One week ago at my 39 week appointment, I was 3 cm dilated, 60% effaced and certain that the baby would be born at any moment. One week later, I am still 3 cm dilated, 60% effaced and certain the baby is never coming out. So, I did what many other extremely uncomfortable, impatient, anxious, frustrated and stressed out moms-to-be would do and scheduled an induction for Monday morning, June 22, at 7:30 am.  I would really love for the baby to come naturally, when he is ready, but at this point with two other wee ones to chase, I need this pregnancy to come to a close for my sanity and theirs.

I actually find the situation ironic. My doctor in Michigan wouldn’t consider an induction, unless it was medically necessary, until 42 weeks. Thus the reason Kaiya was born eight days after her due date. My midwife here in Atlanta has been presenting the idea of inducing labor since my first meeting with her back in February. That is partly due to the fact that this is my third pregnancy and being able to plan for the other two kids would be nice, and partly because she knew she would be on vacation during my due date. I declined because I really like the other midwife as well and don’t have a preference as to who delivers. Plus, I was banking on the fact that Tobi came five days early so logically this baby would come early as well. Ha!

I was complaining to Andrej the other day about how I couldn’t understand why I hadn’t had the baby yet since Tobi was born early. Andrej laughed and reminded me that Tobi is not the most patient person. It is true. Tobi runs everywhere he goes and has a hard time waiting for anything. It only makes sense that he arrived five days before his projected due date. Maybe it’s a sign that this babe will be a little calmer than his brother.

Anyway, I would appreciate any and all prayers for a safe delivery and healthy baby whether he arrives naturally today or tomorrow or by inducing labor on Monday. I look forward to introducing you to the newest Ciho very soon. I know Andrej will be keeping everyone updated via Facebook throughout the birth and will update this blog with pictures as soon as he is able.

Other than that I uploaded some new pictures of the kids. Random family pictures start here, and pictures from Tobi’s second birthday party are found here. There is also a blog post about Tobi turning two under this post. I haven’t blogged as much as I did today during this entire year. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when the kids are at their grandparents!

All of those things were really incredible to see and hear, but we were still waiting to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl. Finally, the technician announced that she knew the gender of the baby. We all took our final guesses. I was sure it was another boy because this pregnancy has been almost identical to my pregnancy with Tobi and completely opposite from Kaiya’s. However, I admitted that I had been wrong guessing the gender in two out of my three pregnancies so I wouldn’t exactly say my intuition is spot on. Kaiya guessed girl even though she has said just until recently that the baby is a boy. I can’t remember if Andrej ever said his guess as I was too anxious to hear the results. Finally she said, “You’re having a BOY!” She showed us the screen shot as proof, and it is definitely a boy.

I am truly excited, just as I would have been had she said girl. I absolutely had no preference one way or the other, but am thrilled that we will be having another son. I know this will be great for Tobi as he loves playing with Kaiya, but since he is a bit rough she prefers to, how can I say this nicely, not play with him. Tobi loves chasing and then tackling Kaiya many times throughout the day. She hates this game of his and screams at the top of her lungs. I sure hope Baby Brother will eventually share Tobi’s love of rough housing so Kaiya can have a break.

So, now the name game begins and I already know it won’t be an easy one. Here are a few pictures of Baby Boy that the technician printed off for us yesterday. The quality isn’t that great because I took a picture of the picture instead of scanning them. If you have a hard time deciphering ultrasound pics, then I’ll give you a little heads up. The first two pictures are profiles of the baby’s face and body, and you can see a little hand up by the baby’s mouth. In the second picture you can also see the baby’s legs. The last picture is a precious little foot. A larger version of the pictures can be found here.

I still can’t believe it, but in a few short months we’ll have another boy. Lastly, a huge thanks to those who played along yesterday in wishing Andrej a happy birthday and guessing Baby Ten-nak-oh-na-na’s gender. It was fun to read your responses. Andrej had a great day, and I also pulled off a super fun surprise birthday party for him. It was such a wonderful day!

1) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2) Andrej’s 27th Birthday!

3) The day we hopefully find out if Baby Ciho #3 (lovingly nicknamed by big sister Kaiya, “Ten-nak-oh-na-na”) is a boy or a girl.

If you’re reading this on the 19th, I would love for you to leave a comment and wish Andrej a happy birthday and let us know whether you think little Ten-nak-oh-na-na is a boy or a girl. Thanks and enjoy your 19th of January!

October was an exciting month as we took our very first road trip as a family of four. We’ve taken several short trips in the car with the kids, but never traveling more than a few hours from home. After our last trip down to South Carolina back in June, I hinted that we were done with the airline industry (at least for a while) and wanted to give driving the 16 hour drive a whirl. Surprisingly, the trip went really well and the kids did great for being strapped into their carseats for so long. We borrowed a portable DVD player, which made the hours go by so much faster. In fact, Kaiya spent most of the drive watching her favorite videos and looked like this: 

And Tobi like this:

But, on occasion we found them enjoying other activities like these:

We made several stops to stretch our legs, spent the night in a hotel room and after traveling through seven states we finally reached our destination of South Carolina. We spent a few days with my family and then Andrej and I left the kids with my parents and embarked on yet another trip to the neighborhood of South Atlanta.

We had spent the months in between our previous trip there in June and this one asking God what he had for our family. We spent hours discussing the decision with our friends and family and praying together for God’s direction. However, at the end of the day neither Andrej nor I could say without a shadow of a doubt that God was calling our family to relocate to Atlanta, but on the other hand we could not say that he wasn’t calling us either. We knew the only way a decision would be reached would be for us to go back to the neighborhood and spend more time learning and listening to God.

As Andrej and I drove south on I-85, our conversations tended to focus on two things. We talked a lot about “calling” and what it meant to be “called by God” to join Him in something specific. Neither Andrej nor I have ever heard God audibly speak, so how does one discern calling  from any other feeling you may have. Secondly, our conversation landed on the what-if-we-are-pregnant topic. I was about 95% sure we were expecting our third child, but since this one was not planned, I refused to get my hopes up until I saw a positive test.  We also discussed baby names, but if you’ve been reading this blog long you already know that conversation went nowhere.

When we pulled onto the street where our friends, and possible future teammates Nate and Melissa Ledbetter were now living, we prayed for our hearts to be open and that God would make it clear what part he wanted us to play in His redemption of this neighborhood. Our friends had just moved into this new house, one street over from where they were living when we visited in June. Even though it was only one street away it was like a different world. We noticed right away that it was certainly a lively street. People were out on their front porches or congregating in the street and music was coming from a nearby car that several men were gathered around.

As we got out of the car, we noticed two kids about the same ages as our own kids playing in the front yard of a nearby house. We would later learn that particular house was a known drug house. Sadly, we also learned that on the first night our friends moved into their new house there was a shoot out in the street in front of their home. That story coupled with the image of the kids innocently playing in the front yard deeply impacted me.

You would think a story like that would send me running, but in fact I believe God used it to hit on the very things keeping me from making the decision. The first one being calling, Melissa had said that you have to know God has called you to this type of ministry or when guns are being fired in front of  your home, you will be ready to pack and move as soon as possible. Secondly, my kids safety has been a huge factor in this decision and for some reason knowing that there were children living in that environment and their parent(s) were drug dealers completely broke my heart. Those kids deserve better. Those kids deserve hope and a future just as my own kids do.

Thankfully, we had three days with the Ledbetters to process these thoughts of calling, safety and if and where our family would fit into the ministry. As we stood in their kitchen catching up and discussing the schedule and plans for the next few days, Nate asked if there was anything we wanted to see or do during our time in Atlanta. My husband piped up to say that the schedule looked great and the only thing we needed to do was go to a store with a pharmacy so we could purchase a pregnancy test. After the excited congratulations had been said and the surprise wore off, we dove head first into three life changing days spent learning, exploring and praying over South Atlanta.

