32 weeks and in the 100th percentile.

So, last Thursday I hit 32 weeks {which means I'm 32w5d today... oops! I suck at updating this time.} On Friday I had my monthly growth ultrasound.  My belly has been measuring about 4 weeks ahead, which is typical for me.  So when they started the growth ultrasound, I knew the baby would probably be measuring ahead as well. NBD.

What I did not expect, was for the tech to tell me that baby girl is currently in the 100th percentile.

Yep, she weighed in at 6 pounds.  At 32w1d.  Awesome.

Now I know growth ultrasounds can be "off" and that this weight is just an estimate.  But still.  100th percentile?  That's big.

The MFM doctor told me, once again, that I need to do the 3 hour gestational diabetes test and that she's recommending that {again} to my regular OB.  I told her that I've already delivered 3 big babies with no GD in the past and that I also passed the 1 hour GD test twice this pregnancy {and I wasn't even CLOSE to failing it} but she insisted.  I guess, to her, people just can't have big babies.  SIGH.  I have an appointment with my regular OB this Friday and plan to talk about it with her once again. Hopefully she agrees with me {she did the first time they recommended I take it} and doesn't make me suffer through that mess {it makes me feel so sick.}  But, of course, if she wants me to take it, I will.  I'd just rather not.... ya know, since I don't have GD and all.  Just big babies.  Grrrr.

Anyway. 

During the ultrasound, they also found a Choroid Plexus Cyst on baby girl's brain.  I know that these can be quite common, but it still worries me a little.   {I mean, anything less than "your baby is absolutely perfect" will worry us mamas, right?} However, the MFM doc assured me this was NBD, especially with it just showing up at this point in the pregnancy. Hopefully the CPC resolves itself soon, but even if it doesn't, it absolutely has no affect on brain function at all.  We'll just keep an eye on it at my weekly BPP ultrasounds. 

Here's pic of my chubby girl...

 

I still think she looks a lot like Reid!  Guess we'll see :)

Pregnancy: 32 weeks  

Weight Gain: 26 pounds

Sleep: Meh.

  

Gender: It's a GIRL!  {Check out the reveal post.}

Name: Emerson Mae {Check out my original name post here and the reveal post here.}

Feeling: Achy, especially when I walk too much {i.e. during Christmas shopping... boo!}

Health: See ultrasound results above. Can't wait to talk to my OB this week!

Movement: Ouch.  That's all I got for you.  OUCH.

Belly: Measuring 4 weeks ahead now.  NBD.

 

For reference, here are my side-by-side weekly belly pics with Reid and my first 20 weeks with Emmie Mae. 

Next Appointment: OB Appointment & MFM Biophysical Profile Ultrasound: Friday, December 13th at 33w1d.

30 Weeks!

Well I hit 30 weeks last Thursday, and OMG.  I can't believe it.  Less than 9 weeks to go now until my family is complete :)

Overall, I'm feeling okay.  Just really tired and achy.  My belly is killing me and if I try to do too much, my body lets me know. I'll get bad contractions like whoa.  But baby girl is still doing amazing in there! 

I have weekly biophysical profiles (BPPs) now, so I get to see my sweet pea quite often.  For those that don't know, a BPP is an ultrasound that includes a nonstress test and tasks that the baby must successfully complete within a 30 minute time frame.  The tasks include: fetal movement, fetal tone, practice breathing, amniotic fluid volume and fetal heart rate. Failure to complete these tasks will result in a fun little trip to L&D. Woo hoo!

My first BPP last week took the entire 30 minutes because homegirl did not want to do her final task of practice breathing. She seriously waited until minute 29 of 30.  I was in the middle of talking to the tech about what will happen when I head to L&D when she FINALLY got her stuff together.  

And immediately after?  This.

Hand on the forehead.  She has it so hard, right?

