th NST, Thursday, October 1st, at 11:00 a.m.

Please continue to pray that Mrs. Emily Houston and Chrystal Pennington have their babies soon and for my sinuses to clear up, my doctor should be prescribing me some medicine! Thank you all for your continued prayers!

8th NST and Ultrasound

Today we had our 8th NST (non-stress test), the test went well! My mother and two younger brothers came with me. My contractions got up to 200+ (which is a "strong" contraction)-contractions are still bearable, so no need to worry! My doctor was a little concerned because during some of the "intense" contractions his heartbeat drooped a little instead of rising-which could be a sign of stress. So, our doctor ordered us another ultrasound to check the "pockets of fluid" around the baby. Tomorrow is our regular weekly checkup and I will know more than. I am sure everything is okay. We will see tomorrow.

One of my closest friends, we have known each other since kindergarten. She came with me to the ultrasound. She laughed when she found out I had another ultrasound because she remembers reading a previous post where I stated the following: "I hope the next time I "see" our little son is in person and not on another ultrasound!! =) "

The ultrasound tech who was doing the ultrasound did not point the screen so I could see, but my friend stood behind her and saw her "nephew" on the screen, and almost had tears in her eyes of excitement and joy! Even though I did not see him during the ultrasound, the technician did give me a little print out of a "profile" picture of him. One thing I NEVER get sick of is seeing his precious face...even though this is only a picture...I was still so glad to see him.!

Agenda for the rest of this week:

1. Regular weekly doctor's appointment, Tuesday, September 29th, at 1:45 p.m.
2. 9th NST, Thursday, October 1st, at 11:00 a.m.

Please continue to pray that Mrs. Emily Houston has her baby soon and for my sinuses to clear up (Tylenol Sinus night and day did not work and Sudafed did not work either)! Thank you all for your continued prayers!

7th NST

The 7th NST lasted about 45 minutes. The test went great!! He was moving around in there...the nurse said, "He is a wiggle worm today!" I said, "He is ALWAYS a wiggle worm like this, but for some reason when I get in this chair...he stops moving...it is like he KNOWS he is being monitored!!"

Contractions have been getting stronger and closer together, but still no need to rush into the hospital. Our Aunt Janinne wanted me to time them on Friday, and they were about 5 to 10 min for over 2 hours...but still bearable, and I just did not "feel" that it was "ready" or "time to go".

I called my doctor's clinic to just ask questions, (Aunt Janinne told me to), and the nurse said, "When it gets unbearable and you can not talk through them, you better come in!" The thing is, I just keep breathing and taking one thing at a time, because I do not want to say this is UNBEARABLE...if this is really ONLY the beginning!!! SOooOOooOOoo...I am praying my water breaks so that way I know it is time...LOL. I know, I know...I will know when "it is time"---just trying to be a little funny.

Please pray for me, for the last few days my Sinuses have been "acting up" and my medicine that worked great last time...is NOT working this time! Most people who see me...ask If I am doing all right, I am doing GREAT...I just wish I could breath and think without a headache!

Okay...Agenda for this week:

1. 8th NST, Monday, September 28th, at 9:00 a.m.
2. Regular weekly doctor's appointment, Tuesday, September 29th, at 1:45 p.m.
3. 9th NST, Thursday, October 1st, at 11:00 a.m.

Updates

Today we had our regular weekly check up!

My doctor gave us our "results" from our ultrasound we had last Friday.
Obadiah is still small--BUT he is growing and he has not stooped below the 10% for growth. So, even though he is "small" he IS growing!! Which means-we will NOT be induced at 37 weeks (which is this Saturday)! He is still in between the 15-17% on growth. BUT she is happy with the growth over the past few weeks, even though he is still behind. Since, he is still behind, we will be continuing to do NSTs (non-stress tests) twice a week.

My blood pressure is great, baby's heartbeat is great, and we are at about 33cm from the pubic bone to top of uterus-which is about a month behind. But she says I am extremely petite compared to an "average" pregnant lady. And she said just in the past few weeks she has noticed a difference in growth of the belly. More out then up.

Since he is "small" she does not advice that we keep him past his due date. Since, I have been having "contractions" (bearable-not painful) she is hoping my body will "go" before the due date (which I have a feeling it will)!

Since, I have been having "contractions" she "checked" me. She was VERY surprised at how extremely LOW Obadiah's head was. She had to move around his head to check the cervix. She said I am 50%-which is normal for how far along I am. The outside has "thinned" away but on the inside it is still "normal". So we will be watching that too. My doctor said the really nice thing about seeing me 3 times a week is that she can also monitor all of that very easily!

