Nearly 22 weeks and counting.
It seems our extended Christmas break carried over to neglecting the blog, but we are back and ready for the NEW Year. And some NEW YEAR it will be!
Let us get right to the big news that capped off 2010. If you do not already know if LillyMilly is a Lilly or Milly, please allow us to introduce you to Jarrett Mills Stull. That’s right, we are expecting a boy!
Profile of Mills
Proof he is a boy!
We learned on December 13th that the name of our baby will be Mills. You may remember from previous posts that we had the names chosen well in advance and were only waiting to learn the gender. You may also remember that initially we were scheduled to learn the gender on December 20th. What happened?
We had a little scare after the results of a blood test indicated our chances were greater than normal for having a baby with Down syndrome. We quickly learned as much as we could (thank you Mayo Clinic and Dr. Jackson for answering a never ending list of questions Jarrett had from his research) about further testing to determine a greater accuracy and we elected to see a genetic specialist (Dr. Jackson) for a level II sonogram and amniocentesis. This is the only way to know with 99% accuracy before birth if a baby has Down syndrome. It was clear to us that the risk associated with the amniocentesis outweighed the benefits of knowing early if Mills would need special care once he was born. It is important for the physical and mental development of children with Down syndrome to start as newborns with specialized sensory activities and we wanted to be immediately prepared with the best educational and development programs available if necessary.
We were delighted to find out just a few days before Christmas that the result of the amniocentesis indicated that everything with Mills was normal. God heard and answered our prayers along with the family and friends who knew of our increased risk with this pregnancy. Our thanks and appreciation goes out to you, you know who you are, for the prayers, support, and love during the days of waiting for results.
I would be much remiss if I did not mention my wife’s strength and bravery as we faced this challenge… And as she faced the biggest needle of her life! Sitting next to Jill and watching with great curiosity as the doctor performed the procedure I could tell from the look Jill gave me she was saying to herself “Jarrett better save any of his questions for the end and let the doctor get this finished as quickly as possible.” And I did!
So Mills, all I can say buddy is you have one strong momma, so yeah go ahead and try her!
Reflecting on much happier events, nothing could keep Jill away from the mall after we found out LillyMilly is a boy, not even the first big snowstorm of the season. We arrived at a nearly empty mall as people were staying home out of the weather, while Mills got a few new outfits.
Our travels to Kentucky for Christmas were enjoyed with our time spent with family. Don’t tell the grandparents, but Mills does not arrive until mid-May; they clearly thought he was here already with all the gifts he received.
We arrived back in Pittsburgh on December 27th, yet another night I will not soon forget. Jill and I were only in bed about 5 minutes when she grabbed my hand and put it on her stomach just below her belly button and only seconds later I felt my son! What an amazing feeling us dad’s get to feel. You can bet that every night since I reach over to feel my little buddy.
A Foot - Probably the one I felt :)
Jill read earlier this week that Mills should be 1 pound by now. It is the little milestones that make us happy in life!
Back to work this week and making our to-do lists for everything that must be completed before May. The next 5 months will be busy!
We hope all of you reading were able to share time with family and friends this Christmas season. We wish for you and yours a great 2011!
He waved at us on the sonogram
