On Thursday, May 5th, I decided to take the whole day off of work so that I could enjoy the anticipation of finally finding out the sex of Baby A. I'd assumed that the day would fly by, but I was wrong. I woke up fairly early because I was so eager to start the day. Because Kyle had to work the day shift, my mom came over to keep me company before my afternoon appointment. We spent the morning doing some shopping and some "what if-ing" at Target. (We knew that we wouldn't be doing much baby shopping if Baby A ended up being a boy, but I couldn't stop myself from daydreaming about what I would buy if Baby A ended up being a girl.) After some shopping, we went to Zea to grab a quick bite, then I went home to wait for Kyle. I was THRILLED that he would be able to finally come to an appointment and meet my OB. He said he loved Dr. Hamilton, which was great. I definitely want him to be 100% comfortable with the doctor who will likely be delivering the rest of our babies. Because I had an ultrasound scheduled after my OB check-up, Dr. Hamilton let us go in and out. I was worried that we'd have to wait forever for my ultrasound, since the MFM doctors usually have at least an hour of waiting time, but that was't the case. When the nurse called my name, I immediately felt the familiar butterflies. I wasn't worried that they wouldn't find a heartbeat (since I'd just heard it an hour earlier), but I was worried that they would find an abnormality. I tried to keep my fear in check and focus in on the fact that I would know the sex of my baby in less than an hour. The ultrasound tech got to work pretty quickly, and we waited patiently for the words we were so eager to hear. I could tell fairly quickly that the baby had all necessary body parts, but I was eager to hear the details. When we got to the groin area, the tech asked us what we thought we were having. I saw 3 white, horizontal lines on the screen, and I knew what that meant. WE'RE HAVING A GIRL! I think Kyle went into shock at the news, but he's gotten used to it since then.
Because I hadn't felt much movement yet from the baby, I asked the tech where my placenta was positioned. She confirmed what I'd been suspicious of - it is anterior, meaning that it attached to my uterus near my c-section scar. During my ultrasound, the MFM doctor also noticed that my placenta was being pushed down to cover my cervix during the Braxton Hicks contractions I was having. He mentioned that if my placenta didn't move, it would mean that I will need another c-section. Fingers crossed that it moves up as my uterus expands!
The last "biggy" from the ultrasound was that the MFM found 2 choroid plexus cysts on the baby's brain. He explained that the cysts were basically areas where the blood vessels in the brain have parted and left an empty area. He went on to say that they normally resolve themselves by the 32nd week of pregnancy, and that even if they didn't, they weren't necessarily a big deal. Obviously, I was hoping that the doctors would find a perfectly "normal" baby, but in terms of bad news, this was pretty mild. The doctors would like me to come back for an ultrasound around 32 weeks to reassess the cysts and my placental position.
I suppose I could be letting myself obsess over the news of my baby's CPCs, but I refuse to ruin my pregnancy with the worry I had during Nile's pregnancy. I'm grasping onto the hope that the doctors have given me that everything will be okay. If I've learned nothing through all of this, I've learned that God will make a way. I've also learned my own strength, and I'm capable of handling this.
Because Baby A is a girl, her name will be Evie Faith Arrington, due Sept 26, 2011.
