Not gas...definitely a flip or two

I've been noticing "quickening" for quite a while now. (that is how they define the little butterflies you feel before the big KICK.) But, I've yet to "catch" her in the act...ie. put my hand on my tummy and feel movement from the outside.

Last night she got busted! I was in my normal pose of laying on the bed, watching some crappy tv...and began feeling some something. I patiently waited, hands on tummy. And, there it was...some flipping, tumbling, something. Nothing like my experience with Ely where I was (again, laying in bed watching crappy tv) startled by the punch he gave to me. I actually screamed because if scared me! I'm not sure if it's a difference of gender or some extra layers of flab. Hopefully it will happen more regularly so that Ely and Anthony can get a in on the action.

Next week is the big week...hopefully the update on Wednesday is to share a lot of good news!

17-week update, 16 week belly

the photo above was actually taken last week. so, as you can imagine, it's quite a bit bigger today :)

some updates:
MONDAY: met with my OB. heartbeat sounded great. she confirmed the U/S looked great. she did, however, explain the potential issues with the previa. it's not as cut/dry as we'd thought. we kinda just have to wait it out and see if it shifts. until then, i've been limited to certain activities until something changes. hopefully we will see some movement at the 20-week U/S. words like "bedrest" were tossed around...ick!

WEDNESDAY: results from the neural tube defect blood test came back negative (negative is good)!

i hope to just keep sharing good news with every post :)

16-week Ultrasound

we had another u/s done on friday evening. (this is not typical, but they are still handling us with kid gloves). they were looking at her anatomy, organ development, signs of CH or any thickening on her neck and certain markers.

ALL WAS GREAT!

of course, they made us sweat it out for an hour. at first, the tech thought she saw something her neck, but saw nothing when she was in a better position. estella was moving around A LOT. this was nice for us to see. up until now, she has been very calm in the tummy. it was nice to see her wiggling and shaking.

the tech came back after speaking to the radiologist to say, "all markers are negative." so...we didnt really know what that meant. she explained they were looking for certain markers at this age in the bones, her movements and even if her fists were constantly clinched. she passed on all points!

we still need to have the 20-week scan + EKG on the 29th to give us the complete picture. again, if we get good news then, we can go forward with a lot more confidence and less worry :)

there was a LITTLE bad news. (if this is the worst thing that will happen, it's ok.) so, my placenta is "previa," meaning it is in between estella and my uterus. if it doesn't move, i will HAVE to have a c-section. definitely not my preferred way to deliver, but the health of estella is a lot more important than any surgery or scar.

i will be meeting with my OB on monday to go over results. if there is anything the tech left out, i will update you. otherwise, the next post wont be until after our march 29th appt. OR, if i feel a kick before then :)

not much of an update, update

as most of you know, we just got back from florida. we were lucky to have 80 degree weather for the entire vacation. the first few days were spent at the magic kingdom and animal kingdom. ely had a blast. he even spent his own money to buy himself a few toys AND bought his baby girls some toys too :)



the last 4 nights were spent in clearwater beach. again, the weather was fantastic. when we werent at the beach or pool, we were hanging out on our lanai listening to the waves. it was perfect.

we have quite a few appointments in the coming days. friday we will have a 16-week U/S. this is to check on the progress and make sure everything is still heading in the right direction. then, on monday, we will meet with our normal OB for the typical 16-week check in.

we're still counting down the days until our march 29th appt...!

More great news!

ADDED: the drawing above was drawn by the cardio doc. she was explaining all the things in the heart she was able to see and how they were all working...

today estella had her first echocardiogram (EKG). the doc told us her heart looked great! she said that all was normal at this gestation. we will go back on march 29 to have another EKG. if all looks good during that scan, we will be assured that estella's heart is good.

after the EKG, we met with a high-risk OB. i have to say it was the most amazing and enlightening conversation we've had to date. this doctor was amazing. she explained everything to us in a way that gave us a more complete understanding of what has happened and what will be in our future. if you ever have the need for a high-risk OB, go see Edith Chang!!!

she went on to tell us that if the 2nd EKG and the 20-week U/S look good, estella has a 97% chance of being 100% healthy!!!!!!! HOLY CRAP! just 3 weeks ago, our doctors wouldn't even give us a slight percentage that she would even live. now, we are on a path of POTENTIALLY being completely healthy. UNBELIEVABLE.

so, march 29th will be another big day for us all...but, we have even more reason to believe that the news will be positive.

we are ecstatic. we couldnt have asked for more positive results in the past few days. we are so thankful for you all...we are all stronger because of the support of our friends and family. THANK YOU!