So at my 2nd BPP on Friday morning, I was ready to be there the entire 30 minutes (and possibly head to L&D after).  However, I was in and out of there in 4 minutes.  Seriously.  She took 4 minutes to complete all 5 tasks, including the practice breathing... and all while having hiccups too!  I didn't even get a picture of her because she was so fast!  Awesome.  I had weekly BPPs in 3rd tri with Reid as well and he was always done in like 10 minutes, so I'm glad she's getting a little faster too.  

We'll see how it goes next week though... I have a feeling she wants to do things on her own time. ;)

Pregnancy: 30 weeks  

Weight Gain: 24 pounds

Sleep: Getting better!  Reid is finally sleeping again so that means I have too!  I still need to wake up to either pee or take Tums {good times!} but I'm sleeping pretty well overall.  This week, anyway ;)

  

Gender: It's a GIRL!  {Check out the reveal post.}

Name: Emerson Mae {Check out my original name post here and the reveal post here.}

Feeling: Fine.  Tired and achy, but fine. 

Health:  Great!  Baby girl looks good, BP has been steady. My fluid levels were high 2 weeks ago, but the past 2 BPPs showed fluid levels within the normal range (but still on the high side).  They'll continue to be checked weekly.

 

MFM still wants to me take the 3 hour GTT test due to my high fluid levels, however I talked to my OB last week and she said we'll hold off for now considering I passed the 1 hour TWICE this pregnancy.  Higher fluid levels could mean gestational diabetes, but I've never had it before and my fluid levels were high in my previous pregnancies as well.  I just have big monster babies... that's it. :)

Movement: Baby girl is 100% my most active baby.  She moves constantly.  She really responds to the kids voices as well... they love talking to her and feeling her move.  They're getting really excited about their new little sister!!

Belly: Measuring 4 weeks ahead now.  NBD.

 

For reference, here are my side-by-side weekly belly pics with Reid and my first 20 weeks with Emmie Mae. 

Next Appointment: OB Appointment & MFM Biophysical Profile Ultrasound: Wednesday, November 27th at 30w6d.

28 Weeks and an Ultrasound Update!

{Cardigan & Belt- Target (non-maternity) | Shirt- Old Navy | Jeans: Motherhood}

28 weeks down.  11 to go.  As of today.  Not that I'm counting down the days until I can drink that bottle of delicious wine in my fridge or anything.

No, really.  I'm serious.

Bob took me to a lovely local winery for Mother's Day.  We bought a fab bottle of Pinot Grigio and threw it in the fridge when we got home.  Shortly after that day, I found out I was pregnant.  I immediately told Bob that he wasn't allowed to open that wine until January.  So it stares at me every time I open the fridge.  It's a bit torturous.  But, alas.  We wait.  Because we really will have something to celebrate.  And I'm really looking forward to sharing that bottle of wine with Bob as we stare at our new beautiful baby girl. 

January can not come soon enough. 

Because of the baby, not the wine. 

But the wine too.

This morning I had a level II ultrasound at MFM just to make sure everything is still well in there. And it is.  Baby girl was flipping around, sucking her thumb, smiling and kicking mommy all over the place.  The tech was a sweetheart and kept the 3D/4D on for awhile so we could just sit and watch her moving around in there. Here's a sweet picture the tech got when the 4D was turned on... 

Who do you think she looks like??  Bob and I think Reid, but my mom says Carter!  Guess we'll know for sure soon enough!

Sweet little IV flashed her stuff more than a few times to let us know that she's still very much a girl.  My fluid levels were a little high which can be an indicator of GD, but I passed the 1 hour with flying colors (twice this pregnancy) so, despite these findings at MFM, I know that my regular OB will not make me take the 3 hour for just my fluid levels alone (we deal with this every pregnancy.)  Cervix looked great and baby girl's echogenic focus is already fading a lot, so that's good news too.  She weighed in around 3.5 pounds this morning, so right on track for now... my kids start pulling ahead and becoming mini sumo wrestlers at around 34+ weeks, ha!

I'm high risk due to my previous history (pre-eclamsia x2, cervical mass, bleeding disorder, fluid levels, monster babies, etc) so I'll be monitored by MFM weekly with BPP's {biophysical profile ultrasounds} and continue to have the level II ultrasounds monthly. 

