Pregnancy Discoveries

Last Friday I had my much anticipated ultrasound appointment. This appointment is by far my most favorite doctor's appointment ever! It's where I get to see my baby and how he/she is developing and it's just amazing all the different parts of their little body you can see. I invited my mom to come along but she ended up not able to make it because we had that yucky freezing rain weather and the roads were too bad. Bummer. So it was me, Jayla, Blake, Melia, Daniel..yup the whole gang! The kids were so excited to see the baby so I knew I had to include them.

At the appointment three discoveries were made.

#1-The baby is healthy and everything seems right on track with my due date of June 15th. Yay! Baby is a squirmy little thing and was just kicking those legs! So it was hard to get a good shot in between them. Yes, I want to know what I'm having. I hate not being prepared so I HAVE to know.

#2-The little peanut finally held still long enough to tell that poor Blake is getting another SISTER! She sure had me fooled! I thought she was going to be a boy because it's been a mild pregnancy like it was with Blake. With my girls I had terrible all day sickness and had to force myself to eat. So she's already letting me know she's her own little individual. Blake had his heart set on a boy so later I took him aside and talked to him. I told him I was sorry he doesn't get a brother but that we can still love another sister. He replied, "Yeah, I'll still love her". Sure love my little man. I also talked to him about how he was special to be the only boy and that his role is so special in our family (not that the girls don't have their own as well but I was trying to make him feel important because obviously he is). Daniel is very happy to be having another daughter and it's a bonus for him that his prediction was right. I can't lie to say I wasn't a teeny, tiny bit sad about not having a boy but that emotion only lasted a second and I fully embrace my lovely daughter and am so excited to have her join our family.

#3-This discovery isn't as happy. Since my last two babies were born preterm the ultrasound tech wanted to check some additional things. What she discovered is that I have a short cervix which might explain why I've had preterm births. My cervix isn't able to support the weight of the baby so it brings on early labor. I'm measuring much shorter than normal but not enough to intervene at this point. I go back in on Monday for another ultrasound to see if anything has changed. If it has gotten worse, then there a couple of scenarios: I could be put on bed rest (NOOOO!) and/or have a stitched placed to close my cervix. This means surgery. I've never had surgery before. I'm a little freaked out. But I am thankful that the tech did check so we know what we need to do to keep this baby in full term. And it's taught me that I need to trust my instincts. After I got pregnant I was reading up on preterm delivery and how to avoid it. I came across an article about a short cervix and I had a feeling that it might apply to me. At my first OB appointment I asked my doctor about it and if it could be a possibility. He ruled it out because I had delivered one of my babies full-term and I just let the matter go. Thanks to the ultrasound tech again! Luckily, I'm already on the progesterone hormone shots which are supposed to help strengthen my cervix.

So with me being a woman and a worrier I'm now playing out every scenario in my mind and what we're going to do about each one. I'm a little nervous (okay, a lot) about my appointment and what we'll find out. Please pray for me and my family that no matter what we find out we'll get through it okay, especially if it is the dreaded bed rest.

So if you're all still with me after this long post, overall I'm a pretty happy person full of excitement to meet our Isabella. I'm sorry that there are no pictures to go along with this. My computer won't read the disc they gave me at the ultrasound. I'm going to try on a different computer later and hopefully it will read it. Also, I'm really bad at taking pictures of our life. I feel like I'd rather enjoy the moments then worry about getting the perfect pictures of them. I think I need to find a balance somewhere.

Oh, and we're having a difficult time agreeing on a middle name for Isabella. I like to keep it in the family and Daniel doesn't like any of my suggestions and I don't like any of his too much. So if you have some ideas send them our way. Thanks!