March for Babies 2010

We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather for our walk yesterday.  When all was said and done, we turned in $1098 in donations.  A big thank you to all who generously donated to our cause - I could not be happier with how much money we raised!!  Overall, it was a good day, but the underlying reason for being there just sucks ass.  Next year we will walk in memory of Gracie and all of her angel friends, and in honor of her little brother or sister and all babies born with and without health and life challenges - and we hope to raise even more money and have even more people walking with us!  Below are a few pictures from our day.

 Jeff, Susan, our little friend Lauren, Jeff's dad Bob, Jeff's mom Libby, our friend Terri, Susan's dad Luke and Susan's step-mom Rose

 Our goodie bags had frisbees in them - Lauren talked Jeff into playing Frisbee after the walk while we were waiting for lunch. 

17.5 Week Update

Hello all.  Some little updates at this point, but nothing major.  I am pretty sure that I have been feeling movement for about a week or so, which is kind of exciting.  Right on cue, the Braxton Hicks contractions have also begun.  This is about when they started with Gracie, so it appears that my uterus has not lost any of its 'sensitivity'.  Aside from this, nothing new to report.  We are just anxiously waiting for our ultrasound on May 6th; we are very anxious to see the health of Jellybean's cardiac structure and function, but we are also anxious to find out whether we will be welcoming a Beano or a Beana.

Next Saturday is our March for Babies.  So far, our team is 8 members strong - me, Jeff, Luke, Rose, Bob, Libby, our friend Terri and our little friend Lauren.  So far, our team has raised just over $700 for the March of Dimes; I am hoping to hit the $900 mark by Saturday.  If you would like to sign up to walk with us or donate $5 or $10 toward our team, you can follow this link.  Team Gracibelle - March for Babies

15.5 WEEK UPDATE

We had a midwife appointment this morning.  There are a few updates, but nothing major.

• We discussed the amnio with her and she had nothing to add to our pro list or our con list.  We ultimately made the decision to decline the amnio, since having a definite yes/no answer on Down Syndrome is not going to change a single thing with this pregnancy.  If Jellybean does have Down Syndrome, we will deal with any genetic implications at a later point in time.  
• We will proceed through the rest of the pregnancy under the assumption that Jellybean has Down Syndrome, and hope to be surprised by no presence of Down Syndrome when Jellybean arrives in the world.  
• We have canceled the level I ultrasound scheduled for May 5th, and it will be replaced with a level II ultrasound on May 6th with.  The level II ultrasound will be done by the Maternal Fetal Medicine folks who come up from Harrisburg - it will allow a little more detailed look at Jellybean's anatomy, and it will also allow them to switch over to doppler and look at blood flow through the cord if they wish to do so.  (This is important because of the placenta and IUGR issues that Gracie had.)
• Jellybean's heartbeat was very easy to find today, and it was 145 strong beats per minute.

No other major developments or updates.  More updates as we have them.  Hoping to have some pictures to post in 4 weeks!  Thanks for following along!

As a sidenote, anyone interested in walking with us in the March for Babies is welcome to do so.  Follow the badge at the top left of the page to sign up.  Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated!!!