Healthy at 34 weeks

We had our appointment with Dr. Zaretsky, our favorite high-risk specialist, this afternoon and he gave us a great report! Yes, Gwendoline is confirmed as a little nugget. But she gained an appropriate amount of weight in the last two weeks (almost one pound) and now weighs in at 4 pounds, 9 ounces. That puts her close to the 13th percentile (12.9th, to be exact)! Dr. Zaretsky says that is just fine and there is nothing to be concerned about. He even shared that each of his own three babies measured around the 9th percentiles when they were born. Dr. Zaretsky hypothesizes that Gwen will weigh a little over 6 pounds at 40 weeks (full term). We'll take it! Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support- it means so much to us and makes these victories even more special.

Now if we could just get her to do a flip... That's right, she's still breech. We still have some time for her to rotate, and knowing Gwen, she's going to make us sweat it out till the last minute. While we're thinking positively and sending her strong "flip vibes," we'd appreciate more prayers for her rotation. After attending the first half of our childbirth class this weekend, I feel even more strongly about having a natural birth. So Miss Gwendoline, obey your mother and FLIP! :) 

Guess who looks like her daddy?

But those are definitely Giddens lips she's puckering!

The best things come in small packages

Gwendoline, Jeph, and I had our 32 week visit this afternoon. If you recall, this appointment was for a growth scan, in addition to the normal check up. The results of the growth scan make it official that we have a tiny bun in the oven. The good news: Our bun seems to be completely healthy despite being tiny! The less-than-good news (though not necessarily bad): She only weighs in at the 9.7th percentile (3 pounds, 11 ounces). Weights under the 10th percentile are cause for more investigation, though Dr. Holt says she doesn't begin to actively worry until a baby's weight drops under the 5th percentile. But since everything else looks healthy, Dr. Holt thinks Gwendoline has just inherited my small body habitus. Just to be cautious, Dr. Holt has referred us back to the high-risk specialist, Dr. Zaretsky, at UTSW Children's Medical Center. We'll see him in two weeks for another growth scan and to get his opinion on Gwendoline's growth and overall health.

The other thing we learned at the appointment today is that Gwendoline is still in the breech position. The doctor says she usually likes to see babies in the head down position by 30 weeks and that it must be done by 36 weeks to avoid a c-section. So little Miss Diva has four weeks to flip herself around. Dr. Holt says this is more than enough time for Gwen to work her way around, she just has to do it!

While we are encouraged by this visit because our little one got a healthy report, there is still plenty of room for some specific prayers to be said. For those of you praying for our growing family, we ask that you pray for the following specifics:

• Pray that Gwendoline would begin putting on weight rapidly to get bumped up to a more acceptable percentile. 
• Pray that she would flip herself around to the normal head-down position as we'd prefer to bring her into the world naturally rather than through c-section.
• Pray for continued overall health and that the high-risk specialist would also find no cause for immediate alarm.

In other baby-related news, Jeph and I have started our childbirth and parenting classes. They are a lot of fun (for me, at least) and make us feel so much more prepared! So far, we've completed Infant Safety & CPR and Baby Care. Still to go are Childbirth (a two-part series), Breastfeeding, and Daddy Boot Camp.

Gwendoline Celeste @ 32 weeks

We didn't get many good photos of her today (she decided not to cooperate and didn't show us her profile). The above picture, if you can make it out, is of her head and face, staring at you straight on. The top of her head is to the far left, with her mouth to the right a couple of inches.