Jason excitedly waiting for our name to be called at the doctor's office :)
(in his defense, it was a very early appointment after a busy weekend)
A Level II ultrasound, compared with the standard ultrasounds that I've been having, is a far more extensive one. They measure everything that could possibly be measured on a baby, and when I say everything, I do seriously mean everything! Athena (I'm really going to have to give that lady a huge present!) kept pointing out exactly what she was seeing and looking at for us. "Here's where the umbilical cord inserts. The red and blue show the blood flow through the cord. Here's a femur. Those are his kidneys. Here's the amniotic fluid. We're now looking at his arm."
It's a leg!
Is it appropriate that I just want to hug and kiss that woman? While J and I were in the waiting room, Athena came and called another couple back before us and I found myself getting upset that she wouldn't be doing my ultrasound. I may have even mumbled something to Jason along the lines of "If Athena's not doing my ultrasound, I'm out of here". In reflection, I may have been a little hormonal. And a little worried. AND a little overly attached to this woman who was the first person in the world to know that we're having three boys.
A hand with five fingers. Good thing that's not his middle finger up!
We got to see internal organs, the four chambers of their hearts, feet, fingers... it's absolutely breathtaking to realize these little munchkins are actually growing and developing in my tummy like they are supposed to be! And it was especially fun to see them moving their little arms and legs around like crazy. I am definitely feeling movement now, but nothing akin to what I was seeing on the screen. The peanuts are transitioning from these little aliens in my belly to actual little boys growing in my womb.
Baby A's body on the left, head on the right, and flexed arm
Dr. Gilbert came in during the ultrasound and asked a bunch of questions about my health history and so on as I am a "new OB". All of this was done at our previous OB's office by Dr. Cueto, and they did send over all of my medical records, but it had to be repeated again. I'm really liking Dr. Gilbert's style. He's pretty laid back and seems to be very nonchalant in his mannerisms- on meeting him for the first time, you probably wouldn't consider him to be a Type A person. But once you ask him a serious question or the situation seems to call for it, he shifts into his serious mode and is all business. This is exactly what I need- let's keep it light and funny until we shouldn't anymore.
If you look hard, you can see Baby C's flexed legs in the very bottom right of the pic!
The results from the Level II ultrasound showed that everything is going well and the babes are growing just like they should be! They all weigh somewhere between 7-9 ounces, which is exactly what a single pregnancy baby would weigh at this gestational point (18 1/2 weeks). Baby A is a few ounces smaller than B and C, but we were reassured that it is absolutely normal in a multiple pregnancy to have some difference in sizes.
1st baby clothes hanging in the nursery closet!
(Thank you Uncle Larry and Aunt Sue!)
It seems almost ridiculous that this pregnancy has gone this smoothly thus far, and for that we are so eternally grateful. Almost 19 weeks along and Jason and I are blessed to have three little dudes being held in by my steel trap of a cervix. Just thinking about how lucky we are is bringing tears to my eyes as I type this. And I think that exact thought, though, is probably one of my biggest emotional challenges right now.
I consider myself to be a pretty ordinary girl. I'm not exactly bringing about world peace or making bajillions of dollars or curing cancer. And yet, these amazing things keep happening to me. I'm married to my best friend who also happens to be the most intensely beautiful person I've ever met. I have a dream job that I could never have known would be so awesome and fulfilling. I have a wonderfully kooky family that has put up with me for decades and still claims me as theirs. I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and still possess a relatively intact sense of humor.
Any one of those things would be enough to make a person fall to their knees with gratitude. But now this- triplets? Three little beautiful baby boys are going to be calling me Momma someday? And legally, no one can stop them? This can't be happening to me. Absolutely ridiculous. I feel like I already have more than my fair share of blessings...
Don't get me wrong- I'm not going to turn them down! Good luck trying to pry them away from me, and I do intend to spend the rest of my life earning the right to each of them. But when discussing this prenatal journey with others, I have such a hard time feeling comfortable letting my true excitement show. (And let's be honest with each other here- sometimes it is just not appropriate to sing boisterously and dance on tables, especially when your belly is so large you can't see your feet half of the time). I almost feel like if I let others know how amazing this feels and how happy I am and how much my life is growing for the better, they'll think I'm bragging. I feel the urge to downplay the awesomeness of it all and utilize my self-denigrating humor to temper my excitement so others don't get mad at me.
I'm not quite sure how to solve this mental/emotional/neurotic dilemma, other than to just keep thanking God in prayer and keep smiling. And keep saving the urges for Irish jig dancing for times when my only audience consists of the puppies at home...
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