So last week, I threw up an ultrasound pic as a placeholder, knowing I would come back to update about our long first trimester screening appointment, etc. At lunch that day, I told M and N I would blog more, since I apparently have quite a following out there in Houston.
The road paved with good intentions...
Friday night I felt awful. There was no way I could sit down and write. Saturday morning, I took Rick and the girls to the train station to start their journey to Chicago, then came home and felt gross for most of the day. Again, no blogging mojo. And then Sunday I left for Chicago (on a direct flight, thank you-- no 1.5 day train rides for me). I brought the iPad with me, but between spotty internet connectivity and just not liking to type on the iPad-- well, you know what happened. Nothin'. So here we are at 13 weeks, and I owe a big fat update.
13 Weeks Pregnant
This is the last little anonymous development baby I'll post, as from this point forward, they basically just get a little fatter and a little bigger each week. Ok, maybe that head shape smooths out too, but the point is that the major developmental changes are done. Baby is 3" long and weighs about an ounce. He has fingerprints now, which I love. If he is actually a she, she has all her little eggs already growing in her ovaries, which is mind-boggling.
I'm still not feeling fantastic. I had some pretty rough evenings while in Chicago. Wednesday was Andie's 11th birthday and we took a rush-hour commuter train out of the main part of the city to go to a Polish restaurant. I really thought I might lose it on the train-- I didn't have a seat and it was hot and crowded and evenings just aren't my time of day to begin with. Rick said I looked pretty bad. But I made it, made it through dinner too, and faked my way through a happy birthday. Afterward, Mariela and I went back to the hotel while Rick and Andie went to Navy Pier to ride rides and watch fireworks. Even in bed, I was feeling pretty bad. Alas. I know there isn't much more of this... just a few more weeks at the worst.
Incidentally, this isn't worse than it's been in the weeks before, it's just wearing on me more as time goes on. I really do know it's going to get better.
So, moving backwards and giving up the good news as a spoiler before I talk about last week's appointment, on Monday, I got a message on my phone from the genetic counselor. Transcribed:
Hey Simi, this is Sarah calling from Dr. Berry's office. Good news for you to share with M and N. The first trimester screen came back normal. So the risk of Down's Syndrome came back 1 in 4,053 and the risk for Trisomies 18 and 13 came back 1 in 9,741. That's equivalent for both of those to the risk of a 20 year-old, so good news.
It doesn't get better than that!
The appointment itself consisted of taking an extensive genetic history of M and N, taking a blood sample from me to test levels of beta hCG and PAPP-A, and then doing an ultrasound to measure the baby's nuchal fold (the area at the back of the neck) and some other measurements. Everything is entered into a computer program that then adjusts the age-based risk, which was about 1 in 200 for Down's and some smaller than that for the trisomies (I don't remember exactly).
It was very cool to see the baby-- and to see M, N, and A seeing the baby for the first time!-- but it was seriously the fastest ultrasound ever. The technician was ridiculously efficient and just zoomed through everything. No time for sentimentality. The baby looked great, though, and even as a total non-expert, with the first flash of the image on the screen, I felt pretty sure everything was normal and good. It was. :)
After the appointment, we had a fabulous lunch at Roaring Fork. It's so good to be able to hang out a little with everybody-- we hadn't seen them since transfer! I wish we could have spent more time, but we had a camp thing for Andie to go to, plus last minute trip prep, so it didn't work this time.
We did get to talk about breast milk, which we hadn't talked about before. M and N would like the baby to have milk and I'm happy to pump-- last time around, I pumped and donated to the milk bank for 12 weeks. This time, I'll just freeze it and overnight it to Houston. I may not be able to make everything the baby needs, but even if I can do half, it's a big boost for the baby and one I'm happy to give. So yay for having that figured out. I'm sure anyone who overheard any part of our lunchtime discussion was thoroughly confused.
Anyway, I do plan on being better about updating the blog, even if it's to come on and say that I'm cursing life and only want to eat Lucky Charms (neither is true as of now, at least). Just a week out from the second trimester now and life is easier on the other side. I've usually held on to the yucky symptoms until 14-15 weeks, but even that is doable. No problemo.
Oh-- I did want to tell A that I ate junk food in Chicago that would make her proud. Probably the yummiest was a fresh-baked warm chocolate chip pizza (cookie dough cooked in a 6" deep dish pan) topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Decadent. Even with my currently ambivalent palate, I knew that was good stuff... We also had a cannoli, which I adore and get in any city with a respectable Italian population (can't get a good one in Austin-- Ferrara's in NYC is my favorite). And lemon pound cake. And cookies. I ate all of that because of her instructions to feed the baby properly and stop making it eat fish and vegetables. :)
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