Since I haven't posted in a while this is going to be a long one! The last several weeks have been quite eventful so here is the rundown...
Around the end of the 18th week I started feeling the baby move which was of course extremely exciting. Since then I have felt the baby wiggling and squirming everyday, particularly early in the morning and in the evening before bedtime. I can't wait for the baby to get bigger so that Troy can feel it too!
Last week (19 weeks) we had two appointments: our second trimester sonogram to check the baby's growth and make sure everything looks healthy (Monday) and then our regular baby/mama monthly check-up (Wednesday.) They estimated at the sonogram visit that the baby weighed 11 oz and the technician again commented on how active the baby is. Here are a few pictures from that visit...
Baby's Profile
Strong legs!
Tiny feet
Following the sonogram on Monday we received a call notifying us that the baby has what is called a Choroid Plexus Cyst (CPC). Our doctor wanted me to go for a level 2 sonogram to take another look. This was of course very scary for us and made for several very rough days, but we received comforting reassurance at our regular visit last Wednesday that most likely everything was fine, she just wanted to double check that there were no other "abnormalities" in addition to the CPC that would indicate a problem. Unfortunately the specialist wasn't able to see us until this week so we had a while to wait after the initial news.
This Wednesday we had our follow-up sonogram and met with a high-risk pregnancy doctor. She told us that they were looking for heart defects, slow/stunted growth, malformed feet/hands, and clinched fists which might indicate a more severe problem. They did not find any of these things so she feels confident that the baby is fine! We are feeling much better again as well! She gave us a bit more information on the CPC as well... apparently it is not even technically a cyst but instead just a dilated blood vessel within the Choroid Plexus (a small area of the brain that produces cerebral spinal fluid). An isolated CPC is found in about 1% of babies and does not affect brain development, function or memory. She also said that they always go away on there own, normally by the third trimester.
During the level 2 sonogram the doctor also noticed a bit of fluid on the kidneys (apparently most babies have some fluid on the kidneys) but she measured slightly more than average. The average amount is .4 ml or less and she measured .45 ml. Again, she assured us this is nothing to be alarmed about as the urinary tract muscles are still developing, but she wants to take another look at both the kidneys and CPC in 6 weeks to make sure both are correctly themselves appropriately. So, it looks like we have another date to see our precious little one again at 26 weeks (Wednesday, July 13th)!
Here is another profile pic from the 20 week sonogram:
This is me this week at the halfway point... 20 weeks!
What is our baby up to this week? Well, baby is swallowing several ounces of amniotic fluid each day, both for nutrition and hydration, but also to practice swallowing and digesting. Our baby is also very active in the womb twisting and turning while he/she still has extra room. At this point our baby is also sleeping approximately 12 to 14 hours a day... now if only I could get a solid 8 :)
