I've Been Pregnant For Half of a Year!...

Six months pregnant, that's half of a year! It's just crazy to think that six months has gone by.

I went to the high risk OB for an ultrasound to determine if Hershey had two kidneys or only one. The tech did a thorough look, took lots of pictures and then the doctor came in. He did another thorough look, explaining all of the babies parts, organs, even all the heart chambers and valves. He also found two kidneys! I wasn't terribly worried, but I'm very happy that she looks so healthy. The doctor even said that I had one of those, "boring healthy babies". Too funny :)

He did talk to me about some of the extra risk factors that sometimes come with an IVF pregnancy. I sort of felt like why hasn't anyone talked about these before?! But one thing that I have a higher risk of is a shortening of my cervix, which can cause preterm labor. So he asked that I come back in a couple weeks to be sure my cervix isn't shortening. So I went back and everything looked good!

Day to day, things are pretty much the same. Around week 21, I felt the baby move for the first time! So cool. I feel her every day now, especially after I eat. Manda is so excited and can't wait until she can feel her move. She wants me to tell her every time I feel her so she can put her hand on my belly in hopes of feeling her too. But nothing from the outside yet.

We are slowly working on preparing the house, the nursery, having a baby shower. The nursery has 3 walls painted so far, thanks to my mom for painting!

Tomorrow marks 24 weeks, or 6 months exactly. My next OB appointment is this Thursday, the 28th. I can't believe it's almost September!

We're Having a Baby Girl!!...

It's been almost exactly 2 months since I've written. In some ways, things have slowed down.
-The doctor appointments I was going to all the time has slowed to only once a month for now.
-The feeling terrible has lightened up almost entirely...for now.
-The going to Flint many times a week has turned into only weekends.
-It seems that we actually have time to just sit and watch TV once in awhile, cook dinner at home sometimes, and think about preparing for a new baby.

My 16 week appt was on July 1st and went just fine. The doctor wasn't concerned with anything, my few minor questions were answered, the baby's heartbeat was at 145, everything was good.

I started to lose my mind after awhile. At the beginning of my pregnancy I had an ultrasound every week or every two weeks. This time I had to wait 8 weeks...two whole months before I could see her and know things were ok. I started to worry about her health, about my health, just generally if she was ok.

Finally, on July 30th, I had my 20 week ultrasound. We had both been so excited for this appointment. We wanted to hear that heartbeat again, we wanted to see our baby again, and we were really hoping to find out the sex of our baby. The ultrasound tech was very nice and helpful pointing out all the parts of my baby. Hershey was not very cooperative when we were looking to see if she was a girl or boy. The tech had to try several times before revealing that Hershey is in fact a GIRL! I cried when she announced we were having a girl :) Her heartbeat was at 143. She measured right where she should be at 20 weeks. I'm not sure how this works but she said Hershey weighed about 11 ounces. The tech took lots of pictures. She checked my cervix to be sure it looked how it was supposed to. The doctor came in and reviewed everything and watched as we did the ultrasound again. When everything was completed, she told us about one minor concern she had. Because Hershey was laying on her back, her left side was closer to my back, therefore harder to see in an ultrasound. She was unable to see her left kidney. She said it could be there, she just might not be able to see it. She wasn't very concerned, said things could be much worse, and that many people live with only one kidney. She did suggest that I go to a high risk OB to have another ultrasound to check things out. So that appointment is tomorrow.

As I said, things in life calmed down. Unfortunately, one thing that happened is that Marty passed on June 21st. He fought a good fight and held onto his faith the entire time. We will miss him, oh so much, but we know he's no longer struggling, no longer in pain, and watching over us and Hershey every day. He didn't get to live to see Hershey in December, but we will always remember that he was a grandpa for a short time, and so excited to be a grandpa. We love you Marty.