The Big Day

Monday September 14, the day we got to catch a glimpse of our little one and found out if we were having a boy or girl. We woke up so excited for this day and could not contain our joy. We dropped Annabelle off at daycare and went to Bob Evan's for breakfast. At breakfast we discussed if and how we wanted to find out. To that point we had not made a decision. While eating, we decided that we did want to know the gender this time unlike Annabelle where we waited until she was born to be surprised. Now how to find out and were we going to share what we learned with anyone. John and I thought about this and decided to find out at the ultrasound and we would tell our families later on at a gender reveal party.

We finished eating breakfast and headed to the doctor's office. We waited patiently to be called back to see our little one. The time came and we eagerly went back to the ultrasound room. The technician asked if we were finding out the gender today and we said yes. She started off very quickly and we saw all of the heartbeat, feet, hands, arms, legs, spine, organs, brain, and got a good profile picture. Below is a picture of our little one.

Definitely a difference between bellies. Very small this time around.

The technician continued on with the ultrasound going through getting all the measurements/scans she needed for the doctor. In the process she got a quick glimpse as to what we were having before the baby moved and found out it's a girl!! We were so happy to hear we were having another girl because it did not matter to us what we were having as long as she was healthy. She quickly told us this without getting a It's a girl picture. I was bummed when we didn't receive one but she was moving too quickly for her to get a snapshot. As she was getting all the measurements the technician asked about my due date and when I had my first ultrasound. I told her that we actually had two ultrasounds, one at 7 weeks and another at 8 weeks. She said those would be the most accurate to give an appropriate due date and continued on. I noticed with all the measurements that the baby was measuring 2 weeks behind which is not good.  The technician finished up and escorted us back out to the waiting room. John left to go into work since we already saw the baby and he had a meeting to get to. I thought it was going to be a quick in and out with the doctor.

I was called back to meet with the doctor and my unsettling fears became true. She came in with a look on her face and had me wishing John was still here. She gave me the news that the baby was 2 weeks behind which is something that I noticed myself. Annabelle was also measuring small but she was not that far behind so I knew this was serious. She then walked over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder to prepare me for the news. The doctor then told me that she did not had the best look at the baby's heart. She said that there was some features of the heart that she could not tell if they were there or not and she did not know if this was causing the growth restriction in the baby or if it was unrelated. She didn't know if the size of the baby was causing us not to see what she needed to see. The doctor recommended me to see a Perinatologist (high risk OB) for another ultrasound within the next couple of weeks.

I left that appointment in total disarray. I was angry, sad and confused. The first thing I did was call John and told him the news. I don't know what was going through his head when he received the news but I couldn't stop crying. He kept telling me that all was going to be ok and we have to stay positive. My mom and sister Bobbie kept telling me to stay positive and that everything is going to be ok and the baby will be fine. I knew after what I went through in the first trimester that something was not right and my gut feeling was correct.