Posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 8:00 am
Until recently my prayers for Henry normally went along the lines of, “Dear God, please help Henry to be safe, healthy and continue growing…”
After our sonogram at 30 weeks, when we found out he could be a nine pounder, Erin told me that I could stop praying for him to keep growing. God was doing too good of a job. So I modified, “…please keep Henry safe and healthy…”
Driving home from our sonogram today (37 weeks), I suddenly realized that healthy can also mean, “large in amount or extent or degree.” It appears that God wanted to bless us so much that he used both definitions.
Henry is doing great. He’s head down in the perfect position for coming out. His heart and other vital signs are great. The best estimate is that he weighs 7 pounds 12 ounces.
The only problem is that he may end up being so big that he ends up needing a C-section. I think everyone involved would prefer that not to happen so, we need Henry to decide to come within the next two weeks. If he doesn’t, we’ll have another sonogram at 39 weeks and then take another look at our options.
Erin has a doctor’s visit on Friday that should give us a little more information. So until then, we’ll just wait and be very careful with our prayers.
He has a head full of hair we're told. Erin hopes it's red.
My, what a big foot you have. "The better to kick Erin's stomach wtih my dear."
At Erin’s last doctor appointment her doctor was surprised at how much her tummy had grown since the last visit. Henry’s sonogram today confirmed that Henry is already above average. He weighs 3 pounds and 14 ounces which is two to three weeks ahead of average. If Henry decides to stay put for the full 40 weeks and grows at the normal rate of half a pound a week, he’ll be a nine pound baby.
Everything else looks perfect. Erin will start visiting the doctor every other week now, as is normal, just to make sure everything stays on track.
We were in Clarksville a few weeks ago with Oppa and YaiYai watching Uncle Chuck and AJ get married. A certain grandfather had photos on his office door of Henry at 12 weeks, yet it had been over a month since his 18 week ultrasound. I then realized that I posted a video but no photos. So for posterity, here are the photos. We’ll have, what will likely be, the last ultrasound this Monday.
Yesterday Erin had her 18-week ultrasound and there was definitive evidence that we are going to have a little boy in a few months. We’re also excited to announce that our baby’s name will be Henry Miles VanDyke. We picked the name because we liked it but there are a few family tie-ins here and there.
At the doctor’s office they asked us if we wanted a DVD of the ultrasound. Wary of child exploitation scams, we asked how much it would cost. They said it was free (which I think means included in their exorbitant fees) so we have a video of baby Henry to share. Fair warning: This is the grandparent edition which lasts about 10 minutes but you get the idea in the first two or three minutes. Enjoy.