Melissa and I did make a target run that afternoon, and I purchased the much anticipated pregnancy test. It was all I could do to make it back to their home to take the test and see the results. When we walked in the door, Andrej, Nate and another guy, Matt, were waiting on us and they were about to head out into the neighborhood to give a tour to Matt who was interested in volunteering with Sub-Urban. Before they left I quickly went to the bathroom, administered the test and within seconds the test showed a positive reading. Elated and shocked at the same time, I shared the news with Andrej and then with our dear friends, and yes even with Matt. Baby Ciho #3 was on his or her way!

The days that followed were incredible and both Andrej and I began to see ourselves living and working in this neighborhood. We took in a lot of information, but unlike our initial visit in June, we had plenty of time to process everything with the Ledbetters. We learned about possible schools for our kids to attend, possible homes that we could rent within the neighborhood and we discussed possible roles that both Andrej and I could play within the ministry Sub-Urban. We also did fun things around Atlanta as well. We ate at yummy restaurants, went to Atlantic Station and even popped into IKEA for a few things. On our last day, we visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. museum.

However, the thing that impacted me the most happened just before we left. Andrej asked me if I wanted to go for a walk with him in the neighborhood. Honestly my first reaction was to ask, “By ourselves? Without the Ledbetters or their gigantic American bulldog?” Andrej answered yes and reminded me that if we moved to the neighborhood, we could not live in fear. There would be no reason to come if I was afraid to leave our house. I agreed and we set out to discover the neighborhood, get a better look at some of the houses that may be available for us to rent and of course to pray.

This walk was a turning point for me as I was able to look beyond the run down buildings, boarded up houses, glass shattered streets, graffiti covered walls and see God’s redemption. I was able to see smiles on peoples’ faces even though their living conditions were meager. I was able to see hope that a neighborhood could be restored and be a safe place for the families to raise their children. I was able to see past the crime, prostitution and drug houses and see neighbors who really want to better their community and see peace prevail. I wasn’t afraid and I didn’t feel threatened, in fact it was the complete opposite. Every person we met, either walking or sitting on their porch enjoying the sunshine, went out of their way to greet us and make us feel welcomed.

Andrej and I prayed as we walked and then prayed with Nate and Melissa when we returned to their home to say good-bye. We left knowing that we would be in touch with them soon as the decision was weighing heavy on our hearts. We drove north to have dinner with some great friends that we worked with in Slovakia, the Desnoyers and the Tichys. Another plus for relocating to Atlanta is that we already have friendships with people that we admire deeply and are a piece of Slovakia right here in the States. We had a fun evening catching up and laughing, and it was a perfect ending to our time in Atlanta.

We headed back to my parents house to collect hugs and kisses from the two kiddos we missed terribly. We enjoyed hearing all about the adventures Kaiya and Tobi had with their grandparents riding the tractor, fishing, playing in the yard, collecting hickory nuts and having a blast.

We shared about all of the things we learned during our time in South Atlanta, and my family was ecstatic to hear that the biggest thing we learned was that we were expecting another baby. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time left before we had to load up the car and retrace our path back through those seven states until we arrived home. The rest of the pictures from our road trip are located here.

Soon after our return, we made the final decision to step out in faith and trust God with relocating our family to South Atlanta to join Sub-Urban. All of our conversations about calling, safety, faith, foolishness and trusting God left us thinking how could we not be a part of this adventure. How could we say no to joining God in something so life changing and incredible. We are definitely looking forward to this next chapter God has for our family. You can find more information on the ministry, our roles and how you can be a part of the journey in the sidebar just to your right, and more information on the ups and downs of the journey so far will be coming soon.

Other October happenings:

Even though the trip down south was the major event of the month, there were a few other fun things we did in October.

In early October, we joined friends at a local Pumpkin Patch/Apple Orchard for some fall activities. Those pictures are located in their own album here.

