Anatomy Scan Scare

We had our anatomy scan today, and while it started out as a fun and exciting day, it ended on a bit of a low, worried note.

I was sick to my stomach with anxiety this morning as we waited for the ultrasound, but once we got into the room I found myself quietly calm. The tech wasn't able to tell us any results, but did tell us what she was looking at. She also spotted the, ahem, family jewels right away, so it's going to be another boy for us!

I will admit I was surprised at how NOT disappointed I was, because I was secretly hoping for a little girl. But having another boy just seemed so right, just like, "Oh, that's exactly how it is supposed to be." I was instantly very happy and content.

After the ultrasound we waited for a long hour to see the doctor, who was running way behind. She walked in and immediately said, "All right, let me talk to you about what we found in the heart..."

...and then proceeded to write something on a piece of paper for about 45 seconds while my heart pounded and my throat constricted so I felt like I could barely breathe.

That was NOT cool, Dr. A.

So here's the basics: the baby has a tiny calcification on its heart, which while not a health risk in itself, can be an indicator of Down's syndrome. The baby shows no other signs or indicators of the syndrome and in fact was textbook perfect in terms of how healthy it was. Babies who have this condition do not always have Down's, but babies with Down's very commonly have the condition, if that makes sense. Dr. A. said that she diagnoses one of these at least once a week and in all of her eighteen years she has never had one turn out to be Down's. She said she is 99.9 percent sure that the baby will be perfectly healthy.

But. We have to be certain. So they are sending us to the Maternal Fetal Medicine (high-risk pregnancy) doctor for another ultrasound next week.

So our super exciting morning took a definite dive at the end, with tears and fears and worries. All we can do now is hope and pray for a healthy baby boy. Not sure yet when our ultrasound will be, but I'll keep you posted.

OB Appointment 14w3d

Had my first appointment with Dr. A., my awesome OBGYN, on Thursday. It started off awesome as the nurse found the baby's heartbeat right away and without all the drama of last time. Baby was plugging right along with a heartbeat of 152.

The first thing Dr. A. said when she walked into the room was, "Well, look at you," with a big grin on her face. For the doctor who told me I probably would never have children naturally or perhaps at all, she could not be more delighted to be proven wrong not once, but twice now. The doctor and all of her staff are all very excited for me and it really warms my heart.

I'm doing pretty well - up about six or eight pounds from before I got pregnant (not sure what I weighed before I was pregnant) and up three pounds since my last appointment, which isn't too bad considering it was Christmas/New Years. I have made a pretty serious promise to myself to really start concentrating on eating healthily.

The one slightly worrying part of my appointment had to do with my still leaky left breast. (I was send for an ultrasound and then a biopsy of it in November when they found a small mass, which turned out to be benign). The discharge has continued and the doctor was scared for a minute when she thought it might be blood, but she did a quick test and it wasn't. She wants to send me for a mammogram pretty soon after the baby is born, just to be on the safe side.

The other really weird thing is that my blood work came back and it turns out I am somehow NOT immune to measles. ??!! The doctor said some people lose their immunity over time and some are just never fully immune. So I have to avoid anyone with the measles (does anyone even get them anymore?) and if I get them it could be fairly serious. There is no treatment, much like chicken pox, so I would just have to let the disease run its course. After the baby is born they will give me a booster shot. Just one more thing to worry about, right?

SO. The big anatomy scan ultrasound has been scheduled for January 30, and I am SO excited about it. I think we might just do a small, fairly simple gender reveal party. I didn't do one with E because the pregnancy was so scary, and I think it will be a lot of fun.

That's all for now, except that I am blogging from my new Mac Book and loving it! Happy New Year, all!