31 Weeks/ 4-D Ultrasound Pics

Yesterday, I entered my 31st week of pregnancy. Once again, I wanted to wait until today to do this post because I had another check-up with my doctor this morning. We also had a 4-D ultrasound done. Before I get into that, though, here's the belly picture Jordan took of me (and Ryan) last night:

Now, on to my appointment this morning...
Thankfully, Jordan had one more option day off from UPS that he needed to use up before the week of Thanksgiving, so he was able to go with me and Rylee for the ultrasound part of the appointment. After waiting for a little while, the ultrasound tech called us back to a room and got everything set up to do the ultrasound. I was anxious to see if Ryan would "cooperate" for us and give us some good pictures. When we had the 4-D ultrasound done when I was pregnant with Rylee, she did not cooperate AT ALL the first time, so we ended up having to go back a few days later for a second attempt. Thankfully, we were able to get some really good pictures of her the second time, but I was hoping not to have to go back for a second attempt this time around, because Jordan would not be able to go with me. Anyway, almost immediately after the tech got the ultrasound wand on my belly, she said it looked like I had really good fluid, and she was confident we'd be able to get plenty of good pictures of Ryan. We did. Overall, I don't think we got quite as good of a variety of pictures of him as we did of Rylee, but she still got several good ones of him for us. I absolutely loved getting to see his precious face. He is so stinkin' cute it's not even funny. I know he's my kid, so of course I'm partial, but I'm telling you, he is adorable (as you will see in the pictures below). I really, really, really cannot wait to see him in person. The tech took a few quick measurements of him first before she really started focusing on getting pictures. After a minute, she asked me if I was diabetic. I told her no and asked her why she asked. She said he was a little chunkier than the average baby at this stage in pregnancy. She said it wasn't a bad thing by any means... he's just a big boy. According to the measurements she got, he already weighs 4lbs. 8oz. The "average" baby at 31 weeks gestation weighs about 3.3 pounds (according to BabyCenter.com). I told y'all he's a big boy! Anyway, then the tech checked his heart rate and asked me what I had eaten for breakfast. I told her I had chocolate chip pancakes, and she giggled and said it appeared that he liked them, because his heart rate was 160 beats per minute. I told her I wanted to make sure he would be nice and active for his photo shoot. It worked. So anyway, then the tech had her fun getting pictures of him. She kept saying how beautiful he was, which of course made my heart swell with pride. She's the same tech who did the 4-D ultrasound of Rylee, and I remember her telling us how beautiful Rylee was. And obviously she was right. (Okay, so I know she probably says that to everyone, but still... it feels good to hear it.) Anyway, she took 40 still shots and saved them to a CD for us, and she also recorded the entire ultrasound on a DVD for us. I debated how many of the still shots I would share in this post, but ultimately I just decided to upload all of them so I wouldn't have to try to pick out my "favorites". So, here they are... all 40 of them:

I'd say he's quite "proud"!

Ryan's sweet little feet

trying to hide his face with his right hand

perfect little ear

The ultrasound tech spanked him to try and get him to move, and he got upset! Poor baby!

big yawn

Look at that precious nose and those lips!

blowing kisses

starting to stick his tongue out

His eyes are open, but we can't really see them because of the angle.

sweet smile

another big yawn

It looks like we have another 3rd-generation thumb-sucker on the way!

sucking his thumb

sucking his thumb... and giving us "the bird"!

His eyes are open in this one too, but we still can't really see them because of the angle.

sticking his tongue out!

sweet boy

sticking his tongue out at us again!

Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?! Oh my goodness, I cannot wait to get my hands on him! 9 more weeks... 9 more weeks...
Before I close, here's the quick update on me:
Dr. Dupre says I'm still "rocking and rolling". I passed my glucose test that I had done at my last appointment, so that's good. My blood pressure was good, as usual. My "height of fundus" measured 31 centimeters, which is right where it should be. I've gained 3 more pounds since my appointment two weeks ago (total pregnancy weight gain so far of 21 pounds), so I'm up to 128 pounds (fully clothed and with shoes on). And that's about it. I go back in two weeks on Monday, November 21st for my next check-up.
Until next time...