22 weeks...almost 23

22 weeks was actually last Saturday. I'm playing a little bit of catch up. Hopefully I will be caught up in time to post our Fourth of July festivities on time...We'll see.
I've been feeling really up and down this week, but as far as I can tell the girls are growing and doing great - no Dr.s this week, so no official update. They love to swim around and see how can be felt the most. They also like to play hide and seek with anyone besides me. They know exactly when someone else puts a hand up to feel them. They start moving again seconds after the "stranger" retracts his/her hand. They are warming up to letting Mark feel though.
Here is my belly update:

MRI Update

I had a really busy week of Doctor's visits. Fortunately we don't live too far away from great hospitals. Still 30-45 minutes seems really long when you go twice in one day.
Wednesday, I went down to Texas Children's Hospital for a fetal MRI. The test was really long and uncomfortable. I was really tired after that. Later that day Mark and I went back down to the hospital to meet with the neurosurgeon and go over the findings of the MRI.
The MRI confirmed that Bluebear has mild hydrocephalus. They were able to rule out some causes but unable to determine what the actual cause was. There are no other issues that they found. I'm relieved about that. We discussed the surgical options that may be necessary after she is born; however, the bottom line is we wait and see what the situation is after she is born.
Friday, I went to my perinatologist (the high-risk guy who has been monitoring and did the original diagnosis). He was very upbeat and found that Bluebear's ventricles were less dilated than they were 2 weeks ago. He wasn't sure what this would mean in the long run. Hopefully, they will continue to get smaller and return to normal size. We'll measure again in about 4 weeks.
I am ready to have another break from Dr's visits. I have one more appointment tomorrow and then a couple weeks off. We did get some really cool pictures this week, too.3D ultrasounds from the perinatologist.
I love the MRI pictures. Apple is on the left of this picture.
Apple is on the bottom now. It looks like she is trying to brace the weight of Bluebear by standing on my cervix. I don't know how well you can see it. But I love the silhouette of Apple's leg and foot, and Bluebear's arm.

Eating For 3

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Half Way!

I'm technically not half way, which would be next week, but I find it unlikely that I will make it to 40 weeks. So 19 weeks is at least half way if not past it!
Look! I am starting to get a belly! I feel pretty big sometimes. I can still make it go most of the way away, but our girls are starting to make an appearance.
They also started making their presence felt. Mark and I can both feel them moving around if I'm being real still! It is so fun!
We had our anatomy scan last week. This is our little Apple. She is doing very well. She is about 9 inches and 9 ounces.
This is our little Bluebear. She is also about 9 inches and 9 ounces. However, we found out that she has hydrocephalus which means that the fluid in her brain isn't draining properly and is causing pressure in her brain, and fluid is taking up space where the brain should be growing. When she is born she will likely have neurosurgery to install a shunt to drain the fluid. Hopefully, her brain will then be able to recover and develop normally, but there is a chance she will have some permanent brain damage and mental retardation.

Thank you to all of you who joined us today as we fasted and prayed for Bluebear. Mark and I are very much at peace with whatever the will of the Lord is for our family. We are very grateful for the opportunity to become parents. We have learned that the Lord has much better plans than we do and we just have to put our trust in him.

Another reason I love my husband:

Spontaneous indoor water fights while doing the dishes