Today marks 24 weeks into this pregnancy. I can't believe it is already over half-way! I was just saying to Shaun yesterday that in 3 1/2 months we will be parents of TWO kids...unbelievable!
Baby has been moving around a ton...kicking me to remind me s/he is there. It is a wonderful feeling. =) Shaun felt the baby kick yesterday for the first time too, which was fun for both of us!
Yesterday was also a really important day for us. We had a secondary ultrasound as a follow up from initial concerns they saw at our first ultrasound. I never mentioned it on the blog because I didn't want to be paranoid about it and I just wanted to pray about it and trust God!
After our first big ultrasound, which was when I was 18 weeks pregnant (October 29th) we thought everything went well...the ultrasound lady didn't say there was any concerns so we felt confident. When I went in to my regular doctor for my 21 week appointment a few weeks later my doctor went over the ultrasound results with me (Shaun was at work and couldn't make the appointment). She mentioned everything looked normal except that they had found cysts in the baby's brain. I immediately asked what that meant, and she said often the cysts are a sign that something else is wrong, like the baby may have Down's Syndrome or something like that.
I immediately started crying (obviously...you don't say the words Down Syndrome to an emotional pregnant woman!) and she tried to calm me down by saying it wasn't a big deal and that she wasn't concerned because the baby's other measurements all came back normal. Still I wasn't understanding what she was saying, I think I was just in shock about it all. If there was something wrong, why hadn't we heard about this sooner? It had already been 3 weeks since our ultrasound! Plus, we had had an AFP test done at 16 weeks (which somehow tests my blood to see if the baby is "healthy") and that had come back normal. The doctor told me I shouldn't be concerned, but she knew I would be, so they would schedule me for a follow-up ultrasound in 6 weeks to make sure the cysts were gone.
I called Shaun and told him the news, and we were both a bit concerned. I think our biggest worry was the fact that we hadn't planned this pregnancy and I had gotten pregnant almost immediately after I received my immunizations for Indonesia...and the doctor had told me not to think about getting pregnant. Ummm...whoops.
We decided to only tell our family and a few close friends and just ask them to PRAY for this baby...that God would heal the cysts and make the baby healthy.
I went home and did some research online...turns out the cysts are quite common in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, and they occur in about 2% of all pregnancies, and the majority of them resolve themselves by the 3rd trimester. They are called
choroid plexus cysts...the only problem is that sometimes the cysts are a sign that something else is wrong chromosomally (sp?)...mainly either Trisomy 18 (Edward's Disease) or Down's Syndrome.
Obviously we were fearful...I cried that whole day...worried about what was in store for us. Our family was great...reassured us that God had planned this baby for us and His perfect will would be done. That night Shaun came home from work and we were able to seriously sit down together and commit this baby to Him. Since then we both felt a peace that this baby would be fearfully and wonderfully made...whether healthy or not healthy. This is the perfect baby for us.
We thought we had to wait 6 weeks from our last doctor's appointment for our follow up ultrasound, but turns out we were able to schedule it for 6 weeks after our last ultrasound. So yesterday we went in for the appointment...
...and the cysts are GONE!!!
PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!
We can't tell you how happy we are...relieved...we feel as though a weight has been lifted off our shoulders!
We know this baby is an amazing gift from Him...s/he is not ours.
A few days before the follow-up ultrasound I was looking at baby names. I looked up the meaning of the girl's name we like (which I won't say right now) and I found that it means "complete." I felt like this was God's promise to me...that He was going to make our baby complete...whether s/he was perfect in the world's eyes or not.
Now don't get any ideas here...I'm not saying it's a girl. =) We don't know the gender and don't intend to find out until baby makes his/her appearance in the spring.
Now...for some pictures of our cute little one...being "woven & spun" in His image.
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Hey Kristal, can I give you my email addy here?? Hope so, its easier. Please add me so I can keep reading, love your blog and your insights. nicanddiana@hotmail.com
I feel very strange asking to have access to your new blog. I started reading because I find your blog motivating and (like the post above mine) love your insights. Plus, you have the CUTEST little girl! I just don’t want to be perceieved as a blog ‘stalker’ of someone that i don’t know.
hey kristal, i usually come and read your blog as i read other former MEI peoples. i love seeing pics of your gorgeous girl and hear what is going on in your life. so please add me to your new blog, if not i totally undersatnda as well. johnandchristyj@hotmail.com
For some reason when I log into your new blog site, it just keeps telling me its an error. Can you send me the invitation again? Sorry about that. nicanddiana@hotmail.com
Kristal, my email is mikeandkallie@gamil.com
I would love to be added to your new blog. Hey…and what did you mean when you “tagged” me on mine?