This is the book that Dolly sent Cooper last month. It’s quite appropriate since Cooper is going to be a BIG BROTHER to a little brother. Yep, we’re pregnant and already 20 weeks along. Est. due date is August 17th.
Why have we waited so long to share this wonderful news? Well, that wasn’t the original plan. We decided to wait until we were through the 1st trimester before making the big announcement. During our 13 week doctor visit, the ultrasound indicated some areas of concern. Not the news you want to hear when you're ready to shout from the roof tops that you're expecting. Quick version of what the ultrasound revealed: thickened nuchal translucency/cystic hygroma/extra fluid behind the head & neck region. The measurement was a mere .1 mm above what is considered a “normal” range but my age (36) gave me increased risk as well. Cystic hygromas “can” be indicators of chromosomal abnormalities, heart defects and many babies who show signs of CH’s are born “completely normal”.
After the diagnosis, our days of worry, sleepless nights, avoiding Internet research at all costs and trying our very best to stay positive officially began. Google is not your friend when you get a scary bit of medical information. I finally had to refrain from researching online in order to stay positive.
We have since visited a high risk OB, opted to have an amniocentesis (all screening results came back normal) and today was our visit with the pediatric cardiologist for a prenatal echo cardiogram to test the little guy’s ticker. Apparently the cystic hygroma/extra fluid can also be an indicator of a heart defect. According to the doc, our little guy's ticker appears to be A-OK.
What have I learned through all of this? A lot. This pregnancy has definitely been different than our pregnancy with Coop. But thanks to the results from the amnio/echo cardiogram, we can now put ourselves at ease a little bit and enjoy the moment. We’re so happy that Cooper is going to have a sibling and can’t to wait to meet our newest little man.
Special thanks to Cooper for doing his best to keep our mind off of things. It’s amazing what the power of cuteness can conquer. It also puts into perspective as to what we have to look forward to with baby #2. Thanks for being there Coop. And thanks for being such a trooper during all the extra doctor visits.
So there you have it. It's official now. (Imagine me announcing this with a giant heavy-duty megaphone): WE ARE PREGNANT AND COOPER IS GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!!! Man, that felt really good to say.
11 comments:
Yeah!!! Congratulations Mark and Amy! Cooper will be the big man around the house now!
Oh boy! Modern technology provides so many ways to find things to worry about when cooking up a baby, especially for us *old* moms. On the plus side, that technology can also allay fears. So glad little boy checks out healthy! OH BOY OH BOY!
Oh my goodness you are going to be surrounded by so much testosterone!!!! Welcome to the club woman! I am so excited for you, Mark and Coop. And you are nearly half way through this pregnancy already! Let's see the baby bump!! I demand pictures.
holy crap! I am so excited for you.
bad pregnancies are the scariest worst things in the world. I am SOOOO happy for you that things look ok!
hope to talk to you soon.
btw, august 22 is a fantastic day to be born!!
I second what Joanne said. August 22 would be an excellent delivery day. So if you would cooperate and hold off until the 22nd that would be great. : )
I do have a fondness for people born on August 22nd but I'm hoping for a little sooner than that (not too soon though). Cooper was 2 1/2weeks early so who knows????
@Kristin-Baby bump pics are hard unless I have Coop take the picture. As much as I love seeing my enormousness increase, I realize I should have some pictures to document this time in my life. I'll see what I can come up with :)
~Congratulations~ I am so happy for you guys!!!! I love reading your blogs and seeing pics of Cooper growing up - SOOOO wish you were in FL...miss you! :)
Super wonderful news! Congrats to all of you! We are in the same boat, Amy :) I'm due Oct. 3rd. We have got our work cut out for us!! Glad to hear everything is now going well. Sorry for the scare! Hoping you can rest now and enjoy the remainder of your pregnancy.
Cuckoo. Love it. Makes me laugh.
Thanks Natalie! Congrats to you, Josh and Ezra too. I'm so-so happy for you 3. We do have our work cut out for us!!! I wish you all the best and can't wait to keep checking in on you to see how things are going as you're cookin' up your little Canuck. Does this mean baby will have dual citizenship?
Yes, he/she will be a dual citizen! We'll find out this time around on May 25th :) Can't wait to know what we are having. Happy Birthday to Coop. Looks like you guys know how to live it up. I'm trying to follow your lead:)
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