A miracle is in the works!

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. for all your loves, support, prayers, hopeful thinking, sending good thoughts, begging, pleading, etc. WE THINK IT HAS PAID OFF!!!!

as you know, we had a "2nd opinion" appt today at the UW (univ of washington). i underwent another "1st trimester screening" just like the one from 2.5 weeks ago. the ultrasound tech was aware that this was a 2nd opinion and was very diligent in her picture taking. (sometimes, a little painful...but well worth it.) it seemed, through my eyes, the NT (nuchal translucency) seemed bigger. but, then again, estella is bigger. i gave her a little time before i asked if she had been able to get an accurate measurement. she said her readings were around 2.7mm!!! (to remind you: the original NT was 3.6mm and the CH was 3.75mm. the edema didnt have a measurement.) i did get pretty excited. all i knew is that it was lower. she reminded me that she had a few more angles to work around. some of them did read out around 3.2mm. BUT IT WAS STILL SMALLER THAN 2.5 WEEKS AGO! she left the room to speak with the radiologist to make sure she had gathered enough info for our needs. i must say, she seemed like it was just important to her to get this right.

we were sent upstairs to speak to the genetic counselor without any more information. it was a long 30 minute wait...of course, sarah (genetic counselor) wanted to ask some questions before getting to the results. (REALLY???!!!) she finally began sharing the U/S results:

3.0mm NT
NO cystic hygroma present
NO edema present

we are still in shock. it's a miracle. of all the possibilities, i had never imagined this outcome. i'd never imagined it would all be gone. (i just prayed for same or smaller.) it's still hard to believe. we couldnt be more thankful...

what does this mean?

well...it's not all roses. a 3.0 is on the highest end of normal and because of the cystic hygroma that WAS there, we still are on the "high likelihood something is wrong with baby." but, instead of thinking of statistics of her passing away in utero, we are discussing percentages of her having genetic/disability/birth defects versus 100% healthy. (she told us we have a 10% chance she will be 100% healthy.) we will have the echo next week to look at the heart. there will be a 16-week look at her to see if any further progress has been made. then, the 20-week U/S will be a biggy. they will look at her anatomy (looking for physical birth defects) and also be able to get a good look at organs.

we know we are not out of the woods for her health. but, we do know that she seems to be getting better. that is what counts. each appt gives us renewed hope in getting to meet our baby girl. one step at a time.

we still need all your good thoughts through the coming week (echo) and months. we hope to keep updating you with good news :)

Strong Heartbeat

yesterday, we went to our regular OB for a "normal" 12-week appt. it was actually a really great appt. we had a fantastic conversation with our OB and got a little more understanding of her point of view of what we are going through. we also got to hear her heartbeat! (we had a lot of fears about NOT hearing anything.) it didnt take long for dr. fuller to find her heartbeat. it was going strong at 150-160! music to our ears...

also, we received a call from the UW. they want us to come in THIS thursday for another U/S. they are providing us with a 2nd opinion, so they want to do their own scans. this is such a relief. we now will be able to see estella this week AND see if there have been any changes in the past 2.5 weeks. it will be a turning point for our family. there are only 3 options: it all looks the same, it is getting worse OR it's getting better. guess which one we are praying for? :)

in more news, we decided to let ely know that he is going to be a big brother. he was very cute about it all. immediately talked to her and kissed her and said he loved her. he also wanted her to watch one of his favorite tv shows with him.

we'll update you after our thursday appt...send good thoughts our way!!! (appt is at 1pm)