The Big Appointment

Today was our appointment with the perinatologist for genetic screening.  Joe and I had been both anticipating and dreading this appointment.  We were anxious to get it over with so we would know if the baby appeared healthy, and we were wishing it away for the exact same reason.

When we got pregnant this time around, we knew with certainty what the risks were for having a baby with Down Syndrome.  1/44 based on my age.  Those are pretty high odds, and that's the reason why we intended not to get pregnant again after the last miscarriage.  The doctor was certain that chromosomal problems were what caused the previous two miscarriages and urged us to quit trying.  We sort of quit trying.  I stopped planning and charting and obsessing with it, and we intended (sadly) to ensure we couldn't get pregnant again.  Heavenly Father surprised us with one more pregnancy before we could follow through with the doctor's recommendations.

When I got pregnant with Jack, I was already considered "Advanced Maternal Age", and had the requisite genetic screening that came back abnormal for Down Syndrome.  We were pretty devastated initially because I was much younger and that thought had never crossed our minds.  We were sent to a high risk perinatologist who performed a Level II ultrasound on the baby to look for any type of "soft markers" or abnormalities that would point towards a chromosome abnormality.  Thankfully, they found no soft markers and we opted against the amniocentesis.  We spent the remainder of the pregnancy worried sick about whether the baby would be healthy or not and up until maybe two days after his birth, we weren't even really sure.  But we both grew considerably during that pregnancy, and realized that it really wouldn't be the end of the world if we had a baby with Down Syndrome.

Nearly five years later with this pregnancy, I told the doctor I did NOT want any genetic screening.  Unfortunately, you cannot have JUST the big fancy Level II ultrasound without having a REASON to have it.  In order to have ultrasound I had to have the abnormal bloodwork in order for my insurance to cover it. Ugh.  So, we opted for the bloodwork.  And of course, it came back abnormal.  The doctor immediately scheduled the Level II ultrasound and genetic counseling, and that's what we had today.

The baby looked fantastic.  Level II ultrasound's take approximately 90 minutes to complete, and they go over every square inch of the baby with a fine tooth comb.  Measure every bone, do a complex cardio workup, measure every single organ.  It takes a very long time, but it's very much worth it in the end.  Thankfully, our baby has no defects and they found no soft markers for Down Syndrome.  This does not mean that the baby will not have Down Syndrome, but it does mean that the five markers they typically see in a baby with Down Syndrome are not present in our baby.  We declined the amniocentesis based on the results of the ultrasound and we are comfortable with that decision.  We at least know that the baby has no heart defects, nor any other obvious abnormalities.

The baby is also big.  I've told some of my friends the story about when I was in labor with Jackson and the nurse looked between my legs and said:

"WOW, how big are your babies?  This babies head is HUGE".

Awesome!  That's what you want to hear in childbirth.

Today, the ultrasound technician was measuring the baby and said:

"WOW, how big are your babies?  This baby is really really BIG, and has a big head".

Awesome!  Well, at least I had a heads up this time.  The baby is measuring 22 1/2 weeks, and I am only 20 weeks.  So two and a half weeks bigger than expected.  That would also explain why I started showing so quickly with this one.  I knew the baby was a little bigger at my 12 week ultrasound when it was measuring a week bigger, so it wasn't a huge shock.  Let's hope that the growth tapers off here though and baby doesn't continue to gain any more ground.  

We also learned the sex of the baby, but that's a post for later on this evening after we tell the boys what we are having!

The odds have been against us from the very beginning with this pregnancy, and we are SO thankful to be beating those odds with every day that passes.  Joe told me on the way home today that he hopes I can start enjoying this pregnancy now.  It's been a rough one so far, with the awful sickness and the impending doom of miscarriage hanging over our heads.  Once the major risk of miscarriage passed we started to worry about major birth defects, but now we can breathe a little easier.  We are not guaranteed a baby without Down Syndrome, but we are guaranteed a baby without any birth defects and that takes a huge weight off of our shoulders.