It's a...

...girl!!! Yes, we are having a second baby girl. And we are very excited.

The ultrasound appointment at See Baby went well, though there was some frustration having to do with paperwork and insurance that I will not bother getting into. We began the appointment with a normal diagnostic ultrasound, like we had with Elsa, and the technician looked over the baby's body and took measurements, explaining every detail as she went, which was very nice. Everything looked good -- the baby was measuring appropriately for its age, there was no extra fluid in the cranium, and there did not seem to be any other warnings signs to lead to a talk with the doctor or anything. So we were very happy to see a healthy baby. Just like Elsa during her 20-week ultrasound, this baby was very active -- the technician told us to get our roller skates ready for this one! With Elsa, the tech labeled her a "wild child," so I do not know what this means for our future.

Profile/torso shot

Arms

Heart

Profile/torso again

 The second half of our visit involved a three-dimensional ultrasound, which was something we did not get to experience with Elsa. It was pretty cool to see the baby's face in clearer detail, and just seeing things in color makes a huge difference, I think. Jarrett made the comment that you could not really make out the eyes very well -- they really showed up more as just indentations at this point -- and the technician said that this early on in the pregnancy, it is more difficult to make out those details. So I am sure if we were to have waited to do the 3D ultrasound later in the pregnancy, we might have been able to see even more. But, regardless, it was still pretty fascinating and made the baby seem that much more tangible.

Face and right hand (placenta is there to the right)

Close-up of face

Hand in front of face -- being shy

Another close-up

Both hands by face

Hands by face, mouth open

 Based on nearly every wives' tale you can think of, Jarrett and I were absolutely convinced that we were having another girl, so the news was not too much of a surprise for us. But I asked Jarrett as we were leaving the hospital whether he was at all disappointed, and he said that he felt something. That when the technician gave us the news he thought, "why, of course!" But then it sunk in even deeper that, "oh, yeah, we really are having another girl." I think there is a part of him (and even myself) that would maybe like to experience having a son. But he said he is still so very excited, and he has been talking about what it would be like to have two girls for months now, how they will likely be called "The Helms Girls" by those who know them, etc.

Jarrett will be outnumbered, and we may never experience firsthand all the frogs, snails, and puppy-dogs' tails that little boys have to offer since our plan has always been to stop at two children, but those are the only real negatives I can think of. There are so many wonderful aspects to come, I believe. I am sure sharing will become a huge part of their lives. Shared clothes, shared toys, shared late-night giggles in a shared bedroom. It is going to be so much fun, and I look so forward to everything our little family will share together in the years to come.

Twenty-and-a-Half-Week Midwife Appointment

I had an appointment with the midwives yesterday, and once again it proved to be a long wait. It is a good thing I think so highly of this practice and the ladies who run it because otherwise I might become fully fed up with the long waiting room visits. My appointment was at 9:30 a.m. (though when I received the confirmation call, it said it was at 9:45 a.m.), and I arrived right on time -- late for me, as I was actually hoping to arrive a little early, thinking it might help in getting me called back sooner. I do not think it would have helped a thing. It had to be close to 11:00 a.m. before they called my name, and that was after two other women, who arrived after me, were called back. I don't know if they were late for their appointments or what, but it was a bit discouraging.

Anyway, once I was called back, I immediately went into the bathroom to pee in a cup (everything must have been fine), was weighed (I weighed 134 pounds, up 5 pounds from the last appointment, up 10 in total from the very first appointment), and had my blood pressure taken (pretty low, at 90/60). I saw Sarah (I think that was her name -- I am terrible with catching the names of people the first time I meet them), who gave herself the title of "in-house midwife." Apparently she is helping out with the appointments there in the clinic, but does not actually deliver babies -- Anjli and Amy are doing that on their own while Margaret remains out with her ankle injury. According to the nurse, Margaret will likely be out for another couple of months, at least until she can really walk on her foot and put a shoe on. I definitely look forward to her return.

Sarah was really good, though. She was very thorough and adequately answered all of my questions. I asked her about getting my thyroid checked again, and she said it was planned for this appointment and that they would draw my blood before I left. I also asked about the Rhogam shot and when I should expect to receive it, and she said they typically administer it between 26 and 28 weeks, as its effects last about three months, which would carry me through the end of the pregnancy. She also mentioned that I will get another injection post-partum. I explained to her that I have absolutely no recollection of receiving that shot after Elsa was born, and asked her what that meant. She said I probably either just cannot remember receiving it or it was possibly overlooked (according to the Rhogam Web site, however, this injection is only given if the baby is found to be Rh-positive, so perhaps Elsa is Rh-negative and I was just never told that). She said that Rh-negative mothers usually have no trouble with their first births, and that the injections are really a precaution for all subsequent births. It is not usually until the delivery of the placenta that the mother's body senses the baby's Rh-positive blood and sees it as an intruder, thus producing antibodies against it. The shot post-partum is supposed to help prepare the body for a second pregnancy (with an Rh-positive baby). I asked if it was going to cause any issues with this pregnancy if I did not receive the post-partum injection, and she said they would just keep a close eye on things, and that the two things they look for is proper growth of the baby and signs of anemia. She felt my uterus and said it seemed the perfect size for a 20-week baby, so she was not concerned. But she did say they would obviously likely see a lot more during the ultrasound, which is tomorrow!

