David's finally making an honest woman of me!

Yes, this is me at almost 36 weeks. It's actually our niece, Sabrina's, bridal veil, though. My sister, Kara, is getting married!!! She got engaged on my birthday in February. We went to Edmond to visit David's family over Spring Break, and my mom and sister came for a day to shop for wedding dresses. She was trying on Sabrina's veil to see if it might work with the beautiful wedding gown she found! The wedding is set for August 7th, in Pennsylvania, where her fiance Ben is from, and I am going to be her matron of honor! I hope I can get back to pre-pregnancy weight quickly so I can fit in the dress!

My c-section is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14th, at 2:00 pm! I am hoping to go into labor before then, and, if so, I can try to have her the natural way. This is my last week of work. I am so sad to leave all my students and co-workers. I have been there for almost five years now, and it is truly like leaving a family. However, I am so excited to meet my baby girl! (Not to mention ready to get her out of me!)
My friends and family threw me a wonderful shower last month, and I received so many nice presents. It was such a blessing to receive so many things that we needed! It really helped put our minds at ease that we may actually be ready for this! It was such a fun night, and I was so happy that most of my family could be there, and so many of my friends and co-workers.

The ladies at my church also held a shower for me yesterday afternoon. It was so nice, and I felt so loved! I will post photos from that shower, as soon as I get some. We'll keep you updated on any exciting news! She'll be here before we know it!

Love,
Lisa

Isn't she lovely? (And big-headed)

I had an ultrasound today to determine the position of the baby, approximate size, etc. The top picture is her face. Her head is turned, and she's looking at the camera. In case you can't decipher it, her forehead is on the right, then her eyes, nose, and mouth, which appears to be slightly open. She was opening and closing her mouth during the ultrasound, which my mom and David got to see. Bottom picture is of her little feet and toes. Good news is she is properly positioned for take-off, and, based on her position, I can finally identify some of those body parts that have been poking out or jabbing me in various places. Other news is that her head is a bit large for her relatively normal-sized body. The tech estimated that she is about 5 lbs. 5 oz. already, which is I think about 60 something percentile, but her head is about 89 percentile, or about a week and a half or two bigger than expected. (Katelyn was only 5 lbs. 13 oz. when she was born.) The doctor wasn't concerned about the head size, but we may have a future neurosurgeon or Jeopardy champion on our hands. Seriously, though, it sort of puts a damper on my hopes of having a vaginal birth again, like I did with Katelyn. Her head (and everything about her) was quite small in comparison to Garrett, whose head would not fit through my pelvis, resulting in my c-section. So, we are scheduling a c-section, and if I don't go into labor on my own, they will just rip her out. There's still a chance I can avoid the c-section, but we'll see. I would like the experience of going into labor on my own, just once. I am looking at April 13th for the c-section, which is the day after Easter. I am waiting for confirmation of this date from my doctor.

I had a wonderful shower on Saturday night! I think there were about 40 people there, including many of my co-workers and family. It was a lot of fun! We are so blessed to have received so many wonderful gifts. David and I are both nervous about our upcoming loss of income, but we are trusting in God to take care of us, and He has already started providing. I will post photos from the shower soon.

Six weeks to go til d-day! I'll keep you updated.

Love,
Lisa