Sorting The Baby Stuff

Very Good News!

We are having another boy- Yippee!! And the scan looked so good that we opted not to do the amnio.

Amnio Tuesday

We decided to go with amnio. I took the advice I was given by a commenter on the last post and asked about loss rate of my clinic. The u/s tech has been working with the doc I will see on Tusday for about three years and to her knowledge the two of them as a team have never had a loss due to amnio. Plus, she said they'd do the anatomy scan while I'm there, which is super handy because then I won't have to go get that done at my regular OB on the 30th, when there is a big moving truck in my driveway hauling away my entire household. We leave for Baton Rouge the morning of the 31st.

For the moment I am feeling very comfortable with our choice. I'm wondering, though, if the anatomy scan might look so good that we all agree not to do the amnio?

There is News Now

Doc called today to say quad screen shows Downs risk is 1/136. Risk based on my age alone is 1/155. What we need to decide is whether to do amnio to get a for-sure dx. We've gone back and forth all day. Right now I'm sitting on 'do it' because labor hurts like a motherforker and I want to know what I'll be seeing at the end of that effort. I don't want to get a big surprise at the moment the critter is born.
The 12 week scan back in Nov showed nuchal thickness of 1.1, and they get concerned with a measurement of 3 to 4 or higher. That scan also showed the presence of nasal bone, which is not present in 90% of Downs cases. So, the physical findings on a u/s from 6 weeks ago show nothing to worry over. Risk of loss due to amnio is 1/300, I think. I'm willing to listen to anything anyone has to say.

I Place My Worries Here

Last week I heard about a friend's friend who had a baby at just over 21 weeks - the baby is 8 months old now. Twenty minutes later I met a three year old boy who was born at 26 weeks. And now the Duggars have a baby at 25 (?) weeks. This is all starting to freak me out. I'm at 17 weeks. I'm starting to fixate on these early births, and I really don't know why.

Yes I had preterm labor at 28 weeks with Colin, but I really believe that was mostly due to the circumstances at the time and not just because my body was freaking out. So I mostly think my chances of preterm labor this time are low...unless I worry myself into it by fretting over these stories, I suppose. But still, my mind keeps wandering back there...not quite to the repetitive thoughts stage, but...

No News Is Good News

Nothing new to report. Am waiting in OBs office right now for a regular appointment. Now that I don't feel so crappy things are going along quite well. Quad screen today. 20 week ultrasound on Dec 30th, while the movers are at my house packing everything but the cats and the kid into a big moving truck. We leave Bowling Green and head to Baton Rouge the morning of the 31st.