Well, it's hard to believe it, but I have already hit my 24th week of pregnancy! This is the monthly picture Lia took of me today before we headed off on our weekend trip to Seabrook. I am definitely looking more pregnant these days and I think that it is obvious enough for some strangers to even notice. My stomach is getting large enough that I definitely will need Ron's help in the next few days to pull down the bin of maternity clothes from the loft in our garage. Thank heavens for leggings and tunic-style shirts that have made it possible to go this far without wearing my maternity clothes. Overall, I am still feeling really good. It is starting to get harder to do things like bend over, stand up from a soft chair or couch, or walk up and down the stairs. I am feeling the baby kick a lot every day--especially when I lay down at night which I just love! In fact, while cuddling with Logan one evening in his bed, he laid his hand on my belly and got to feel the baby kick five different times! It was so fun to share this special moment with him--especially since he is always going to be the 'big, older bother' to this baby. I have also noticed that my legs and especially my feet really hurt by the end of the evening if I have not taken the time to get off them during the day which is sadly most days. My ankles also look a little puffy when I take off my socks at night, so I think I need to start listening to my body more and taking a daily break which is easier said than done.
The other update of this past month is that I finally had my ultrasound appointment last week (September 26th) with Maternal Fetal Medicine after having to wait several days for my OB's referral to go through and then having to wait several more days to be seen. It was an extremely positive experience and I was amazed at how thorough and lengthy the ultrasound was. It lasted over an hour and the sonographer repeated my entire 20-week ultrasound in addition to performing an echocardiogram on the baby which is an entirely separate ultrasound on the baby's heart. After the ultrasound was complete, the doctor came in and met with me for several minutes to discuss the results. After being so stressed and worried for almost three weeks and bracing myself for the worst, I was incredibly relieved to learn of the good news. The 'bright spot' on the baby's heart had already disappeared and the overall health of the heart and kidneys look great which can also have abnormalities when a two-vessel, umbilical cord is found. So, both of the issues that were detected at my midpregnancy ultrasound have either been resolved or ruled-out as a problem at this point. I still have placenta previa, but there are plenty of weeks left in my pregnancy for the placenta to move and, if not, I will have a scheduled c-section at 38 weeks. Although this is not ideal, I will take it any day over the other two issues as it doesn't effect the health of the baby whatsoever. I will have an ultrasound at 32 weeks to check on the location of the placenta and I will also begin having weekly stress test performed on the baby starting the same week for the rest of the pregnancy to make sure that the baby is still growing fine and to make sure that the thinner, umbilical cord is not kinking (which can happen as a result of it having only two vessels instead of three). So, although there are still some issues to follow up on, I am just so grateful and relieved for the progress that has been made so far in this pregnancy and I hope and pray that this little baby continues to develop healthy and strong over the next few months until he joins our family this winter!
Here are some of the pictures of baby Emmett from my ultrasound at Maternal Fetal Medicine on September 26th:
Baby Emmett's adorable profile.
Emmett waving his hand over the top of his head.
His left foot.
And his right foot, too.
And Emmett will not like me for including this one when he is older, but here is the picture they managed to get of his little, "boy part." :-)
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