So, looks like all is good right now. He is small, but still growing! We are getting extremely excited about Obadiah's upcoming arrival---very very very soon!!

Please pray for Emily Houston to have her baby soon...! She is measuring 2 weeks ahead of her due date (the opposite problem as us)! I am going to feel SO bad if we have our baby before her. I know both our husbands are wanting to go to Men's Retreat...so the sooner the better =)

Thank you all for your continued prayers-we do appreciate it!!

Another call

We recieved another call from our doctor's nurse.
We have to continue going in for NSTs (non-stress tests) up until he is born. He is still "smaller", so that is why we have to continuing going in for NSTs.
At week 34 the placenta reaches it's "age" limit and could stop giving nutrients to baby. For best safety of baby, we need to continue the NSTs and monitoring.

I asked about the ultrasound we had last Friday, my nurse said, "He looks great!"
But my doctor has not looked at it yet.

He is growing...I did the math and in about 2 1/2 weeks he gained about 1 lb and 11 oz. We are both happy that he is over 5 lbs!! We are both thinking he is "smaller" because I am small, and really, there is not a lot of room for growth!

As the time gets closer, we are getting more excited! I hope the next time I "see" our little son is in person and not on another ultrasound!! =)

The one positive thing about having so many appointments is my days and weeks go by so much faster...soon...very soon we will meet our baby boy!

This weeks NSTs/Appts:

• 6th NST on Wednesday, September 23, at 2:00 p.m.
• Our weekly doctor's appointment on Thursday, September 24, at 1:00 p.m.
• 7th NST on Friday, September 25, at 11:00 p.m.

Thank you all for your continued prayers for the safety of our little boy!! We appreciate it!!

September 18 Ultrasound and more

Yesterday:

• We have our 5th NST at 9:00 a.m.
• Our Stork Express (pre-registration for labor/delivery) at 11:00 a.m.
• Our Ultrasound at 1:00 p.m. in Port Orchard at AMI to measure how big Obadiah has grown in the past 2 1/2 weeks!

Our 5th NST lasted about an hour, my doctor and nurse was actually "out of the office" today, so another nurse and doctor was looking at the NST. My contractions are getting "stronger", they got up to 120+, not painful though. I asked the nurse who was performing my test what exactly that meant, and she said, "To be honest with you, I have No Idea, I just strap the monitors to you and take the results to the doctor every 15-20 minutes!" Even a second nurse came into the room during our test and said, "Wow, you are having contractions!" So, I will have to ask my doctor on Monday or sometime next week when I see her. Like I said, it did not hurt or was not painful. The doctor who was checking our test, let us "go", so I am assuming we passed!

We were able to get into our Stork Express, which is pre-registration for labor/delivery a little early =) we had to sign many many many different papers AND we got a little tour of the Labor and Delivery area! Quick and Painless =)

Here are a few ultrasound pictures of our little Obadiah! We have gotten SO many ultrasound pictures, I just want to see our little boy IN PERSON...not pictures =) Patience Patience

1) The first picture below is a "profile" picture. His hand his by his face. When Christopher saw this picture he said, "He is picking his nose like his mama!" LOL...nice I know!

2) The second picture below is a picture of his face. You can see his eyes, nose, mouth, and checks!

3) The third picture is the measurements!

These four ultrasound measurements are the ones used most frequently to estimate fetal weight:

• HC: Head circumference.
• BPD: Biparietal diameter, or the distance between the sides of the fetus's head.
• AC: Abdominal circumference, the most important measurement because it most accurately reflects fetal size.
• FL: Femur length, a measurement of the upper thighbone, the longest bone in the body.

The ultrasound tech gave us an "estimated" weight of 5 pounds and 4 ounces!! About 2 1/2 weeks ago, he weighed 3 pounds and 9 ounces!! We are both excited that he is over 5 pounds now! He is growing!! Praise the Lord!! We will know more next week after my doctor gets these results and looks at them to see if we still need to have more NSTs and Ultrasounds or not. We would have probably heard something today, but, like I said, our doctor and nurse was out of the office!! I was a little concerned about the percentile on the "results" page because it was a little over 5%...BUT I am not worried or do not want to "assume" the worse until AFTER we hear from our doctor!

Thank you for your continued prayers, and we will continue to update you all!!

4th NST & More

We had our 4th NST today at 8:00 a.m...we were done with the test less then an hour! I was told that he did awesome!

I talked to my doctor's nurse about the major swelling, she said everything that I am going through and have is normal towards the end of the pregnancy. I need to keep my feet "above my head", drink lots of water, and TAKE IT EASY. The baby is just most likely sitting on a nerve that is making my feet/legs and now hands swell up (I think I look like the people from the movie WALL-E!

