We're having a baby!!!

our most recent picture- upside down because it is easier to see what's what and where.


I know, I know- anyone who reads this is saying, no shit sherlock... we have known that for 2 months. Here is the thing though- this is the first time I truly believe it. Whatever needed to click for me, finally clicked. First, I battled fear of miscarriage and my anxiety issues. But in addition to those fears- I have not felt pregnant. I feel great, I have actually lost a few pounds, nothing has changed. Trust me- I am not complaining about this, but I am trying to describe how surreal this all is. We go in for an ultrasound, I feel the same as I have ever felt, and then boom- there is this little being inside of me. A little being who is over 6.5 cm long- that is pretty big, almost 3 inches.. inside of me, moving around, like seriously there. It is unbelievable... I am not saying I expect to feel little Lester yet- not at all, but I never imagined that I would feel like myself while this whole secret thing is going on inside of me. It is truly amazing.

We had our NT scan today. It went great- the baby looked 'perfect' in the words of the dr. Heart rate was 142 and it was such a cool ultrasound- baby was moving around and we saw all sorts of views- the spine, arms, legs, top of head, and more. As for the NT, if you don't know, it is a sequential screening- a 2 part process. Today we had the ultrasound which measures the fluid in the baby's neck. If the fluid filled cavity measured over 2.5mm there may be cause for concern for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down's Syndrome. Lester's fluid- about 1.6 or 1.7mm. YAY. I also had blood taken. I will hear from the office in about a week with preliminary results, then I go back for one more blood draw in January for the final results. Nothing is definitive- it will just give me a 1 in XXX chance of our likelihood of having genetic or neural tube disorders. Hopefully that XXX number has a lot of 0's on the end. With my age and the NT measurement- we should be in great shape.

The scan was funny. L'il Lester was kind of sleeping.. not really facing us for a good picture, so the tech pushed on my uterus to try to get him to move around. I thought DH was going to die. We have what I like to call the P rule in my house- DH has a problem with Pushing, Prodding, Pinching, Pincing, Poking, etc. my hips and stomach... for years he does this- it is kind of like a mosquito, he is constantly doing this, and I am constantly swatting him away :). When the tech left he pretty much attacked me as a rare opportunity to push, jiggle, rub my tum. He also went to blow raspberries, but upon his face meeting the u/s gel, pulled away.

I loved this place we went to. It was a last resort- the 3rd and final option of places to get our NT scan done because the 2 places in the city associated with UPenn health were booked up. This place is also with the UPenn system, but is in NJ about 25 minutes away. They were WONDERFUL- so kind, talked to us, the dr. we met was great... we actually scheduled our Big Anatomy u/s with them- since it is out of the ob's office anyway- I would much rather go there.

Life is great right now. I am so happy for this baby.