October ended with a fun Halloween party at Kaiya’s school and trick-or-treating with our neighbors. Kaiya LOVED her pink poodle costume my mom found for her at a consignment shop. Tobi was a puppy dog at Kaiya’s school party, but the costume was too big and the hood kept falling down over his eyes so he refused to keep it on. On Halloween night, we opted to put him in a smaller bear costume that was Kaiya’s a few years back. Remember her as the bear? Anyway, it was a bit too small on Tob, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Halloween night was perfect weather wise, unseasonably warm, and I like to think that was God making up for last year when Kaiya and Andrej trick-or-treated in a torrential downpour. We joined our good friends and neighbors for a Halloween party and then headed out into the neighborhood to fill the kids’ buckets with loot. Both Kaiya and Tobi had a blast, and Tobi fell right into step with the big kids and went up to each and every door as if he had been trick-or-treating for years. It was a fun night for all. The pictures from the Halloween related events are located in their own album here.

November and December rewinds are coming soon!

Andrej and I walked into the kitchen and watched the shock come over everyone’s faces as they tried to make sense of us standing there in person. It literally took my parents a few moments of just staring at us in utter disbelief before they welcomed us and asked why we had changed our minds.

We handed each of my parents a small bag and told them to open the gift and then they would understand why we came. My dad opened his gift first, and at first glance he saw a little picture frame and commented on how nice it was, but still confused he inspected it a little closer. As soon as he read the words printed on the frame, “I LOVE GRANDPA,” and what we had written inside the frame, “Picture Due July 2005,” he knew why we had traveled so far. He teared up and couldn’t say anything, but just gave us each a hug.

My mom, very confused at this point quickly remembered her own little gift bag and tore into the package. Finding a similar picture frame she quickly announces through her tears to the rest of the family that she is finally going to be a grandmother. That was a moment never to be forgotten.

On the day before Thanksgiving 2006, I heard Kaiya beginning to stir in her crib after a good night’s sleep. I woke my parents, who had arrived late the night before, and told them Kaiya was up and they could go in to get her if they wanted. They jumped out of bed and made a beeline to Kaiya’s room, but I stopped them and said that I wanted to go in first to open the blinds and start the camera to video the reunion.

Once I was all set they came into Kaiya’s room very excited to see their precious granddaughter. My mom quickly scooped Kaiya out of the crib and planted months’ worth of kisses all over her head. I soon realized that they were so enamored with Kaiya that my plan wouldn’t execute if I didn’t step in a little. I asked Kaiya to show Babka and Papa her new shirt. My mom leaned back and read the words on Kaiya’s shirt, “Big Sis ‘07.” Catching on quickly she asked, “Are you trying to tell us something?” The excitement and joy of another baby on his way made that moment yet another one to never be forgotten.

On the day before Thanksgiving 2008, Andrej and I quickly rushed out the door leaving Kaiya and Tobi in the capable hands of my parents who had arrived just two days before. As we were waiting in the lobby, Andrej commented on how strange it was to be at our doctor’s office without the kids in tow. I agreed. After we were called back and the routine steps had been taken and all our questions had been answered there was only one thing left to do. Dr. B quickly reminded us that it was early and we may not be able to hear it yet, but she would try. I explained how I really needed to hear it because I had been sick with the stomach flu just a few days earlier and I was really worried.

Dr. B turned on the doppler and quickly found my heart beat. She slowly moved it across my midsection, and it didn’t take long before the familiar whooshing sound filled the room. The biggest smile spread across my face as she said, “I wasn’t sure we would be able to hear the heartbeat at 10 weeks, but there it is and it sounds healthy and strong.” Relief, joy and thanksgiving filled my heart in that moment knowing that God was knitting together our third baby in my womb and by mid-June our family will be blessed once again. Even though I’ve experienced two other pregnancies and listened to two other heartbeats for the first time, it was still so special to hear our third little one’s heart beating strong and I knew that was a moment I never wanted to forget.

