Thursday July 31...

At this appointment Heather and I were hoping to find some direction as to where we were heading with the pregnancy.

At the beginning of the appointment we went to the ultrasound room to check Baby Taylor's vital signs and maybe get a guess on his current weight. All his vital signs were in check, his head was still down, and his approximate weight was 5 lbs. 6 oz..

We then met with Dr. Blackmon for a routine check-up on her blood pressure and weight. Her weight stayed the same but her blood pressure continued to stay elevated. Dr. Blackmon suggested that Heather still stay at home on bed rest and only get up if it was necessary. She also had Heather get some more blood work done to check for anything that may seem out of the ordinary. Lastly she wanted Heather to do a 24 hour urine test prior to her next visit to check the protein level in her body. Lastly Dr. Blackmon told us that if at anytime at home her blood pressure went over 100 on the bottom number to go to the ER right away.

We scheduled her next appointment for Monday August 4th at 9:15 am.

It's Bed Rest for Heather!

We have been monitoring Heathers' blood pressure the last day and a half and it is consistency getting a little higher. She decided to call Dr. Blackmon's office today around lunch to see if she should come get checked out today or just wait until our scheduled appointment Thursday.

Dr. Blackmon's office called Heather at work around 3:45 this afternoon and told her that she needs to leave work immediately and to stay on bed rest until we hear otherwise on Thursday.

Heather keeps commenting to me that she feels fine, no dizziness or other symptons of high blood pressure, and doesn't understand why her readings are increasing-I keep reminding her that we will find out all the answers to our questions soon!

Please continue to pray for Heather, Taylor, and I as we continue on our journey to the big day!

Week 34 Dr. Visit Update!!

Hello all! Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful, warm, humid summer! Heather and I could do without the humidity that's for sure!

We visited Dr. Blackmon last Thursday, July 24 for another check-up on her and Baby Taylor. It was another routine check of her weight, belly size, and blood pressure. Right away Heather's blood pressure measured a little higher than it normally has throughout the pregnancy. This was a cause for concern, so she was told to lie on her left side, and elevate her feet. A few minutes passed and they took another reading which still measured a little high. As a precaution, Dr. Blackmon ordered some lab (blood) work to be done right away. After a few minutes in the phlebotomists' room and we were on our way.

Heather's next appointment is set for this Thursday @ 10:00 am, and will include an ultrasound as well as a normal check-up with Dr. Blackmon.

We want to thank those who have left comments on our blog-it's fun reading what you all are thinking!!!

Heather's Last Two Appointments!

Hope everyone is doing well! Heather and I apologize for not posting comments on her June 26th appointment sooner, it went very well...

The June 26th appointment was a standard appointment. She weighed in about 6lbs. heavier, and her blood pressure was right where it should be. Her belly measured around one week ahead so she is finally where she should be.

Her most recent appointment, July 8th, went great as well. She gained 5lbs. and again her blood pressure was normal. This time her belly measured two weeks ahead, so Dr. Blackmon told us that around the 36 week appointment that they will do an ultrasound to check Taylor's weight.

Included in this post is a picture of Heather at around 18 1/2 weeks and another one that we just took this evening at 33 weeks! Just look at her sweet belly!!

Heather's next appointment is scheduled for Thursday July 24th and should be another standard check-up appointment.

Heather's Appointment Today...

Can you believe it's already June?!!! It's crazy for us when we think that, if for some reason Taylor were to be born now, that he would have an 85% survival rate-Wow!!

Well as you can guess Heather is now in her third trimester (or the "second storm" as my "father handbook" describes it!)...Hopefully there will be less "thunder and lightning" in this storm as compared to the first! (I didn't like how sick Heather was in those first few months.

Heather's appointment this morning went very well. She was first taken into a lab area where she had to drink a cup of "orange" fluid for her glucose test. She said it didn't taste as bad as she thought it might, but it definitely wasn't Sunkist either! We were told by the nurse that she would withdraw blood one hour from Heather taking the fluid to check her sugar levels. Just as she finished the liquid another nurse called for her to go to an exam room for her appointment.

