Pregnancy Update - 27 weeks & ultrasound

We had our specialist appt today. I feel like we were just there, but it's been 4 weeks already. Time is flying. No new changes with Hallie. Which I think is good - no reason to think she's going anywhere anytime soon (as far as Dr.'s can tell - she's under no stress). We saw her moving all around and even yawn or open her mouth once. :) It's such a strange thing to be in there - looking at her and looking perfect to us. So I just soak up the time watching her as if to figure out her personality now. I was thinking today - this really could be my only reality with her, here in these offices.

Her butt was down, and her head, feet and hands were all on my right side. Looks like another flexible baby :) She finally flipped over so we could get a decent profile picture.

The Dr. then had us meet with a palliative care team. I was happy to meet with them, but it was kinda of spontaneous, and I didn't have much prepared as far as questions. But I did have some, and they were answered. So now we have some things we need to decide as parents as far as care goes for Hallie after she is born. You can pray for us as we seek clarity on that.

Farrah and Bella's pediatrician also called today. She just found out about Hallie and I thought it was very nice of her to call and give me her advice.

It's really just amazing how little info is out there. There is a lot online, but because Trisomy is somewhat rare (not totally rare, but rare enough) each Dr may only see a couple of cases of this ever. And even then, each case is different. So it can be scary to be on that end of things. But we also have complete confidence in all of these doctors and we just have to let all of OUR wants for Hallie be known, and not let the medical field make those decisions for us. I am thankful we do live in the US, in a big city, and have lots of options available - and even have to pick between good hospitals. Not everyone has that.


Baby is the size of: 14.5 in cauliflower; about 2 lbs (today's estimate from the Dr is that Hallie is 1 lb 12 oz, measuring about 2 weeks behind) 

Symptoms: heartburn at night. nothing Tums can't take care of. And still the swelling under my belly. i have a feeling that's only going to get worse. Oh, and now I have varicose vains popping up. I read that Hallie is probably sitting on the large vein on the right side of my body, which in turn increases pressure in the leg veins. Time to actually start sleeping on my left side, taking breaks to get off my feet, and buy some compression hose. yahoo.

Maternity clothes? yes sir. 

Sleep: slept much better this week. And we hung up something over the window to make the girls' room darker, and it's totally making them sleep better. Friday & Saturday mornings (Chris' days off) the girls slept until 9am. Yes!

Fun moment(s) this past week: The fair!! Chris and I also had a date afternoon/night on Saturday and went to see The Help. It was so good! 

Movement: Lots and lots of strong kicks from Hallie. Chris can watch them, too. Movement for me... uh... I like to make my bending down strategic. If I'm picking something up, I like to pick up/clean as much as I can while I'm down there to minimize bending. ha! Funny how all of a sudden I feel 39 weeks pregnant.

Food cravings: nothing specific

Gender & Name: We need a middle name, haven't talked about it. It needs to not start with a vowel. I've wanted to use my middle name for all the girls (Ann), but it never seems to work with the initials of our girls.

Weight gained: Ok, geez. 15 lbs. This is a little ahead of where I was with Bella (& probably Farrah, I didn't keep as good of track with her). But I have 13 or less weeks to go... so I'll just be more careful... right....

Belly Button in or out? Didn't make time to focus on my belly button this week. :) I'm sure it's still there.

What I am looking forward to: We are going to Savannah this weekend with my whole family to attend a wedding. We're staying in a house all together in Tybee. FUN! I can't believe it's almost October...

Reflections on the past week: I just realized this week that I'm in my 3rd trimester, and have been since 25 weeks. This pregnancy is going fast it seems. I had a much better week.