Today was my second appointment with the fetal diagnostic specialist. They did the second blood draw for the integrated screening and took a ton of ultrasound pictures of the Snowflake.

During the ultrasound, they took measurements, checked vital organs (heart, brain, kidneys), and even counted fingers. They also determined the sex today. Make your guess now and I’ll reveal the Snowflake’s gender at the end of this entry. Drop me a comment and let me know if you were correct!

When they were doing the ultrasound, they discovered something that appeared abnormal near the opening of the cervix, something that appeared to be fluid, blood, or perhaps a blockage of tissue. This could mean bad news for me, possibly heavy bleeding later in the pregnancy which may result in a prolonged hospital stay, and most certainly delivery via cesarean section. The doc said that we should take a better look at it, which meant they had to switch to vaginal ultrasound — which after months of IVF, is old hat by now, but never pleasant. They instructed me to empty my bladder and come back for part two of the ultrasound.

With all of the hoops that my body made me jump through to get to this point, I never expected that the pregnancy would be completely smooth sailing. My fertility specialist even told me that he considers me a “high risk pregnancy.” I just hoped that whatever it was, that it wouldn’t be a danger to the baby and that it would be manageable. As I made my way back into the exam room, I lifted up a quick prayer.

When they did the vaginal ultrasound, they discovered that everything looked normal. The doctor said that he didn’t expect me to have any problems at all. I was so relieved that I didn’t even ask them what they thought it was. They took additional pictures, which were much clearer since it was less obstructed than a regular external ultrasound.

All in all, Baby Champuru gets an A+ on her report card. Did you catch that?

We’re having a girl!