Basically, I'll be seeing a lot more of this sweet little face before January and I'm not complaining about it.

Pregnancy: 28 weeks  

Weight Gain: 22 pounds

Sleep: Considering that Reid has given up sleeping altogether, I'll just say that I'm tired.  Like, fall asleep at my desk around 2pm if I wasn't so damn busy at work kinda tired.

  

Gender: It's a GIRL!  {Check out the reveal post.}

Name: Emerson Mae {Check out my original name post here and the reveal post here.}

Feeling: Imma be honest.  I'm not feeling that great lately.  Usually I hit this wall somewhere around 34 weeks or so.  I'm shocked to be feeling this way at 28 weeks.  I don't know if it's because I'm getting older?  Or maybe it's because I'm on kid #4? Because I work FT?  Or even because I have 3 kids at home that have been absolutely wonderful and equally as evil at the same time?

I choose E.  All of the above.

At any rate... something needs to happen because homegirl still has 11 weeks to go.

Health:  Great!  Baby girl looks good, BP has been steady and I passed my 1 hour glucose test again!  My fluid levels were high today, but they'll be monitored weekly so I hope they return to normal soon.

Movement: Let's just say the ultrasound took a lot longer this morning because the tech couldn't get the measurements she needed.  Sister-friend did not. stop. moving.

Belly: Measuring 3 weeks ahead as of my appt last week.  I'm sure we're well on our way to measuring 5-6 weeks ahead really soon. NBD.

 

For reference, here are my side-by-side weekly belly pics with Reid and my first 20 weeks with Emmie Mae. 

Next Appointment: OB Appointment & MFM Ultrasound: Friday, November 15th at 29w1d. 

The Reveal

So, as I mentioned before, my lovely photographer and good friend, Steph, talked me into doing a gender reveal session with her.  I was extremely hesitant, but I was finally talked into it when she said "....and you, Bob and all the kids can find out the gender together! It'll be fun!"

Sold.  Damn it.

Of course, once our families found out about the photo session, everyone wanted to be there.  Although I was a little upset at first {I totally had a "let's not make it a big deal" attitude} I can understand them wanting to be there.  If it were my sister doing this, I would want to be there too.  So I agreed under one condition... we were keeping it SMALL. {We have a tendency to let things get out of hand!} It was just immediate family... parents and siblings {with their spouses/kids}.  That's it.

I have to admit, I almost cancelled the photo session/dinner at least 100 times in the last 6 weeks, but everyone was excited and things were planned, so we just went with it.

I had an idea of what we wanted to do, but I have to be honest... I had no idea how to pull it off.  The week before the reveal is when we actually started talking about logistics.  Ha!  I knew my in-laws house would be the perfect setting because they lived in the woods, so my wonderful father-in-law took it upon himself to get things started.  He hung a rope between two big trees in his backyard.  He then threw a long string over the hung rope so that we literally just had to tie the box to it and pull it up.

Now on to the box...  on Thursday night, yep- the night before the reveal, Bob and I ran to the UPS store and bought a PLAIN 20x20x20 box.  I didn't want anything on it at all {not even decorations, colors, "boy or girl", etc}, and I'm so glad the store had a plain one in that size!  We then bought twine, rope and several kinds of tape and headed home to come up with a plan.

The bottom was easy.  I took some twine and criss-crossed it along the bottom of the box before closing it up {the box came unassembled} so that the twine came out of the 4 corners.  We then used packing tape to seal the bottom of the box and secure the twine so it didn't slide around and then tied it to a point so that we could hang my FIL's rope from there.  Easy peasy.

The top was a bit trickier.  We needed to figure out a way to have the box stay closed when filled with balloons and confetti, but open easily when it was time for the reveal.  We did a few practice runs before the session {not filled with anything, don't worry we didn't cheat!} and we came to the conclusion that masking tape worked best.  More times than not, the box opened without a problem, so we just went with it and hoped for the best.

