20w6d

I'm over halfway to the finish line to meet my baby!  Woohoo!  It has been a LONG first half, I am certainly hoping the second half of the pregnancy goes a little faster :)

Yesterday was my 20 week ultrasound check.  Brian and I went with both of our mothers, so there was a full house there.  Baby looked great, and drumroll....it's a boy!!  Everyone except Brian was so certain it was going to be a girl, so there was a lot of surprise for sure.  I think the only reason Brian thought it was a boy was because the embryologist on the day of my transfer kept calling it a "he" and mom said "well it could be a girl" and he said "whatever you want to believe", so Brian is certain that somehow he knew.  Well, logically we know there's no way he knew.  We didn't do the CCS testing and they can't do that without your knowledge because there is a slight risk of arresting the embryo, so unless he can tell by looks, which we know is not the case, he was just generically calling it a "he".  Regardless, a boy we shall have.  I spent a good part of yesterday wrapping my head around having a boy.  It seems so stupid, all I want is a healthy baby, I know that.  But if I can be honest here, there was something inside of me that wanted a girl because I know how close I am with my mom and I really want to have that relationship with my own daughter someday.  Since IVF was so expensive and risky, and of course no guarantee, there is a strong possibility this will be an only child for us.  So for awhile I had to come to terms that I may never have that.  So now my new goal is to have a really sweet boy who loves his mommy a ton, can be affectionate, and won't go off and move away out of state and never call when he gets older :) 

They checked the heart really well yesterday partly because of Kate's TOF and partly because there is a higher risk of heart defects with IVF.  We could see the four chambers pumping away and the artery was where it was supposed to be, so they can pretty much rule out TOF, but there is of course the chance there could be another small defect we can't see, BUT still a relief to have everything check out thus far.  Brain looked good, no spina bifida and no cleft palet.  Face was adorable.  They turned on 3D for a little bit of his face and it was so precious, I just can't wait to hold him.  He has long skinny feet, long legs, and of course his boy parts were all there and in tact.  The placenta has moved off of my cervix, so it's not previa anymore which is great news.  The only possible concern is that the attachment of the umbilical cord to the placenta is slightly off center, they call it "marginal placement", so I could be at a slightly higher risk of placental abruption, which is very serious, so I will pray that is not the case.  The cord itself looked good though, it was 3 stemmed or whatever it's called, so baby can get nutrients and bloodflow nicely. 

Next step is another growth check in 8 weeks.  Baby yesterday was 75th percentile for his head, so they're not too concerned but with the lovenox they want to keep checking that.  I have only gained 6 pounds so far, but apparently baby is getting what he needs, so that is great.  Never in my life did I think I'd have trouble gaining weight :)  I am up to taking two lovenox shots every other day and one lovenox shot every other day, so my dose is slowly increasing and I will have my levels rechecked on Thursday.  That shot sure the heck hurts!  Also as I'm getting a little bigger it's harder to find a place that's fatty enough to stick the needle, and I'm hardly showing, so I can only imagine when I really get big, yikes!  One day at a time I guess. 

So thankful and blessed that baby is doing well, and I am so thankful for all of you who continue to pray for baby boy Mendelsberg.  I feel very blessed and just CANNOT wait to meet him and hold him in my arms.  Here's hoping the next 19 weeks goes quickly :)