a baby update

I've been debating posting this for a while now, but we finally decided to go ahead with it and let everyone know so they can be praying as well.

About 3 or so weeks ago now, I had a quad screen testing done for the baby. This test screens for genetic disorders such as spina bifida, down syndrome, cystic fibrosis etc. The test IS optional. Mike and I talked about it, and decided to go ahead with testing. We wanted to know if we needed to be prepared for any special needs we might face as parents.

Last wednesday, I got a call from the doctors office. The nurse explained that my test results had come back "abnormal" with a high risk of having a down syndrome baby. 1 in 200. The typical risks are 1 in 5000. 1 in 200 in still pretty high, but obviously it's higher than the "average joe."

My dr. immediately wanted to refer me to MSU for genetic counseling as well as to have an amniocentesis done. I talked with a friend who has had genetic counseling done and she said, since we didn't know anything right now, it would probably be best to wait, so for now, we'll wait on that, but we decided we wanted the amnio done.

The next day, I spent part of the day on the phone with the insurance company and learned that neither MSU or UofM takes our insurance. That was more frustrating than anything. UofM offered to do the procedure for a mere $1500 + lab work. (yeah right) Again this test was optional, but we desired to KNOW what we were looking at. We did weigh our options though, as there is a small precent chance of miscarriage, which obviously rings close to home for us. My dr. really wanted to send me elsewhere for testing, but in the end agreed to go ahead with it here at our hospital in town since we're "in network" here. The next step was the amniocentesis. They basically stick a large needle through your stomach, into your uterus, and suck out fluid. (sounds fun, right?)

This morning, at the grand hour of 7:30, Mike and I were nervously waiting at the hospital for the procedure. I was nervous for a variety of reasons, and Mike did his best to keep me calm. We went in, and got all set up. They did some prep stuff, and then starting looking for a "sac" of fluid. They found one pretty quickly and got started.

The needle went in, and to say it hurt is an understatement. I was doing my best to lay still and just pray that it would get done quickly, but it HURT! They wiggle the needle as they go in to see where it is on the screen, and I could feel it moving inside of me, and my muscles spasming around it... well.. then.. the baby moved, and they had to pull out and find out a new location...
I was even more nervous the second time because I knew how much it hurt! They did it again and it didn't hurt quite as much, but it was still pretty uncomfortable. As soon as they penetrated the uterus, the baby started to grab at the needle, which was kind of cute to see.. in a weird way.. :) I would imagine it would be exciting... nothing too fun happening in there normally! :)

They finished up and got everything back together. I said something to the nurse about it hurting so much the first time and she said.. well..... the dr. got a little ahead of himself and forgot to numb you.... yeah... so mystery solved as to why it hurt so much. It took about 30 or so minutes total and we were home by 8:30.

The results will take 2-4 weeks to get back. They have to extract the skin cells from the fluid, grow the cells, and then test the chromosomes from that, which is pretty amazing that we can do that, I think!!

We feel strangely calm about all of it, and know that God is in control of whatever we may face. I have been home today, with my feet up, drinking lots of fluids. I've had some soreness and cramping today, but they said that is completely normal. Mostly, I am completely bored, but thankful that we were again able to see our precious little peanut today.

We will keep you posted as we know more..
for now we wait, and trust that God's hand is in all of this....