A Post Before We Leave

With all that went on last week, I feel almost as if I lost 5 days. Then on Saturday, we took Mia to the Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson 2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour in Baltimore. Could possibly be one of the most FUN concerts I've been to. It was actually their last show, having done 15 in January/February, and then another 25 shows this fall. I'm glad we were able to experience it. Comedian Melissa Peterman was the opening act, which was a nice change from the normal musical opening act. Part of her act revolved around the benefits of pregnancy (she had a little boy about a year ago). She said that she always felt like pregnancy could be used as an excuse for almost anything. Like, if her husband came home and asked her if all she'd done all day was eat chocolate and watch tv, she could reply, "Yes. Oh! And I grew your son a SPINE! What did YOU do???" Hmmmm...I wonder if I could milk that one, too, or if Kevin would catch on, since he saw the act? It's worth a shot.... Once Reba and Kelly took the stage, they rocked out for the next two hours solid. They both brought their bands on this tour, the stage is just jam-packed with talent. So much fun. Mia thought so, too. She was a little surprised by all the noise at first, and let me know by moving all over the place. She settled down for a little while, but danced her way through the last 45 minutes or so of the concert.

Sunday was church, and then I worked in the afternoon, came home and collapsed. Yesterday was filled with schoolwork, then work in the afternoon.

This morning, I finally got the chance to do the second round of raking. Earlier this fall, when I did the first round, it took me about 3 hours, and 24 hours later the yard was completely covered in leaves again. This time, I waited till all the trees in our yard and our neighbor's yard had dropped their leaves. I was out there a little over an hour, when our neighbor across the street put on his hero hat and came over to help. He and I accomplished in the next hour what it would have taken me two hours to complete on my own. Yea for neighborhood heroes! Now I'm nursing a sore back, and feeling relieved that that chore is done, hopefully for the fall.

We leave early tomorrow afternoon to spend 5 days with my in-laws in Atlanta for the Thanksgiving holiday. I likely won't post before we get back Sunday night, so...

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving, all!

Shopping Spree

Today, Mia and I went on a little "Mommy n' Me" shopping spree. It started because I needed to get some longer tops that would fit over the growing bump that is Mia. We started at Old Navy, where I got a few tops, and then picked up these 3 onesies for $5 each. The one on the far right proudly states, "Daddy's Hunny Bunny."

Then it was on to the mall, really because I was looking for stationery to print our holiday party invites on. I failed at that, but I did find another top for me for $11 at Motherhood Maternity and then these two onesies for Mia at Target. The pink one says, "Daddy, I want a pony!" and the purple one states, "Grandpa's little...."

I'm buying everything size 3 months and up. Kevin and I were both long babies, and so we don't anticipate that she'll be wearing newborn stuff for very long, if only for the length and not the weight limitations.

Mia and I "split" Subway for lunch, and now we're hunkered down as the temperature drops for the evening.

False Alarm

After a roller coaster of a four days...we went in for another Level II ultrasound today, and the doctor confirmed that the cyst was a false alarm. Both cortoids looked completely clear. He thinks that, due to the angle of the photo at last week's ultrasound, a shadow from a cortoid fold was picked up on the image, looking like a mass.

Bottom line: Today's scan showed that Baby Mia is growing just perfectly. All her measurements are right on target and she gained 2ozs (a fifth of her body weight!!!) in the last week alone. We are so relieved and thankful.

As as a bonus, Mia was feeling particularly cooperative today. Not only were we able to confirm the sex (and she most definitely looks like a girl), but we also got to experience a short 4D scan!! So crazy how much detail they are able to pick up. We watched Mia ball her hand up into a fist and rub her eyes, as if we were disturbing her sleep.

Phew. They don't prepare you for this stuff in those oh-so-informative maternity books.

A Prayer for Baby Mia

As I mentioned a few days ago, we had a little bit of a scare this week when I got a call from the doctor telling us that on the ultrasound last week, they had found an abnormality on the brain. This is what they think is a choroid plexus cyst. After more research, and reassurance from both others, and our doctor, Kevin and I feel like this is not something to be terrified of, and that Mia is just fine and healthy. In almost every case, these cysts dissolve on their own, with no side effects.

