Halfway There!

We have made it to 20 weeks and are excited that we have made it to the halfway point. We started this journey not knowing if we would make it this far, but God has answered our prayers. Every day I thank God for another day with our baby. I have started to feel him move around which brings a smile to my face every time I feel it. I can’t wait for Trey to be able to feel our baby. Some good friends of ours let us borrow their fetal doppler so now we are able to listen to the heartbeat whenever we want. I have to say, it is a little addicting to have that joy at our fingertips. There is so much comfort in being able to check on him whenever we feel the urge and we have even been able to share it with family.

We went in for our level II anatomy scan today and overall were given good news. The CH was still there, but the doctor didn’t even mention it. He took another look at the heart and said we were moving in the right direction. Last time he saw us (16wks) it looked like there was a hole in all 4 chambers of the heart. Today, it looked as if there was a tiny hole only in the bottom chamber of the heart. The dr said often times these will close up on their own before delivery or they can be treated once the baby is born. Good news, but still some uncertainty. We will get more information on this in a couple of weeks when we meet with the fetal cardiologist. A couple of the baby’s measurements were still a little on the short side, but the doctor is not concerned with it. He said the baby is still growing and they aren’t that far off, so baby might just be a little on the small side. So, looks like he takes after me. We are still waiting on the results of our amnio because they ended up having to grow some of the cells. We should have more information on that as well in a couple of weeks.  These next couple of weeks are going to be full of information and I ask God to help us understand everything that comes our way.

Apparently all along we were supposed to be going to see our regular OB for checkups on me. (I have been in doctor’s offices every two weeks or so for the last 2 months, when would there have been time for me? Isn’t that how it goes when you have kids, there is never time for yourself anymore? J)  I called and explained everything to my OB and they want me in Thursday. It seems as though there was a communication somewhere which is understandable given the circumstances.  In all reality, I only missed my 16 week check up with them, so hopefully everything works out the way it should.  

All in all, our appointment was filled with hope. We are still a little nervous about getting too comfortable, but things are definitely looking up. We will now be on an every 4 week schedule with Texas Children’s until delivery. Yes, the doctor actually mentioned delivery! Please continue to pray for Baby Bish, God is listening and doing amazing things through our baby.  

 Right when she put the probe on my belly for a side view he turned his head to look at us. To be completely honest though, kinda looks like an alien :)

 Legs- Loos like Pinochio

 

Tiny foot (It looked better on the monitor)

 

Ting fingers waving at us.

 

I am overwhlemed with how much love I already have for this little guy. Every time I see him on the screen I think he is just the cutest thing ever!. 

 

 

 

Amnio, Take Two... Action!

We had our appointment today for our second attempt at the amnio. Overall everything went well. Our baby wouldn’t cooperate yet again with the ultrasound tech and was being quite difficult. He was always moving around, but when she needed to turn a certain way for a better angle, he would jerk in the opposite direction. His heart rate was still awesome, but there is still an indication that there could be a heart defect. The CH has not grown which is good and is looking smaller as baby gets bigger. They said a lot of times babies just grow into their CHs. As we are getting the different images we couldn’t help but laugh because the only clear image the baby would cooperate with was of his boy parts. He’s quite proud and wants to make sure everyone can see at all times. We were able to do the amnio and the doctor was quite excited. She joked that with all the less invasive techniques out there she doesn’t get to do many procedures and loves to do amnioes. I laughed at her and said I felt like I was on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy where all the doctors were fighting over the different procedures and surgeries. The procedure itself went smooth. It was a different kind of feeling. It wasn’t quite pain, but just a weird pressure. Baby was completely unaffected by the procedure. When we checked his heart rate at the end it was the exact same, so he didn’t have any stress over it. When we finished we both had to do blood work that way if something did show up in the results they could compare it to our blood samples and try and figure out where it came from.  Trey was not thrilled and I never realized how much he hated being poked with needles. He told the nurse that he couldn’t complain too much because of everything I have been through. I walked into the room and he looked nervous. I smiled at him and said they just stuck a needle through my stomach so I think he could handle it. All in all a good day. With every appointment we grow more at peace and more hopeful that everything will be ok. God is definitely doing amazing things in our lives and in our faith. We have another appointment scheduled for 2 weeks where we will do a full anatomy scan where they will take all kinds of measurements of baby and the different bones. They did that a little the last time and it’s fun to see all the parts. Two weeks after that we will go for the fetal echo for more information on the heart. We will find out exactly what the issue is and what the game plan will be moving forwards. As always we are asking for God’s continued protection over our baby and his healing grace. There is great comfort knowing that all this is in His hands.

This was taken right after the amnio. He is hiding his face behind his hand.

(I joked that he was pouting from the procedure)

It's a ..........

Back when we did that first round of blood work for the genetic testing we were able to find out the gender of Baby Bish. Our genetics counselor called to give us the results of the blood work and we got the all clear on the 4 main disorders we were testing for and were pleased with that news. She asked if we wanted to know the gender and I told her we did. Prior to diagnosis of the CH we had said we wanted to do a big gender reveal party in which we found out with the rest of the people at the party. Because of all the fertility treatments, most people knew we were trying and were expecting to hear news that we were pregnant. So there was no real surprise factor when we announced we were finally pregnant, so we wanted to make the gender reveal a big deal. That was going to be the first surprise to reveal.  After the diagnosis and the fight for our baby’s life began, all of that took a back seat and became less important. What was important to us now was the fight. I always planned on Trey and I being together and sharing a moment of finding out the gender together. Well now I was on the phone with the counselor and Trey was still at work. I froze and didn’t quite know what to do. I told her we wanted to know, but I didn’t know if Trey would want us to find out together or if he would be ok with me telling him. I think I more so wanted us to find out together. She said she would be there for a few more hours doing paperwork and I could call her back if we wanted. I called Trey to tell him we had the results of the blood work and he asked if it was good news or bad news. More like, do I need to rush home or can I finish what I am working on. I told him the news was the best we could ask for at this point and then went into specifics. I mentioned she knew the gender and we decided to conference call her so we could both be on the line. She told us and it was somewhat of an awkward moment. We were going to be excited either way and Trey said all that mattered at this point was that we get Baby here.

I used to make fun of my sister when she was pregnant with her kids because she would always say she had a gut feeling to what the gender of her kids was; like it was mother’s intuition. I laughed and made fun of her and told her she was full of it. Shortly after we found out we were pregnant and when I started to think about it, I had that gut feeling as to what we were having and I turned out to be right. I guess at the end of the day I had a 50/50 chance of being right.

After finding out the gender, I feel like things were harder. It made us that much more emotionally attached to our baby. With still so many unanswered questions, that was scary. I feel like with every appointment and with everything we find out about baby, we get that much more attached. Now, with every day that passes, I feel like we are one day closer to getting to meet our little one and start a life together.

 

Oh Yeah, did I mention IT'S A BOY!!!