Important Milestone Today!

Our mid-pregnancy ultrasound was today. As the sonographer checked each of the baby's features, particularly the ones where Elam had had birth defects, I was tense and practically holding my breath. But all of the baby's measurements were normal, and she was very active. They checked her brain, heart, and other organs, and they all looked great! And they confirmed that she is definitely a girl. She's gained another 2 ounces since the last ultrasound, so she now weighs 8 ounces! Her heart rate was at 147bpm. We learned that the placenta is attached at the front of my uterus, which explains why I haven't been feeling her move much. It was nice to know that there was an explanation for that. Eventually she'll be big enough that it won't matter, and I'll feel her plenty. I loved watching her move around on the ultrasound, and we even got to see her yawn! We are SO grateful to the Lord for our healthy little girl! This was a very big milestone for us, as it was at the mid-pregnancy ultrasound where we found out that Elam had serious problems. Feels like we can breathe a lot more easily! I cannot explain how much of a relief it is to have this ultrasound out of the way! Now to start more planning... :)

A little baby foot. Each hand had 5 fingers and each foot had 5 toes! Everything looked great!

It's a GIRL!

Our mid-pregnancy ultrasound isn't scheduled until this upcoming Monday, but we had a quick ultrasound on Friday, March 4, where we learned that our baby is a GIRL! More importantly, we learned that she looks very healthy so far. So why this early ultrasound? For my sanity's sake! Over the last couple weeks, I had been feeling more and more anxious, especially with the big ultrasound approaching. The mid-pregnancy ultrasound was where things took a difficult turn for us in the last pregnancy, and Elam's birthday was this past week, so it was constantly on my mind. I finally decided to just call the doctor and ask for a quick ultrasound to check the baby's size. Elam was so behind in his growth last time, which was the first sign that something was seriously wrong.

So at the ultrasound, immediately I could tell this baby was looking better. I could see a lot more features than I could with Elam. And we learned that she's a girl. She was very active. I loved watching her kick! All her measurements were great-- still a few days ahead of schedule! The sonographer checked a lot of different organs out, and all the results came back normal. I was so relieved! It is so nice to have a good, positive, normal, healthy ultrasound this far into my pregnancy! I just laid there on the table, tears in my eyes, thanking God for my healthy baby.

I still have my ultrasound on March 14, where they'll hopefully do more measurements and confirm that she is, in fact, a girl. (We already feel really confident that she is, though.) :)

At this point, my nausea is mostly gone. I have my moments here and there, but I never feel sick all day anymore. I'm still feeling pretty tired all the time, but that I can work with! I've gained some weight. I finally gained all the weight back that I lost during my first trimester, and then I gained another 2 pounds. I'm hungry just about all the time now and I can eat almost anything I want. I'm definitely at the point where I'm enjoying my pregnancy. I've been feeling the baby move for several weeks now. It's just been a feeling of pressure, not the fluttering sensation. I'm hoping that will start soon. So anyway, overall I'm doing well and I'm so grateful for my healthy baby girl. Can't wait to see her again on Monday!

This is the best we could do to see her profile. The placenta is right in her face, but you can still make out the nose.

16 weeks