Ben's Health Concerns

As some of you may already know, John and I had a little scare with Ben. The morning of my sonogram I got a call from the OB nurse telling me that I had tested positive for neuro tube defect, or spina bifida. They scheduled me a follow-up appointment with a genetic specialist in two weeks for another sonogram to check him out more closely. Of course I was extremely worried so I left work a little early and John and I met at home to talk about it and to feel better about the situation. We went to our scheduled sonogram and were thrilled to find out he was, in fact, a boy, and relieved for the nurse to tell us that in her opinion we had nothing to worry about. Yesterday morning was our follow-up with the specialist and it went great. He said everything looked completely normal and measured all of Ben's long bones and skull and analyzed his spine and everything looked great. Turns out I was only .06 over the 2.5 limit, but since I tested positive, I will have to go back for regular check-ups so they can monitor me more closely. I'm still at risk for things like early labor and high blood pressure. But Ben's healthy and quite active and that's all that matters! He even gained 5 ounces in the two week wait between sonograms and is now exactly 1 pound.

It's a Boy!

As you all know by now, we're having a boy, John was right! Little Benjamin (Ben or Benjamin, NOT Benji!) Cuffe Saunders will be born on June 7, 2006. Check out the video if you'd like. I won't bombard you with all of them. :)


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This is proof it's a boy!


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This one is cute farther through with his arms moving around.

JK Rowling and Multiple Sclerosis

I mentioned to Mom once that on JK Rowling's website links, she links to the British MS Society. I always wondered what her connection to it was. I came across this interview in the UK Tatler magazine with Rowling where she talks about her mother's battle with multiple sclerosis. I thought you might find it interesting:

A tear slowly trickles down JK Rowling's cheek. She is sitting in her large and comfortable drawing room in the Morningside area of Edinburgh. It is early afternoon; sandwiches and chocolate cakes are left untouched on the coffee table as she painfully recalls the most traumatising moment of her life. It was the day her mother, Anne, died aged 45 after a 10-year battle against multiple sclerosis. A small part of her agony is that her mother never knew she was writing Harry Potter, let alone that she would become the most successful author on earth. "The night she died I had been staying with my boyfriend's family, the first time I had ever spent Christmas away from home. I had gone to bed early, ostensibly to watch The Man Who Would Be King, but instead I started writing. So I know I was writing Harry Potter at the moment my mother died. I had never told her about Harry Potter."

What Will it Be?

My ultrasound is on Monday, January 16 at 2:45. We'll be finding out if we're having a boy or a girl if the little tyke cooperates. Stand by for the news late Monday afternoon!