Waiting for Baby

I finally got out our scanner so that I could post a few sonogram photos of Baby Dylan.  The above image is his profile at 19 weeks gestation, when we also found out that he was our third baby boy.

Here is his cute little foot.  I'm always amazed at the level of detail that is so evident even with these grainy, black and white images.

And here is a photo Tyler took this morning - I'm 37 weeks with Dylan.  (I don't really like seeing photos of myself, especially when pregnant, but a few people have been asking, so I'm posting one.)  Oddly enough, at my appointment last week, the doctor noticed that I was measuring a week behind schedule, which surprised me because I don't think I look particularly small.  In fact, when I compared pictures of me at 37 weeks with Dylan to me at 40.5 weeks with Tyler, I actually look bigger with Dylan.

Here's Dylan's half of the living room that he'll eventually share with Lauren.  Our neighbors gave us the crib (there are even drawers underneath that I LOVE!); my Sweet Adelines ladies gave me the banner, elephant, and blanket (and many other things not photoed here); the dresser was my sister's years ago (and my grandmother's before that); the changing pad is from my cousin, which I wrapped in a piece of $2 flannel; and the car seat we got by combining a coupon and a financial gift from a close friend.  While I don't think one can really have a baby without any expense at all, there's definitely an inexpensive way to acquire many of the niceties that help in the early months. 

There isn't any way that I could recount all of the ways people have blessed us as we await the arrival of this precious baby.  From baby showers to hand-me-downs to words of encouragement and so many other forms of blessing, we've been truly overwhelmed with love from friends and family alike.

Sibling Helpers

(Photo credit - not our baby; I didn't want to fight our scanner)

Even though several of my early doctor visits have been frustrating because of all the offers to abort the baby, not all visits have gone poorly.  In fact, I've really liked each and every one of the doctors/midwives in the group, and my most recent two appointments have been a special blessing.

Two appointments ago, I met Dr. R.  I was a bit nervous about meeting a new doctor while having all three spark plugs in tow.  Would the doctor be okay with all the extra bodies, or would their presence only be aggravating since the room was small?

As it turned out, he didn't blink an eye about the kids being there.  In fact, the opposite happened; he invited all three to participate in the appointment, asking the boys if they'd operate the doppler for him and helping L up on a stool so she could use the tape measure to see how big the baby was getting.  The kids were pretty wide-eyed at such an unexpected opportunity, but they eagerly complied with everything the doctor asked them to do.

After the short visit, Dr. R thanked the kids for making his job easier, telling them that they were such super helpers that they'd helped him get his job done faster (even though I'm sure he could have done everything in about half the time had he not been handing out equipment and setting up seats for everyone).  I was beyond blessed by this doctor's willingness to include the siblings in such an amazing manner.

And at my last appointment, we met yet another doctor, Dr. S, who did the exact same thing as Dr. R, letting the kids participate and take turns with the doppler to check on the baby.  I know that not all people are good with kids - even I don't do well with lots of kids, aside from my own! - but when medical personnel are willing to take time out of their hectic, busy schedules to show kindness to my little ones, it is absolutely wonderful. 

Who knows - maybe one of these two doctors will end up doing the delivery!