So, I never updated since our appointment with the perinatologist. I must say that Kyle and I were very impressed and liked the doctor very much. He was so informative and straight with us, giving us so much information. We got to confirm that she is still, in fact, a little girl! Sydney was chilled for the majority of "the show" with not only her hand in front of her face, but also her legs. What crazy positions these babies get into. At that appointment (19 weeks), she measured about 9 ounces - right on for her age. We found out that she may have a ventricular septal defect (VSD). It is basically a hole between her two ventricles, which is not normal and causes a bit of blood to shunt incorrectly. It will sometimes correct itself once she gets a little older and bigger, so we have to go back when I'm 24 weeks to do another ultrasound to see if it has closed. The doctor felt very optimistic and stated that if it doesn't correct, it is "fixable".
The other thing they found was an echogenic intracardiac focus (EIF). It is basically a bright white spot seen on the ultrasound of the heart. It is considered to be harmless and apparently present in up to 11% of the white population, higher in other ethnicities, with no significant effect on the development of the heart. The doctor did inform us that there are some studies that state that an EIF does increase the risk of Down Syndrome by 2 x's the normal risk for age. He gave her a risk of having Down's of less than 1/400 (0.25%) because of my age, the EIF, and the fact that she is currently showing no other markers of Down's. He and his ultrasound tech measured every part of her little body, including the nuchal fold of her neck, legs, brain, arms, stomach, organs, etc. Everything checked out and he could not locate any other issues. We are fairly positive that the outlook is good, but have to be prepared for whatever COULD be. Kyle and I decided to forgo the amnio to definitively diagnosis an abnormality due to the risk of miscarriage (1/200 or 0.5%) being higher than the probability of her having Down's. It would not change anything anyway and we are going to love and cherish her no matter what!!!!!!!
Here is a shot from this appointment (19 weeks 3 days):
My waist has definitely started to change shape and I had to officially retire my jeans at 20 weeks. I can still fit into my dress clothes and hope to be able to for a couple more months. I have been feeling Sydney move from time-to-time. Nothing consistent or major. The peri also confirmed that I have an anterior placenta which means that the placenta is located in the front of my uterus, creating a buffer between baby and my tummy. This will make it harder to feel her move at an early gestation.
Kyle and I have been busy planning for baby. We are cleaning out the room that will be the nursery. We have already ordered the nursery furniture:
http://www.munirefurniture.com/pdfs/Majestic.pdfWe ordered it exactly as it appears on the first page (flat top in espresso). We also started our registries at Target and Babies-R-Us. It was alot of fun and I couldn't get the laser gun thingy out of Kyle's hand.
We are so excited to be heading to Louisiana in September. My wonderful family is throwing us a baby shower. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family!!!! I can't wait to see all of them.
Hope all of you are well.
Love,
K&K&Syd
We chose this bedding and some of the coordinating accessories (my mom and dad already bought the bedding and mobile for us):
Kyle and I bought the wall hangings to do a project for Sydney's nursery. Daddy painted the letters of her name and attached them to the hangings. 
This is me the day we found out we were expecting:
This is me at 23 weeks (nice and plump):
Hope all of you are doing well!!!
Cupcakes:
Final cake:
After the last class....Yummy!
