The big day is almost here

So as much as I had hoped that our little Porter would come on his own before having to be induced, he seems to have other plans. Tomorrow we will go to the hospital at 7:00 am to begin my induction. I'm feeling quite an array of emotions as I have no idea what to expect having never done any of this before, yet unbelievably excited to finally meet our son! My prayers are that the induction is successful and goes quickly and that Porter gets here safe and sound. I can't quite picture what it will feel like to hold my son in my arms for the first time, but I can't wait to find out! We love this little boy beyond belief already and I can't believe it's only hours (hopefully!) until we will meet him. I've tried to talk Sean into staying up all night to try and walk him out, but he thinks sleep might be a better idea. Stay tuned, our next post will be to introduce our little bundle of joy! Any thoughts and prayers over the next couple days are greatly appreciated!

4 more days...maybe :)

The support and prayers from family and friends have definitely been felt at the Mitchell house lately! I am so thankful to be able to share a great report from the dr today. They measured Porter again today with an ultrasound and he isn't quite as large as they have been predicting. His head and abdomen/shoulders all measure around 39 weeks 1 day, which is only a couple days ahead of where he should be. This is such a praise for us because there was such a large discrepancy last time that it was going to cause Porter to need to be born via csection to avoid the risk of him possibly getting stuck. His weight today was estimated at 7 lbs 13 oz, which is much smaller than they had been predicting all along. Apparantely what happened was he had gone through a massive growth spurt right before he was measured last time and has since evened out somewhat. He decided to show us his sweet (and quite chubby!) face today during his ultrasound (pictures to come later, they need to be scanned). I can't wait to see what he looks like in person, but right now he still looks very much like his daddy.

Another measure of whether or not I would be able to deliver him or he would need to be a csection was whether my labor started and progressed on its own. Another praise- today I was 3 cm dialated and 80% effaced, which is quite a bit of progress since Friday's check. The dr said she predicted that he was well on his way and would probably come on his own before needing to be induced on Friday, but that's just a guess. Either way, he'll be here by Friday at the latest! What a blessing this day has been- now to anxiously await the arrival of our sweet baby boy!

Porter's Latest Update...

Today was my 38 week appt. and I was hoping for some different news but trusting that the Lord has a plan for bringing our baby boy into the world in His timing. The dr. said still 1 cm but 50% effaced and Porter's head has dropped down. She was a bit concerned that his size is still continuing to be a little too disproportionate possibly due to my gestational diabetes. His head at last measure (36 weeks) was in the 72% while his abdomen was in the 92%. Her concern with me delivering him is that his head would be able to come out and then his shoulders/abdomen could get stuck, which would be a bad situation for both of us. The plan right now is to measure him again (via ultrasound) on Monday (2-21) and see how he is measuring overall at that point. She will make a decision then whether to induce labor on Friday (2-25) or schedule a C-Section sometime next week probably earlier than Friday to make sure I don't go into labor before then.

While I am very apprehensive about having/recovering from a C-Section, I definitely want what will be best for Porter and myself. My prayer right now is that Porter would continue to grow and be healthy, no matter how he decides to come out :) and that the Lord will give the dr. wisdom to know what the best decision is. Either way, in no more than 7 days we'll be meeting our little bundle of joy and I could not be more excited!

20 days...really?!?

Today is 36 weeks 1 day and we will be meeting our little Porter in 20 days, unless he decides to come before then. I cannot believe we are this close. I have dreamed for months about what it will be like to hold our son in my arms and now to know that we are days away is shocking even to me! Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty of fears and anxiety about what labor and delivery will be like but I have full faith that the same powerful and mighty God that blessed us with this baby boy will get me through it. I am doing everything possible to enjoy these last few days of being pregnant and doing the last minute preparations to get ready to bring Porter home. I know we will look back and laugh at what things we (ok I) thought we needed to make us feel 'prepared'. Whoever thinks nesting is just a myth must not have been pregnant! I know we still have so much to learn about raising a little boy, but I can't wait!

The dr. has been measuring and watching Porter closely due to my gestational diabetes, but so far everything is going great- praise the Lord! Porter is growing a little ahead of the curve, but not large enough that they are feeling I won't be able to deliver him. At 35.5 weeks, he was estimated to weigh 7 lbs. 3 oz. However, the dr. is still concerned that he could have complications if he goes past 39 weeks so they are going to induce at 39 weeks (on Feb. 25th) unless he decides to come before. My gut feeling is that he won't wait that long, but he seems to have a mind of his own! Either way, we are so thankful for a healthy baby boy and just can't wait to see his sweet little face. We love you Porter :)  (These pics are 36 weeks 1 day)