I then spent the rest of the evening before the ultrasound blowing up BOTH sets of balloons {pink & blue} and cutting both sets of confetti {I just used rolls of streamers and cut them into squares.}  I made two bags of balloons and confetti... one pink and one blue... and headed off to bed.

On Friday morning, August 30th, we left for our anatomy scan {nervous as heck for a healthy baby!}  It was me, Bob and Carter, who was SO EXCITED that he got to come with us.  We did NOT find out the sex while we were at the ultrasound.  Instead, I gave the tech two cards and an envelope.  I asked her to put the correct card in the envelope and throw the other card away.  I then asked her if she could put the ultrasound picture of the baby's sex {I needed proof, damn it!} face down on top of the reveal card so that we couldn't see either through the envelope.

I was oddly okay with toting that envelope around with me for the rest of the day all while knowing that I had the fate of my little family in the palm of my hands.  I had no temptation to open it, what-so-ever.

We spent the day running errands and then ran home to get everyone ready for the reveal dinner and photo shoot and headed to my in-laws house around 4:30.  When my photographer/friend, Steph, arrived, we gave her the box, both sets of balloons/confetti and the sealed envelope.

She was the only one to know the sex of the baby before the reveal.  And as a close friend, I knew she'd have some type of reaction to whatever the baby ended up being, so I'm glad she had time to process the information before taking pictures :)

She headed to a closed room to fill the box and seal it up.  She then hid all the evidence so no one could see any unused materials.  My FIL headed outside with the box and tied it up there.  We awaited the rest of my families arrival and then went out back to do the reveal.

I know many didn't read a single word of this and just headed straight to the pictures below {cheaters!} but I'm glad I have it written down so that I can remember the day and so that anyone else that may want to use this set-up for their reveal has more of an understanding of how to do it!

Now I do have to add something... I totally, 100%, without a doubt thought that this baby was a boy.  So much so that I wasn't even going to blow up the pink balloons.  So as you look at the pictures below, you can clearly see the shock on our faces.  When I envisioned this reveal, I thought I'd run around and hug Bob and my kids and celebrate our new baby.  But I didn't.  Nope.  I just stood there, shockingly.  And I cried.  I didn't know what else to do... I just stood there and cried happy tears. You can see more of my reaction in the video of the reveal below, so don't forget to check it out!

Whew... this got long.  Anyway, here are the priceless pictures taken by my wonderful friend, Steph of Stephanie Glover Photography.  And I have to quickly admit something right here, in front of everyone...

Steph, you were right.  Thanks for talking me into this. ;)

So, without further ado, here is our reveal for sweet little IV.

Reid had to inspect the "money shot" ultrasound picture, just to be sure. I don't think he agrees with the tech's prediction at all... ;)

And I have to give a shout out to my Carter Man.  He was the only one who thought Reid was a boy and he KNEW, without a doubt, that this baby was a girl.  So much so that he refused to even talk boy names with me.  He just... knew.  So here is photographic evidence of Carter's gender guesses of both babies.  {And he was correct with Brynn too... 3 for 3!} My little smarty pants ;) He starts kindergarten tomorrow, ya know {AHHHHH!}

Here are everyone else's predictions...

And, as I mentioned above, we have the reveal on video!  My sister-in-law's wonderful boyfriend, Shane, happened to capture the reveal with his phone.  I didn't even realize it, but I am SO GLAD that we have it captured on video because the entire thing is still a blur to me.  I've watched it over and over and it still makes me tear up every time.  As you can see, I was in complete shock and just stood there and cried like a baby.  Ha! Thank you Shane!

 

{For some reason, I can't really get the sound to work that great, but I'll fix it as soon as I can!}

Oh, and you can also see that the one side of the box didn't open until later... so the confetti came out first and the balloons came out second, once the other tab opened.  Oh well.  It may not have been prefect, but it was perfect to us. <3  I also do want to talk to you about the actual ultrasound, but I'll include that in my next post.