I have NO appointments tomorrow (Thursday), I plan on catching up on some very needed lost sleep (I know...I get NO sympathy from others who have children and are expecting)! These past two weeks, and this week alone has been SO draining...I still keep thinking I am on Friday...and it is only Wednesday!

There is a few things coming up this Friday:

1. Our 5th (I think) NST at 9:00 a.m.
2. Our Stork Express (pre-registration for labor/delivery) at 11:00 a.m.
3. Our Ultrasound at 1:00 p.m. in Port Orchard at AMI to measure how big Obadiah has grown in the past 2 1/2 weeks! (please be in continued prayer about that-we appreciate it greatly)

September 15

WHAT A DAY...!!!
I got up at 3:30 a.m. to ride with Christopher to work so my mom can pick me up and take me to her house when she drops my dad off for work!! My mother, Issa, and I left her house at about 10:45 a.m. to head to group health for our 11:15 a.m. ultrasound
...when I arrived there I said, "I have an ultrasound at 11:15 a.m."
The receptionist said, "You must be Jeanne (Gene-e) Broxton!"
I said, "I am Jeanne' (Jen-ay) Broxton!" {and of course smiled =) }
The receptionist said, "We have been trying to get a hold of you for the past week and a half!"
I said, "I have not gotton any phone calls from group health!"
To make a "long story short" they were trying to contact me by my parent's old phone number from over 3 years ago..how they got that number, I HAVE NO IDEA!! They were trying to get a hold of me because the ultrasound tech who was going to do my ultrasound was "out of the office" today. The Receptionist was so sweet though, he went out of his way to find me a place who would do an ultrasound for me today because I would not be able to do my other appointments until I had this ultrasound!
We got scheduled for an ultrasound at Olympic Radiology at 1:30 p.m. today...which pushed my doctor's appointment and NST at 1:00pm back AFTER the ultrasound! We arrived at Olympic Radiology close to 45 minutes early (because we had nothing better to do), hoping that we would be able to get in early, but we instead got in late...at 2:00 p.m.! The ultrasound tech said she was going to be looking at the placenta to see how the blood and oxygen flow was in the placenta. I said, "I am pretty sure we also need to do measurements on the baby, if you need to, call my doctor!" (I also told this to the people at group health today!) We started the ultrasound...and the tech was checking my kidneys (raise of eyebrows). At the end of the ultrasound she walked out confirm with the doctor in her office, if there was anything else that needed to be done, she same back in the room and said, "You are good to go!"
We headed over to my doctor for my NST and Doctor's Appointment...I had my "regular" doctor's appointment...I weighed 116-ish pounds...still gaining weight =) heartbeat, blood pressure was GrEaT! I am still measuring "small, extremely small being at 35 weeks. About the ultrasound, I have to go to another one, will probably know the day tomorrow for MEASUREMENTS (like what I, my mother, my doctor, and nurse tried to explain and tell group health AND Olympic radiology!)

So, I have an NST tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. and a class at 10:00 a.m. I will probably have an ultrasound date tomorrow!

So..being up since 3:30 a.m. ALL we got accomplished was my regular doctor's appointment...and an extremely swollen feet/legs!

3rd NST Results

Today we had our 3rd NST test, I was a bit worried because Obadiah was not moving as much as what he normally does during the test, he was probably sleeping. BUT, we got in on time and was done with the test on time...which means...He looks GREAT!!

Please be in prayer for us next Tuesday, September 15th, is going to be an absolutely busy, crazy day.!!

1. We have an ultrasound at 11:15 a.m. to check Obadiah overall and to see how much he has grown in the past two weeks.
2. We have a doctors appointment at 12:45 p.m.
3. We have our 4th NST test at 1:00 p.m.

Thank you again, family and friends, for your continued prayers!

Another call from our doctor!

Many of you know that yesterday we had our 2nd NST (non-stress test. This test lasted OVER an hour and on top of that we had to go down for an ultrasound- Biophysical Profile (BPP) (which evaluates fetal breathing movements, fetal body movement, fetal tone, and amount of amniotic fluid).

My doctor's nurse called me back and Obadiah PASSED THE ULTRASOUND TEST!!! She said, "The ultrasound score was PERFECT and he is still continuing to look healthy!!"

WHAT A BIG RELEIF..!!! Praise God, our baby boy is doing great!!!
Thank you for your continued prayers!!

Our 3rd NST (non-stress test) is this friday, September 11, at 9:00 a.m.!!

