Week 16

We are officially four months pregnant and we are expecting a new niece or nephew later today! I'm excited that our baby will have so many cousins to play with—this is cousin number 14. Holidays and get-togethers with Ryan's family are a hoot.

Our next baby appointment is next Thursday. We'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat again—I can't wait. And we'll do another blood test for our second trimester screening. This test screens for Trisomy 18, Downs Syndrome and more. This is the test we took last year on Ryan's birthday that told us we needed additional testing to see if Ethan had Trisomy 18. It's funny because I'd turned down this test last year, but was urged to take it anyway. Had I not taken the test, we would have never known that our time with Ethan would be so short. I don't expect this test to come back with any flags—there are no reported cases of multiple Trisomy 18 pregnancies.

Our doctor recommended we get a Level 2 ultrasound at week 20. This is a more detailed ultrasound and is normally done to check for genetic defects. There is no reason to believe our baby isn't healthy, but based on our previous pregnancy they ordered this ultrasound. Frankly, I'm relieved and want as many ultrasounds as possible. It's a little scary because these were critical points in our pregnancy with Ethan, but I know this is a new pregnancy. This ultrasound will allow us to bond with our baby for about 45 minutes, see how much they have grown since week 9, and to find out the sex of the baby.

We hadn't planned on finding out the sex during our first pregnancy, but we are so glad we did. The bonding we were able to do with Ethan once he had a sex identity and name intensified greatly. While Ryan talks to our baby now and gives it kisses, we are both looking forward to bonding as closely and as quickly as we can—yes, we are excited to be parents!

Today our baby is about the size of an apple (4-inches from crown to rump) and weighs about 2.2 ounces. Any day now I am hoping to feel some kicking going on. It will be such a peace of mind to feel the baby moving and to know they are okay. I dreamed the night before our last visit that we couldn't find the baby's heartbeat. While I am feeling strong, optimistic, hopeful and trusting in God that certainly doesn't mean the enemy isn't trying to tempt me with fear. Physically I feel great. I wish I could eat the same size meals I used to, but they are a lot smaller and more frequent these days. Ryan can tell you how many times I've woken up at 3 a.m. to tell him I'm starving or have woken him up with a growling stomach. He certainly is getting a kick out of watching my stomach grow. He's a great dad!