Baby Frost 301

Before I became a parent, there were so many opinions I held based on observing those who are parents. Then, September 14, 2008 my world was rocked when we welcomed loving, energetic Bria Anne into our mix. I began to realize parenting was not quite what I thought it would be, and a lot more difficult than I imagined. April 19, 2011 sensitive, cuddly Campbelle Hope made her appearance four days past her scheduled due date and I realized not only is parenting difficult, but very little is under my control. Gone were my notions of what parenting was or should be, and I am okay with that. All that to say, our notions of what we know, or what we think we know, can and will be challenged.

 December 11, 2012, after discussing with Ryan if we should try for Baby Frost #3 now or later, and feeling like I was pregnant for days, the fourth pregnancy test in as many day, was positive. While you are either pregnant or you are not, after five minutes the test showed I was "barely" pregnant... meaning there was only enough HCG in my system to register the faintest pink line I have ever seen. After spending my entire shower at 4:45 am debating if there was truly a line or not, and deducing there was, I walked into the bedroom and woke Ryan from a dead sleep to say, "I think there's five of us." So I headed to work with the knowledge that for the next nine months, I would have my little charge not just next to me, but inside me every day. Nothing about pregnancy thrills me more than the swirls and bumps and kicks and jabs that you begin to feel in the second trimester. So coupled with how miserably sick this little one has made me, and how early I began to feel him/her, everything looked wonderful. Then the 20 week ultrasound arrived. My expectations of what this pregnancy would be were rocked that day. When you hear the word "abnormality" and are asked, "Did you have the quad screen?" your thoughts begin to jumble. While the abnormalities that were seen were most likely minor, a two vessel umbilical cord and a "bright spot" near the baby's heart valve, my thoughts and plans and hopes were challenged. The anxious mother and nurse in me automatically ran through the worst case scenarios we may face, while the statistical portion of my brain pits our baby against the odds and assumes that there is probably and hopefully nothing additional to be discovered. Even through this, in my moments of fear when I wonder if there is more going on that we do not know about, this precious baby, this life I hold inside me is ours, imperfections and all. God has truly impressed upon my heart in the last week since our ultrasound that He is in control, and whether or not our child has additional physical challenges or not, whether or not this baby meets our expectations for what we hoped our family to be, this baby is real and living and ours, OURS. Our precious infant to love on and nurture and protect and raise the best that we know how, to love God and to love others. So August 26th, give or take, we expect our third little one, the one the girls have named "Chicken Sauce" to once again rock our world and give us a new, incredible perspective on parenting and life. We. Are. Excited.

 And for those of you who are interested, a little more information on what this means. A two vessel cord, there are normally three, happens in about 1 out of every 100 pregnancies. While it can be associated with other anomalies, it usually is not. Finding one means that tomorrow I will go to the University of Michigan for a level II ultrasound, which gives a better picture of the baby's anatomy. This will hopefully rule out any issues with the baby's heart or kidneys. These are the most commonly affected areas since the umbilical cord, heart and kidneys all form the same week. Tomorrow, after the ultrasound, they will decide if we need to do a fetal echocardiogram, which will give a better view of just the baby's heart. The "bright spot" near the baby's heart valve, will also be evaluated during the initial ultrasound tomorrow. At 30 weeks, I will go in for a Biophysical profile (ultrasound) and Non-stress test weekly until we deliver to make sure that the baby is continuing to grow and my amniotic fluid levels remain where they should be. Some babies with two vessel cords have restricted growth in the third trimester or have very low levels of amniotic fluid, which would mean an induction should that time come (oh, and lots and lots and lots of pictures of our baby in those last 10 weeks).

 For now, everything is business as usual and the baby is growing beautifully. We continue to pray that all of our children are protected and grow normally in every area of their lives. The added pressure of not knowing whether this baby may make an early appearance or not has got me tackling some projects I have put off for too long... dare I say Campbelle's baby book? Should the Frost family cross your mind tomorrow about 9:00 am during my ultrasound or in the coming weeks until we meet Chicken Sauce, throw up a sentence or two to God for us. I know every one's prayer lists are a mile long, but just a sentence while we cross your mind is enough. God knows, and we truly appreciate it. I really believe and hope that what they have seen is all they will see tomorrow and that our baby will be born perfectly healthy. But no matter what, I have peace in the days to come that problems or not (We all have them!) this baby is ours and is a blessing from God. We can't wait to pin a name on him/her and start a new chapter in the Book of Frost!