Thank you, God!

Last night, I went to church and lit a candle in thanksgiving for our little one. (Okay, I lit five candles: one for Zoë, one for Nicholas, one for Sophia, one for the baby we didn't get to know or name, and one for my good friend, Meg, who is also pregnant after a loss.) While the 4 other candles were for different reasons, I said a prayer of thanks for Zoë, who is doing so fine. (I'll post u/s pics once Peter scans them in.) Thank you, thank you, thank you.

After Friday, while I wasn't terribly nervous because her heartbeat was so high (okay, I was nervous- I'm always nervous), it was a little rough not seeing her move. So, yesterday, after a 2 hour wait (someone is always having a baby somewhere and it seems like they all use Dr. B.! LOL), I was taken into the ultrasound room and Dr. B. came in. He always starts and ends with conversation, another reason I adore him, and we talked about my fears. He never seems to tire of listening and responding. It's really nice to not feel placated or talked down to, but rather having a doctor acknowledge how I feel and that it's okay and that we'll work through it and do our best to make sure Zoë is as protected as she can be. Then, we had our u/s. A healthy, bouncing baby! And do I mean bouncing! She was up, down, and all around, legs up here, arms up there, rolling over. It was wonderful to see. Her HB was 150 bpm, well within range, and her umbilical cord has high placement, putting us in the lowest risk group for possible cord issues. The placenta is still fairly low, but migrating at a good pace. My cervix measured 3.6, but is still in a closed, "T" position. It seems to be dropping .1 per week, which would mean 28 weeks when I hit "2". Since that is too late for surgery, it would most likely mean constant bedrest. There is still a chance of course that it will never drop below 3. Fingers crossed, many prayers said.

Our little one had her legs open and in the air, and thus far, there was nothing to suggest she is a he. So, at this point, we are still going with our initial feelings of girl. If little Zoë Anastasia turns out to be a little Nathaniel Alexander instead, then so be it! That's what yellow and green nurseries are for (and actually, since we are using unbleached organic fabrics, they are more of a beige anyway, so they work for everyone!)

We have decided to stop the Metformin I'm on for possible insulin resistance at 16w and to do a fasting blood test for diabetes at 18w. If that is clear, then I'll stay off the Metformin until retesting shows it needed. Also at 16, I will start the P17 shots. I'm nervous, but there seem to be no side effects and, if they work, they can help stop preterm labor. They are weekly shots in the bottom until week 36. Peter will have to give them to me. And, on a shot note, I also got my flu shot before leaving the office. Always fun.

Our doctor's office called this morning with our risk factors for Downs Syndrome and Trisomy-18. DS: risk 1/520. (1/50 is considered bad, get an amnio/cvs, avg is 1/250); Tri: risk 1/10,000 (1/100 is considered bad, get an amnio/cvs, avg is 1/8000). I have a repeat bloodtest in a few weeks, in early December. I'm not planning on an amnio or CVS regardless. I love our baby no matter what and wouldn't put them at risk, just to find out something I can't change.

Peter's mom is still at work on the christening gown. She's working on the coat first, so that I can do the embroidery. Yes, you read correctly. I will be embroidering. She tells me it is easy and that I will be fine... I hope she's write! Apparently, you transfer the pattern onto the fabric and it is just a stitch-the-dots sort of thing. I'll make sure to have Peter take pics and post them.

She also finished knitting her second baby sweater. I'll have to take pics of them. The first is a green, overhead sweater (that matches the one she made for Peter, how cute!) The second is my favorite shade of blue with gray stripes and elephant buttons! It's a cardigan style. So adorable! It will go great with the little elephant onsie we bought Nicholas and Sophia.

Sunday begins month 4. Thank you, God, for getting us this much closer to our little one. Each day is such a blessing. My first prayer in the morning is "thank you for getting us through another night together and for letting us start this morning"; my last prayer at night is "thank you for another day together; keep us safe tonight." So far, all is well. And I am so thankful for the blessings we have.