Baby Squirt

In July we found out we were expecting baby #2! Here's his picture at 8 weeks:

We are so excited Penny is going to be a big sister!  She shared her news with some family in August :)

In late August, we had our 12 week ultrasound and a test called the sequential screen.  Here he is at 12 weeks:

Soon after, we found out that our baby was "high risk" for Down Syndrome.  We entered a high stress period where the medical community started to talk about our baby like he wasn't a baby, which made me incredibly sad. We'd seen him a few times already and at 12 weeks, he was sucking his thumb and swimming around. He was ours and we were his!

At 16 weeks, we decided to do an amniocentesis to find out for sure. Here's baby Squirt at 16 weeks: 

We got the call in early October, confirming that Squirt was a boy and that he has an extra copy of his 21st chromosome.  Again, the genetic counselor talked about him like he wasn't a baby. But we knew, he was our baby and we loved him! After initially being terrified by the diagnosis, we were lucky to be put in touch with a few amazing families from our local Down Syndrome Interest Group and some amazing mommy bloggers from the Internet and we quickly realized that Squirt is going to have an amazing life.  60 years ago, he may have been institutionalized. Today, he will have therapies and resources that will help him succeed and we hope that one day he'll live his dreams, just like his sister, whether they involve going to college or finding a career that makes him happy. 

In late October, we were ready to share the news with our family and friends:

Most of you already know that in March, Penny is going to be a big sister. Since finding out we were pregnant in July, we've learned a few things about our baby- we know IT'S A BOY! We know this because we had an amniocentesis confirming that he has Down Syndrome. As you can imagine, we're anxiously awaiting his arrival so we can learn more about who he is and the amazing love he will bring into our home. Over the past three weeks, we've learned quite a bit about Down Syndrome through reading and talking with some amazing families who are part of our local Down Syndrome Interest Group. We know that our baby will be welcomed into a supportive community and are so grateful for the guidance these families are able to provide.

Please don't feel sorry for us. Instead, please pray that our little boy will be healthy- that he will have a healthy heart and digestive system, good eyesight and hearing. Please pray that his struggles will be few and that the love and happiness he brings into this world will be great! We had our 20 week ultrasound last week and so far things look really good! He doesn't show any of the typical "markers" or physical abnormalities that can be common with Down Syndrome, so we're hoping for the best. We can't wait to bring him home :)

If you'd like to learn more, visit the NDSS website at http://ndss.org/

And, if you're a sucker for beautiful stories, visit these blogs: http://www.kellehampton.com/ and http://letters2daniel.wordpress.com/

They are just two of the amazing families who are helping us realize that an extra chromosome may change our lives, but that it will be for the better!

Love, D, RC & Penny

Since then, we've loved the opportunities to see Squirt up close. Here he is at 20 weeks:

 At 22 weeks we had an ultrasound to check his heart. And here he is again at 28 weeks, so we could check his growth (his hand is covering his face and you can see his knee and leg):

Most of these ultrasound pictures are taken by an amazingly supportive tech named Mary who has made our Perinatal visits stress-free and enjoyable. She's super-supportive of our decision to bring Squirt into the world and she's been nothing short of awesome! 

We've been doing research and learning as much as we can. And, we've been so excited that with each ultrasound, we learn that Squirt is growing just as he should be. His heart looks healthy :) And, he swims and kicks just like his sister.  We've found support in the most unusual places. We have no doubt that Squirt will be surrounded by love when he arrives!  We can't wait to meet him!

(But please don't get any ideas Squirt- keep growing and kicking from the inside until late Feb/early March, love, Mama)