Stress...and....Praise....and some nursery pics for fun!

Long story---stressful day---have to vent. Long story short: Elliot looks just fine and her kidneys are dilated less than 4mm (barely) but enough to where the perinatologist is not worried and (thankfully!) doesn't need to follow up with me anymore. The end. And for some pink, here are some work in progress nursery pics:

 Got this dress before we started trying to get pregnant with Griffin back in San Diego with my mom. I can't wait to put in on Elliot!!!

 Formerly gold picture frame that I painted white and am going to put pics of her once she is out in the open. I put my fave u/s pic in the middle of her sucking her thumb.

Ya know...gotta have a big E, feather, and pink bird, right? 

My work in progress branches (Iooks better in person...). I found a bunch in the yard and have been progressively adding pink and frilly things to it. Andrew helped me hang it above the bed but it has changed even since this picture was taken. So, I'm sure it will morph into perfection by the time she makes her appearance.

Gotta slap some pink paint on those walls...
Now for the long and venty version:

Luckily my amazing husband decided to work from home for a little bit this morning so I could get a good long run in without the jogging stroller in hopes to calm me down for my appointment. Thanks, my love!

I had my perinatologist appointment and level 2 ultrasound to check out the Coco's kidney situation.

I have been getting increasingly stressed since they told us this last Wed. so i'm SO glad they got me in today instead of later in the week. I couldn't sleep last night and ended up just watching TV then crawling in bed with Griffin for some cuddles when he woke up waaaaay too early.

I get to the appointment and the first thing they do is send me back to talk with a genetic counselor (Andrew couldn't come with me). I don't know why they did that first but they did and I turned in to a giant stress ball and started thinking all sorts of crazy thoughts. She talked a lot about Down Syndrome, Trisomy 18, etc. Then she started talking about doing an amniocentesis TODAY and how there is a risk of miscarriage with the amnio. I just couldn't imagine doing it if there is even the slightest risk of that happening. But, anyway she just kept asking if I wanted to do that or the quad screen and blah blah, meanwhile...Andrew wasn't there so I was slightly majorly getting increasingly stressed.

So, after talking to this lady for a while I texted Andrew about the amnio because I just figured I should get his opinion even though I was 99% sure I didn't want it. It wouldn't change anything about our pregnancy except being prepared if we knew something was up. I also didn't want to lose my mind thinking about the what-if's if I could know for sure and be preparing. So, after I texted him they sent me to the ultrasound room which apparently is in a dungeon because I had no reception for 2 hours. Meanwhile Andrew was at home getting more and more worried and thinking about getting a neighbor to watch Griff so he could come meet me and I had no way of getting in touch with him. I felt so bad when I finally talked to him. No fun.

Anyway, the lady comes in to do the ultrasound and looks at EVERYTHING and makes sure it looks good. The last thing she looks at are the kidneys because E was positioned in a way that made it hard to see them. Agh. So they are measuring at 3.5 and 3.2. Phew! We did get some really cute profile shots of my little lady and she is so cute! She has her hands up by her face all the time and was snuggling with the umbilical cord. I will get her a blankie. Hopefully she won't get too attached to the cord and end up asking the doc to cut her a piece so she can sleep with it. The other babies may make fun of her.

At the end she did some 4D and it was so fun! I never had that with Griff and it is so cute to see her like that. It was hard to see her face though because of her lovey (aka umbilical cord).

Also for fun, at the end, she took the cord and it looked like she was trying to put it in her mouth. Disturbing but shows that she is quite the little jokester.

FINALLY. After the ultrasound tech left and I laid there for 20 minutes waiting for the doctor, she came in to tell me that everything was fine and that the risk of a chromosomal disorder or kidney problems is not increased. Thanks and have a nice day. 3 hours of stress and then a huge PRAISE.

As soon as I left the dungeon, I called Andrew and told him not to worry that everything is fine and I'm pretty sure the poor guy had about 2 hours of torture. I'm so glad we got good news at the end though. Makes it totally worth it...but I definitely wish I hadn't had to do that. Ugh.

So. Little Missy Elliot is healthy and precious and I just can't wait to get my hands on her and snuggle! Right now she weighs almost a pound...hence the bladder pain issues while mama is running. Here are some more u/s pics just for fun....

 Profile shot...

 I think she's doing kissy lips in this one. Okay, maybe not but she's still cute :)

 Covering up her face in an attempt to show her bashful side while also cuddling up with the lovey umbilical cord.

 On a side note I have two cysts on my right ovary and one is the size of an egg....gross. Hoping that doesn't affect future baby making endeavors :(