Do I look enormous for almost 15 weeks? If I don't, well I feel it! People told me that you get bigger faster with your second one, but this is crazy...

I will try to post more pics as we go along :)

It looks like we're batting on Team...

BLUE!

Doc says that he is 95% sure that Abebe is a boy because he is definite that there were no girlie parts. The way I look at it, one of us had to have a boy because pretty much all of the dbms so far are having girls (Come on Tamara, if you have a boy than Abebe won't be so lonely!) Heartrate today was 161 and still measuring about 3 days ahead in growth. Our NT scan came back beautifully. Our risk for Down's Syndrome is 1:1,200 (my age range is 1:440) and Trisomy 18 came back at 1:10,000.

I have NO good ultrasounds pictures to post today, but I will post a pic of my very first purchase for Abebe. I couldn't resist because this little lamb is just so darn cute!

Hello Second Trimester!

We are officially in our second trimester and I have to say, overall, that I am feeling better. I have more good mornings now versus bad mornings and the "girls" are hurting less. Those of us in dbml know that entering the second trimester is just a formality, but it does feel good getting out of the "normal" danger zone.

We have ultrasounds every two weeks and the doc is going to try to determine gender on Monday. He feels pretty confident that he can give us an accurate gender prediction as long as Abebe cooperates :) According to everything that I've read on the internet (I know, I know!) a trained professional can tell gender with about 80% accuracy at 14 weeks. So, in my mind, if there is a "hamburger" shall we say than I will be confident that Abebe is a girl. If doc calls boy, than I will wait to be excited because Lily was called a boy until we saw the "hamburger" at the 20 week scan. Anyhow, we shall see...

We stopped at a baby store in our area for the first time yesterday and it was very surreal. We shopped a lot for Lily at this store, and it felt a little strange shopping for a different baby. The store is super cute though with a lot of real trendy items. I saw two great things there that I will have to get before Abebe makes an entrance into the world. One was a breastfeeding cover that was pretty, and get this was called "Hooter Hider." I thought that was hilarious. And, a great sling to carry Abebe in that goes from 5 lbs. to 42 lbs., so we should get a lot of use out of that sling. At first, it looked really complicated to put on but the store owner gave us a personal demonstration and I'm pretty much sold on it.

I will update on Monday's appointment and hopefully will be able to post a good money shot ultrasound picture :)

Have a happy and SAFE fourth of July weekend!

Goldfish!

Two funny things about Goldfish:

1. Goldfish are great for those splendid moments of immense nauseousness. I now keep a bag right beside my bed so that the moment my eyes open, I can reach over and get a handful to pop in my mouth. Surprisingly, they work wonders!

2. You know how it feels when you can first feel the baby wiggle inside of you? I describe the feeling as goldfish and I have been noticing my little goldfish wiggling around in the last few days. Of course, its very sporadic at this point, but none-the-less makes all the body changes even more real and worth it. At our 12 week u/s we were able to watch Abebe dance all over the screen and its exciting to feel a few of the little flutters. The goldfish movements make my heart happy.

So, that is how goldfish have been affecting my life recently. I'm sure not many of you can say that, now can you :)

12 weeks~

So, I find myself inching my way out of the first trimester (although, those of us in dbml know that is only a technicality) and we had a great 12 week appointment. We did the NT scan, and Abebe's neck stuff measured 1.55, which doc tells me is a great number, so now we are just awaiting for our blood work results. Doc, (who we shall start calling Dr. M), did share his conversation with the perinatal specialist, (formally known as Dr. No, but for civility purposes we will call Dr. T) and Dr. M's tune is a little more cautious since their conversation. The pregnancy will not go beyond 34 weeks. We have our first MRI around week 20 to see what my scar is doing, and a second one will be done closer to week 30. An amino will be done at week 30 to see where Abebe's lung development is and steroids will commence to get Abebe ready to join us on the outside. Neither doc wants to take the risk of re-rupture, so here we are...in a very scary place, but with the best care possible for both of us. Dr. M also said that if I ever call with pain issues that I will be immediately admitted into the hospital for a few days of observation.

We did have a 4d ultrasound on Thursday, and it was an awesome experience. Abebe was flipping, kicking and flailing away. My heart just melted. I had been trying to keep myself somewhat detached just in case, but thats over now. I love Abebe just as much as I did the first time that I saw Lily dancing away on the u/s machine. Mommies are made to love their babies, and I hope Abebe can forgive me for my fear.

Here is the new pic~

Am I disappointed in myself?

I just ate a whole can of black olives with ranch dip. Am I disappointed in myself? Heck no. Do I wish I had another can of black olives? You betcha.

Our 12 week appointment is on Thursday and I'm looking forward to hearing what my doc has to say about the recommendations from the perinatal specialist. I'm also looking forward to another ultrasound! The only perk to a high-risk pregnancy is seeing Abebe every 2 weeks! So, I will update all of you on Thursday and post a new pic of our little blessing.

Happy Monday!

Perinatal Specialist Appointment~

So, we went to see the "Don't ever get pregnant again" doctor today, and you know what? He was wonderful and supportive. I actually feel a million times better!

The appointment started out with doing an ultrasound, and the tech was super sweet and at first did a regular ultrasound to see how baby was measuring and heartbeat. Abebe is again measuring perfect and heartbeat today was 168...I did ask her if she puts any stock into high heartrate determining sex of the baby, and she basically said that is total myth. Hey, I had to ask :) Then, she did a transvaginal to see if she could see the scar on my uterus, and she wasn't able to see anything. She left and told us that doc would be in the room shortly to discuss things with us.

Now, at this point, both me and my hubby wanted to throw up because we were so nervous about his response. So, doc came in and was very nice and upbeat. He did another ultrasound (3 in one day!) to take a look at my uterus and he said my uterus looks thick and strong. He also said that baby looks PERFECT and is in a PERFECT spot in my uterus. He said the words that I wanted to hear and they were "you know what your risks are, and I'm here to help you get through these risks. I don't see any reason why I would tell you to end this pregnancy" (Even though if he had I wouldn't have terminated). We go to see him again in 6 weeks, and again at week 19 and will begin our weekly visits at week 20, and will do 1 0r 2 MRIs when I'm further along to see how my scar is doing as my uterus begins to really grow. The lady that schedules the appointments told my hubby to make sure that he is at the next appointment because we will probably be able to determine gender as long as Abebe behaves :)

I can't begin to tell you the relief that washed over me when I left his office and knew that he was on our side, and more importantly that I know he will be working hard for Abebe. Here is one of the u/s pics from today~ I am so excited because Abebe is looking more like a baby!