february 15th was our appointment with the perinatologist for our first trimester screening. while all my friends were going through pregnancies, we talked a lot about (what i referred to at the time) the testing to find out the chances of your baby having down syndrome. i always felt like i wouldn't do the test because it wouldn't matter if my little baby growing inside me had three eyes and a tail: i would love it the same.
however, my OB threw out the option for a first trimester screening and i accepted. my reasoning was three-fold. ONE - if it showed the possibility of my child having a chromosomal disorder (such as down syndrome) we could start learning and researching as much as possible so we could be prepared for what that future looks like. TWO - my insurance covers it with just a $25 lab/sono co-pay. THREE - it was an excuse to see my little one on a machine that is 3 times as expensive as the cheap sono machine my OB has at his gynecology office (i have yet to see him at his OB office). and let's be honest here...the only part of my pregnancy i've enjoyed is when i'm seeing my baby inside my tummy. so i'll take what i can get!
i am so glad we decided on the screening! basically, the first trimester screening tests the thickness on an area on the back of the neck and checks for the nasal bone. two signs of the possibility of a chromosomal disorder are a think nuchal fold (skin on the back of the neck) and the lack of formation of the nasal bone around week 12. then they plug those factors into a statistical formula along with data from your bloodwork and let you know the statistic of your baby having a chromosomal disorder. we met with a geneticist first and she went over everything that will be looked at and how we would move forward if there was a likelihood that my child has chromosomal disorder. she also informed me of other tests that could be done through a blood sample to test for other genetic disorders.
then we went back to the sono room and had a belly ultrasound performed. the u/s tech was super nice. she offered to record the session and put it on a dvd for us. of course we obliged, but only after stan made sure it was free! she also answered all of our crazy questions and showed us all the crazy stuff those machines can do. we finally got to hear baby Rhoden's heartbeat! it was probably the most exciting time so far in my pregnancy. while the u/s tech was trying to get measurements and check for developmental aspects, baby R would NOT.STOP.MOVING. it was hilarious. baby would spring up to the top of his bubble and float down and then spring up again. it was super cute. however, as soon as the doctor came in baby was as still as could be. he/she must know who's in charge!
i watched the DVD for the first time and will try to isolate a few clips on iMovie this weekend so i can post snippets for you to see. translate: stan will try to isolate a few clips on iMovie since i have no clue how it works. hopefully i can get those posted monday or tuesday. i know this post has been mostly facts and pretty emotionless, but it's hard for me to separate emotions from that day and i am still working through a lot of things--it was a hard day (for reasons other than our pregnancy).
on another note: tonight our sweet friends Carli & Braden are coming over for dinner and a packing party! stan is officiating their wedding in june and we could not be more excited for them! we have been needing to meet up with them to talk about the wedding and they so graciously offered to help us pack since we have so many crazy things going on! they are also moving into the same complex we are moving in to and we are so excited to have some good friends so close. we have started making plans for decorating the new place. i am so excited to change the look of our home to reflect our style more. once i find a program or website to make some "mood boards" of the plans for our rooms i will make them and post them here, along with pictures of the finished product (aka the rooms). we have never "finished" decorating anywhere we have lived before, so i am DETERMINED to "finish" this next place. we have some awesome ideas and i can't wait to see how they come out! anyway, that's all for my lunch break! catch up soon...
