Quick Update--I had an appointment today to check my cervix, and everything looks great!

THANK YOU! (and clarification)

Hey--just wanted to thank everybody for their support and all the sweet comments. :) It means a lot to both of us!

I also wanted to clarify something about her name very quickly. I have had a lot of notes from people who say, "I love the name Amelia." I just wanted to point out that I didn't misspell--it is actually AmeliE (e on the end, not a). It is similar to Amelia . . .Amelia being the German, and Amelie the French.

Many people have also asked me how we will pronounce it. It is ah-muh-lee.

Just wanted to make sure I clarified so everyone would know what her name actually is and how to pronounce it. Thanks, everybody! We are so lucky to have such great, supportive friends in our lives. Now, if I can just make it through the next THREE WEEKS without anything happening to my cervix, I think it should be smooth sailing from then on.

Introducing . . .

Amelie Jane Rennie

Our third child

Our first daughter

Waving Hello!

We found out today that we are, as previously suspected, having a girl. We are obviously overjoyed. We didn't mind what gender she was--but we did want to know! We are so lucky to be able to bond with her in this way . . .and we loved that we were able to do the same with our boys before they were ever born. As the ultrasound tech moved the transducer over my belly, I just sobbed . . .even before they told me the gender . . .because I could see her moving all around, looking so beautiful, and it just gets my heart! I could watch her all day! She was so funny--she spent much of the session doing "gymnastics" (the tech said we should sign her up right away for lessons)! She had her feet OVER the top of her head most of the time, and kept rubbing her eyes with her little fists. She also did a bit of a pelvic thrust dance maneuver that cracked us up. She was gorgeous, and we couldn't be prouder to have Brian and Sawyer's little sister on her way!

The "feet-over-head" position she was enjoying today.

Doesn't it look like she's blowing bubbles in this picture? hehe

She looked like she was getting sleepy.

People keep emailing me for updates, which made me realize it's been awhile, so I thought I'd let you all know that everything is going great! I had an appointment on Wednesday to get my p17 shot. I was feeling nervous because I've been feeling very achy and heavy in my pelvic area and inner thighs. I asked the nurse if it was normal, and she seemed a little concerned and said it could be, but she would rather have me see the doctor to be sure.

So of course, I got really worried. I convinced myself that everything was going wrong again. I can still remember during the last pregnancy when I was first told I was "funneling" and there wasn't anything I could really do about it. It was so terrifying. I was really upset and sat crying while I waited in the sono room.

Dr. Harrington checked the cervix without really saying anything, which scared me too. When doctors are overly quiet it makes me nervous! Eventually he finished and started asking me about the heaviness and cramping. Finally, he told me that with a "normal" woman, he would say it was just normal pregnancy aches and pains, but with someone like me (given my history), he wanted to be sure.

So FINALLY he told me my cervix was still long and thick, and I was not dilated at all. What a relief! Everything looks great, so apparently what I am feeling is normal! I also heard from some of the other moms at abbyloopers (a website exclusively for women with a TAC) that it is something most of them have experienced--seems to go hand in hand with incompetent cervix and TAC. I don't mind as long as the baby stays put!!!! I can handle anything as long as he or she gets here safely!

Speaking of the "he/she" thing . . .we have another high-level with Dr. Egley on Tuesday, so hopefully after that I will be able to FINALLY announce whether or not it's a boy or a girl. :) Fingers crossed baby behaves and shows what he/she's got!

I am almost 20 weeks. Within 4 weeks, I will officially be the most pregnant I've ever been. During my pregnancy with Sawyer, I was already on bedrest and funneled, so I feel really happy that nothing has changed so far, and at this point, we are as close to a "normal" pregnancy as I can get! Keep us in your prayers, as this next 3 1/2 weeks are the real scary weeks for me. If we can make it to 25 weeks, I think each week after that will be more and more smooth sailing.

BTW, I wrote to Dr. Haney (I write to him about once every two weeks or so, either with updates or questions) and here is part of what he replied:

"I am delighted that you are progressing well and it will be no time until you are in the third trimester and anticipating your C-section. Your anxieties will be much less the second time around when you have absolute confidence. Good luck."
A.F. Haney