I had been hoping that the baby would come early and especially before Memorial Day so that Andrej could have one more day off of work to spend with his growing family. However, when my anxious mom suggested on Wednesday, May 23, that she and dad would go ahead and drive up the next day, Thursday the 24th, because she couldn’t wait any longer, I told her not to because my doctor won’t induce unless it is medically necessary until 42 weeks. This would mean that my parents could arrive and have to wait until June 13 to meet their grandson. Plus, at the time I felt great and was convinced the baby would follow after his big sis and go past his due date.

My mom, still not happy about the decision, agreed to wait until after my doctor’s appointment on Friday before booking a flight or packing up the car. I woke up Friday morning to light contractions, some pressure and cramps and couldn’t wait to get to my 8:45 am appointment to see if there had been any change in my progress. At the appointment, my doctor checked me and happily announced that I was dilated to a three-four and she was certain I would have the baby that day or at the most by Saturday. She encouraged me to go home and take Kaiya for a nice long walk so that we would be at the hospital by the afternoon and she could get out of the office. I told her I would certainly try.

I called my mom as soon as I got in the car and gave her the go ahead to come and by the time Kaiya and I returned home my light contractions had gotten much stronger. Instead of the walk I decided to clean, finish packing and finish last minute tasks that I wanted to complete before the baby arrived. Throughout the morning my contractions got stronger and more consistent and I felt like I was in a race with my body to finish all that I needed to before heading to the hospital.

By 11:30 am the contractions were really strong, but bearable, and I decided to have lunch early in hopes that Kaiya would be down for a nap before we needed to go to the hospital. I called Andrej to let him know that he would need to come home soon, but not to feel like he had to jump in the car at that moment. After Kaiya was tucked in bed, I started timing the contractions and they were anywhere from five to ten minutes apart so I called Andrej to come home pronto. I called my friend Heather to let her know what was happening and she offered to come and get Kaiya. Everything was falling into place and by 2:00 pm the car was loaded and Andrej and I were on our way to the hospital.

We checked in with labor and delivery and they rushed me into triage where I was strapped up to monitors and checked and told that I was dilated to a five and would be moved to a delivery room soon. The contractions were extremely strong and really close together and after each one I kept reminding the nurse that I wanted an epidural. Once settled in my room a nursing student went to work on getting an IV in my arm, and let’s just say that five days later I still have nasty bruises all over my arm from her repeated attempts. Finally the nurse took over and was successful.

Soon after the IV was in place, in walked the anesthesiologist bringing along what I couldn’t get fast enough. It didn’t take long before the epidural was working and I could relax, rest and wait patiently for the arrival of our little guy. I was checked again and dilated to an eight so they called my doctor. Dr. B arrived shortly and around 4:45 pm she broke my water, which revealed meconium in the amniotic fluid. Our doctor told us that meant they would need to suction the baby before my final push, and unfortunately Andrej probably wouldn’t be able to cut the cord.

Within half an hour I started to feel strong pressure, which I thought was odd because I didn’t feel this while in labor with Kaiya. I still couldn’t feel the contractions, but the pressure was quite painful. I told the nurse the next time she came in and she smiled and said the pressure was a good thing and that it wouldn’t be long. The pressure became more intense and I welcomed the moment when my doctor told me it was time to push. During the first push the baby’s heart rate dropped extremely low and they called for a NICU nurse to be there for the birth. The same thing happened to Kaiya during her birth, but her heart rate never came back up so they had to use forceps and get her out quickly. Thankfully, Tobi stabilized and he handled the next series of pushes without any problems. I pushed for about 15 – 20 minutes and at 5:42 pm our son was born.

Since they had already suctioned the meconium and he let out a huge wail, my doctor decided to go ahead and lay him on my chest which brought on a flood of tears from one happy mama (I didn’t get this moment with Kaiya because she was blue and didn’t make a sound so they whisked her away quickly) and she handed Andrej scissors and told him to cut the cord. I couldn’t have asked for a better labor and delivery. Our little guy weighed in at 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He has blue eyes, but it was the hair that was most shocking. At first it appeared to be red and we really weren’t sure where he got that feature. Now it looks more strawberry blond and his eyebrows and body hair are cotton white. We still aren’t sure where he got that, but it sure is cute.

