It’s a Big Day

Today is the biggest day of my pregnancy, with the exception of the day we will deliver. March 22nd marks the halfway point and the day we have our 20-week ultrasound. When most people find out they are pregnant they immediately begin thinking about the gender, what names they like best or how they can decorate the nursery.

When we first found out we were expecting baby #2 all I could think about was how soon we could find out whether or not this baby would have a cleft. I hoped that since my last pregnancy was high-risk that it would mean we would find things out sooner this time around, but no such luck! So since we were forced to wait, I told myself it was no big deal and that we could handle whatever outcome we were given.

In actuality, I feel anxious. I don’t want this baby to have a cleft, but I also feel silly that I would even worry about that. We have proved to be able to handle the cleft-related issues and are definitely capable of doing it again…but, what if it’s something worse?

Back in January I was privileged to attend a Wisconsin Warriors Sled Hockey game and had a blast. A friend of mine’s son plays on the team and invited us to come watch. While sitting in the ice arena I was humbled by how amazing those kids are and I thought about how much more they and their parents go through every single day that most could never imagine. At that moment I felt ridiculous to have focused so much of my thoughts on whether or not this baby would have a cleft. A cleft is no big deal in relation to what those kids deal with on a daily basis. Every parent in that arena, including me is lucky to even be able to have babies!

So today is a big day and yes – I’m anxious but more than anything, I am excited to find out whether or not Ella is going to have a baby sister as she predicts or if we will be the first, in a long time to have a boy and break the long running streak of girls within my family.

In other news – Ella tells me she is “getting bigger and bigger every day so that she can be a big sister.” Yesterday was no exception as she learned how to ride her bike all on her own. Check it out: