Bladder=Soccer Ball

So, I think Avery will be a soccer player like his dad.
He has very strong legs and feet and loves to kick my bladder like a soccer ball. Hey, at least he's making me get my excercise.....I have to walk to the bathroom 545521212 times a day.
I love feeling him move, however, can't complain. I just love knowing Avery is growing. I can feel he's bigger. I started feeling him move at 18 weeks and Danny could never feel him. Now, at 24 weeks, Danny can see my belly moving and flopping around from across the room.

Being pregnant is such a surreal feeling. I still can't believe our son is inside of me, and I'm growing him. That is a miracle! How do people not believe in God when they are having a child? The entire process is absolutely impossible to fathom or understand. God thought everything out very well! Everything about the development of a baby makes sense and I just know He is real now, more than ever. For example: did you know the umbilical cord has no nerves so the baby feels no pain when it is cut? Well, duh! God knew what He was doing! Also, the baby's skin is covered in a protective coating so they don't shrivel up in amniotic fluid. AMAZING! The details were so carefully thought out by Him.

Danny's been working hard at re-painting the baby's crib. But JC Penney decided to torture me and has my bedding on back-order. His nursery will have a light blue and dark brown polka-dot theme. Danny says polka-dots aren't very manly.

So we have quite a long day scheduled this coming Friday at Children's of Cincinnati. A lot of you are praying, and I am so thankful for that. We are very, very optimistic. Avery's diagnosis is CCAM. Congenital cystic adematoid malformation. Say that three times fast! Here is a link to the Fetal Care Center that we will be working with: www.fetalcarecenter.org/conditions/ccam/default.htm

The link also has a very informative section on CCAM. The doctors don't seem too worried, just taking a lot of precautions. They worry when the ratio size of the tumor is 1.6, and Avery's is only 0.36 and not getting any bigger. The only reason they're sending us to the specialists is due to the fact the tumor has slightly deviated his heart. However, the good news is that the deviation has not caused any stress on his heart at all.

So, we're staying positive. The most wonderful part of his diagnosis is that we have gotten to see our little boy every week since 20 weeks via ultrasound! Last week I could see his cheeks were chubbier and cuter than ever. I love getting to see him weekly. Which makes me more excited to see him every day soon...and to hold my precious boy in my arms.

Will write more later after our day at Children's. Thank you everybody for your support!

Maybe No Longer Baby No Name??

Last post left me overwhelmed, excited, nervous, and overwhelmed. Did I mention overwhelmed?

Well, I am happy to report that I am finally kind of adjusting to my new role as soon-to-be-mommy. First of all, my baby boy has a closet and dresser full of clothes. Lots of hand me downs from my sister in law, and about 60+ items plus a gorgeous JJ Cole car seat cover for $100 from a friend. I love looking in his closet and seeing those teeny clothes that hang down like three inches. It's pretty uber cute.

Also, Danny and I registered. I am proud of our registry. We worked and researched hard and long. Didn't register for anything we didn't think we needed. With an enginerd (Danny) alongside me, I couldn't go wrong. He figured out all the dorky mechanics of stuff. I like his mathematical brain.

On the unexpected front, at our 20 week ultrasound (where baby was lovingly playing with his junk) they did find a tumor on his lung. The good news was he was happy, and big. He was at last measurement in the 83rd percentile. The not-so- good news is that we are unsure what the lung tumor means. I've had to go for weekly ultrasounds, and the mass has not grown as he grows. If it continues to stay the same size as he gets bigger, prognosis is pretty good. Unfortunately, we have a zillion tests we have to get done. At 24 weeks, (I am currently 23 weeks and 1 day) we are heading to Cinicinnati Children's Hospital and meeting with 8 specialists. I know I have an MRI, a meeting with a cardiologist and genetisist. Beyond that, not sure what the other 5 appointments are. Apparently, the odds are 1 in 30,000 of this happening and beyond our control. We're just happy that he seems pretty happy and content and kicks me often to remind me how happy he is in his little home.

So, we are just praying and hoping. And hoping and praying.

So the big news is we *think* we came up with a name. Avery Paul. We both like Avery (shocker) and Paul was my grandpa's name that I loved very much. We'd like to incorporate William in there somewhere for Danny's grandpa, however Avery William doesn't roll. And I don't want him to have fourteen names like Avery Paul William DeVivo...so that's why we're only 90% sure.

So...I think that's all for now about Avery, keep him in your prayers. If something bad is wrong, we will deal, so mostly I just pray for wisdom. Because even if he has a life-long illness, I just want to be wise and know how to be an advocate for my son. <3

Tootles!