Our Precious Baby Girl

I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted anything (7 months YIKES!), but at the same time these past months have been busy and flown by so quickly.  There are so many things I could share about that have happened: Jude turned 1, Christmas with the family (this included 5 children under 5), Easter, my sister-in-law getting engaged & the wedding preparations there after, the list goes on, but I think I will choose our baby girl.

For whatever reason this pregnancy has gone by way faster than my first, it's already just TWO WEEKS until she arrives!  Since I had a C-Section with Jude we had a choice to make with this one, another C-Section or attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean).  After talking to friends, family, doctors, and finding out the statistics we decided that the safest and best option for me AND the baby would be to do another C-Section.  There were many things that went into our decision, but the major factors were safety and the likely hood of a successful VBAC. Looking at the chances of having a successful VBAC, taking into account the reason and situation of my C-Section with Jude, they were very slim and we both hated the idea of me having to go all the way through labor then have a C-Section, let alone if something went wrong. All that to say, that's how we know it's only two weeks until she arrives.

What I really wanted to share was pictures of our precious baby girl. For various reasons I had several more ultrasounds this time around than I did with Jude, so there is a more gradual picture of how she has changed over the past 8 1/2 months.

12  weeks
The thing at the top that looks like it could be her spine is actually the umbilical cord, it even took me several looks to figure that out :).

20 weeks

24 weeks
Sorry I don't have measurements for all of them, but I remember at this one they said she was 1 pound 11 ounces.

35 1/2 weeks
I don't remember how long, but they estimated her weight at 5 pounds 14 ounces (give or take 14 ounces). I would label them on the actual picture but my photo editing skills are not that good, so I will attempt to describe what things are: on the very top there are several circles, those are her fingers, the bumps on her face (going from upper right down) nose, upper lip, tongue, lower lip, chin. I will also point out it probably took 5 minutes to get a picture this clear of her profile, she is quite the little mover (which the ultrasound lady commented on several times, as she was trying to get measurements), which made getting good pictures difficult. 

I always enjoy going to the ultrasounds and seeing my precious children, God has been forming them since conception, and it is amazing to see how He continues to guide their growth within me. This baby girl is such a miracle, simply look at how she has been formed and how can you deny that?  Every time I look at these pictures I thank God for the wonderful gift He has granted us: our precious baby girl.

 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Psalm 139:13-17