21 weeks. That's how far along I am in my pregnancy. I didn't make an official online announcement, and I haven't written much about it, but I'm happy to say that this has been a rather smooth, uncomplicated pregnancy. Besides the typical morning sickness and the common pregnancy symptoms, I've really enjoyed this pregnancy.
Looking back, it all started on my birthday this past fall...
I hadn't mentioned anything to Joe, but I was pretty sure I was pregnant. So when I woke up that morning, I took a pregnancy test, expecting a nice birthday gift. But the test was negative. I was a bit surprised and disappointed, but I was determined to still enjoy my birthday.
Well, a couple days later, I was still feeling pregnant, and so I took another pregnancy test. Sure enough, this time the test was positive. Another baby!
I wanted to surprise Joe. For dinner I fixed him baby back ribs, baby baked potatoes, and baby corn. I thought he would get the reference right away, but it wasn't until halfway through dinner that I finally asked him, "Don't you see a theme in tonight's dinner?" After a bit of thought, his face lit up as he understood my announcement.
In talking with our doctor throughout the pregnancy, she has maintained that there's no reason to expect anything other than a very healthy pregnancy and delivery. But I suppose, after having such complicated and high risk pregnancies in the past, it's hard to really feel confident. I have been nervous for the ultrasound since the day I found out I was expecting. Two of the worst days of my life were days I had ultrasounds: the first finding that our baby had died, and with Henry finding what we thought were fatal defects.
The big day came a couple weeks ago. The ultrasound technician was a gift from God. She was so sweet and very encouraging. The first thing she did was to check for any sign of an omphalocele, and she quickly gave us the all clear. She then checked for any major defects with the heart, brain and spine. Again, everything looked good. With that behind us, and feeling much more at ease, she went on with the routine ultrasound measurements and pictures.
The baby was awake and active, which was fun to see, but of course, it made it difficult for the technician to get a clear picture. We did, though, see the baby wave to us with his/her little index finger. And like Claire and Henry, this baby also had the hiccups. Okay, enough of my jabbering, and onto the main feature - our sweet baby...
Hiding from the camera, the baby's left arm covers his/her face.
There's that lovely face. The left arm on the right side of the picture with the hand up by the ear. And his/her face looking down toward the bottom left corner of the picture.
The profile. I love that little nose.
I know everyone's next question: boy or girl? Well as our technician put it so perfectly, that's between her and the Lord. We're waiting to be surprised. It's hard to wait, but so worth it!
And I suppose the other question you may have is who's "Herm", from the title of this post? "Herm" is a combination of her and him, a loving nickname from Don and Lynn. But don't worry, it's not likely a name we'll keep once the baby is born. We're working on it!
