Hopeful Thoughts

After much fighting with technology (and waiting patiently on my husband’s CRAZY schedule), I FINALLY have pictures to post of our future bundle!

I went for a very early sonogram just after we found out because I wasn’t quite sure how far along we were. So, when we first saw the little darling at only 7 weeks, baby looked like this:

At only 7 mm long, this creature hardly looks like a human child. Not to mention, half of the little blob you see is actually something called the “yolk sack.”

It was hard to believe that merely 9 weeks later, we saw this:

Now, I’m one of those people who can’t see features in these things to save my life, but I can see my baby’s face, hands, shoulder, little legs … what a cutie all curled up with his head in his hands!!! My little darling! I saw the little feet kicking, and the little hands waving, and even the little body squirming away from the pressure of the sonogram thingy. (Sorry, I don’t know what the probe is actually called!) It’s so hard to believe that the little marshmallow from week 7 is now an actual baby shape! In fact, the only thing I didn’t see was the little bottom end that would tell us whether baby is a he or a she. That information was sealed up in an envelope, if you recall from my last post.

Our little darling even has a brain! (Although this is not my favorite shot of baby’s face!)

Mommy is changing, too. We tried last week to get a picture while I was all dressed up, but the lighting was bad and we ran out of time. So, I snapped this shot just to give you an idea. I need my husband to look photogenic, so no face in this one!! This is actually the end of Week 17.

Oh, and if you are dying to know what we found in the envelope, here’s the result:

If you haven’t heard the news, Ryan and I are expecting out first baby in August.

If you already knew that, then you’ve probably also heard about my “antibodies”. Back when they did the blood work at my first pre-natal visit, my midwife discovered an antibody in my blood. After poking me a second time, it was identified as “Anti m”. This was about a month ago. I was told to make an appointment with a specialist in Ft. Worth, but couldn’t get in to see him for another month.

In the meantime, my mother, my PA friend from high school, and I were all online looking for information about this thing that might threaten our unborn baby. There wasn’t really a great deal of information to be found. The best that we could tell was that, as long as the levels were low, it would most likely be no problem. However, there were cases noted where the baby had to have a blood transfusion at delivery.

Today I finally had my appointment with the specialist. After a lengthy sonogram, I know a bit more about what is going on. The levels of antibody were so low that it’s not even active at normal body temperature. In addition, it’s a large antibody that rarely is able to cross the placenta anyway. Not to mention, our little baby has above average blood circulation, which is another great sign!

So, for all of you who were praying, thanks so much! I will have to get blood drawn twice more to check the levels to make sure they are staying down, so we can keep praying for that, but Dr. T doesn’t expect to ever have to see me again! WOOHOO!

Now, if only I can resist the temptation to open the stapled envelope in my purse that holds the answer to yet another question?????