EEEEKKKK, WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now on to names... ;)

WW: Cast your vote!

With our anatomy scan quickly approaching {just a few more days.... EEEEKKKK!} it's time to officially cast your votes! 

What do you think little IV will be... a boy or a girl?  

I added a poll to my sidebar so feel free to vote over there and/or own up to your vote by commenting on this post.  Can't wait to hear what you think!

My ultrasound is at Maternal Fetal Medicine at 9:15am on Friday morning and will be a Level II 3D/4D scan.  It should take about an hour.  Then we're doing the reveal dinner on Friday night, so I should know around 6pm what this little bugger is {nope, we're not finding out at the ultrasound... we'll wait and find out with our immediate families!}

And guess what?  We're taking Carter with us!  I'm so excited to take him and he can't wait to "see" the baby. We have to run errands after the ultrasound anyway, which includes taking him to finish getting his school supplies {HE STARTS ONE WEEK FROM TODAY, OMG!} so we thought it would be fun for him to just come to the appointment.  It's nice that he's finally old enough to understand what's going on this time.  I'm just a little worried about his reaction if this baby is a boy.  He really, REALLY wants a girl and won't even talk about boy names with me. He just KNOWS this will be a baby girl named Sawyer {according to him} and that's that. Ha!  But I'm sure he'll quickly adjust to the idea of another brother, if that's the way it goes on Friday :)

So yeah... cast your votes! And please send all of your good vibes for a healthy baby!

IV

So, I guess the question of whether or not to have a 4th...

...was answered for us!

Baby IV due January 30, 2014.

Ahhhhhhhh! 

Yeah, so this is just another thing that has been going on lately.  NBD.

28 weeks and high risk.

Dress: Kohl's {non maternity}

Oh, where do I even start?  I feel like so much has happened this past week.  It's crazy how everything can change in just one appointment.

Friday was an interesting day.  I went in for my routine OB appointment and my second Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT). I passed my first GTT at 11 weeks with no problem {I take two because I make monster babies.}  Anyway, the test itself was fine and my appointment was okay as well.  I found out that I'm now up 21 pounds at 28 weeks, which I guess isn't terrible.  I'm on track to gain about 35 pounds, which is exactly where I was when I had Carter.  With Brynn I only gained 22 pounds total, but I also started at a heavier weight, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

My BP was great and the baby's heartbeat sounded perfect at 135 {exactly where Brynn's heartbeat always was...}  And that's kinda where the "routine" appointment ends and things start going astray.

First, my belly is now measuring more than 3 weeks ahead.  Again, this is somewhat typical for me and when the belleh starts to really break off from the norm.  I'm sure I'm on my way to 6 weeks ahead like I was with Brynn.  This is expected, but still a minor concern.

After my 28w OB appt, I headed over to Maternal Fetal Medicine for my monthly ultrasound.  Again, I'm being monitored every 4 weeks due to pre-e and large babies in my past two pregnancies.  I was totally expecting the same routine ultrasound and was concentrating more on where we'd be going to lunch afterwards. {What? Don't judge.}

But boy was I thrown a curve ball.

Well, most importantly, the baby is perfect.  Perfect.  Just look at him/her...

I mean... I know I'm bias and all, but that is one cute baby ;) I can't wait to nom on those cheeks!

The ultrasound tech started with some standard measurements on me first, before moving to the baby.  She checked my cervix, tubes, ovaries, etc.  The works.  I noticed her spending a lot of time taking pictures of my cervix, but I didn't ask questions.  She moved on to fluid levels, blood flow to the baby and then the growth scan.  When she was finished, she said, and I quote...

"So, I found a mass above your cervix and I want the doctor to do her own ultrasound to figure out what it is."

Huh?

There was no "mass" during my ultrasound 4 weeks ago.

