Week 23

So we went to the specialist on the 6th and baby Nikko is looking fabulous! There are no band attachments that we can see as of right now and the bands she does see are freely moving and no longer attached (happy dance)! Next appointment is on the 17th so keeping my fingers crossed for good news again!

Here's my little mans right foot. As you can see, no sign of full toes. We do see some of what would be his big toe, but that's about it.

Nikko's right hand, as you can see, the middle, ring, and pinky fingers are fused together causing a syndactyly due to the band attachment. His thumb is in front of the hand (kind of hidden) and his pointer finger is on the top.

To give you a better idea of how his hand is positioned, I took a photo of my granny hand:

And lastly, here is his cute little profile picture! He's got the cutest little button nose! 16 more weeks!

On another note...

Something happened the other day and it really got under my skin, so please give me some feedback on what you think of the situation. I'll try to explain this as clearly as possible without sounding like a ranting maniac.

I received a phone call from a relative on my mothers side of the gene pool.  Just to fill you in, I don't speak to anyone on my mothers side of the family and haven't spoken to them in almost two years due to their inability to be non judgmental about things such as tattoos and career choice, as well as their incapability to be happy for their children/grandchildren and not be complete narcissistic individuals. To continue, this relative was acting as if we have been talking to each other forever; asking tons of questions about myself and my boyfriend, work related questions, etc. I was very polite because I am very happy with my life and that eliminated the drama they feed on within their lives and I did not want to cause myself to get angry. This relative then proceeds to tell me they know I am pregnant and heard something was "wrong" with my baby.......

What would make this relative think that?!

Turns out, a certain person I know and have been friendly with for some time now, decided it was necessary to tell my sister, whom I also do not speak to, that something is "wrong" with my baby.

I. Was. Furious.

I did keep calm and told this relative "I'm not sure what you've heard, but there is nothing wrong with my baby." This relative told me the name of the person who told my sister, and we continued our short conversation.

What angers me IS NOT that this person went and told my sister, it is HOW they told her. Something is "wrong" with my baby? I'm sorry, but I don't find a cosmetic imperfection that does not affect the way the baby thinks, lives, and breathes as something being "wrong" with him. Am I incorrect in this situation? As much as my pregnant hormones are telling me to rip this person a new one, I don't need any added stress or problems in my life, nor do care enough about this person and our so called "friendship" (more like a frenemy) to pursue. I get it, I have started a blog about what is going on and I am putting it out there for everyone to see. That is the point! So everyone can know about the syndrome and how carefully it needs to be monitored! What I don't get is why this person made it a point to reach out to my family and say something that is absolutely and completely incorrect about my unborn child.

Ok, end rant. I'm sorry, but it was something that was bothering me and I wanted to get some opinions. Thanks for looking and I'll update in about a week after our next checkup!

<3

Week 22

Today I met with my OB/GYN about disability. She put me out until the end of the pregnancy (thank gosh because I'm a nervous wreck to do ANYTHING) and gave me prescriptions to see my specialist every two weeks. My biggest fear is delivering pre-term because of being too active and my amniotic sac just gives out. I also have to see my OB every two weeks so I have SOOOO much to look forward to! Sorry for my sarcasm. I don't mean to make fun out of a serious situation, but that just my way of hiding how worried I am. I'll do absolutely anything and everything without complaint to make sure this syndrome does not progress any more than it already has.

Basically, the specialist is checking to make sure there are no constrictions or creasing in the baby as he grows. If she sees either, then we have another problem on our hands which will involve fetal surgery. The risk involved with that is pre-term labor. I'm crossing my fingers and praying these next 18 weeks or so will be band-free! My OB/GYN is just keeping tabs on my overall health and connecting with the specialist to continue to monitor the pregnancy.

I've been very strong about the entire situation, but I can't help but blame myself, even though it's nothing I've done. You know when something horrible happens to someone or something in your life and no matter if it's a complete stretch and far from being even remotely possible, you still find a way to blame yourself? Story of my life. But anyways, I will keep posting after each appointment about any new information that comes about. For now, here's a baby bump for your pleasure (since baby bumps are so attractive)! 

By the way, I can see my boobs in my peripheral vision. I've never had DD boobs. This is crazy.

Thanks for reading =]