It's a BOY!

After my surgery we went to one final appointment with Dr. R. I wished that he would have been an OB/GYN so that I could have stayed under his care for the duration of my pregnancy. Instead I had to find someone new. I wanted to use Dr. K because he had sent me for the CT scan when I had my PE and he had been a part of my surgery. Doug said the decision was up to me, even though he knew of another doctor that was very close to our house. Picking Dr. K is a decision I still regret.

At our first official OB appointment, I was 12 weeks pregnant. I had to fill out all the usual paperwork, which included questions like: "Have you taken any medications since you became pregnant? Have you undergone any medical procedures in the past 6 months that required hospitalization?" I nearly laughed out loud. After the paperwork was turned in, we went to the room where I first met Dr. K. That had only been 6 weeks before, but so much had happened, it felt like a lifetime ago. Dr. K walked in and made a few jokes about me and my complicated pregnancy. Then he pulled out the doppler and we got to hear the melodious sound of our baby's heart beat. Then he invited us to join him in his office. He gave us some information on how many deliveries he does, and a few other things that I only half-listened to. I brought up some questions that I had. One related to the night sweats that still plagued me. He told me that was due to my overstimulated ovary. He
finished up the appointment and sent us on our way.

When I was 17 weeks pregnant, Doug and I went in for an ultrasound. It was of course, the big one. We would find out if we were having a boy or girl. I had said all along that I didn't care at all what the gender was, I just wanted a baby. A healthy baby would be a bonus. We decided, since Dr. K's office didn't do an ultrasound until 24 weeks, that we would pay the money and have a 3D ultrasound done. It was a lovely place with pictures of babies and pregnant bellies on the walls. The sonographer took us back to the room, and I laid on the table. Then before she had me raise my shirt, I quickly explained that I had to undergo surgery and had a large scar. She was much more gentle than Dr. K had been as she searched to find our baby's heartbeat. She recorded the sound of the heartbeat and then it was time to look at our baby. I was somewhat worried about what I might see, as I had doctors tell me about the potential of birth defects due to my surgery. But I saw a perfect baby. And the sonographer saw something too. "It's a boy!" She exclaimed. I looked at Doug's face. He had tears in his eyes. I had tears in mine. It was a wonderful moment that I'll remember forever.

The second half of my pregnancy was very different than the first. It was uncomplicated. I finally got to enjoy being pregnant. I got to decorate the empty room in our house and turn it into the nursery that I had been dreaming of. I spent as much time with Meredith as I could. She had been my only baby for so long, and I wanted to cherish every minute of it. We took walks together, we played together, colored together, danced together, cuddled on the couch together. My little baby girl was going to be the big sister and I could wait to be a family of four.