When the doctor finally arrived, she sat next to me and tried to explain what was going on as best she could.  But the truth is? She had no idea what it was either.  She did her own ultrasound, took more pictures and measurements and checked the blood flow to the mass.  The good news is that there was absolutely no blood flow in the mass, which rules out a lot of things including a tumor.  She also said that, although the mass is above my cervix, it's not affecting the baby at all, which is awesome.  However, for several reasons {especially considering how fast it has grown} she is sending me in for a follow up appointment and ultrasound at the hospital for a second opinion.  Her exact words? "We're not taking any chances."

I'm obviously eager to get an official diagnosis and find out exactly what this "mass above my cervix" will do to this baby's exit strategy.  I'm {of course} hoping that it's just a benign fluid-filled cyst {this is what the MFM doctor thinks as well} that either moves or goes away entirely before the baby is born.  I would absolutely hate to have a c-section at this point {after successfully delivering 2 large babies already} but I will obviously do whatever is best for both myself and the baby.

Oh, and on top of all that?  My fluid levels were "slightly elevated" and the MFM doctor said that's a sign of gestational diabetes.  I told her that I haven't had GD in either of my two previous pregnancies and already passed one GD test in the 1st trimester and took my second one just before the ultrasound.  She told me that, even if I passed my GD test, she still wants me to take the 3 hour test to rule out GD officially. {Ummm, how does the 1 hour not rule it out??}  I took the 3 hour with Carter and it was torturous so I'm definitely hoping not to do that again.

I called my OB's office this morning and found out that I did pass my 1 hour test that I just took on Friday morning, {WOOT!} so I'm eager to see what my OB says about taking the 3 hour.  My nurse said that I passed by a lot, so I'm hoping that my doctor rules out GD officially.  I will, of course, take the 3 hour if my OB also thinks I should do it.  She has yet to receive the official ultrasound report so once she does, she will call and discuss everything with me {including the mass situation!}

Andplusalso? {Ha! Did you guys think I was done with this update?  Nope... there's more.}

My pregnancy has now be labeled "high risk" {because of the mass, my fluid levels, my pre-e issues and having large babies.}  I now have to be seen every week by MFM for a Biophysical Profile {BPP}.  If you don't know {um, because I didn't before this appointment} a BPP is a special ultrasound that tracks movement, the baby's heart rate with each movement {a.k.a. a nonstress test}, muscle tone, breathing rate, and the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. My BPP appointments start this Friday followed by my hospital ultrasound for the mass.

So, yeah.  I have an ultrasound {or two} every Friday until this baby arrives.

While I'm certainly thankful for all the extra monitoring to help get me and the babe to the 38+ week mark, I sure picked the wrong pregnancy to be team green, huh?  It's not that I'm tempted to find out at ALL {especially at this point!} but it's just the general slippage with each passing doctor and tech that walks into the room and/or the use or pronouns that worries me.

So after 57 ultrasounds by the end of this pregnancy, if we're still surprised at birth?  It will be a freaking miracle.

Pregnancy: 28 weeks

Weight Gain: 21 pounds

Sleep: It sucks.  I'm having so much trouble falling asleep, but hey!  I'm getting a lot of reading done.

Gender: We're team green, so we'll find out in September {hopefully, right!?!}

Names: Reid Joseph or Emerson Mae {see the name post here!}

Feeling: A little rattled after my appointment on Friday, but I'm trying to stay positive about everything.  I'm trying not to worry about the "what ifs" yet, until we know more. Again, the baby is perfect and that's the most important thing!!

Health:  Umm, did you read the update above?

Movement: Feeling lots of movement and I love every second of it!  The baby was really dancing around like crazy during the ultrasound on Friday.  So adorable.

Belly: Measuring over 3 weeks ahead right now, still no linea negra and my belly button has been out for awhile. And for comparison, here's my 28 week belly shot with Brynn!

Next Appointment: Biophysical Profile & follow-up "mass" ultrasound: this Friday, June 29th at 28w5d

18 weeks and it's a...