Unfortunately, since it's "almost every case", it's not possible to let this go without further inspection. So I'm headed to the big military hospital in the area tomorrow for another detailed scan and, specifically, a closer look at the brain.

If you're the type, say a quick prayer for Baby Mia (and for us) tomorrow. Kevin and I are remaining optimistic and calm (as much as possible), but we're kind of attached to this little girl and we'll be relieved to get the "all clear" good news.

A Scare and a Celebration of Pink

So let's get the scare out of the way first and then we can be on to more joyful things.

We had a scare this morning. My doctor called and said that I would need to reschedule my u/s from last week, since they weren't able to take all the measurements they wanted. Mia was feeling sleepy and stayed curled up the whole time, despite everyone's best efforts to jostle her awake. However, this time I was to call the bigger hospital in the area because they also found what looked like a cyst on her brain and wanted a closer scan. She assured me that it was nothing to worry about yet, since my quad screen had come back normal and everything else looks wonderful.

I barely heard her. My brain was too busy screaming, "A what?"

I immediately called the two people I always go to in crisis: Kevin, then Mom. Kevin was, as usual, the rock in the storm, though I'm sure I scared him. Mom was the same, though she immediately took it to the faculty lounge during her lunch break for moral support. Of the dozen or so people there, almost everybody said that this happened to them, or somebody they knew and not one had a sad ending. As my doctor said, it seems this is quite common, and that the cysts disappear on their own as the brain continues to develop.

I'm still nervous, but I'm not panicky anymore. While there will be lots of prayers going on here and with those around us, I feel remarkably calmed knowing that others have gone down this road before and come out with happy, healthy babies. It could be a month before the hospital decides to see me, so that's alot of time to "what if", but at least I feel calm enough to continue on now. Nothing so humbling, though, as being told something might be wrong with your tiny person, and being unable to do anything about it.



And now...on to more happy things!

Kevin and I celebrated our baby Mia on Friday by purchasing a few "girly" outfits for her.

From Daddy, whose already started calling her his princess:


Also from Daddy, for Mia to wear NEXT Christmas:



From Mommy, who fell in LOVE with the ruffles on the back of the second onesie:




And last, but not least...our friends Anne Marie and Adam came over with their adorable Hartley on Saturday night. Hartley and Mia will be 8 months apart in age. They presented us with Mia's first dress:


Thank you everybody for your well wishes and kindness towards our Baby Mia!

19 Weeks

We knew going into the sonogram yesterday that if it was a girl, we already had a name. The first granddaughter in my family, for generations back, is Maria Theresa. When we found out we were pregnant, Kevin and I discussed this and decided that we wanted to continue this tradition. However, it's important to me that our child have an identitity separate from mine, despite sharing the same name. And so...while her name will be Maria Theresa, we will call her Mia. This, as it turns out, is not just a random name either, but a nickname my younger sister gave to me when she had trouble pronouncing my full name, and is still occassionally used as a term of endearment within my family.

This week in the life of Baby Mia:

• As of yesterday, she is 8 1/2 inches long, and weighs about 9 ounces.
• Hair is starting to sprout on her head
• Her arms and legs are proportioned and the neurons between the muscles and brains are connecting, so that she has more control over her movements.
• Her gums now have toothbuds
• Cartilage throughout her body is turning into bone
• From head to rump, she is approximately the size of a large tomato.

photo courtesy of babycenter.com

It's A...

We had another appointment showing a healthy, happy, active little baby today. All the important organs (heart, lungs, brain, kidneys) have formed. Weight was about 9 ounces, heartbeat was 153. Oh, and it's a....

GIRL!

Today she was tucked up with her chin tucked down, and legs pulled up to her chest. She even had one arm draped over her eyes, as if all the poking and prodding was disturbing her rest. Nevertheless, the tech was able to get a clear view and said that she could tell us with "99.9% certainty" that this was a girl. I'll go back sometime in the next 2 months for a bonus ultrasound since she stayed tucked up today and they weren't able to get a full measurement of her spine.

Thank you to everyone who checked in repeatedly today. Keep checking back for more updates as we start to really move forward with our plans now!