Baby Update

D's now at 28.5 weeks (out of 40) and everything's still on track. Almost two weeks ago we had our 27 week ultrasound, as a last minute check to make sure all the pieces we saw at 18 weeks are still there. Here's one of the ultrasound photos:

This might not be a surprise to many of you, but this baby is big. Chiquita was officially at 26 weeks, 6 days gestation, but she measured out at 28 weeks, 4 days on the ultrasound. That's almost two full weeks larger than "standard." She weighed in around 2 pounds, 12 ounces, and will continue to grow at about a half-pound per week for the rest of the pregnancy. So you don't have to do the math, that puts her around 9 pounds at full term, even if her growth tapers off in the last couple weeks.

We confirmed the gender, the presence of a diaphragm, and all the other basics. The one thing that was at all out of the ordinary was the amniotic fluid around the baby, which is measuring just at the high end of normal. Sometimes this can indicate gestational diabetes, especially with a big baby, but D was screened for that last week and passed with flying colors. That means it's likely nothing, since it was just barely remarkable and there usually ends up being no discernible cause. She'll get measured again in two weeks, and hopefully everything will be within parameters.

Chiquita's been moving around and kicking quite a bit recently, especially when D's trying to rest after a long day of work. I've felt several good kicks and a lot of movement....it's all fun but it doesn't help D with her already-sore muscles. Hopefully she'll be able to relax when school is over (in just over a week). Even though softball is done, D still hasn't been home before 5 or 6 in a long time. She has too many other commitments (and fun stuff) to take care of before coming home. A baby shower at school, a softball banquet, several meetings with next year's newspaper staff, a couple of doctor's appointments, and more....they're conspiring to keep her tired and worn out until the school year ends. Fortunately, she's still happy and healthy.

Pregnancy/Willow Update

Today marks Week 24 (out of 40). There's not much news at this point, but no news is good news. D's last couple of doctor visits have been uneventful (there wasn't even an ultrasound at the last one). But, I thought I'd take the opportunity to take a couple of pictures.

Willow hates to have her picture taken....she runs away any time I point the camera at her. Even when D picks her up, she starts to wriggle and try to get away.

Here's a close-up of Willow's new scar. They took the stitches out last week and it's healing pretty well. Hopefully, in time, it'll be a memory like her other two scars (from her spay and her back surgery). She's pretty much back to 100%, though we had a little scare with an allergic reaction last week.

And here's mommy herself. Tummies always pop a little earlier with subsequent pregnancies, but she still hasn't gained any weight since she got pregnant.

Sorting

D is sitting on the floor in the living room, going through all of the clothes and accessories that we got for Andrew.  They've been sitting in plastic tubs in the room we've picked as the nursery.  She's sorting out the ones that could still be appropriate for a girl and the other ones that might be a little gender-specific.  We'll pack all that up and save it for baby #3.

There's a lot of beige, yellow, and green stuff that we can still use, but D is worried about putting a baby in blue before she's old enough to be distinguishable as a girl.  Of course that doesn't mean she needs an entirely pink wardrobe.  We kept out the "I Love Bugs" shirt and the vine-climbing monkey outfit, but we put away the "Future Quarterback" shirt, at least until they create the WNFL.

Almost all of our big, nice blankets, especially the handmade heirlooms, are very blue.  We'll still use them when we're around the house, but they could be confusing in public.  We have very few normal, cotton, swaddling blankets, and I know we're going to need more burp cloths as well.....that's advice we've gotten from every parent we've ever met.  However, we've got plenty of socks.  They are darn cute, too.  We're also thoroughly covered in the classic book department; I love that our families know all the coolest books!

Amendment

An update to the last post:

1. I'm adding "Diva" and "Drama Queen" to the list....thanks to Jen for the tip. I'm sure there will be others as we run across them, and I'm already hearing grumbling from people who are looking for these outfits just to spite me. :)
2. I don't really have a problem with "Angel." It's mostly with "Daddy's Little Angel." Though she certainly will be my little angel/brat/mild-mannered-superhero-in-disguise, her clothing shouldn't be designed to compliment me.
3. Also added to the list after perusing some clothing sites: "Born to Shop," "Heartbreaker," "I Make Boys Cry," and "Does my butt look big in this diaper?"
4. Willow seems to be feeling better. I still think something's wrong, but it's definitely not as pronounced as it was, and I'm willing to hope/believe it's something less serious than another back injury. We're still keeping her confined to the living room and taking anti-inflammatories, so hopefully she'll be back at 100% soon.

Homer No More

Well, it looks like we're going to have to come up with a better nickname, because IT'S A GIRL!!! We had our appointment this morning, and everything looks great. We were able to clearly see a diaphragm, a well-formed heart, a solid palate, the appropriate brain formation, and all the necessary limbs. The tech was also positive on the gender, though mistakes have happened before.