Heather first weighed herself and had gained 5 lbs since her last visit in May...Her blood pressure was then measured (118/80) and then we were to wait for Dr. Blackmon.

Dr. Blackmon noticed right away that Heathers' legs were a little swolen (normal). Dr. then felt Heathers' belly and right away found Taylor's head which was in the lower part of her belly (normal), and of course found his heartbeat right away (just a pumping right along!!!) She then measured Heather's belly and told us that she is measuring at 30 weeks now!!! (she just turned 27 weeks Monday). And that was it for her appointment with Dr. Blackmon so we had about a half hour of time to kill before we had to be back to get her blood drawn.

We decided while we were at Parkview North that we would sign up for a prenatal class on June 28th and a breastfeeding class on July 22nd. So we went upstairs to the Parkview Women's center and registered for them.

We then went back down and waited in Dr. Blackmon's office until Heathers' hour was up, the nurse took the blood she needed from Heather and we were all done. We scheduled our next appointment for June 26th (only 3 weeks away!!!!!) and were on our way....

God Bless everyone and we can't wait to spend time with Taylor's Aunt Holly next week!!!!!!

Heather's May Baby Appointment...

Heather and I have been very busy lately and we apologize for not posting her last appointment sooner!

This last appointment was on May 9th at the new Southwest branch of Northeast OBGYN, and by new I mean no landscaping, no company sign, no much at all as far as the exterior of the building goes but once walking inside, we were impressed with the new office...

We knew going into the appointment that there was not going to be any major items to look at or go over-just a routine check-up on Heather and Taylor. Heather weighed in at a half pound lighter than her previous appointment, which I thought wasn't good, but Dr. Blackmon assured us that she is just fine. Her blood pressure measured normal, and the best news of the appointment is that her belly measured larger than the normal for the stage she was at. She was at 23.5 weeks and Dr. said she measured at a 25 week length!!
Heather did find out that her next appointment is not going to be as relaxing-she is going to need to fast before the appointment since they are going to do some blood work, and some other tests as well.

Her next appointment is set for June 5th...

By the way we have the nursery looking really good-it's been painted a nice green color, the crib and changing table are put together and in their positions, we have two swings, an eggsosaucer, a bouncy seat, a dresser, and a nightstand all in that tiny room! We are pretty much ready for our boy to take it over!!!

Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to seeing our out-of-state family soon!!

God Bless!

April 10, 2008!!

The day finally arrived! Today Heather and I are going to find out if we're having a boy or a girl!

Her appointment was scheduled at 3:00 in the afternoon at the Parkview North location (as opposed to the branch located on Carew St. where we had been going) and it is very nice inside the office. The nurse (Jill) did not waste anytime getting us into one of their ultrasound rooms (I think we were in the room at 3:05!). Jill told us right up front that she had been doing ultrasounds for over 20 years now and that she would tell us anything that she could about the baby and the ultrasound images.

Her first question, and most important, was if we wanted to know whether the baby was a boy or a girl and of course we said YES! She started right in and began showing us the head area. And by the way since this office is very new we got to view the entire ultrasound on a 42" widescreen! She showed us the legs, arms, fingers, heart (we could see all 4 ventricles!), bladder (was full!), spine, it was all so amazing!

Then came the most critical area of all and we saw that are baby had HIS kickstand! Heather and I were so happy as you could imagine! Another Pedersen boy to carry on the name!
We have decided on the name Taylor and are still deciding on a middle name which will be revealed in the hospital after his birth!

After the ultrasound room, Heather and I were taken to a normal exam room where we met with Dr. Blackmon to go over the results of the ultrasound. She told us that everything was progressing perfectly and that the due date is still correct. We also found out that Heather has gained back all the weight she lost from her previous sickness!

Heather and I want to thank everyone who has kept us in their thoughts and prayers and we ask that you continue your wonderful support. We are looking to register at Babies R Us and Target soon.

Wishing everyone a great spring!