Almost halfway!

This was written around September 16th, 2012, but I didn't get around to posting it until now...

Halfway (or so)!

21 and ½ weeks – cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is going!  I am finally passing that point where people wonder if I’m pregnant or just letting myself go…there is a definite bump.  This baby is extra cute, at least from the belly profile:

Also notice the super cute boots (to go with the baby).  And they were on sale.

We did have a scare last week.  I went in for what I thought was my routine 20 week high-risk appointment, and the ultrasound showed that this little cutie has a slight heart defect – a VSD.  Abi actually had the same thing, but they didn’t detect it until after she was born.  I guess because I’m “AMA” combined with having a prior pre-term delivery and with Abi having her VSD, this time they did an in utero fetal echocardiogram, which showed the same heart defect.  The VSD doesn’t really concern me that much (maybe it should, but it doesn’t), because it’s a pretty common defect and the OB said it wasn’t particularly hemodynamically significant (ie, baby is still getting good blood flow to all organs).  However, the presence of a VSD apparently increases the risk of birth defects (specifically Down’s syndrome) by 20-FOLD.  So, instead of having a 1 in 889 chance of Down’s, we were looking at a 1 in 45 chance.  Way different odds.  With Sam and Abi, I never had the first or second trimester screening tests, but for some reason being a little older this time I am more paranoid.  The OB offered me an amniocentesis the very same day, with preliminary results in 4 days and final results in 10 days.  I never thought I would have an amnio, ever.  Whenever I thought about it, I just thought about the risk to the baby, with the needle going near all those tiny important structures.  However, at that appointment, that was the last thing going through my mind.  All I could think about was getting the results.  Scott wasn’t even with me, so I called him and I’m sure he was as worried as I was, and said I should do it, because I wouldn’t sleep until I had the results.  He was right.  So I had the amnio on Sept 6^th.

The OB asked if I was allergic to iodine, and I said, no, and I’m not allergic to lidocaine either, so he should feel free to use plenty.  To which he said, “we actually don’t use any lidocaine for this” and proceeded to do the procedure, which was really not bad.  Lidocaine would have been overkill.  I did have some cramping afterwards, but mostly all I could think about was how I was going to survive 4 agonizing days waiting for results.

Well, I survived by going to Washington DC, for a friend's retirement from the Navy, and spending time with some very wonderful friends who did a great job distracting me from the anxiety and worry that would have absolutely otherwise ruled my weekend.  The following Monday, I came back to Florida and immediately called the genetics counselor, who gave me the absolutely fantastic and fabulous news - normal amnio.  A week or so later, the final results confirmed it.  I cried, I was so happy.  This baby growing thing is way too stressful.