It's a...

One boy, one girl and we couldn't be happier.  I look forward to watching Ethan grow into his role of a big brother to his little sister.  I can't wait to meet her.

Our 20wk ultrasound revealed a healthy baby girl.  She is measuring right on track.  She showed all of the necessary parts that they needed to measure but she was shy about showing her face.  She kept her hands in front of her face, no matter how much we tried to get her to move.  The tech and doctor who reviewed the scans do not believe that she has a cleft lip but they say they cannot be 100% sure.  In some shots it looked as if she does not have a cleft but in others it appeared possible.  We attempted to see our girl again with a visit to Womb with a View.  Two separate ultrasounds in one day there resulted in similar results.  Baby girl hid her face with her feet, legs, umbilical cord and then her hands.  She curled up and nuzzled her face into the placenta to sleep.  Again, in some photos it appears that everything is as it should be, while other glimpses appear that she could possibly have a unilateral, incomplete cleft lip. 

We're not sure what to do at this point.  Both Matt and I left the appointment yesterday feeling deflated and disappointed.  We wish we knew if it was something to worry about or not.  We both just want to know.  I want to know if I need to worry about the challenges a cleft lip can bring to nursing.  It brings me to tears to think about the pain teasing children can cause and how scary surgeries can be.  I don't want my girl to have to endure those.  We worried about what they couldn't see during ultrasounds with Ethan and follow up scans showed everything was fine.  I hope we'll have the same results with this little one.  In my heart though, I know, that no matter what, cleft lip or not, we will survive.  I know that it could be worse.  The most important part is that she is healthy and we already love her.

We may go back and try to see her face again or we may just wait until the day of her birth.  The day we meet her.

She is an active little one.  She kicks quickly and often.  Matt finally felt her kick for the first time last week!  It was just as exciting as the first time he felt Ethan kick.  We are really enjoying this process all over again, just like it was the first time :)

Great tips

I have several posts in "drafts". I just can't seem to keep up these days. I've actually been meaning to post about this for months and decided that today was the day.

Do you read Clover Lane? Have I posted about her blog before? I love reading her entries.

Here is one of her posts that I've really connected with and have passed on her thoughts to my clients. Part of my job is to get parents to sit on the floor and PLAY with their children... to show them how fun and rewarding it truly can be. Part of the convincing is telling them that it will likely HELP them FEEL better and help their children play more independently. It works!

Matt and I had a conversation about this last weekend. We couldn't wait to spend time with Ethan after our overnight trip to a wedding (Ethan stayed at home with his Nama and Narnold). We were both anxious to reconnect with our boy. After playing with us for a short while Ethan was running off on his own and entertaining himself. Independent play is also important and what a nice way to encourage it!