Andrej headed off to the nursery with Tobi to assist with his bath, and I had dinner and got cleaned up and ready to move to my postpartum room. When Andrej returned with the baby, he helped me get settled in the new room. We couldn’t agree on a name and decided we would need to sleep on it. Since it was still before Kaiya’s bedtime we decided that Andrej would go to Heather’s and collect Kaiya and take her home where he would also spend the night. My parents were due to arrive around 4am on Saturday morning, as they had to drive up because plane ticket prices were exorbitant due to the holiday weekend. Andrej found a content Kaiya who had had a fun afternoon and evening playing with her good buddy Ian. She really understood, and would tell you if you asked, that we were at the hospital and that her baby brother had arrived (Baby Tobi come out!). She was also very excited that her Papa and Babka would be here when she woke up the next morning.

The next two days were pretty uneventful. We spent loads of time snuggling with our sweet Tobi and enjoyed visits from our friends. Andrej and I spent many hours debating names, looking through baby naming websites and staring at our son saying, “He really doesn’t look like a _____ (insert one of many many name choices).”

We loved our visits with Kaiya and my parents. During Kaiya’s first visit she walked up to the bed and just stared at Tobi. When we told her that he was her baby brother, she exclaimed, “Dat (that) baby Tobi right der (there).” She was very cautious at first, but soon came around and was showering him with kisses.

We finally named Tobi (Tobias Daniel) around 8:00 am on Sunday morning, after what we like to refer to as the Name Nazi (the lady processing the birth certificate) kept hounding us for the paperwork. It was such a relief to finally be able to call him something other than baby boy or little buddy.

We were then discharged around 11:00 am on Sunday and returned home as a family of four. We are really enjoying our precious Tobi, even during the wee hours of the morning when his little blue eyes are wide open. He is nursing really well and giving us many opportunities to change his little diapers. He truly is a blessing and definitely made our Memorial Day weekend the most memorable one yet.

An interesting thing is that with Kaiya, I didn’t progress until I was in actual labor. Two days before Kaiya was born, I was in the hospital for something totally unrelated to labor and when my doctor checked me I had not progressed in the very least. So, I’m very excited to already be progressing even though I haven’t had any real contractions. I know I’m having practice contractions pretty regularly because I can see it, but I haven’t felt anything yet. Maybe soon!

There are few reasons why I would love for this baby to come, well, today or at least soon:

1. It’s HOT! Last night when Andrej and I went to bed the thermometer in our bedroom read 78 degrees. No one should have to sleep in a room that is 78 degrees, especially a certain someone that is 9 months pregnant. My feet and hands are are not handling the heat at all and are quite swollen. They actually make fun tasks like washing dishes absolutely unbearable. I told Andrej I would much rather sleep in an air conditioned hospital, with people poking and prodding at me every few hours, than in our house right now. The one thought that is getting me through is that there is light at the end of the tunnel and it will only be at most a few more weeks until Baby Ciho arrives. Two years ago when I was pregnant with Kaiya, I still had two very long hot months to endure before giving birth.

2. Our dear friend and Kaiya’s most beloved and ONLY babysitter, Marianne, is moving to Kentucky on May 17. We are really sad to see her go and honestly don’t know what we will do without her. She has been such a HUGE help and blessing to us over the past year and a half and Kaiya absolutely adores her. Not to mention the fact that when I do go into labor we have to do something with Kaiya and that something is taken care of until May 17. Marianne is on call and will come here any time, day or night, to care for Kaiya, until she leaves for KY. After that we are at the mercy of friends, who have all graciously offered to keep Kaiya, but with kids of their own it won’t be as simple as Marianne coming here. My parents will be on the first flight here, but at the very least that will take half a day, or it could be like when Kaiya was born and they didn’t arrive until after midnight. Andrej had to beg the nurses to let them in to see Kaiya. Honestly, I’m more nervous about what to do with Kaiya and being away from her for two days than giving birth.

