18 week visit

Happy Friday, again! These weeks are flying by. We had a nice week. We didn't do much, but on Thursday we went to dinner at GDad and Franca's and then we all went to a film showing at the Italian Film Festival at Georgia State. And what an incredible movie it was. This weekend our plans are nothing for tomorrow, and church on Sunday (at our new church, that we LOVE) and then to Cleveland to see Madraye and Halle. On to baby news... I am 18 weeks tomorrow, and I had my first visit with my new OB practice today. I switched for a combination of reasons, and I am SO glad that I did. I am very impressed with my new Doctor and his staff. I was there as a new patient today for 3 hours. I had a very thorough exam and lots of testing, talking, and planning. I have gained 4lbs so far. Normal weight gain for this gestation is 10-13 lbs, so I am not putting away the marshmallow fluff just yet! :-) The staff is much nicer and much more professional than the practice I just left. They attempted an anatomic survey (or anatomy scan) which they do between 18-22 weeks to measure the baby, take a closer look at the baby's organs and check many other things like placental position. It is a longer, more detailed scan. The scan revealed that Grayson has a Choroid Plexus Cyst on his brain. It happens in about 1 in 100 pregnancies. Basically, this is a cyst that is not a danger to his health or his brain development, and they usually disappear by the beginning of the third trimester. The only potentially negative thing about a CPC is that it can in rare cases indicate a chromosomal disorder called Trisomy 18. However, if it is an isolated CPC (just a cyst, no other internal or external abnormalities seen on ultrasound), it most likely is not in any way linked to a chromosomal disorder. If you are interested to read more about it, visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choroid_plexus_cyst for some more information. I am not worried, and I am staying positive, but please keep this in your thoughts/prayers. If you a parent I am sure you understand that feeling when you are worried that something is wrong with your child. It is unlike any other feeling. Also, his estimated weight is .5 lbs and he is 16 cm long. I am posting a video of the ultrasound today and a few of the pictures. I had the ultrasound on a DVD, so I had to play it on the computer and record it on my camera, so sorry about the poor quality and the background noise. And here is the video: