Has it really been 22 weeks since I last posted? The weeks have been flying by, which I am very thankful for. Even though I haven’t been posting on my blog, I have been writing down some important events in my notes on my phone. I have also been keeping updated with everyone else’s blogs through email. I have been keeping everyone in my thoughts and prayers.  

In the past few weeks, a few monumental events have occurred. We had our 18 week detailed anatomy scan the day before New Year’s Eve, which was a little scary. Peanut was crossing his/her legs so we couldn’t find our our baby’s gender. The doctor met with us because the ultrasound showed cysts on Peanut’s brain. This can be a sign for babies that could have chromosomal issues. We were very frightened by this, but the doctor told us to wait for our blood work to come back. He also said many babies and even adults have these cysts so many studies are now saying there is no correlation. Later that day, our blood work came back normal, which we were very happy about. 
As the weeks passed, I waited anxiously to feel Peanut’s kicks. We had another scare around week 21. At work, I bled a little bit when I went to the bathroom. The doctor wanted me to go to the Emergency Room, which was a first by myself. My husband was teaching a class so he didn’t even know I was at the hospital. Thankfully, Peanut was fine. The nurse even tried to find out Peanut’s gender, but of course she wouldn’t cooperate again. 
At week 24, my husband and I decided to go on a baby moon down the shore. My parents have a beach house in New Jersey. It’s crazy to think that the last time we went to my parents’ shore home, we were just getting ready for our transfer. It was the end of the summer and I was actually excited for the Fall since I knew that it could be the start of our dream come true. For our baby moon, we went out to a nice dinner and enjoyed our alone time. At dinner, I made a quick remark how I didn’t feel the baby much that day. My husband later that night began to think about my earlier statement and worry about the baby. We ended up calling the doctor and going to the nearest hospital at the shore. This was my second visit to the ER. As I sat down for the checkup, Peanut began moving lol. She got us worried until the moment we checked in. 
On a more positive note, at week 23, we found out the gender of our precious baby. We went to the ultrasound, and Peanut finally cooperated. The ultrasound technician gave us an envelope with the ultrasound and gender. My husband and I went out to dinner and opened the envelope together. We are happy to announce that we are having a baby GIRL 🎀💕. We held the secret for a few weeks until we could have a gender reveal party. People were so anxious to find out the gender before our party. We had our friends and family over for the gender reveal party. We had pink and blue for everything: decorations, food, games. My friend was kind enough to make 50 cupcakes with pink icing inside. Everyone at the party ate a cupcake at the same time to reveal the gender of Peanut. It was an amazing day with our family and friends to celebrate our precious miracle.
At 28 weeks, I excitedly entered the third trimester. Peanut continued to be a quiet little girl. I didn’t feel her as much as I should. Therefore, at our 29 week appointment, the doctor wanted us to go to triage for our third E.R. visit. They made sure Peanut was moving around. She was fine, but I was directed to begin bio-physical screening profiles to check on her fetal movement. For a few weeks, I went to the doctors to get a non-stress test and an ultrasound. They monitor my baby’s heartbeat in the non-stress test to see if her heartbeat rises at least 15 beats per minute twice in 10 minutes. Every time I feel her (which is rare), I need to press a button. They can try to make the baby move by making me turn on my side, drink cold water, or put a back vibrator on my stomach. After the non-stress test, I would go for an ultrasound. They tested different things such as the amniotic fluid and movements. Peanut needs to score at least an 8/10 with both tests combined. She has passed every test thankfully. At 32 weeks, I started to do non-stress tests twice a week without the ultrasound. 
I was fortunate enough to have 3 different baby showers. The first one was in New England, where my husband’s family is from. They had it at my husband’s aunt’s house. My mother-in-law and my husband’s aunts made all the food I love: rigatoni with eggplant, homemade salsa, and marinated chicken. They made a fruit salsa, chocolate cake, and pastries with strawberries. Everything was delicious, and I got generous gifts. My mother-in-law made me a beautiful quilt with the nursery’s colors and the words “Goodnight Peanut” stitched on it. My husband always loved the book “Goodnight Moon” as a kid so she wanted to be able to “say goodnight” to our baby girl every night even from hours away.
For my shower at home, we had it at an Italian restaurant. My family did an awesome job with it. They had a clothes line with baby clothes for all of the holidays. My dad made a watermelon filled with fruit that looked like a baby. They got a cute cake that was rubber duck themed. For games, they had bags with different letters on them. People had to guess what baby item was in the bag that began with the corresponding letter. It was a lot of fun. They also had tickets that they handed out and they called off different ticket numbers throughout the shower for prizes. I got some great gifts, such as my Bob stroller, a beautiful chandelier, and baby toys. 
Over the weeks, we set up Peanut’s nursery. We created our own paint color because I didn’t like the dark pink or the light pink. My husband blended the two colors together to create a beautiful pink. We got our dark wood furniture and decided to leave the futon in the nursery. We thought that if I needed to sleep in there, I’d have a place to sleep. We hung some pretty paintings and floating shelves on the walls. Meanwhile, my husband and I decided to redo our first floor floors. This was a crazy decision to do at this point in our lives, but our carpet was really starting to wear down. My uncle and in-laws helped my husband with the process. It looks great, and it was totally worth it. My husband had to repainted the walls too since they got nicked in the construction. I stayed at my parents’ house for two different weekends to avoid the paint smell. 
We had our last hospital ultrasound at 36 weeks, which went well. I always get nervous at these appointments since they are a very detailed scan. 
At 37 weeks and 6 days, we had a doctor’s appointment. While I was there, I asked if they would be checking the position of the baby at any point. They felt she was head down because her heartbeat was very low and they thought they felt her head. I requested an ultrasound and they completed one after meeting with the nurse. As I expected, our little peanut was breeched. They told me I could either get an inversion to make her flip or schedule a c-section. There were a lot of risks with the inversion so that scared me. I was upset driving home since I was hoping she would have turned at this point. My husband and I spoke about our options and we decided to go with the c-section. 
The next morning, I scheduled my c-section for Friday, May 20th. Later in the day, I began to get concerned because I was spotting brown and pink. I called the doctor’s and I decided to go to the hospital to get checked. Thankfully, Peanut was fine. The doctor offered to do the inversion since I was at the hospital, but I told him that I decided I would do the c-section. While he was there, he decided to do the ultrasound. We all almost fell over because peanut’s head was down! I hadn’t felt much movement the past night, and they said it was unlikely she would flip at 38 weeks. The doctor told us to keep the c-section appointment and check her position on Monday. 
On Monday, at 38 weeks, 3 days, I went to the office and had another ultrasound. We were all very excited to see that Peanut was still head down. We canceled our c-section and we waited anxiously for Peanut’s arrival. 
At 39 weeks, we made another visit to triage because I didn’t feel her kicking a lot. She was very quiet for two days in a row so I wanted to make sure she was ok. As usual, she was fine, but I was happy that I got checked to be sure. 
I still can’t believe that I am 39 weeks and 3 days. I am so thankful that my baby girl is doing well. I can’t wait to meet her and introduce her to my family and friends. This journey has not been easy, but it is totally worth every step of the way. I will do my best to post when I deliver my baby. I will continue to read about your journeys and pray for you all. Miracles do happen 💕