Halfway There!

If this baby actually makes it to his/her due date, we have only 20 more weeks to go before we meet him/her! It is amazing to think that we are, possibly, even beyond the halfway point! I have to admit that I have somewhat mixed feelings about this; I am just now getting into being pregnant. I can finally feel some fluttering movements and am beginning to look pregnant. When we first found out we were pregnant (way back in April), it seemed like such a long way until December. It is now only four months away and while we are so excited to meet him/her, I think I will miss being pregnant. I can't think of a more special or unique experience and I am so grateful that things have gone so smoothly thus far.

Our 20-week appointment with our NP yesterday was so positive. We received the results from the ultrasound...everything completely normal. WHEW! While I know that anything can happen, I feel very confident that our little one is healthy--at least all major organs and body systems appear to be forming/functioning normally.

We (mostly I) decided to opt out of the AFP screening test mainly because of the high rate of false positives. In some ways, yes, I think it is important to know that our baby has Downs or other anomalies before he/she is born but the ultrasound showed that major anomalies are not present. Yes, we still have about 1 in 600 chance of having a baby with Downs Syndrome. Perhaps we just shot ourselves in the foot by not finding out ahead of time, at the same time, the fact that the baby's organs and whatnot are functioning/forming normally is also an indicator that Downs may not be present (something like half of Downs babies are born with heart defects). I simply didn't want to subject us to the added stress of a likely false positive; even if we have a Downs baby cooking, I want to have the happiest possible pregnancy. We took a chance--I know. But I feel like sometimes it is best to just proceed and not bog myself down with the "what ifs." I am trying very hard to simply enjoy this and not worry to much about the future. It will be fine...no matter what.

Another quick note about the ultrasound: the radiological report suggested a due date of December 7. We are not changing our "official" due date because we are still within three weeks of our due date. Our NP said that we have a good chance of having a November baby, however! I will be "full term" around Thanksgiving so anytime after Turkey Day, folks...Baby Mayer could make an appearance.

Doug and I are finally home for the summer! We are done with traveling and are so happy to be HOME. We have so much to do before the baby comes--it is somewhat overwhelming. I know myself, however and I won't want to rearrange furniture or paint walls once the baby is here so we plan to have the baby's room ready (and the main bathroom DONE!) by Thanksgiving or so. While we don't plan to have everything for Baby by then (stepdad Steve is getting a cradle ready for us so if we don't have a crib right away, oh well!), those of you who have been in our second room know that the pumpkin-colored walls need to go (thanks to Uncle Dan and Aunt Catherine, Baby's room will be a lovely light green).

Have a great weekend and we'll continue the updates next week.

Peace!