To celebrate our healthy little girl, we took an impromptu trip to Babies 'R' Us, where we bought a cute little outfit and added just a couple of things to our registry. We have to take an inventory of what we have left over from Andrew and figure out how much of that stuff is non-gender-specific enough to work for a girl.

Of course, having a girl brings up a whole host of new issues that I haven't had to deal with to this point....I was already avoiding the risque outfits in the store. I know that sounds strange, but why do they make see-through blouses for 3-month olds? A girl will also require some new ground rules, so here's my first attempt:

• No shirts/outfits that say "Princess," "Angel," or "Flirt," even when used in conjunction with "Daddy's little..." or "Mommy's little..."
• Please no Disney princess stuff yet....she'll have plenty of time to destroy her self-image and construct a skewed view of romance and relationships when she's older
• Girls can wear colors other than pink....be creative

That said, we're very excited and have shed our share of tears today....thank you all for caring and we'll keep you updated on her progress.

PS- We somehow find it difficult to go through a whole day with only good news. When we got back to the house after the appointment, Willow was walking with a terrible limp. We took her to the vet and got her checked out, but they were unable to ascertain exactly what was wrong. Of course Willow was acting a bit better when we got there, but the vet was still able to see the limp. She responded well to all of the tests for range of motion, hip/shoulder/tendon issues, etc., and they don't think a cervical X-ray will be able to show much of anything. The options for what's wrong at this point include soft tissue damage (a sprain or strain in a muscle), an arthritis-related deficit, or a new problem with her back (this time in her cervical/neck area). We obviously hope the last one isn't the case, but we'll be keeping a close eye on her. We got some anti-inflammatories and will be keeping Willow inactive for the next seven days. She's currently in a pen in our living room, whining at us to get out....hopefully our concern for her condition will outweigh our sympathy for her pouting.

Is It Wednesday Yet?

The ultrasound is tomorrow, and we are both nervous and excited.  We have two doctor's appointments and two meetings with landscapers, so it'll be a busy day.  I'll definitely post tomorrow night, though, to let everyone know about the gender.  Can't wait!

Update

A quick post with the latest on the baby....

Everything's going well so far. We've had one more ultrasound since my last post, and Homer still looks good, though he doesn't seem to like being poked in the head with an ultrasound wand. Here's the picture from that checkup:

This is the first picture we've gotten that's head-on, and it makes the baby look a bit like a Klingon (or an alien). It's perfectly normal....nothing to worry about.

We go in next week (on Wednesday) for our 18-week ultrasound. This is known as the "anatomy" checkup, because almost all of the basics should be developing and can be seen in the scan. They'll be able to check for the major organs and limbs, including the diaphragm. Though we're being cautious with everything about this pregnancy, obviously CDH is foremost in our minds, and we're looking forward to seeing the lungs, heart, and digestive tract where they're supposed to be. There's also a good chance we'll be able to determine the gender, so check back here next Thursday for the news. For those of you that are uncomfortable calling a potential girl Homer, how does Casita ("little house" in Spanish) sound?

On a sad note, my Yia-Yia's best friend passed away last Friday. She was much too young and the circumstances were really unfortunate...she was in the hospital for a broken ankle and deteriorated quickly and unexpectedly. She was always incredibly loving and supportive of her friends and family, and I include myself among the latter. She was asking about D and the baby up to the day she passed away, and we're all going to miss her terribly.

Our Little Tidbit

I mentioned there was a fun tidbit coming along.....here it is!

 

 

I assume that these are somewhat self-explanatory, but here are the details:

• D is currently 12 weeks pregnant, which puts the due date at August 22
• It's too early to know the gender, but so far it seems to be healthy and on-track
• D has been feeling tired and nauseous (mostly at night), but hasn't had any major medical issues
• The timing of this pregnancy was unexpected....though very, very welcome
• We've been slow to publicize our news, as it's still early and we've learned from past experience that anything can happen....we're still being very cautious and trying not to get too excited
• The next step is an anatomy ultrasound at 18 weeks, in late March
• We will be finding out the gender, and we will be telling people
• We will not be telling anyone the name (not that we've decided anything), so don't ask

I've code-named this baby Homer, as we intend to actually bring this one home with us.  I'll probably also default to male pronouns (to go with the name).  However, I can guarantee that won't be the final choice, and I can only hope that the baby doesn't develop a complex if it happens to be a girl.

That's it for now.  I'll provide updates along the way....thanks for reading!

PS- Let me know in the comments if you need an interpretation of either of the sonogram pictures.