New Pictures Below

There are new baby bump pictures below.  Check them out!

Same Date...

So I talked to Austin, and he said that it was normal for the baby's measurements to be up to 3 weeks off in the 3rd trimester.  That does not mean her due date has changed, it just means that she is a bigger baby.  I guess it is still possible that she could decide to come early, but Austin says the due date is still April 22nd.  

When is she due?...

So I went to the doctor today and had good news.  I do not have gestational diabetes.  My blood sugar was 108 and it needed to be below 135 so that was good.  Also, I only gained 1 pound over the past two weeks.  This is good seeing as I had gained 10 pounds over the holidays!  I had another ultrasound today and had measurements of the baby taken.  The weird thing was that all of the measurements measured the baby at 30 weeks and I'm only supposed to be 28 weeks.  Not sure what this means.  I asked the ultrasound tech if that meant that the measurements were off and she said that she would think that except that ALL of the measurements measured 30 weeks, except for the abdomen which measured 29 weeks.  So does this mean that Abby will be earlier than expected or that she will just be a bigger baby?  The tech asked the doctor if she wanted to see me after the ultrasound and she said no, so I do not know the doctor's opinion on this matter.  I go back in three weeks so we shall see what happens.  The ultrasound said my due date would be April 8th.  I haven't had a chance to ask Austin what he thinks about this so I will update again once I talk to him.

Austin's Update (January)

So Jess is in her 26th week of pregnancy (that's almost 6 months).  I can finally feel Abby kicking pretty consistently.  Jess says she keeps kicking her bladder so I thought about getting her some diapers to wear, but then I thought again and figured that wouldn't be a good idea.  Abby appears to be a night person because she doesn't start kicking and punching until about 8pm.  I guess that might mean we are due for some restless nights.  

I just started my pediatrics rotation this month and am really enjoying the experience.  My rotation schedule has worked out pretty perfect as far as Abby is concerned.  I finished OBGYN in November and will finish Peds in early March.  I have already learned a lot about babies and what to look for when they're sick.  I'm sure it will still be a lot different with Abby because it will be OUR baby.  I'm pretty sure I can diagnose bronchiolitis with my eyes closed and a couple screaming kids in the room so we should be set for the winter months.  The only bad thing is that now I'm seeing all the bad stuff that can happen which will only fuel the paranoia when Abby is born.  

We are getting really excited about Abby's homecoming this spring.  I will finish my 3rd year clinicals in April.  After that my schedule should be much lighter which will allow me to spend much more time with Jess and Abby.  Jess and I are also thinking of doing an away rotation in Nashville or Chattanooga this summer.  Of course baby Abby would come with us which would allow everyone to see her much more often that month since we'll be closer.  OK, I guess that's about all for now.  I will try to update again before Abby arrives.  If not please forgive me, and if you don't I'll try not to lose any sleep at night.

Pictures of Austin and I during Christmas

After Christmas...

Hey all.  I have posted another baby bump picture below and should be taking another one tomorrow.  It's after Christmas now and we are back to the grind.  Christmas break was a lot of fun, but very exhausting.  We were all over the state of Tennessee.  Baby Abigail got some really cute things for Christmas such as clothes, a monogrammed blanket, a monogrammed bag, some slippers, and some snuggly toys.  Getting spoiled already!  :)  Thanks all for those wonderful gifts for her.  I'm sure she will love them!  We got back to Memphis on New Years Day and went the following weekend to register for Abby at Babies R Us.  It was so exhausting!  Austin and I were really excited and thought it would be so much fun, but by the end of it, we were both ready to get out of that store never to return!  The most exhausting part of it was not really knowing what we needed and/or not knowing what brand of each item that was the best.  For example, there was an entire wall of bottles.  We had to read the back of each package of bottles to see what each one was good for and even after that, we still had no clue as to what to get.  On top of that, I had really bad sciatic nerve pain that day (which is the nerve that runs down the back of the leg).  A lot of pregnant women get it because the weight of the baby pushes on that nerve.  It was awful!  I felt like I had to drag my leg through the store.  Baby Abby has been kicking me a lot more lately.  All the time actually.  She really kicks at night, so Austin and I are afraid she is going to be a night person and will keep us up all night!  We think that maybe she is scared of Austin because she stops kicking every time Austin tries to feel her kick.  Maybe she is not scared...maybe Austin just calms her down. :)  He has been able to feel her a few times, but not as many as I would have liked him too.  I go to the doctor again tomorrow for my checkup and my glucose tolerance test.  We shall see how that goes.  I will post more later.

It's a Girl!

So it's been almost a month since I last updated.  Sorry!  I guess the time flies when you're having fun.  Well we have some big news.  We found out the Friday before Thanksgiving that we were having a girl!  We had the ultrasound scheduled, but did not tell any of our family because we wanted it to be a Thanksgiving surprise!  Sorry fam!  We were so excited the entire day that Friday, at least I was.  I couldn't stop thinking and wondering what it would be.  This was Austin's first ultrasound visit.  He wasn't able to be with me at my other two, so I was really excited about him seeing the ultrasound.  As expected he was "cheesing" the entire way through the visit...he couldn't stop smiling.  I know that he wanted a little boy, but I could tell that he couldn't care either way.  Austin guessed before the doctor announced the news that it was a girl, and he was right!  He was so happy...happier than I thought he'd be.  He said, "well, I guess you'll have to do the disciplining because I'm not going to know what to do with a little girl.  All I'm going to know how to do is spoil her!"  We decided that her name will be Abigail Lauren Mackens, but we will call her Abby for short.  There is no real significance in the name other than the fact that we just like it.  We did choose Lauren because it was similar to my middle name Lynn.  I guess that is the only big news to announce.  As far as myself, I'm hanging in there...getting bigger every day.  I can feel me abdomen stretching out, way past where I feel it should be.  It's amazing how the body can distort this way!  LOL.  Because of the stretching, my abdomen has been a little sore.  I've also been able to feel baby Abby move more and more frequently lately.  I have felt her move almost every day the past few days.  Some days she is more active than other.  It is hard to explain the feeling , just feels like a flutter I guess.  Those who have had babies will understand.  Those who haven't...well you will and then you will understand.  It is an amazing feeling.  I love knowing that she is alive and well in there.