...healthy baby!!! And we stayed strong and remained team green! {Why yes, I did wear a green shirt to help keep me in check. Why do you ask?}

On Sunday, I did waver a bit. {What?} Up until that point I was perfectly content with being team green. But as the anatomy scan got closer and closer, I was thinking about just how great it would be to know. At the same time, I still very much wanted to be team green. But knowing me, I thought I'd get into the ultrasound, see my little pumpkin, and then have an overwhelming NEED to know.

Actually? It was the exact opposite.

We got settled in and the tech asked if it was okay if a student came in to observe and I said that was absolutely fine. I then mentioned that we didn't want to know the sex of the baby and asked her what she planned to call it throughout the ultrasound and she said she always refers to it as "baby" or "the baby." She then said she'd tell us when she was in that general area for leg measurements, etc and ask us to look away. Easy peasey.

The entire ultrasound lasted about 45 minutes. Once we got going, and I saw my baby, I just did not care what we were having. And I knew I could do it. I knew I could be team green with no problem at all. I didn't need or even want to know. That was my baby on that screen... I didn't care what it was. He/she was worth the wait.

Throughout the scan, baby was rolling all over the place, waving to us, kicking the tech, covering it's face... holy cuteness. She was able to get all the measurements, though with our bouncy baby, she had to go back to the heart and other organs a few times. She also had me lay on my side at one point {to stop baby from moving as much, ha!} so that she could get the spine measurements.

She got a lot of really great pictures for us {we even got a CD!} but I have always loved the profile shots the best. {THAT NOSE!}

High five...

I will kick you... {no really mom, I will kick you.}

And she also turned on the 3D/4D machine to get a few pics for us. Love this precious little face!

Overall, it was an amazing ultrasound, but there are two things that are concerning us right now...

1. Following suit from big sister Brynn, this baby also has an Echogenic Intracardiac Focus (EIF) on its heart. This is becoming more common, but it's still a little concerning. I've learned, through genetic counseling with Brynn, that everything is perfectly fine with the baby's heart {the way it's functioning, etc.} so there's nothing to worry about there {whew!} Having an EIF simply means that the baby has one of the many soft markers for Down's. Just one. But, because everything else is, as the doctor put it, PERFECT, he advised against further testing and we completely agreed.

2. The baby is breech. I'm assuming he/she has plenty of room in there and time to turn??? {I hope!!} But I am a little worried about this. I've never had a breech baby before and really hope that it's able to flip around at some point before it runs out of room in there. {Which will be sooner rather than later. I'm sure of it.}

So, yeah. Great ultrasound. Still team green. Baby is a mover and a shaker. And due to my history of high BP, pre-e and monster babies, doc wants to see me back there for a follow-up level II at 24w. Whew!

Oh, and after the ultrasound? Bob and I celebrated as usual, with a {ahem 90 degree} day full of shopping and food! Here's our very first purchase for baby {since I'm not a fan of gender neutral clothing!}...

So cozy! =)

Pregnancy: 18 weeks

Weight Gain: 4 pounds

Sleep: No problemo. Though the belleh is starting to get a little uncomfortable.

Gender: We're team green, so we'll find out in September!

Names: Reid Joseph or Emerson Mae {see the name post here!}

Feeling: I HAVE A HEALTHY BABY! I'm feeling wonderful!

Health: Seems to be okay. I don't have any swelling or any other indications that my BP is high, so that's good. I'm living on Zantac, but that's to be expected. Overall, I'm feeling really good.

Movement: He/she is a party animal! =)

Belly: Here's my standard belly shot for 18w. It's growing =)

For comparison, here's my 18w bump with Brynnie girl!

Next Appointment: OB: Friday, April 27th at 19w5d | Ultrasound: Friday, May 25th at 23w5d

Wordless | Number Three

Oh, ya know... just the newest member of our family. No big deal. ;)

Yeah, so that was one way to start 2012. I just knew it was going to be a good year! And is that not the cutest little peanut you've ever seen!?!

Details to come. =)

Brynn's Ultrasound

I apologize in advance if this post gets long, but I do have some things that I want to express on here and I hope that you choose to read it. If not, that's okay. I think just writing it down will make me feel better.

