Update at 20 weeks...

We are officially 20 weeks!!! Woo Hoo!!! We had an ultrasound last week at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees and it was really nice, b/c we had Chuck’s Mommy with us. She is the first one to see the babies on the ultrasound machine, besides Chuck and me. It was really great to have her there sharing in the joy of our babies to be. Three weeks ago we started the anatomy scans. At that time I was 17 weeks, it was too early to see all the anatomy of the babies, so last week was part 2 of the anatomy scans. We got to see the faces, spines, kidneys, hands and the chambers of the hearts on all the babies. It is pretty amazing what you can see. At one point the sonographer was really pushing on my belly trying to get a clear image of Baby A’s face and while doing so she commented that she could feel Baby A kicking. I was pretty jealous, b/c I have only felt flutters and I’m sure Chuck was pretty sad too, b/c he hasn’t felt any movement yet. Anyway, we were also able to confirm that we will be having 2 girls and 1 boy!!! Baby A is a GIRL, Baby B is a BOY & Baby C is a GIRL!!! Yippee!!! I know what everyone is wondering now… do we have any names picked out? Baby B, our little BOY… will be the IV… he will be named after his Daddy – Charles Henry. As for the girls, we have just started looking at names.

Some things aren’t easy to write about… whether it is finding the right wording or it is difficult emotionally… so please excuse me… if this isn’t easy to read. After each ultrasound at Virtua, you are asked to wait patiently for any amount of time in this small waiting room while the doctor reviews your ultrasound images. Then the doctor will come review the ultrasound results with you and answer any questions… this is all pretty routine. Chuck and I are pretty use to the doctors coming in and saying… “Everything looks perfect. We will see you in 3 weeks.” You breathe a sigh of relief and exit the room. At this week’s visit Chuck really needed to step out of the waiting room for a few minutes. Before he was able to return the doctor came in to discuss the ultrasound. This time unfortunately, I didn’t hear… “Everything looks perfect. We will see you in 3 weeks.”… no, I was told other news.

Let me say this… it is still really early in the pregnancy and things may look like something that is later to be discovered to be nothing… but anyway, on with it. Baby A has what looks like a Duplicated Renal Collecting System on one of her kidneys. I refuse to Google this medical term, so I’m only reiterating the things the doctor told me about it. A kidney is suppose to have only 1 collecting system and Baby A has 2 on 1 of her kidneys. After she is born, this can cause infections and also is usually associated with an abnormally shaped uterus and some other things. The doctors aren’t overly concerned and are going to keep checking on this over the next couple of visits. If it continues to look like she has Duplicated Renal Collecting System, then they will refer us to a Pediatric Urologist.

During the anatomy scans they take several hundred images so that they can pass the anatomy of the babies as healthy or normal… this is my own wording. I was also informed at this week’s visit that over the last 2 ultrasounds, while doing the anatomy scans, they weren’t able to get good enough images of the hearts to be able to pass Baby A and C’s hearts. What does this mean? We are schedule on the October 7th to get an echocardiogram on both Baby A and C. I am praying that from this they will be able to pass both of the girls’ hearts.

Chuck and I are both nervous for all of our babies, but I think we handled the news fairly well. Honestly, I feel more stressed now and really want to cry out, but I know that isn’t healthy for me and the babies. I told Chuck this week… we have to think positive, if we want positive things to happen… so that is what I’m trying to do. And of course I have prayer!

On to other things… Chuck and I had our first baby class this past weekend called Baby Basics. We learned a ton from the nurse instructor about caring for a baby… plus, from the Pediatrician and Car Seat Tech they had available for questions. We also celebrated my 26th birthday over the weekend, which was great. Chuck and I spent the day together on Saturday… then Sunday we celebrated over dinner with my family. I received many online and mail birthday wishes… it was wonderful! My in-laws gave me a GC to a spa to pamper myself… so Chuck took me today, so I could get a pampering pedicure and I shared with Chuck, so he could get an overdue massage.

We don’t have any doctors or ultrasounds during this week, but I have a strong feeling that it will be the last free week. I’m trying to get this and that done… while I have time and energy. I’m finding it more and more difficult to get around. I’m so lucky to have Chuck, b/c I rely on him frequently. The first 2 full weeks of October we have 3 doctors and 2 classes… and that is as of now… I hope there isn’t reason to have more. I’m going to try to post more frequently… and hopefully that will cut down on the length of my posts. I hope you enjoyed reading our story… and please come back to see more!

~ Mommy-2-3-Peas