22 Week Update

Last week’s update was a total downer. I owe you guys a bit better than that, especially since things have mostly been good with the exception of last week! Here’s what’s new aside from my ultrasound craziness.

I am now just past the halfway mark at 22 weeks along and I can’t believe how quickly it has gone! Noah came early (right on the nose at 37 weeks) so if this goes like last time, then I am well past the halfway mark. Hard to imagine!

I have an update on the amniocentesis results. The fertility clinic we used has gotten involved and been coordinating the results that the amnio lab is finding and what the PGD lab found. (Remember that the PGD lab is the one that tested Aaron when he was only 8 cells big!). The PGD lab found that Aaron was a carrier of MCADD, where the amnio lab found that he wasn’t. I guess that the PGD lab has a policy where if they find even a weak signal indicating than an embryo has an illness or is a carrier of an illness, they report it. Better to be safe than sorry. Aaron showed a weak signal of being a carrier, so they told us he was a carrier. They weren’t surprised in the slightest that now that he is more mature, he is looking like he isn’t one after all. They also have scenarios where they get what they call a “mosaic,” where one cell they test comes out positive, but the others come out negative. Again, they report the illness to be on the safe side. Either way, it looks like Aaron is free and clear of any instance of the illness and we are extremely thrilled about it! However we arrived at this test result is irrelevant to us!

We also got his chromosomal map as promised. This is just amazing to me to look at. How many kids have this? We just shake our heads in wonder when we look at it. The only things that mean anything to us are that 1) all chromosomal pairs are present and accounted for, and 2) that the XY thing at the end means that he is in fact a boy. So much for looking in ultrasounds! I don’t think it gets any more accurate than that!

One last fun fact about the genetics stuff is that when they implanted the two embryos, one had the carrier gene from me, and the other had the carrier gene from Chris. I was curious to see which boy took, and it turns out it was the one with the carrier gene from Chris. Kind of a silly little tidbit to know, but I love hearing about him having some of Chris in there. In the end, he will be his own little person and we are very excited to see it, but a fun fact to know regardless!

As for the pregnancy, I am beginning to feel the effects of having the extra weight on my body, and things are starting to get uncomfortable. My back hurts a lot and my feet are getting to be sore at times too. It is a clear signal to me that it is time to begin the regimen of training involved with preparing for natural childbirth. Last time around when life started feeling this way, the Bradley Method was my saving grace with the weird stretches and diet that they prescribe. There is something about that stuff that makes the aches and pains of pregnancy feel so much better. I started doing it all a couple of weeks ago, and I immediately started to feel better. I can’t believe it is childbirth preparation time again already! I did love doing this stuff last time, and I am working to get back into the full swing of it all.

As of Memorial Day weekend (right at 20 weeks along), I can definitely say that I am starting to feel him move. It started off that late at night when I would lie on my back, I could feel him tapping. Or I would feel it when I had my seat belt on in the car. At first it was subtle and I don’t think anyone else but me could feel it, but now he has grown to the point where others can feel him kick (within the last two weeks). It all happens so quickly, how fast they grow! He now seems to be more active in the mornings and less active in the afternoons. Noah was more of a shy baby, and would do modest kicks, and would quickly stop when I put my hand down to quiet him down. Aaron is more active I think. Bigger kicks and he doesn’t care if I put a hand down to quiet him down. That only works about half the time! I am wondering about this personality coming our way!

Finally, we completed another (and I think the last for now) big house project before Aaron comes. We had the exterior of the house painted. This was high on the priority list because it had been far too long since it had been done last time. There were lots of places where the paint had worn off and the bare wood was exposed to the weather elements. Before we had a major problem on our hands with rotting and such, this needed to be fast tracked. We hired a couple of really great guys to do it for is. The speed with which they could do it was pretty attractive. Below are the before and after pictures.

Hope all is well with each of you. Thanks for reading!

(Click any of these pictures to make them bigger.)