Chapter 9: Reflections

Since I'm going to be a mom in about two days, I've been doing a lot of reflecting back over the last seven months. I've posted a few pictures here to share while I reflect. None of the pictures show the hydrocephalus. They are only the pictures that are fun to ooh and ahh over.

6 weeks along! It's official! The Idaho Reproductive Clinic told us that we're finally pregnant! We were lucky because we only needed one month of treatments there.

It's time to find out if we're having a boy or a girl! I like this picture because we can see an arm and her face. (I think she has Jake's bone structure.) At 22 weeks, we were right on schedule with our appointments and everything looked fine -- to Jake and I. The doctors noticed the enlarged ventricles and sent us straight up to the specialists in Boise.

This picture is another 22 weeks picture. I call it The Thinker because of the way she is resting her elbow on her knee. Deep thoughts I'm sure.

This picture was taken in Boise around 25 weeks. The doctors told us that she was in breech position, meaning her head was under my ribs and her bottom was pointing downwards. I like this picture because it proves how it was possible to be kicked up under the ribs and down in the pelvic area at the same time. That is her foot beside her nose. She sure is flexible!

These are the latest ultrasound pictures from last Monday. I specifically asked for the picture of the foot because I wanted to know which limb had been repeatedly jamming me in the same exact spot for the entire two hour drive to Boise. If we had been listening to music, I would have assumed she was keeping beat with her foot, the movement was that regular.

And finally, my sister-in-law Sara came down from Montana last weekend to take some maternity pictures. We had a lot of fun trying to stay warm in the crazy weather down in Rock Creek park. Here is the first of the pictures she has sent me.

As we prepare ourselves for what is sure to be the most difficult week of our lives, I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has been so supportive the last two months. We have felt very loved. In my last blog, Crystal commented about leaving us messages. (Thanks Crystal) Please do! We will update as often as we can, but I can't promise that will be as often as you would like. We know you care and we want to keep you informed. Don't be offended if you don't hear from us. We'll do our best. In the meantime, please leave us comments if you can. It's amazing how just a few words from a friend can brighten our days!

Happy Mothers Day!!