Carter Othoudt was born on July 30th 2007 at 1:48pm at Fairview Northland Hospital!  Daddy and Dr. Fisher delivered him..Daddy did mostly all of it!  The delivery went very smoothly!! Carter was 6lbs 11oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He has lots of dark brown hair and is such a cutie!!   An update on the whole birth story will be soon!! Keep checking in!!

Until then~

lots of love..The whole Othoudt Family,

Erik,Kim, Cameron and Carter!!

Well happy 38 weeks to us!  Lastnight was kind of an eventful night...I woke up around 1 a.m. to some very painful cramping...and some blood.  The cramps went on until about 4:30 a.m. and I even tried to walk them off.  Finally stopped right before it was time to get up anyway.

I called the dr. this morning and they asked lots of questions.  Told me the blood was probably from my cervix thinning out and getting ready for this baby.  I am suppose to go back in today if the cramping comes back or if the blood becomes worse.  For now, just keep an eye on it!

I'm anxious and excited, but more importantly - NERVOUS!  I'll keep you posted!

Well my check up went good today.  The baby's heart rate was 140 and very strong.  I measure at about 37 cm ... I've gained 22 pounds so far.

Dr. Fischer checked to see if I was dialated anymore or if my cervix was softened anymore and that is a big "nope" - still the same.  So that was a little disappointing, but that's ok.  I still have 14 more days to go.

After I left my appointment I realized that I forgot to ask the Dr. about my kidney problem and all that - so I called him and he called me back.  He said if the pain gets much worse then I have to call right away because they will want to get the baby delivered.  I was a bit surprised to hear that news.  I told him it still hurts, but is more of a constant nagging pain.  He said to just watch is closely. 

So that is my news for this week!  It is exciting that it is all coming to an end, I am very excited to meet my new son.  I just get so excited to think of what he will look like, and what his personality will be like.  I am excited to see how Cameron will react to a new little brother around the house. 

It is fun not knowing when it is going to happen, but that is the part that is the hardest for me.  I am too much of a planner and not knowing is killing me!  But our bags are packed and we have our Grandma on call so incase I go in she is ready to take our little Cam.

That's about it for now...I will update with pictures tomorrow or Wednesday.  

I had a pretty eventful checkup today.  We'll start off by saying I've gained 22 pounds so far.  My blood pressure and everything looked good.

She checked me to see if I was dialated, and I am dialated to 1 cm and 50% efaced.  I must admit, I was a little disappointed, I thought I would be further dialated, but that's ok, that doesn't really mean too much anyway.  At least we are on the right track!

Then she listened to the baby's heart, it sounds very good, strong and healthy.  I forgot to ask what I measured at!  She was busy talking about her sons, so I wasn't really paying attention to the measuring tape.

Then I asked her a few questions about the pains I have been having on my stomach, if they were braxton hicks or what - and she said no, braxton hicks should not hurt.  So after a few other informational questions by her, she decided that I should go and get an ultrasound done to make sure I don't have gallstones.  So I went to X-Ray and they checked it out.  My gall bladder did not have gallstones but the tech did notice that my right kidney is enlarged with some fluid in it, so that may be why I have been having pain.

I went back to meet with the Dr. again and she told me about the kidney, which isn't a problem and should go away after pregnancy.  But she wasn't 100% convinced that the pains aren't coming from my gall bladder, so she has instructed me to go on a low-fat diet until I have this baby.  Stay away from red meats and fatty dairy products, fried foods, etc.

SO...that is what I will be doing now.  Only 3 more weeks, so that won't be bad.  I was a little disappointed, I wanted to hear that the pains were contractions or something baby related.  Regardless, I hope they go away soon!  If they dont' after I have the baby, then I will have to have an IV-test done to see what is wrong.

Well that's it for this week!  p.s. my wedding ring still fits :)