Pregnancy lesson #2

It is absolutely dumb founding to me how much you learn being a pregnant woman. There are all these things that you have no idea had any importance, like no bleu cheese (I'm havin a hard time with this one for sure) and no jumping on trampolines, jk I knew that one. But seriously, there are all these ultrasounds and screening tests and blood work and syndromes and diseases and problems. It is SCARY AS SHIT! Pardon my French but it's necessary in this sense ok.

Bare with me, this is confusing!!

For instance, they did our Nuchal Translucency test for chromosomal abnormalities (which you can read about here). That is the 1st trimester screening test.  A second trimester screening test is called a quad screen. It's a blood draw test that measures something called AFP or alpha fetoprotein. It's a protein secreted by the baby usually or the placenta and that is in turn shown in the mother's blood. If this is elevated it means you are at a higher risk for the baby to have "open" birth defects like spina bifida and other open neural tube defects or other openings in the baby's body for different reasons and that causes the secretion of protein into the amniotic fluid.

We had this test drawn on Tuesday at my 16 week appointment and Wednesday night I got a personal phone call from my doctor, after hours,  as I was getting ready for work. She told me who it was, and asked if I was alone. I immediately burst into tears knowing something was wrong with the test or the baby. She explained to me that our blood work came back elevated and that meant we were at a much higher risk for spina bifida and other defects with the baby. She assured me that sometimes this means nothing but it can also mean the baby's spine can be exposed at birth and that can cause everything from mild loss of sensation in the baby's feet, to complete paralysis or even death. I was a hysterical mess on my bathroom floor and she explained that it was very important to immediately get me into the high risk fetal center and have them do an emergency ultrasound to see the baby and look for these types of defects and also to meet with the genetic counselors and the high risk fetal surgical team if they detected a problem. The earliest they could get me in for the ultrasound was this morning. So we have spent the last 2 days praying endlessly for our baby to be healthy and to be ok and for some explanation as to why this test came back abnormal. It has been hands down the scariest two days I have ever been through. Nothing can prepare you for the excitement of a baby (especially a long awaited one) and then to feel like that has all been ripped away from you in mere seconds is just about unbearable. You start to prepare yourself for mourning, mourning of a healthy baby or a baby at all. I try to be an optimistic person, Taylor is far better at that than me but I also try to be realistic and to hope for the best but to prepare myself for the worst.  I asked a few people to pray for us and for good results and pray they did and good results we got.

We had our ultrasound done this morning and they looked at every square inch of our baby (who is still very ornery and wouldn't sit still for anything to get pictures). They looked at the head, all the parts of the brain, the face, the chest, heart, large vessels, abdomen, kidneys, stomach, length of arm/leg bones, other measurements of different things and the baby's spine. Everything looked perfect and normal. The sigh of relief that came over Taylor said it all. Baby is healthy! Baby is ornery... but healthy and that is all that matters. We then met with the genetic counselor who told us that based on our levels in the blood work they have seen a correlation with problems with the placenta more commonly than with the baby itself. They think that the placenta might be slightly weak and that is what is leaking the protein and not the baby itself. The placenta carries blood, nutrients and oxygen to the baby and if the placenta fails, the baby can die. There is no immediate threat as the placenta looks good at this time and the baby is measuring perfectly. But I am now considered "high risk" again and will have another ultrasound in 4 weeks (20 weeks pregnant) and one in 12 weeks  (at 28 weeks). From then on I will start having weekly ultrasounds and tests to measure how healthy the baby is and how well it is growing. If at any time it seems the baby is not getting what it needs or starts to struggle they will evaluate the risks to the baby to be born prematurely or to stay inside and cook a little longer. There is a high risk that we will deliver this baby before it's due but can also carry to term as long as things go well. So please pray for a safe and healthy pregnancy and baby from here on out.

this is the best picture she could get of baby.

In funnier news, most of you know I have been DYING To know if this nugget is a boy or a girl. We asked on facebook what most people think and we had 27 girl votes and 9 boy votes. Guess we know what you all think! ( I have to agree, I think girl too). But this little nugget was sitting breech (feet down) and snuggled into my pelvis sitting indian style with crossed legs, feet conveniently covering it's crotch. We could see NOTHING. The entire sonogram. Not even a glimpse, we tried walking around, jumping jacks, going to the bathroom, laying on my side, wiggling and poking my belly, tapping on it with the ultrasound wand. She tried 3 separate times and this nugget would NOT move. I honestly don't care because I am just so relieved and happy our baby is healthy. It doesn't matter to me if it's a boy or a girl but I would like to know so I can start shopping and planning. We will try again next week and then keep you posted :)
Thank you for the prayers and positive thoughts for our baby already. 16 week post to come soon!