18.5 Week Update & It's A .....

Hello all:

I have the hardest time making myself sit down to write about my appointments anymore. I always try to be so detailed for you guys (and mainly for me so that I'll remember all this in the future). I get to where I really have to push myself to type all this out. I am certainly glad I do though because I have so many local friends who are also going through infertility that ask me questions and I have to get on here and look up to see the information that I remembered at some point and what happened with it. It is a very handy tool for me as well as the most awesome way to keep up with my blog friends (all of you guys)!

So... I went to the doctor on Wednesday. I, for once, was nervous but not overly nervous like I usually am. I didn't have to wait long and I got the ultrasound tech that I just love. She is so sweet and so informative. She explains everything to me. She is also the tech who predicted that the baby was a girl right after all of that bleeding. Well, she told me again on Wednesday that she definitely is indeed a little girl. I am having a Zoey Danielle!

Zoey is a name that my momma and I heard at my brother's football game the night before my IF surgery. Of course I had heard it before but we just fell in love with it. It was brought up again a couple of months ago and it has stuck. This baby is a Zoey! The name means "LIFE" and that's just what she is to me, my life already : ) The middle name is Danielle which is in remembrance of my beloved, best friend Danielle Bowman. I have said from the start that when I got pregnant, I would use her name if I had a little girl. I Prayed at the beginning for God to let her be a part of this pregnancy and baby in some way and He has!

Would I have been disappointed with a little boy? NO, NO, NO! I would love either and would hope to one day have both. I have just yearned for a baby, no matter what it's gender was. But it is nice to be able to name the baby after Danielle. The name Danielle means "God is my judge" and that fits perfectly, too, because it is God who has judged this situation and decided to provide life to this little child and to this expectant momma. Praise the name of Jesus for this wonderful blessing! May this situation, this child, and this family bring honor to the name of God!

I did find out more than just the gender. The baby is growing well and measured up well. The genetic counselor came in during my ultrasound to aid in looking for markers for Downs Syndrome since my test came back at an increased risk. Some of the things they looked for were the kidney shape, the "sixth digit" which was making sure there were 3 bones in the pinkie finger, other organs and their shapes, and cysts on the brain. They thought that they possibly saw a cyst on the baby's brain but they were really unsure. I felt at peace the whole time because I truly feel that she is OK. The doctor came in and did a third ultrasound and confirmed that there was no cyst there and that it was normal! Praise God! The only thing they couldn't really see was the heart and they will scan it next time. So, be Praying that the heart is functioning well please : )

The genetic counselor realized in the middle of the scan that I had bled in the weeks prior to, and during the week of my Quad Screen. She said that the bleeding could have thrown the blood work off, too. The doctor confirmed that as well. He said it was the HCG levels that were off a bit and those were what would be affected by the bleeding. I had read this online when researching so I was familiar with what they were talking about. I hadn't been overly stressed either because God had given me a peace about the situation just hours after the phone call with the test results.

The blood clot was mostly gone. There was some blood left in the uterus and was just laying there. The doctor said that I could pass it or it could reabsorb. The membrane (water sac) had began to attach to the uterine wall but was still unattached just a bit. For this reason, I was kept on modified bed rest for another 2 weeks. Also, the placenta had moved out of the way! Praise God!

I do have a couple of pictures for you. These show the baby looking at us. None of my pictures have been as good as those from 14.5 weeks but we'll take them! No big deal to me. I just love seeing her. There was even one point where she covered her face with her hands as if she were saying, "Not more pictures!" Too funny because I am the picture queen! The tech tried to get a picture of the baby so that I would have proof she was a girl but she closed her legs right as she tried to capture the image and she wouldn't open them again. Oh well, at least she is modest. That means we are off to a good start : ) HAHA

Thanks be to God for giving me such great news at this appointment! I am so blessed to have gotten good news and I just praise my Heavenly Father's name for that! Thank You Father for this little girl who has already touched my life and the lives of so many. Continue to bless her in my womb and throughout her whole life. Use her life to glorify You! Strengthen me so that I am able to teach her all about You and Your perfect ways. I love you Jesus.

Here are the pictures of Zoey Danielle. Enjoy and remember that I am still Praying for each of you guys. I feel like God is moving in a lot of your situations even though I'm not sure how. He is good and I know that you guys know that because after what we've all been through, I can't imagine heading into such a dark tunnel of infertility without the light of Jesus guiding us through. I love you guys!