5 Months (half way through!) and boy oh boy what a BOY!

Wow, I feel like I have a lot to share! First things first, Kaydriana is getting a little brother! I knew I'd be happy with another girl or a boy, but it certainly feels like our family is whole with one of each. I'm just sad about having to buy boy colored things. Pinks, head bands, frilly things are so much fun! But, I'm sure it will grow on me. In fact, I just went to the store and bought my first items for our boy:

His name will be Lake Markuson Morris. My grandma's maiden name was Marcuson. The name is Swedish and at one point my ancestors did spell it with a K and then it changed to a C. Tim wanted the K spelling for his best friend, Mark.

So, I'll share quite a bit about the appointment Wednesday. First of all, it had snowed like crazy and the news reports were warning everyone that if you don't have to get out into the roads, Don't. My original appointment was scheduled at Swedish, which we could have walked to. But because of the snow, they closed the Issaquah offices and we were diverted to Bellevue. Freeways, hills, snow - driving. Awesome! Thankfully, Tim is a very competent snow driver and we got there safely. No way did I want to postpone confirming the gender.

Second of all, the doc was a trip! My usual experiences with U/S is a tech does the imaging and a doctor analyzes the information and then you get a call with results. Not this time. This guy was a doctor. I should have known we'd be in for a "treat" when the receptionist told us it would be a few minutes while the doctor set up his room to his specifications. No big deal, he likes things a certain way... so we go into the room and one of the first things he does is put some towels away and tells us how some well meaning person set up his room incorrectly. Ok. Then as I get seated he tells me how things are going to go.

He says, " Now, I'm going to tell you how it is when I see it. I'm not going to sugar coat things. 1% of children have congenital heart failure. Yesterday I had three devastating ultra sounds. " So now I'm totally freaked out thinking that maybe he saw something in my 12 week ultra sound and he is trying to warn me. Then he looks over to Tim and Kaydriana and says that as long as she stays quiet, she can stay in the room otherwise, Tim will have to take her out.

He then asks if I've ever been seen by him. Definitely not, but I tell him that I didn't believe so. He said, "I usually rub patients the wrong way so you probably would remember if I've ever seen you." Well, that was true!

The doc lifts up my shirt and I hear Tim trying to quietly get my attention. I look over and Kaydriana lifted up her shirt too :) Before we get any warning, he asks if we want to know the sex, we said yes and he blurts, it's a boy! I didn't even see the penis and he was already moving on to check on the heart. Which was totally healthy (no congenital heart issues, phew!) His brain was beautiful and so was his spine. I began to appreciate the doc's straight forwardness and knowledge. He enjoyed the challenge of getting good 3-D shots for us so he had me twisting and turning. I realized then that he is a lot like me- very particular and likes a challenge :)

He asked how big Kaydriana was (she was 9lbs 2oz) and he said that, "your son" (which was really cool to hear) is going to be big too. He was measuring 7 days bigger than his due date. He is in the 93 percentile for growth. I could tell we were getting towards the end of our appointment so I told him I would like to see his penis. So he tried and tried to get another shot that I could see and I never really could tell what I was looking at like I could with Kaydriana.

Then I told him there were concerns about previa. So he took a look and he said he would consider my previa to no longer be complete, but partial so there is hope that I could have a vaginal delivery. He provided us more information such as warnings and things to look for, etc and recommended that we be seen again in 9 weeks. While my first impression of him was off-puting, I decided to book my next appointment with him since I grew to appreciate his honesty.

So moving on... Here is how our 20-week old is doing: "Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel - about the size of a banana. The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button, and you've likely gained around 10 pounds (I've gained slightly more than this). Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on. "

I had an appointment with my OB last week where I verified I have low iron levels as well as low platelets. So I'm back on iron supplements and there is nothing I can do about the blood platelets. Dr. Graham isn't too worried at this point, just another thing I'll have to get tested every few weeks. If they drop further it could be a concern if I start bleeding due to the previa. If they drop really low, I may not be able to have an epidural. So basically its the same thing as the previa, wait and see and maybe it won't be an issue.

As I'm typing this, Lake is kicking like crazy and for the first time I can see his little kicks show on my belly. So cool!! I love my lil man! :)

Here are some photos:
The picture of Kaydriana is when we were in the waiting room for our appointment. She looks like a little snow bunny :) I know that she will love being a big sis! Especially as I see how much love she gives her little baby dolls!

Speaking of Kaydriana, she is talking so much! There is no way I can list all of the things she says now, but off the top of my head the newer words in vocabulary are: outside, waffle, breakfast, cracker, and cookie. She signs: milk, more, please, thank you, cracker and banana. She has more signs that we are not familiar with. She is close to signing I Love You. She also knows the movements to lots of songs and tries to sing along. Especially, when we get to the part, "E I E I Ohhh!" Love my big girl!