freaky fetal facts

i receive email notices every week about my current pregnancy week (18 weeks). today's email had a couple of factoids that made me realize how amazing the whole process is.

* hair is beginning to sprout on his/her scalp.

* If you are having a baby girl, she already has 6 million eggs formed in her ovaries.

amnio

thankfully i survived the scary appointment yesterday. we had another ultrasound where they checked for more markers of possible down's, another talk with the genetic counselor, and the amnio (). the ultrasound tech was able to measure everything they needed to (kidneys, spine, legs, arms) except for the heart, and everything was like it should be. the counselor said that if they were able to see the heart, they would've been able to drop our chances of down's to 1 in 10 (instead of 1 in 5). so, we're feeling pretty good about the baby being ok. we won't know for sure until the amnio results come back in 2 weeks.

the amnio was super scary! i ended up bringing a magazine in the room with me and holding it in front of my face so i wouldn't see anything. originally, i started watching the ultrasound (they want to make sure they don't poke the baby with the long ass needle), but once i saw the needle in i sort of freaked out and just stared at the ceiling over the rim of my glasses (so everything was blurry). the actual experience wasn't so bad - needle didn't really hurt when it went in, but it took a hellishly long time since they had to fill 4 vials with fluid. i think i started to panic around the 3rd vial - not b/c it hurt, just freaked me out b/c i imagined i could feel the fluid coming out. i think i felt worse coming out of the room than going in b/c my limbs felt weak and shaky (i was trying to avoid thinking about it ahead of time so i wouldn't panic as much in the room).

so, overall, i survived even though i still tear up when i think back on how creepy it all was. as gary says, we're not going to panic just yet about the possible results until the doctors give us something to worry about. we're pretty positive that the baby's going to be ok.

oh, and according to the ultrasound, they think it's a girl. :)

going in for more tests-

genetic counseling is required for anyone who is over 35 and pregnant (at least thru my health care). so, back in may, we got an ultrasound, had genetic counseling, and had blood taken. about a week ago, i had to go in again for more blood tests. the lab compared the 2 samples to determine the likelyhood of the shrimp having down's.

i guess i was a bit naive, b/c i've been thinking everything was fine. b/c of my age (35), my regular chances of having a baby with down's is 1 in 275 (less than 1%). during the ultrasound, they measured the neck membrane and said that it was the right size, which dropped our chances even more (by 40%). so, basically, i had put it out of my mind for the last month - with no worries.

i got a call monday with the test results from the blood work. my odds have jumped to 1 in 5 (20%) of the baby having down's. of course, i was upset & in shock, but i knew we had to do what i've been dreading...... the amnio test. for those that don't know - amnio is when the doctor sticks a 7 inch needle into my belly to pull fluid directly from the uterus. since they're pulling the baby's actual dna, they can tell with more certainty if the baby has down's, spina bifida (i think), and other possible problems. they can also determine the sex of the baby. it'll take 2 weeks to get the results back. oddly enough, i think the wait's going to be hard, but not as terrifying as dreading the procedure itself!

wish us luck & think good thoughts!

looks like i'll be showing soon....

this coming friday, i'll be 4 months pregnant. feels weird to think still since i'm not really showing yet. apparently, that will soon change!

"By the end of week 16, your baby is approximately 6 inches and weighs 2 ½ ounces. Your baby is preparing himself/herself for a growth spurt over the next several weeks. Your babys head is more erect now than it has been in the previous weeks of pregnancy. His/her ears and eyes are situated in their final positions. These three things are giving your baby a more normal appearance than he/she has had up to this point.

Several of the more complicated body systems are also beginning to function including your childs urinary and circulatory system. Your babys heart pumps around 25 quarts of blood per day. However, by week 40 this amount will increase to 1,900 quarts per day!"

i was having a really rough time for the week surrounding memorial day weekend. i felt really bad (headaches, restless legs & arms at night, stomach aches, etc). i finally called the nurse last week and since none of my symptoms were really high on the pain chart she said it was pretty normal. i was feeling better over the weekend, but still too tired to stay awake past 10:30pm.

this friday, we're taking off to interview day care centers. some of you may think it's still early since i won't be going back to work until around march, but some parents say that we've already waited to long b/c the waiting lists for good day cares are outrageously long. however, we'll be looking into some home care centers which don't seem to have such a long wait. also on friday, i'll be giving the second round of blood for the blood screen to test for down's. we should have the results sometime next week.