Sunday, February 10, 2013

My Pregnancy

 I want to write about how my pregnancy is going.  When we first went to the doctor for this pregnancy, the doctors found a cystic hygroma just like with Maximo.  We expected that it would mean the rest of this pregnancy would progress like our last pregnancy.  That did not turn out to be true.  Maximo had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart muscle which proved fatal.  This baby does not currently have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  As of our last fetal echo cardiogram, his heart looks like it will sustain life.  Maximo had hydrops, an excess of fluid under his skin and around his lungs.  This baby does not have hydrops, and his cystic hygroma has gone away.  We thought the hydrops caused me to have extra amniotic fluid last time.  This time, baby does not have hydrops, but I still have extra fluid.  We are hopeful that baby will live this time.  His head and belly are measuring big, and his arms and legs are measuring small.  We don't really know what that means.  Because of his big head and my extra fluid, it is likely that I will deliver early.  I am "due" April 20.  There.  That is my update.
I am allowing myself to be excited about having an infant.  A good friend from my ward has offered to throw a baby shower, and I'm excited for it.  My mom made a cute pajama onesie and a super soft baby blanket.  My Great Aunt gave me a baby blanket, and another thoughtful sister from our ward gave us a beautiful baby blanket.  Already people are being very generous.   We  still have a lot of questions we need to find answers for, but for now, I am letting myself enjoy looking at baby stuff, and I am not worrying about stretch marks.  I am sure everything will turn out the way it is supposed to.
Some pregnant ladies are so good at taking consistent pictures of their growing pregnant bellies.  My pregnancies have been so emotional for me that I have not been consistent at all, but I tried to be a little better this time than I was last time.  Here, for my own amusement, is my (albeit inconsistent) documentation of my belly growth.
I am not pregnant in this picture.  I use it to remind me that my body can recover. :)
Me: "Take a picture, Tom, I'm totally showing today."  Ha ha ha... September 2012


December 2012

January 2013

February 2013.  I think there's a big size jump between January and February.  I went from looking like an average pregnant lady to looking bigger-than-average.