Baby news!

I had my Level 2 ultrasound today and it went really really well. PHEW! Not that we have been worrying about it because we haven't been. We have been so much more relaxed this time, ready to accept whatever child is meant for us.

Here's a glimpse of the baby's sweet face, in between blobs of stuff. The little blob in front of the nose/mouth is the hand and below that is an arm.



My risk for having a baby with Down Syndrome and Trisomies 13/18 are 1 in 6,500, which is awesome and a little shocking considering my age. My risk for having a baby with a neural tube defect (something Elijah does have) is very low, too. On the ultrasound, the brain, spine and HEART all looked great! The ultrasound tech actually said that. "The heart looks great!" That is something new for us, so it took a while for it to sink in. I'm still not sure I comprehend it.

The baby is measuring two days ahead of my original due date, so that means the growth is excellent, as well (something else we're not quite used to). The little one weighs a whopping 9 ounces! My due date is June 11th, and I am currently 19 weeks along in the pregnancy.



The perinatologist sat down with us after the ultrasound and told us that everything appears to be as perfect as can be*! During my pregnancy with Elijah, I got so used to leaving the doctor's office discouraged and in tears that Dan and I didn't quite know how to handle walking out of there with good news.

*I am in no way implying that Elijah isn't as perfect as can be. I would not change one tiny little thing about that perfect, amazing, wonderful little boy of ours. I wouldn't even change a single thing about the stressful pregnancy because we learned a ton from all of it.



Just to make certain everything is ok with the baby's heart, I will go back for a fetal echocardiogram in two weeks. If everything looks good during the echo, there will be an 85% chance (or greater) that the baby's heart is developing normally. Other than that, I will just resume normal pregnancy check-ups with my normal OB!

This pregnancy hasn't been 100% worry-free. I started getting Braxton-Hicks contractions a few weeks ago, right around the same time I started getting them when I was pregnant with Elijah. I have since started receiving weekly progesterone injections, which will supposedly help any pre-term issues to stay at bay. Remembering the GOBS of scary contractions I had during my pregnancy with Elijah (and bed rest) has me a little on edge, but we will just keep praying for a good outcome. My doctor has recommended no exercise and just taking it very easy whenever I can (ha!).



Do you want to know what we're having? I'll let Elijah tell you! I'm off to eat another Butterfinger Blizzard.



By the way, I hope Elijah's feelings about the sign don't reflect what his feelings will be toward his baby brother. He wanted NOTHING to do with this thing.