Blessed

Today I am 20 weeks pregnant. Halfway there! This is huge. HUGE. And what is more exciting is that I am 20 weeks pregnant with NO signs of pre-eclampsia! Woo hoo! When I was pregnant with Asher & Evan, I was most definitely sick by 20 weeks, although I was not hospitalized until 21 weeks. So this is a really big deal. I feel very, very blessed.

Before I even got pregnant I said that I would be thrilled to be pregnant on my birthday. Well, it was my birthday on Thursday, and not only am I still pregnant, but we had our ultrasound! AND... (drumroll) discovered that we are having a 100% healthy baby girl!! AND... my placenta looks great and totally normal, as far as blood flow and everything. (For those not familiar with pre-e, it is thought to originate with poor implantation of the placenta... which would possibly show up in the blood flow, etc right now) The doctor gave me the most hopeful prognosis I've received yet, and actually said that she doesn't "expect" anything to happen (although I will be watched very closely). I have been walking around feeling like disaster was imminent, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. So to have a doctor tell me that I can relax a little (little) bit is practically life-changing. I'm not kidding. The weight off my heart/soul/shoulders is immense. Don't get me wrong, I will still be fairly nervous. But today, for the first time, I actually looked at nursery stuff online. I couldn't even think about that kind of thing before Thursday. All I could think was "Is this my last week being pregnant? How many days do I have left?"

Those that haven't lost a child might think that I'm overdoing it a bit with the excitement of finding out I'm carrying a healthy girl. Some may think "Of course it's a healthy baby, why wouldn't it be?" Indeed. Unfortunately too many of us know all too well that you can't take these things for granted. Not a bit. And if there is one gift I can say that my experience has given me, it is that I will not take a single day with this baby for granted.

I am so, so thankful.