Our 2nd NST "results"

Today was a very LONG day!!! We had our 2nd NST (non-stress test) at 9:00 a.m.! An appointment that was supposed to last less then an hour, ended up lasting over 2 hours! The contractions and Obadiah's heart rate was about 20 higher then the test we did on Friday, and he was moving a lot too. But, we had to go down for an ultrasound for a "Biophysical Profile (BPP) (which evaluates fetal breathing movements, fetal body movement, fetal tone, and amount of amniotic fluid). We had to go have a Biophysical Profile done because he was not responding how he was supposed to. The ultrasound tech said she was NOT allowed to give out any information wither it was good or bad (that my doctor would have to give out results from the ultrasound)! After she checked how he was positioned and such, the ultrasound tech said that there were a few "tricks" he needed to perform within 30 minutes, well about 10-15 minutes later, we were done with the ultrasound! After the ultrasound, we went back up to my clinic to see if it was all right for us to go or if we had to stay for some more tests. My doctor's nurse said, "Since you live a few minutes away, you can go, and if we need you we will call you." I was completely fine because I just wanted to leave and get food, I was starving!! My doctor's nurse also had to wait for the "results" from the ultrasound! I have not heard anything, BUT, I was not expecting to hear from my doctor's clinic today, because normally it takes a few days for them to get back to me AND we also go in on Friday for our 3rd NST, and I will probably get more information because it has been a few days.

~~~SO results...?!?! None yet...that is all we know right now...just waiting!! I'll let you all know, when we know more information!! Thanks all!!

Below is the newest "profile" picture we have of our precious little boy!!!

2nd NST

We have our 2nd NST (non-stress test) tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

Results will be posted when we know!

We appreciate your continued prayers for us during this time!

Our first NST

Today we had our first NST (non-stress test) at 11:00am!

A nurse took us into a little room and it had a big brown leather lazy-boy chair that I had to sit in. THE CHAIR WAS SO SO SO COMFORTABLE!!

The nurse put two different straps around my belly:

1. To measure contractions
2. To measure Obadiah's heartbeat

• I also had to push a button whenever I felt Obadiah move

The nurse came in 3 different time, every 10-15 minutes, to check the paper that was printing out of the machine. I believe we were in there for at least 30 min, no more then 40 min. The last time she came in she told me we were all good to go..!! I asked her, "umm....sooo....what is going on?! Are we good or what does it look like?!" She answered, "Well, I would not allow you to leave if everything did not look "good" and about your baby, it looks like you have a healthy baby boy!

BUT, this is only the first test, and we will probably know more until after our two NST's this coming up week and after our ultrasound and doctor's appointment on the 18th (that is when we see our doctor)!

Thank you all for your continued prayers over the next few weeks! I will update as we recieve updates!

Below, Is a picture of us, at 33 weeks and 6 days!

A call from our doctor...

Today we received a phone call from our doctor...
From the ultrasound results we had done on Aug 31, Obadiah is 15%-20% behind in growth, compared to other babies who are born at Silverdale Harrison.

Starting this Friday, I have to go into my clinic twice a week for a NST (non-stress-test) to monitor Obadiah's growth and movement.

My doctor is taking these extra pre-cautions to see if Obadiah is small because I am small (which is very likely) or if he is small because the placenta is not working properly.

If he is not growing properly, and if I make it to 37 weeks, they will most likely take him early and help him grow, to avoid any other issues that may arise.

I am sure that everything is "okay", it is kind of stressful for me, because I am gaining weight like I should be (over 25 lbs now) but for some reason, baby Obadiah is not.

I am thankful for the wisdom that God gave to my doctor to decide to monitor and watch him.

We will be attending several doctor appointments (other then the normal ones) plus we have an ultrasound scheduled in about two weeks!

I know God is in control and even though this is "stressful" mainly because this is my first pregnancy and I have absolutely no idea about anything, I am trying to stay POSITIVE.

We greatly appreciate all your prayers!

~~~

Below, is the most recent Face shot of our little Obadiah!

Help a sister out?!?!

Hello Everybody!!

My friend Amy starts teaching fifth and sixth grade this Wednesday. In history they will be studying the "new world" including getting to know the fifty states! She has an idea for a bulletin board, she plans to put up a map of the United States and her goal is to get a post card from each of the fifty states. If anyone is able to, she would greatly appreciate receiving a post card from your state!

Also if you have family living out of state, it would be neat to receive a postcard from their state as well. This way she can collect as many postcards as possible! She would like to thank you in advance if you are able to help.

If you are able to help, Please send the post card to:

Miss Amarilis Ruiz

Stedfast Chrisitan Academy

5th-6th Grade

1041 Poquonnock Road

Groton, CT 06340

Thank you so much!!!