Baby Roberts

Here's the baby at 20.5 weeks at our last ultrasound. We'll be having another one on January 7. 

6 months and counting

21 Weeks

I'm a little behind, but here's a belly shot from 21 weeks. (I can't wear those clothes anymore!) 

A heart as small as a quarter

It always takes me a while to process information, which is why I've waited almost 2 weeks to post anything about our recent visit to the cardiologist. The doctor did see some problems with the baby's heart - 2 holes and a chamber that's too small. The cardiologist was pretty sure the heart could be repaired after the baby is born. What we don't know yet is if there are other issues with the heart. Apparently the little guy is a mini-gymnast, and after nearly 2 hours, the doctor and the 2 techs decided to give up trying to get better pictures of his heart. So, we'll go back in January to find out exactly what type of surgery will be needed and when. Hopefully, he won't need surgery right away. 

 

The specialist was less than positive about the new information, but that group of doctors has been nothing more than downers for months. The specialist thinks the combination of the cystic hygroma and the heart defect points to a genetic abnormality. We're just not convinced. We've read enough to know that there are too many variables, and as the cardiologist said, "when it comes to things like this, 2 + 2 does not always equal 4." 

Baby bump

Here I am at 18 weeks. I've finally started showing!

Don't strike your mother!

I've been feeling the little one kicking, and it's just getting harder every day! It's pretty amazing to feel the presence of a living, growing person inside me. Most days it's still so hard to believe that we're having a child. It's nice to be reminded that he's in there and he's considering soccer as a pastime. I prefer baseball, but we'll work on that after he gets here! 

It's a ...

We're having a boy! The appointment went really well. The doctor said the baby is growing as he should be and that's a really good sign. The cystic hygroma is still there, but it's not gotten any bigger over the past 4 weeks. We're scheduled to go for an echocardiogram to check the baby's heart on November 12. We'll have another ultrasound later that day. 

We've decided to keep the name a secret until the baby is born. It's going to be hard, but it will be fun to surprise everyone. Here are a couple pictures of the little one. 

The New Place

Here are some pictures of the new house! It's still a work in progress but we've gotten a lot done in a month. 

This is our den upstairs.
The dining room.
The kitchen. 
This is the living room downstairs with our really comfortable new couch!

This Friday

Things have been going well with baby Roberts. We went last week to our regular doctor for a check-up. The heartbeat is still strong -- 150 bpm. We met with a new doctor in the group, and he was so encouraging. He told us that he had seen these cystic hygromas before with some of his other patients. The hygroma resolved and the baby was perfectly healthy. His attitude was such a relief after spending the past month trying to overcome the specialist's negativity. 

One of the good things about having a high-risk pregnancy is that we get to "check in" on the baby more often. Because of that, we'll be finding out the sex this Friday when we go for our next ultrasound. We're both very excited; I'm still convinced it's a boy. I think CJay is just waiting to see if I'm right. If it isn't a boy, we'll be working hard to find a girl's name we can agree on. (And I'll be asking friends and family to limit the amount of pink gifts.) 

Right now, we'd like everyone to keep praying that this child is healthy when he or she arrives in March. 

Cystic Hygro-what?

I've delayed writing this for a while simply because I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. I've decided to stick with the facts and leave it at that for now. We went 2 weeks ago for a routine ultrasound and found out the baby has a cystic hygroma, which is basically increased fluid and cysts on the back of the neck. It can be an indicator of chromosomal abnormalities, most commonly Turner's syndrome. We met with a specialist last week who confirmed the diagnosis. Here's what we know: there's a 50% chance that this child could be born with a genetic syndrome. There's also a chance this baby could develop fluid around the heart and experience heart failure. There's a chance the baby might not make it to term. And there's a chance the baby will be fine. 

We're pretty sure we won't be having an amniocentesis to check for genetic problems, so we'll just be monitoring the baby every 3-4 weeks with ultrasounds to check for fluid around the heart. Right now everything else appears to be fine and the baby's growth is on track. During the ultrasound last week, we watched the baby bounce around and even drink the amniotic fluid. We could see his/her little chin moving back and forth. Despite the grim statistics and negative information the specialist insisted on reiterating, this little baby is a gift from God and we're trusting him, regardless of the outcome. 

Moving Day

Moving day went well. It was so much work even with movers. Thankfully, Mom and Dad packed what I couldn't and what CJay didn't. In CJay's defense, he's taking 2 night classes and he doesn't believe in packing. It's against his religion, I think. But we survived and we love the new house! It's so much bigger than any house we've ever lived in, and we're already filling up the closets and empty corners. The animals have adjusted well too, especially to the new couch. I wish we could keep the pet hair contained to the old furniture, but I'm fighting a losing battle. 

I'll post some pictures soon. 

The Sweetest Sound

I heard the most amazing sound yesterday -- a heartbeat. I went to doctor for a check up, not knowing what to expect this time. The doctor said, "okay, let's take a listen to the heart." I hopped up on the little table wondering why she wanted to listen to my heart. It's obviously working. She looked a little puzzled when I didn't lie down. I stretched out on the table but didn't even consider the importance of what was happening. I was overwhelmed when I heard that thump-thump -- our child's heartbeat (160 bpm). It was such a sweet sound. 

Unfortunately, CJay didn't go with me. He's still pretty disappointed that he missed it, but we had no idea what this appointment would be like. I have a feeling he won't be missing any more doctor visits. 

New House

We went Saturday morning to pick up the keys to our new house. Everything looked perfect, and we even met one of our neighbors. We're pretty excited to finally be less than 2 weeks away from living in our own house. The house looks so big now that it's empty, but I'm sure we'll have it full of baby stuff before too long. 

The third Roberts in the making

Here is the first shot of the future little CJay. Scary, I know. This is at 8 weeks. We'll be going back to the doctor for the next baby viewing on Sept. 18.

No more renting!

It's official! We're homeowners! It's pretty exciting, even though we aren't moving in until Sept. 20. We have a lot to do before then. Wish us luck or come pack for us. :)