After feeling my uterus (from the outside -- the top of it is about level with my belly button), she chased the baby around with the Doppler device, trying to find its heartbeat. The baby was going nuts, moving all around and kicking me, so it was hard for her to linger on the heartbeat for more than a few seconds. Finally she got about a ten-second stretch, and it sounded great. She thought it sounded to be around 155, which is lower than what we have heard in the past, so I don't know if she was just off in her listening and mental conversions or if this was correct. She said the baby seemed happy and obviously very active, which was great, so at least in that sense it seems like the baby is totally fine. I cannot wait to get complete assurance of its health tomorrow at the ultrasound.

The nurse came in before I left and drew my blood, as promised. I should be able to get the results from the thyroid test by next Thursday or so, and if I don't hear from them, I will call the office and get the numbers so I can take them to Dr. J next Friday morning and email them to Dr. Owen. They want to see me back in four weeks, so my next appointment is on May 25, at which time I will see Amy again.

We had to get our car towed yesterday (from our own driveway -- long story -- basically the parking brake was stuck on), and the tow truck driver's wife (at least I am assuming she was his wife) became the first person (who did not already know I was pregnant) to ask me when I am due. So I guess I am really officially showing -- enough for people to ask such questions!

The Twenty-Week Belly

Twenty Weeks

So, here I am, at the halfway point (as of this past Saturday). Crazy! At twenty weeks, according to BabyCenter, Baby Helms weighs about ten-and-a-half ounces now, is around six-and-a-half inches long from head to bottom, and about ten inches from head to heel (the length of a banana). (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against its torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of its head to its bottom -- the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, it is measured from head to toe.) The baby is swallowing more these days, which is good practice for its digestive system. It is also producing meconium, a black, sticky byproduct of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in the baby's bowels, and will be present in its first soiled diaper (oh, yes, those lovely first couple of diapers...).

Things continue to go well, and I definitely feel the need to wear maternity clothes most of the time these days. I think I can still fit into one of my pairs of regular pants, probably due to the fact that they have such a low rise and are slightly big to begin with. The dress I wore to church yesterday really seemed to accentuate the belly, and I felt rather huge, but today, back in a t-shirt, I feel a little more normal.

It is fun to continue to feel the baby move around here and there, and it was going so crazy Friday night, Jarrett was actually able to feel it kick from the outside for the first time. We were playing some music on the iPad and singing some, so perhaps it was the beat of the music or maybe it loves -- or really dislikes -- our singing voices.

This week, Elsa is suddenly claiming she is going to have a little brother, so I don't know what is going on in that little head of hers. As the weeks progress, I hope to get her a little more involved in baby-centered things to maybe help her really understand what is in store for our family. I bought a book awhile back that she and I are to fill out together, describing Elsa as a baby and kind of going through what to expect with the coming of a sibling, so I should get started on that soon. There are some other changes in store for her, as we hope to get her a "big girl" bed fairly soon after finding out the sex of the new little one.

Ultrasound Scheduled

I was able to schedule the ultrasound over the phone today rather than waiting until my midwife appointment next Wednesday. So... the big event is next Friday, April 29, at 9:00 a.m.! Jarrett and I are both very excited.

Nineteen Weeks

Holy cow. I am less than a week away from being halfway through this pregnancy. How is that possible? In one way I feel like I am waiting forever to find out the sex of this baby (which we should hopefully find out in the next couple of weeks), but in other ways this all seems to be flying by.

I crossed the nineteen-week mark this past Saturday, and BabyCenter says the baby's sensory development is exploding. Its brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he/she may even be able to hear my voice now. The baby weighs about eight-and-a-half ounces and measures six inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Its arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of its body now, its kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on its scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on the baby's skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

A week from this Wednesday is my next appointment with the midwives, which seems like it has been a long time coming. Six weeks in between appointments is quite the wait. But I have a feeling that might be the longest stretch in between visits from here on out. As I have mentioned before, it will be at that appointment that the ultrasound will be scheduled, and hopefully I will either be able to get into See Baby to do that later next week or the following week. I cannot wait! And I think Jarrett is pretty excited too. We are fairly convinced still that this one is also a girl, so if they tell us it is a boy, we will be shocked. But either way, the news will be a wonderful surprise!

We considered taking Elsa to the ultrasound, but fairly quickly determined that probably would not be the wisest thing to do. She is easily overwhelmed, and we fear she might be frightened by the entire process. And it is not like the baby in the ultrasound looks like the cute, cuddly baby we will bring home from the hospital -- its alien-like resemblance might be enough to totally turn her away from the idea of having a new baby in the house. So, instead, Jarrett and I will enjoy the appointment together as we did the first time around, and will likely show her the least-offending picture that is captured at the appointment. At this point Elsa also thinks she is getting a baby sister, and by nothing either Jarrett nor I have told her. Originally she kept saying it was going to be a boy. But now she claims that the exersaucer I recently brought home after purchasing it used from another family is for her "little sister." When we ask her what will happen if it turns out to be a baby brother, she says, "No. For baby sister." So I guess we shall see if we are all correct in our guessing soon enough!