3. Besides my swollen feet and hands and not sleeping very well, by far the worst thing I’m experiencing right now (and did during my last trimester with Kaiya) are migraine headaches. Unless you have migraines yourself, there is no way to even describe the pain and pounding taking place in your head. They make me sick to my stomach and there is absolutely nothing I can do to alleviate the pain. Last Friday night, I had the worst migraine of my entire life. I vomited four times, took four super hot showers and took medicine that I probably shouldn’t take during pregnancy (no worries it came right back up) trying to get through the six hours that migraine took over my body. I know the killer headaches are related to all the hormones floating around my body right now and my lack of sleep, so yet another reason for Baby C to come on out.

4. Last but not least is that even though there are still lots of loose ends around the house I would LOVE to finish before the baby arrives and even though we still haven’t decided on a name, I am ready to meet our son. I’m ready to see if he will look like Andrej, or me, or Kaiya. I’m ready to hold him in my arms. I’m ready to plant little kisses on his precious head. I’m ready to have him look into my eyes and melt my heart. I’m ready to have him curl up on my chest and sleep. I’m ready to have his tiny fingers wrap around one of mine. I’m ready to kiss his tiny little toes. I’m ready for him to come.

However, I learned through my pregnancy with Kaiya, that no matter how very ready I am for him to come, he will only come when he is ready and not before. So, I’ll wait and continue to go to the doctor weekly and hopefully before too long Andrej will be letting you all know in some form or fashion that we are indeed in labor and will be introducing you all to our son soon.

1) Baby Ciho is definitely a boy! As the ultrasound technician was getting everything set up to start, she asked if we knew the baby’s gender. I told her that we found out it was a boy during the 20 week ultrasound, but would really like for her to confirm that for us if she could. She turned on the machine and as the first shot of the baby appeared on the screen she quickly pointed out that it was most definitely a boy.

2) During the ultrasound, at 30 weeks and 2 days gestation, Baby Ciho was weighing approximately 3 pounds and 8 ounces. He was also measuring right on target for our May 30 due date.

3) Lastly, and most important of all and the reason for the ultrasound, I asked the technician if she could tell us if the baby’s kidneys were now the same size and growing as they should. She said she wasn’t allowed to share that information with us and that it would have to come from our doctor. I was so disappointed as I was hoping to find out then exactly what had taken place over the last ten weeks, but understood her position. Finally after a long week of waiting, a nurse from our doctor’s office called with GOOD NEWS!!! She shared that the ultrasound results showed that both of the baby’s kidneys were normal and right on track growth wise. I can’t even explain the relief that I felt when her first words were, “We have good news…” Praise God! I truly appreciate all of you for praying with us over the last ten weeks for his kidneys. Please continue to pray for him and me in these final weeks and I look forward to introducing you to Baby Ciho soon.

As for a name, nothing has been decided but we are in agreement on two options. This is really HUGE because just a couple of weeks ago we had nothing! In fact, I had just about thrown in the towel. I returned our 50,000 Names name book back to the bookshelf and told Andrej that he would have to name his son by himself because I was tired of trying. Thankfully, since then Andrej brought one of our old faithfuls back to the table and added one more. I’m afraid to share either name here as Andrej changes his mind daily, but know that we are getting closer. Also, a huge thanks to those of you who commented after the 20 Week post with possible name options. Each comment made for great conversation as Andrej explained why none of them were acceptable. I really should have posted his commentary under each comment as it would at least be a little insight into my husband’s brain. I liked several of the suggestions with my favorite being Debbie’s “Kaleb”, but sadly Andrej wouldn’t go for it. I have a feeling no name will be finalized until after Baby Ciho is here, but I am thankful there are at least some options on the table. If you have any new suggestions, please feel free to comment or send us an email.

Only EIGHT more weeks!!!

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.

During 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.