Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.
Oops. I forgot to make a post for 17 weeks....This past week has been so incredibly hectic! Andrew and Jessica tied the knot on Saturday, May 16th, so I was in Milledgeville from Thursday to Sunday. Friday was the bridesmaid luncheon which was so much fun! We dressed Jessica up in a toilet paper wedding dress (don't ask) and had a great time listening to the Ya-Ya's (Jess' grandmother and friends) give advice on marriage. Afterwards, mom and I decorated the rehearsal dinner sight and made it over to the rehearsal with time to spare. That evening is sort of a blur, but both the rehearsal and dinner went splendidly. Andrew and Jessica had a trivia game about the couple before the food came out - I'm proud to say I did fairly well! I do know my brother after all!
The wedding was beautiful (and brief - even better!) and I really enjoyed shaking my booty to the cha-cha slide. I seemed to have "popped" this past weekend - I'm so glad my bridesmaid dress still fit, but I was definitely looking pregnant!
After the wedding and all the goodbyes, Matt and I went back to the hotel to pack our things. Somehow we never made it to packing and ended up passed out asleep within minutes. So much for going home Saturday night!
On Sunday we went to a brunch with the out-of-town family at IHOP (my GOODNESS I love blueberry syrup!!), then to Aunt Nancy's in Covington to spend some time with my cousins.
Finally we ended up at home around 8pm Sunday - but not before I had caught a terrible cold/sinus infection. Blah! Right now I'm taking Tylenol Cold and Sinus, along with a squirt or two of Zicam at night so I can sleep.
Monday was my follow-up appointment with the Maternal-fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist. The tech measured my cervix (which is perfect!) and took a lot of time looking at baby Abigail on ultrasound. The baby was being a little wiggle-worm and I was able to see all of her fingers, toes, and even double check to make sure that she's still a girl. And she is! :) Nothing between those legs at all.
When the doctor came in to talk to me, he looked very serious. As it turns out, he had received the results from my AFP bloodwork. While we have only a 1 in 10,000 chance of having down syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities (that statistic is considered a negative result - yay!), we have an elevated risk of spina bifida. In fact, it's 1 in 4. A highly positive result.
Spina bifida is a neural tube disorder where the spinal cord somehow does not get enclosed within the vertebrae. Babies who are born with this issue, while mentally unaffected, often cannot walk. There are inutero surgeries available to put the cord back in the spinal column, but they cannot reverse the nerve damage.
The doctor explained that he could not see ANY sign of spina bifida on the ultrasound, and the usual markers in the brain are not present. According to him, Abigail does NOT have Spina bifida.
So the question remains - why did I test positive for it??
Sometimes testing positive for spina bifida means that there is something wrong with the placenta. Women who test this high sometimes have babies that stop growing , and can end in stillbirth. Right now Abigail is getting all she needs, but the doctor will start monitoring me very carefully (an ultrasound every week!!!) starting at 28 weeks. If Abigail appears to be struggling or not growing properly, they will perform an early delivery.
I'm really rather calm about this, considering. I feel like we've come such a long way, and I just KNOW everything is going to turn out fine. But we still could use your thoughts and prayers :)
Our next appointment in June 5th - Matt is going to get to come with me for a measurement ultrasound. I'm so excited because he hasn't been able to get off of work for most ultrasounds up to this point. I think he'll be amazed at how much Abby has grown!!
4 comments:
Yay for weekly ultrasounds! I bet you rigged those results just so you could see Abby more often :P It sounds like your Dr is really pro-active and that's awesome. Is he making your take any extra folic acid or anything? (i don't even know if that would be helpful?)
And i've been meaning to ask: How does a fetal dopplar thingy work? Is it like the ultrasound machines that doctors have with the wand thing and cold gel?
We keep joking that this baby must just like to be the center of attention. I swear, I will have so many ultrasound ;pics of her by the end of the pregnancy!
It's a little wand-like thing and you put gel on the tip and move it around on the belly. It gives a digital reading of the heartrate and you can hear it. It's really neat!!!
One more fetal dopplar question. I was talking to Ally about it and she has one that she couldn't ever get to work, but hers was some kind of suction cup thing or something. So for future reference: What brand is yours? Are you able to hear a heartbeat often with the one you have?
Ours is called the Fetal poscket doppler. It was around $100 off amazon. It started giving out a digital reading around 11/12 weeks, and by 14 weeks I could hear the heartbeat every time. Now I just barely place it on my belly and I can hear the hb pretty loudly. Matt likes it too.
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