We Can Breathe Easy Now

I had my amnio on October 28th. For some reason, I've been totally freaked out during this pregnancy. During the ultrasound before the big needle was stuck in my belly, the technician told me that if she didn't say anything, it was because she was concentrating, not because there was something wrong with the baby. Even though I heard that, I still freaked out. I spent the next 10 days examining the ultrasound photos that I had, comparing them to E's photos from the same age, trying to see if there was something wrong. Of course I couldn't see anything, and of course there was nothing wrong.

I got the phone call from the genetic counselor yesterday. We're going to have a healthy baby boy. Everything is just fine genetically. Now, the fact that he's 1/2 Stringer and 1/2 Galli could cause some issues with stubbornness and smart-assedness, but it's nothing we can't handle.

We're going to name him L R. Those are Paul's brother's middle names. E likes to kiss my belly every night, and we sing goodnight to him before bed.

I've been feeling him move for about two weeks now, which is pretty cool. It's certainly not the big kicking moves, just small "Oh, was that his head poking out the right side of my belly?" kind of moves. I'm sure that he'll start kicking the hell out of me and jumping on my bladder regularly soon enough, just like E did. I really liked that part of being pregnant, and missed it when E wasn't there anymore. I often had phantom kicks afterwards which was weird. Kind of like when you lose a limb and have phantom feelings like you still have the limb. I guess it is kind of like losing a limb. But then you get kicked from the outside, and E sure knows how to do that!

I'm feeling a lot happier and energetic now that I know we have nothing to worry about. I think I was expecting something to be wrong. After all, we already had a perfect child, getting pregnant again was like playing with fire. Luckily, it's worked out for us. Phew!

When I figure out where I saved the ultrasound photos, I'll post them. We have our 20 week u/s scheduled for November 30th. I can't wait to see him again!