21 Weeks

I’m a bad blogger.

Sorry Team.

Things here are good. We had a bit of a scare a few weeks ago, but we’re feeling really good now. During the first trimester, we never ended up getting a nucal scan. Instead, our OB measured the space in between the baby’s head and neck and said that everything looked fine and that there was no reason for the scan. At about week 18, I went in for the AFP blood test. It came back positive for Down’s. The AFP is not a diagnosis but is considered an indicator of probability. Our next step was to meet with a genetic counselor and perinatologist who would conduct an ultrasound and look for ‘soft markers’ which would either reduce or increase the risk. The ultrasound went fine and our risk was reduced. Not enough to render the AFP blood test negative for Down’s, but enough to make us feel a lot better. A definitive diagnosis could happen through an amnio – which neither one of us was all that into. We’ve heard that there is anywhere between a 1 and 200 to 1 in 1600 chance of miscarriage after an amnio – this just seemed like too big of a risk to us. The biggest factor is that if we did get confirmation that the baby has Down’s, we wouldn’t terminate. That just isn’t the decision we’d make right now.

Maybe this is naïve, but I really feel like everything is fine with this baby. I’ve read that upwards of 80% of the positive Down’s AFP tests turn out to be false positive. I just don’t think that this baby has Down’s. If he does, we’ll deal with it, but it just doesn’t feel like that’s what’s happening.

We had another OB appointment on Friday, and got even more assurance that he doesn’t have Down’s. Apparently, babies with Down’s are born with a single wrinkle across their palms, because while in the womb, they don’t move their fingers independently. According to our OB, Down’s babies will use their hands similar to a primate, with all fingers perpendicular to the palm, thus causing the line. During our ultrasound, our little guy was displaying quite a bit of digital mastery as he not only picked his nose for us, but spent a good amount of time playing with his penis. Who knew it started so early for the brothers?!

My naseau subsided around week 17 and has been replaced by crazy heartburn. Other than that, my back tends to hurt a bit more and I’m a little more prone to tearing up. It all feels pretty manageable. As of today, we’re at week 21. I’m too shy to post belly pics, but tonight I’ll post a video from the ultrasound.

Thanks for sticking with me. I promise to be better about posts and comments.