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March 3, 2001
Week 19 (20 tomorrow!!)
A lot has happened since my last entry on 2/13/01. I really haven’t had much to write about so I wasn’t updating until I had my appointment with my new Dr. and our ultrasound. So here it goes:
Let’s go back a little bit to my last entry. As you know I had my AFP done, those results came back negative. Once I got those results I took in my release form for them to copy my medical records. I was able to talk to the person who does this job and she ensured that I would be able to pick them on 2/28/01. I called her on 2/26/01 and she said to come get them on the afternoon of the 28th. So, I got my medical records on the 28th – no problem. Whew, I am glad that was done and over with!
On 3/1/01 DH and I left Taylor with our neighbor and headed off to our new Dr. for a visit and the big ultrasound! We were both very excited about it. Half way there I realized that I had never asked if we could video tape the ultrasound. So, I called and at that time they informed me that the ultrasound technician was out sick today and I had to cancel my ultrasound but to go ahead and come in for my appointment. DH and I were devastated because we had been looking forward to this for SO long! DH was especially bummed out because he had to take the entire day off work and wouldn’t be able to swing it again for a while – he was feeling that he would have to miss the re-scheduled ultrasound. Once we got to the practice and signed in I explained to them our situation and asked them if there was any way possible to have the Dr. do the ultrasound or if we could go someplace else and have it done. They said they would “see what we can do.”
We went into see the Dr. and she was really nice. She talked to us about the practice and told us that she was leaving in June so that it would be best if we meet other Dr.’s in the practice so that I knew whom I liked best, if any. That was our plan anyway. We talked a little about VBAC vs. a repeat C-section and I told her that I wanted the C-section because I wasn’t interested in taking any of the risks associated with a VBAC. As small as those risks might be they are 100% if they happen. She totally understood and said it is 100% up to us. She said that they only schedule C-sections one week before EDD so mine can be scheduled anytime 7/15/01 and on. Our “master plan” is that we want to have the baby on a Thursday so that I am in the hospital over the weekend and the following week DH will be out of work while we are home. I don’t want him to be off work while baby and I are in the hospital. I told the Dr. that my first baby was born 2wks early via C-section and my water broke that same day so I thought that maybe this one would arrive early too. She said if that is the case then we would have the C-section at that time but they don’t purposely schedule them any earlier unless medically necessary. So, we will wait one more week than we originally thought which is fine with us. Unless of course, the baby decides differently. She mentioned that she didn’t think we would be able to get our ultrasound today because she thought that the other office they were looking at for us was out that day as well. Our hopes dropped a little but she said to go ahead and check in with the receptionist about it anyway. She then checked the baby’s heartbeat, which she found the second she put the Doppler on my belly – it sounded perfect!!! She measured me and I measure at 21.5 weeks so that is pretty good too! I have gained a total of 3 lb. so far. And that was it! A pretty uneventful visit with the Dr. We went to the receptionist desk and she said that we had to go downstairs to register for our ultrasound and then back upstairs to the perinatal office next door. All the Dr.’s were gone that day but the ultrasound tech was there and agreed to do our ultrasound. YEAH!!!!!!! So off we go to register and see our little bundle!
Once we got our registration done and got to the other office we were taken in right away for the ultrasound. The tech was very pleasant. She started the ultrasound and we were just elated to see the baby!! She checked out all the vital parts, made sure there was only one baby in there and showed us things before she looked at things she had to look at. She had to step out of the room for a minute and at that time DH asked me “do we want to find out the sex?” All this time we have said NO and I felt myself caving in BIG TIME!! I told him “if she asks we will decide then. So the tech comes back in the room and asked us “do you want to find out the gender?” I in turn asked her “do you know?” and she said “yes, I have a pretty good idea but I didn’t really look because I didn’t want you to see if you didn’t’ want to know.” So I told her to put the Doppler in the area but not to say anything. She showed us the legs and rump and I shouted out “AND THAT IS A BOY!!!!” She said, “yes, that is outdoor plumbing!” DH and I gave a high five and were all smiles!!! So much for the big surprise at the end! The ultrasound tech continued on with her exam of the baby and took a ton of pictures. She mentioned the baby’s kidneys’ were a little smaller than they liked to see at this stage but not by much. She also said that if you don’t get a good position on the baby to measure them that they could measure differently than they really were. She tried 3 times and got 3 different measurements. She spent a lot of time looking at the heart too. I kind of got a little concerned because I noticed that she was really checking it out. I didn’t’ say anything to her about it but the thought in my head was “why is she looking at his heart so much?” Once she was done with her exam she told us to stay there as she was going across the hall to give the report to our Dr. About 10 minutes later our Dr. and the ultrasound tech both came in the room. Of course, DH and I both had our hearts drop to the ground! The Dr. said that there were two findings that were of a little concern. First, they found that the baby has some calcium deposits on his heart that could indicate possible Down syndrome. Also, the baby has some fluid around one of his kidneys that also could indicate Down syndrome. She proceeded to say that because my AFP blood work came back as negative for down syndrome she was under the impression that it would turn out to be OK but when they find these things they have to tell the parents and follow up with a perinatologist. She said that had they done the ultrasound in her office they would have sent us to where we were anyway so it was good we ended up there. The Dr. was out so couldn’t consult with us on that day. We would have to make an appt for the following week. My OB seemed very confident that the specialist in maternal and fetal health would look at my lab tests and my ultrasound and determine that doing an amnio would not be necessary. She told us that she has seen this happen before and it all ended up being nothing to worry about. We aren’t at any high risk for having a baby with Down syndrome so she thinks that it will turn out just fine. She also told us how these findings on ultrasound are pretty new because ultrasounds have become so good. They pick up things that 4 years ago they never picked up and now people have to worry about something that is probably just nothing. I recently read an article on CNN about ultrasounds detecting Down syndrome and it said that the findings were HIGHLY INACCURATE. We made our appt with the perinatologist for Tuesday morning at 9:30am. Other than those two findings the Dr. said that everything else looks perfect. All the fluid levels look good and the baby measures right on for his due date.
Both DH and I have said that if the only thing that could possibly be wrong with our baby is that he may have down syndrome, we are not going to have the amniocenteses and we are not going to be upset about it in any way, shape or form. If the Dr. tells us that there could possibly be other health issues at stake, then of course, we would proceed with whatever testing is needed to find out for sure what we are looking at. Having a child with Down syndrome is not going to change any of our feelings about this child nor would we love him any less than we already do. My biggest concern at this point is that he is going to have something wrong with his kidneys. But, until we find out for sure what we are dealing with here, I am trying to stay in high spirits. I really don’t think it will do any of us any good to be wrecked about something that could be nothing all weekend long.
I have some pictures posted on my photo album with Yahoo. Please feel free to check them out at your convenience. The ultrasound pics are 13-19. Enjoy!!! Here is the link: http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/gkassel2001?d&.flabel=fld1&.src=ph
Anyone who has any good information on the findings that I have discussed here, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share with me! Of course, I am searching the Internet for all information I can find to educate myself.
I will post an update on Tuesday after my appointment. Pray for us that all will turn out fine!!!
Gerri
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