08-10-2008 - It's a.......

My mood while writing this blog: so happy :)

BOY!!!

I"m so excited to announce that we are having a baby BOY!

For those of you who have been up to date on my "high risk baby drama" I've got even more fun news to add, but with a happy ending :) I got a call last Tuesday from my OB regarding my blood panel & glucose test from the week before. She said everything was fine, except my ASP panel came back abnormal, which either means that my due date is off, or my baby is developing with chromosomal defects and has spina bifida. I immediatly went into shock, started crying, and called my husband. I didn't even know what spina bifida was- much less how harmful it was to my baby or if they can fix it! I did some research online & found it's when the base of the spine doesn't fuse or close. They can do intra-uterine surgery to repair it, or after the baby is born. The side effects range from skin numbness to paralysis. I had to wait a week before my appointment with the Perinatologist in Sacramento could fit me in. Unfortunately, my husband was out of town the whole week of the appointment- with no cell phone service! So, last Tuesday my mom and I drive down to see the Perinatologist. First I have a 30 minute appointment with a "genetic counselor" who went through my whole family history, personal medical health. Then I got a 20 minute ultrasound with a tech, who told me the sex within the first minute! It was amazing! Everything looked healthy to me during the tech's ultrasound. Then, after she printed up all my pictures and everything, the doctor came in and did another ultrasound. She was very serious and didn't say anything until she was done. Finally, she told me everything that she had found: First, she said one of the marker's they look for when checking for down's syndrome is a spot on the heart, which my baby boy has. However, she said it's one of the less reliable markers, and, I passed the down's test, AND if he did have downs, my ASP panel would have come back low, but it came back high. So, she said she's going to estimate my chances of having a down's baby at 1 in 600, and not to worry about it. Next, she found something called a "Uterine Synechiae" which apparently is a band of tissue inside the uterus. She said the baby won't get caught up in it, and it is pretty normal, and typically goes undetected. Howver, it is yet another abnormality to tack onto my list of drama. Next, she found that my placenta (which has been low so far) has finally moved up into it's correct position and I don't have to worry about Placenta Previa anymore! Yippeeeee! And finally, she said that she saw NO SIGNS of spina bifida! So, I was definatly relieved to have a good bill of health. The little weird things still kinda freak me out, but what are you going to do about it? She offered to do an Amniocentecis (sp?) which I quickly denied. Only a 10% chance of killing your baby, huh? Sure- like I'm gonna do that! Ha! Anyways, the final remarks were a little discouraging, but fine. She said that because of all my drama, and all these "chromosomal defects" I am at a high risk for preclampsia & premature labor, and basically just need to take it easy. However, I don't have to go back there for a follow up, and am feeling very positive about my healthy baby boy! I can't wait to meet him and see how PERFECT he will be!

Luckily, I was able to get ahold of my husband on Tuesday and had to tell him over the phone that he was going to have a healthy son! We both cried and couldn't say much at the time, which worked out well because we lost our connection anyways. 3 days later he finally got home and we celebrated the health and suprise of our little boy! In hindsight, and for anyone reading this who hasn't had their ASP panel done yet- I would recommend denying this test. It's purely speculative, and is funded by the State of CA for their statistics. It is a state mandated test that requires you visit a state funded doctor & genetic counselor for further analysis based on the results. After talking to a lot of my friends & family I've discovered 4 family members & 3 friends that were counseled by their State payroll "genetic counselor" to abort their children because they suspected abnormalities. All these kids were born perfectly healthy with no problems or health issues. I've heard from various people (3 in the medical field) that these tests are typically 95% inaccurate! They are all simply "risk assessments" for CA's research. I felt very upset at the emotional turmoil this caused me- for benefit of research, and would definately deny this test in my future pregnancies. I don't mean to push my opinions on you all, but if I would have known the facts, I would have declined the blood test. Again, I'm not your doctor, and I'm not the answer man either- just my experience and my opinion!

Thank you all for your kindness & thoughts & prayers!