dsc02370.JPGBaby Ciho and I had our 24 week OB appointment today. Thankfully, I only added one pound to the massive amount of weight I gained before my appointment last month. I also measured exactly 24 weeks. Our doctor let Andrej and Kaiya use the wand to find the heartbeat. Kaiya grabbed the wand and turned it around and stuck it right on my belly as if she had done it a hundred times before. Thankfully she let Andrej operate it from there and it didn't take long before we heard the familiar whooshing noise. Baby Ciho's heart rate was around 148. It really is a beautiful sound.

We were also able to discuss in detail the results from the ultrasound we had a month ago. We haven't mentioned this on our website yet because we wanted to talk to our doctor first, but a few days after the ultrasound we got a call from a nurse at our doctor's office explaining that we would need to have another ultrasound done at 30 weeks because one of the baby's kidneys was mildly larger than the other. She quickly explained that this is very common and there was nothing to worry about, but we would need to do the follow-up ultrasound to make sure both kidneys were growing properly.

After hanging up with the nurse I called Andrej and then my mom and had to fight back my tears. I know the nurse said not to worry, but this was my baby we were talking about. Shortly after those conversations a receptionist from our doctor's office called to let me know the date and time of the 30 week ultrasound. Once again she said there was nothing to worry about and this was just a precaution. I appreciated her kindness and after we hung up I wrote the date and time on our family calendar and absolutely lost it. I couldn't stop crying. I somehow managed to make Kaiya lunch and put her down for a nap and then I did the dumbest thing possible. I went online to research the issue. By the time Andrej called an hour or so later I was sick at my stomach from reading about all the syndromes and complications and birth defects related to kidney problems.

Andrej helped release some of those worries by reminding me that "mild" problems don't make the research pages on the web and that I was reading about the worst of the worst. I agreed to stop reading and to stop worrying until there really was something to worry about. Andrej had also just had lunch with some friends and one of the guys shared that they had a similar thing happen with their daughter and by 30 weeks all was normal.

dsc02363.JPGDuring the last month, I've spent a lot of time praying for our little boy and God has definitely calmed my fears. Plus, discussing this with my doctor this morning was beyond helpful. She showed us the ultrasound results and I saw that it was clearly marked as a "mild" difference in size. She too explained that this really is quite common, especially in boys, and that by 30 weeks everything should look normal. We will continue to pray and look forward to seeing our little guy again on the ultrasound screen on March 23. Please join us in praying for a healthy baby and that by 30 weeks all will be normal.

A really neat thing is that my parents will be visiting us that weekend and will get to go with us to the ultrasound. We are excited that they will get to see their grandson "in person" before he makes his big debut in May. In addition to measuring the kidneys, I would also like to confirm that he is really a he before we go and transform our current pink and purple nursery into something a little more fitting for a baby boy.

So, all that to say, the baby and I are both doing well and as each week passes I get more and more excited to meet him.