The Little Sprout

I haven't posted much lately about the Little Sprout. She seems to be doing well. Her favorite thing to do so far is jump on the bed in the middle of the night. And she doesn't seem to like going down on the elevator at work.

I don't think I've officially posted it here, but we have decided to name her Penelope. It is not the name we had originally picked out. I had another name chosen (I actually had two, but Gary declared one of them a stripper name and vetoed it), but it just didn't fit after we saw her on the ultrasound. So, we went back to the drawing board and Penelope just seemed right. So, Penelope she is!

A pregnancy for me is apparently not without a little drama. I went to the UAB Maternity Evaluation Unit (the "MEU") once when I was about 16 weeks for a little spotting (everything was fine), and this past Tuesday I was at the MEU until about midnight. I had been overdoing it a bit since Sunday, and Tuesday I didn't eat as much as I should have, and I started having contractions about 8-10 minutes apart. Luckily, I was not dilated, but I've learned my lesson. I'm taking it easier and eating more frequently, and have been practically contraction-free since then. I was really scared because with the kids, I was dilated and barely could tell I was having contractions. But, the doctor at the MEU explained that dilation is a combination of the strength of contractions and the weight on the cervix. He said that a contraction that would have dilated me with triple the weight on my cervix is not a contraction that will dilate me now. I also talked to my doctor's nurse the next morning, who told me that they will not consider any form of bedrest unless I am dilated or my cervical length shortens significantly. I had my cervical length measured two weeks ago and it was fine, and I will have it measured again on Monday for my next appointment.

I will be 26 weeks tomorrow. Here is a picture that Gary took of me this past Friday when I turned 25 weeks:



I do think that I am bigger than your average person at 25 weeks, but as the doctor's nurse told me, I have a "deluxe suite" now. Honestly, I think that I look about as pregnant in that picture as I did with the kids when I was about 18 weeks. What a difference a couple of extra babies can make!!