The Countdown is ON!!

I had another ultrasound today, followed by a doctor's appointment. One of the first things the ultrasound tech said to me was "Girlfriend, you are running out of real estate." The baby is apparently getting pretty cramped in there. And, with the ultrasound estimating his weight to be about 7 lbs, it's no wonder. (Of course, I have heard that ultrasounds tend to run high on the estimates that they do.) It also showed that the baby is currently in a breech position. She was able to get some good shots of his heart, other organs, and spine and they all looked good. But when it came down to getting some good 4D pictures of his face, it just wasn't happening with the way he was positioned. I was kinda disappointed in that, but as long as everything is healthy, I guess I can wait to see facial features. She did say that it looks like he has quite a bit of hair. She pointed out the "fuzzies" around his head, and said that's hair. Based on the size measurements, the ultrasound calculated due date to be March 17, much earlier than my original date of April 4. So, I was done there, and went off to see my doctor. On the way over, I kept thinking about how at my first appointment, he had mentioned to me to "don't go growing any big babies" because my pelvic bone area is borderline small. So, I went in to see him, everything checked out fine, and he looked at the information from the ultrasound. After discussing it, with the baby's position, his estimated size and my bone structure, we set a date for a c section on March 20. I asked about waiting until the 26, since that's the date Daniel's leave is supposed to start. However, with all the factors, my doctor doesn't feel comfortable waiting that extra week. If it's whats best for the baby, I'm ok with it. So I came home and waited for Daniel to call. He usually keeps track of when my appointments are and calls to check in afterwards. He called and we talked about it, whether he could possibly see about changing his leave dates, what our options are, etc. At this point, we are planning to keep his leave dates as they are. Yes, that means he will miss the first few days, but there is no guarantee it could be changed anyway. And, if he were here for the actual birth, we'd spend 3-4 days at the hospital. I'd rather we be able to spend our time together as a family, at home, without doctors and nurses popping in and out, Daniel wouldn't have to deal with trying to get comfortable and sleep on a recliner, etc. It will give us time to schedule a family picture without wondering how many days we'll have between leaving the hospital to Daniel's having to go back. It also beats the alternative of not having a c section, and him arriving home so we can stare at each other and wonder when labor will start. Since there will be a few days gap between the baby and I coming home, and Daniel's arrival, I'll be staying with my parents when I get discharged from the hospital. Yes, we would prefer if he could be here, but we knew all along that it was a possibility that it wouldn't happen. At least we were able to discuss the pros and cons of the different approaches and decide now rather than having to wait and make last minute choices. I'm excited to have a "set" date, but also nervous. I know the recovery from a c section will be more, but since it looks to be the best for Jackson, I'll deal with it. And I know I have an awesome support system for the few days it will take for Daniel to get here, and the days after he has to leave. My biggest complaint right now is until today I thought I had 6 more weeks to get ready for this little guy, and now it's been cut down to four! Yikes....guess that means I should probably stop blogging and get something done.