Well, here we are. 22 weeks exactly today. Wow...I can now say that this is as pregnant as I've been since M. Puff was born at 19 weeks 6 days, just 3.5 hours short of the 20 week mark, though he'd passed several days before that. It is an amazing feeling, though the caution, trepidation, and qualifying statements (mostly in my head) haven't evaporated over night.
The biggest thing to announce is that I went to the doctor three weeks ago. I'm sorry this post is so late, but most of you already saw our FB post about this. For those of you who haven't...IT'S A BOY!!! We are thrilled and so is M. Initially, she wanted a sister so she could get bunk beds like her best friends (who are sisters). Once she realized it would take a few years before the baby could sleep in a bunk bed, she decided she'd rather have a brother so she wouldn't have to share her toys. No worries, we explained that she'll have to share her toys no matter what! She still wanted a brother because it means she won't have to share her nicer jewelry, lol! On my blog, he will be referred to as Q. For privacy's sake, though no one really reads this except family and friends, I don't use the first names of my husband and living children. Most of you will have seen the Facebook announcement that will go up at the same time as this blog post, so you'll already know his full name.
The ultrasound with the MFM revealed that he seems to be in perfect health. If anything, he is a bit on the bigger side. The MFM said that was a good sign, though I may not appreciate it as much when I reach term, lol! He measured at 19 weeks 6 days for size when I was 19 weeks and he weighed 12 oz (though weight can be off a good bit...most of us probably have stories about that). I was especially glad to hear that he was a bit above target for size since I haven't gained any significant weight yet. I lost weight with Puff and I'd always wondered if that might have had something to do with his death. My ob/gyn had assured me it didn't, that we did everything right and that he'd never been concerned about my weight loss (especially since I'm a bigger girl). Q's health and...ahem...vigor have removed any doubt I had. He was laying on his left side, facing my left arm (if he'd been able to see through me, he'd have been looking at Daddy through the ultrasound. He was very cooperative and let the MFM see everything he wanted to see except outflow on the left side of his heart. The MFM said he could cheat and tell that it was ok, but he wanted to see me back in 5 weeks for another ultrasound just to get a clearer picture. I don't know if it was truly to see Q's heart or if it was to set my mind more at ease, but I don't really care. I could have sat there all day and looked at him.
The MFM was fantastic about pointing out everything they were looking at and why. "See this? This is the cerebellum. See how it is shaped like a dumbbell? That's good! If it were shaped like a banana, that is indicative of spina bifida." "See his foot? It is in proportion with his arms and legs. If it wasn't, that could be an indicator of Down syndrome." He went on to point out the present nasal bone (can indicate Down syndrome if absent), appropriate neck thickness (can also indicate Down syndrome if too thick), and his intact lips (no signs of cleft lip or palate). So everything looked great! The MFMwants me to do a baseline protein test due to my still elevated blood pressure. He said I do not have pre-eclampsia now, but might develop it later on, so he wants to see a baseline measure now to have a comparison. My blood pressure was much lower when I saw my ob/gyn after the ultrasound (imagine that...), but he agreed with the MFM. It certainly won't hurt anything to have it done. My ob/gyn was happy with all the results and scans, with my overall progress, and wants to see me back in three weeks (two now) for the protein test and my glucose check. So I go back to my ob/gyn today for those tests and to the MFM in two weeks for the ultrasound to see the left side of Q's heart.
