Baby Update

I've referenced the pregnancy but have not discussed it directly in a while.

I had an OB appointment on Tuesday.  I gained 2 lbs in the last month and the heartbeat is strong and healthy.  I'm starting to feel our sweet baby move fairly often, which is such a delight!

I had an ultrasound at 13 weeks that showed I was off in my dates, but my OB hasn't officially moved my due date yet. So the result is that while I am (I think) 18 weeks, she only has me at about 17.  That means that my "20 week ultrasound" will be closer to 22 weeks.  Which is fine.  That's scheduled for the end of this month.

We will, we hope, find out the gender at that point.

I still work at being at peace with this pregnancy in a number of ways.  I am 42 years old, and thus at higher risk for chromosomal issues.  I used to really fear Down Syndrome...I pray against it now, but I know if the Lord brings us a T21 baby, we will take good care of him or her.

But of course I do pray that our child is healthy without chromosomal problems. DS children and adults are blessings from the Lord but they are at much higher risk for some serious health issues.

By the way, we chose not to do any blood tests to check for DS or other chromosomal abnormalities.  All those blood tests are "screening" tests, which means that there are quite a few false positives for problems. The definitive answer comes from an amniocentisis, where a long needle is inserted into the uterus to draw some amniotic fluid to be analyzed.

I have no issue with needles, but amnios are not safe.  Babies die from amnios at a rate of about 1 to 2% of the time.  That's too high a risk, in our view. And I wouldn't want a screening test to show I have a "high risk" and then have to live with major uncertainty the rest of the pregnancy.  (And I know of 2 older moms whose blood screens came back positive for Down Syndrome, and neither child had it.)

The 20+ week ultrasound will search for DS markers and I welcome that, but don't want any testing that could endanger our child.