T.O.T.E.

There she is! How beautiful is that face? I just want to kiss those little cheeks.

Isn’t ultrasound technology amazing? It seems a little like cheating to see her face so clearly before she’s on the outside.

So, some of you may be thinking. An ultrasound at 30ish weeks? Why? I know a 20 week ultrasound is normal, so why the extra?

See, that’s the other thing about ultrasounds, sometimes they reveal too much…

Earlier in this pregnancy, at the 20 week ultrasound actually, the technician found an anomaly named Persistent Right Umbilical Vein (PRUV from here on out to save both my brain and my fumbling fingers). Without going into too many science-y details (just for you Jess) babies start off with two umbilical veins, and around week seven, go down to just one.  Who knew? The umbilical cord generally has one vein and two arteries. In most babies, it’s the left vein that sticks around, but in our sweet little girl it is her right (thus the persistent part of the diagnosis).

In isolation, PRUV is not a big deal. In combination with other “markers” (heart defects, cleft palette etc) it can be an indicator for a chromosomal disorder.

Mind you, this was all explained to us by our doctor via email. I would certainly have preferred a phone call…But, much to the detriment of face-to-face (or even ear-to-ear) patient/doctor interactions, email is another great technological advance of our society.

Anyway. Between our initial scan and our rescheduled ultrasound we prayed. We prayed hard. We asked many of you to pray. We prayed that our hearts would be open to any outcome. We already loved this little girl so much. Ultimately, we arrived at the perinatologist’s (at-risk baby doctor) office with a sense of peace.

And, as most of you know, everything was fine. Our ultrasound tech was chatty and lovely, willing to indulge all our super nerdy science questions. And ultimately the doctor said PRUV was the only anomaly. “Probably, before we used ultrasounds so frequently, many babies were born with this condition, and we didn’t even know the difference.”

See how I’m bringing this back to the beginning?

The ultrasound today was just to double, triple check that Baby is fine. And she is. She’s growing like crazy and is above average for head circumference (no surprise there!). Her estimated weight is 4lbs 7oz, and she’ll double her weight in the next 9 weeks. That giant head plus weight guesstimate has me thinking ouch! So, we received the all clear today and are officially a low-risk pregnancy…again. Well, turns out, we were all along…

Side note: can you imagine if we could double our weight in 9 weeks? I’m pretty sure we would die… Babies are amazing!

At this moment, I can gaze lovingly at these pictures and see the beautiful baby girl we truly adore…But, several months ago, I was an emotional wreck while we waited for answers.

So, ultrasounds…I love ’em. But I hate ’em.  

And, yes. I can hold two conflicting beliefs in my brain at the same time. I’m going to blame that on preggo brain. I am also blaming preggo brain for locking my keys in the car day before yesterday. Luckily Mo was already out and we were at the library. If you’re going to be locked out of your car, the library is a great place to be.

And the company wasn’t too bad…minus the kicking and screaming when we had to leave, but I think that comes hand-in-hand with the cuteness…

(No, this picture wasn’t taken at the library, it’s Mo trying to carry all of her “peeps” at a time, and too cute not to post…I think that’s chocolate on her face, or maybe dirt…)

PS Bob and Julie, thanks for the AAA membership! It would have taken Andy a long time to get to us by bus.

I can’t end this post with Mo-bug because it’s supposed to be about #2, so here’s one last (little bit fuzzy) 3-D image of her cute little face. We’ll be able to compare these pictures to the real thing in T-minus 8-ish weeks. Oh man, all of a sudden that doesn’t seem like a very long time. I better go clean something…or eat some ice cream. Hmm…She does have quite a bit of weight to put on…I definitely choose ice cream.

PPS Thanks for your prayers and positive vibes. We certainly felt and still feel them. Feel free to keep ’em coming. This journey is far from over.

Phew.

Moving is hard. This is how Mo feels about it:

However, we were blessed with good weather an abundance of help and love. It was incredibly humbling to watch. And watch I did. I wasn’t allowed to move anything. Fancy that.

It’s late and we have a very important appointment in the morning: another ultrasound! We get to see our beautiful (and growing) #2 again. Yay!

So, I’m sure I’ll have more to write tomorrow, including new pictures of our precious #2. And A LOT more photos of the moving process. But for now, time to go to sleep. In our bed. In our house. That makes me feel like this:

Joy…

Good morning! I forgot to post this yesterday on “Two’s-day,” so here’s your baby bump update, just a day late.

Woo-ie, she is out there!

We hit 30 weeks gestation last Friday, which means (dun, dun, dun!) less than 10 weeks to go before #2 makes her appearance. I’m feeling pretty dang good.  Between the Flu, packing, moving and life in general, I haven’t been able to exercise in 3ish weeks. I can certainly feel that in my back. But, there is always tomorrow. I plan on starting water aerobics again next week. That pool will feel wonderful!!

There is A LOT to do before #2 arrives, including: move into the new house. That is happening this weekend. Please pray for sunny skies!!! Huge thanks to our parents and friends who are coming out (rain or shine) to help.

By the way, if lifting and moving heavy objects in return for pizza and beer happens to be your favorite thing in the whole wide world AND you’re located close to Portland, feel free to come on over and help! We certainly wouldn’t turn you away.

Hmm…I should probably start packing huh?

Andy and I took a refresher course last night on “Relaxation Techniques for Labor.” I definitely laughed…Relax? During labor? Ha! HA HA HA! ha! HA HA HA…ha…ha…oh man (thanks for allowing me a moment of hysterical laughter-turned panic…I feel much better now). Actually the class really helped us (mostly me) focus and set some goals for #2’s delivery. That will be a post all it’s own.

We did tour the birthing center. Two words: Jacuzzi tub. In every room! Apart from the bathtub that I never plan on leaving, the environment is peaceful and beautiful. Andy says the most important part is the extra large couch that he can rest on. I say, “Rest? What’s that? And when, exactly, do you plan on doing this ‘resting‘?”

And then I remember what it is like to have a brand new baby. And they do rest. They sleep a lot. Thank you God!

Post coming soon: The rooms are painted! Thanks for all your suggestions. I think the house looks amazing. And a HUGE thank you to Bob and Julie for coming out last weekend to do it! It wouldn’t have happened with out you!