First, I want to say thank you to all the congrats and well wishes to my "it's a girl" post. I truly appreciate it! I'm still shocked that we're actually having a little girl!!! Bob, not so much. He knew it was a girl this whole time, so as I go around day after day saying "it's a girl?" he just responds with "yep!" =)

I didn't say much in that post on purpose because the truth is, they found something on the ultrasound. Baby girl has a white spot on her heart. Bob and I could clearly see it, and since the ultrasound tech was taking more than a few pictures of it, I decided to ask her about it.

Now, as far as u/s tech's go, they're really not suppose to say anything about what is found on an u/s until after the doctor has had a chance to look at it. But, because it was 2 days before Christmas and knowing that the office wasn't open again for another 5 whole days after my u/s, she decided to tell me what she thought it was.

A "prominent pulmonary muscle" is how she explained it. What does that mean? I have no idea. She kept explaining that it was "no big deal" and "very common" but of course I'm going to worry about it. Anything less than "your baby is the most beautiful and perfect thing I have ever seen" would make me worry, ya know? I just want baby girl to be okay.

Bob and I decided not to tell our families about what they found on Brynn's heart until after we heard back from the doctor. We didn't want to make anyone else worry if they didn't have too. The u/s tech said that the doctor would call us if she was concerned about it. And the good news was, everything else looked perfect. Focus on the positives.

Yesterday I got the call. As soon as I saw the number, my heart dropped into my stomach. The doctor didn't say much. At all. She just said that she wasn't sure what it was and that she was sending my paperwork over to the hospital and that they would call me to schedule a level II ultrasound. As soon as I hung up, I couldn't control myself. I cried and I cried and I cried some more. I was home by myself and I wanted to calm down before I called Bob. But, of course, as soon as he picked up the phone, I started crying again! He came right home with Carter and I was so glad that they did.

I decided to Google. Bad idea. Don't ever do that. I'm not even going to talk about what I saw on there. It's just a bad idea. Don't do it.

I then decided to post on the mommy board that I frequent to see if anyone else has had a similar experience. I got so many responses. Thoughts and prayers and comments from women who have gone through the same thing. All with positive results! I felt SO MUCH better after talking about it on there.

The conclusion: it appears as though the spot on baby girls heart may only be a "cardiac echogenic focus" which is one of many soft markers for downs. Because baby girl only has one soft marker, we're keeping a positive attitude that she will be perfectly healthy. Of course, we won't know exactly what it is until after the level II, but we are HOPING that's all it is! I'm still awaiting a call back from the hospital to get my appointment scheduled asap.

And to our families- we don't know what we would do without you. After telling all of you, we feel so much better. The love and support that you have for us is truly amazing and we love you more than anything in the world. We are so lucky.

Okay... now for the good stuff. Pictures!

My doctor's office has a brand new 3D/4D ultrasound machine so anytime you have an u/s, you get to see everything in 3D/4D as well and it's amazing!

On our way to the ultrasound... {it snowed for Carter's big u/s too!}

3D of Brynn covering her face. It even looks like she's smiling! Hands over her head!

Kind of a "talk to the hand" pose. Are we in trouble already?
Side view of her eye, ear, shoulder, etc.
Now for the 2D pictures...

My frog leg baby!!

Hand!

Feet!
And probably my favorite picture of the day... side profile view of our new baby girl. LOVE that little nose! I think she looks a lot like Carter here!Bob and I right after finding out we were having a little girl =)
After the big ultrasound, we headed out to do a little shopping and go to lunch. Here are a few of the things that we picked up for baby girl. It was so weird being on the "girl side" of the store!!!
Carter man also got a few presents too. Can't forget big brother =)

I want to talk a little more about the moment I found out we were having a girl, but I'll save it for another post.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers for Brynn's heart. We sure could use them! I'll keep you updated about when my level II u/s will take place and give you all the details about what they find. Here's to hoping it's nothing at all!

xoxo