What's baby up to? Ella Paityn is weighing in over 5 pounds at this point....maybe even over 6. We may get updated measurements at our next appointment on Wednesday! At this point, most of her development is complete and she is just putting on the pounds. Please be kind, little girl :-)
BPP Appointment: Ella Paityn did a great job this week and scored all 8 points within the first 5-10 minutes of our ultrasound. You should have seen her "breathing" away....that little diaphragm pumping up and down is such a sweet sight. Our new sonographer, Emily, also broke out the 3D ultrasound again! Unfortunately, this isn't the most opportune time to be doing one of those because she is so cramped in there. We weren't able to get any really good pictures or views because EP had her hands all up in her face, as usual! Total weight gain: 20 pounds :-( Maternity clothes? Yes Symptoms: Finger/toe/knee pain (midwife called it pregnancy arthritis), congestion, and just general discomfort moving around or finding a good sitting position Sleep: Not too bad :-) Food cravings: None! Food aversions: Nope :-) Movement? Still head down and moving around often Miss anything? Being able to get up and down comfortably without groaning, being able to legitimately hug Jacob (it just seems weird and middle-schoolish now) because there is a large bump getting in the way Best moment of the week: A surprise baby shower at school! My sweet friends outdid themselves with delicious food and sweet gifts. A good doctor's appointment with maternity pictures (will blog soon).
Looking forward to: Getting the nursery finished and checking off a ton of stuff on to-do lists. We are also going on a shopping spree on Friday to get everything that we still need! Can't wait :-)
During my time as a Morgan, I have gotten to know East Carolina University in many different ways. First, it started off as a slow fade to becoming a fan. :-) NC State had my heart for a while, but when we got married I converted over to a full fledged ECU fan. About two years after we got married, I decided to pursue my master's degree in Special Education and applied to be a graduate student through ECU. In December 2012, I graduated with my master's degree in Special Education from ECU and became an alumna. Then in November 2014, I also added patient to my list of affiliations. No longer am I able to go to New Bern to see my beloved midwife. I am now considered high risk. No woman wants to hear those words when she is pregnant....especially not one who is below 35 like me. Clearly, that entails that something is wrong.
On the morning of our appointment, I was a mess. I was barely holding back tears, my stomach was upset, but I was trying to put on a strong front. When we entered into the hospital and I got registered, a peace came over me. I was still scared to death, but I knew that God was right there with me. I knew that he had already planned my days and chosen our baby specifically for us. I knew that no matter what the outcome was, that my God was faithful and his providence would be made known through our situation. The lyrics resounding in my head were, a peace that passes understanding is my song. Which, by the way, is very ironic because Aaron Shust has a son with DS.
So, on December 5 at 9:10, we walked through the doors of the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine high risk clinic to go to genetic counseling and have a Level 2 ultrasound done.
In genetic counseling, Allison (our counselor's name) explained to us all about Down Syndrome. She didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know, but she trudged forward for Jacob's benefit. She then went in depth about our family histories asking questions about general conditions (HBP, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart conditions, etc.). But, more importantly she spent time drawing out our family tree asking about genetic disorders (by the way, Trisomy 21 isn't necessarily thought to be passed down through generations--though it can be-- it can also just be an anomaly) and intellectual standing of each person. While we did tell her that there were definitely some branches of the tree that weren't all there.....just kidding!! Allison ended the appointment with, to me, the craziest/most disgusting thing a mother will ever hear. We explained to her that we wanted to do the Harmony test, wait for the results, then decide about an amnio. To which she explained that we were pushed a deadline (wait 10 days for blood results, get back in for anmio appointment, wait 10 more days for results) and that would bring us dangerously close to 24 weeks (the legal deadline for abortion), so that if we wanted to terminate the pregnancy we wouldn't be able to. I quickly shut her off and explained to her that we have complete trust and faith in the Lord. And that he has a plan for us, and that we would never get in the way of that plan or even consider an abortion. She was very understanding, told us that she had to inform us of all options, and didn't mention it again. Altogether, the genetic counseling took approximately 30 minutes and I walked away with a few pictures that I took, well...just for kicks and giggles.
My blood results and risk percentages
Our family tree
Then, we went back out to the waiting room to wait for the Level 2 ultrasound. Let me take a second to just say that we have amazing families. My mom and dad came as well as Jacob's mom to wait with us in the waiting room. They knew there was a chance that waiting in the waiting room was all they would be doing, and they still came to support us. It was definitely comforting knowing that they were behind just a few walls should we need them. Back to the ultrasound-- While the Level 2 ultrasound is not conclusive, it was going to give us more information to work with. It only differs from a regular ultrasound in the fact that it has to capability to do a nuchal translucency test. The ultrasound lasted at least 45 minutes if not a little longer. Our ultrasound tech, Michelle, was amazing! She took her time and explained to us exactly what she was looking at. She looked at the following things specifically (and I may be leaving some out) and was looking for the followings things: the heart (4 ventricles with no holes), the paired organs (2 present), the intestines (blood flow was sufficient), big toes (in line with the other toes), pinky fingers (3 joints), femur bones (correct length), head circumference, nose bone (that it was present and positioned correctly), nuchal fold on the back of the neck (that the thickness was within normal limits), eyes/nose positioning (that the eyes were an appropriate distance from the nose), lips (looking for no indicators of cleft). I think that is about it. And the whole time, our baby girl was very cooperative. I learned my lesson from the last ultrasound and did not drink OJ prior to coming. Of course, I didn't eat or drink anything, because my stomach was in knots.....diarrhea with a tendency toward throwing up (probably TMI!). When the ultrasound tech started looking at our baby's heart, I asked her if there were 4 chambers there because somehow I had gotten confused in New Bern when they were only looking for 2. At that time, she opened up and really started explaining to us what was going on. Though she probably wasn't supposed to, she went through each of the above listed soft markers and explained to us exactly what she saw. I was so thankful because it meant I didn't have to lay there in complete panic and worry throughout the entire ultrasound. During the last 15 minutes, the ultrasound tech had Jacob go get our parents and they were able to come in for the last part of the ultrasound. I think she knew she had an audience because she started showing off for all of the grands! We got to see her moving her arms around, putting them on her head and cheeks, yawning, crossing her legs, and more. It was the first time that I had actually thought an ultrasound was cute. Up to that point, ultrasounds had only been scary.
At the end of the ultrasound, we saw the doctor and he again confirmed that there was no evidence of any soft markers for DS. He also told us that the ultrasound wasn't fail proof because it was still only a screening tool. In fact, 50% of the time a child has Down Syndrome, there are no soft markers present on an ultrasound. Very comforting, right?! Then, of course, the doctor offered us diagnostic testing-- aka, an amniocentesis. We decided to do one more screening before pursuing something invasive.
So, I headed off to the lab for more blood work. Mandy, my midwife, had recommended that I get the Harmony Prenatal test done while there because 1) it is not invasive and carries no risk, 2) insurance covers it at the high risk clinic, and 3) it is much more reliable than the AFP test.
False Positive Rate*
Detection Rate**
Harmony Prenatal Test
Less than 1 in 1,000
More than 99 in 100
Traditional Test
1 in 20
85 in 100
The Harmony test screens for 4 different things as opposed to the less specific 4 the AFP test measures. It measure your AFP (alphafetoprotein), hCG, Inhibin A, and Estriol, then based on the levels of each determines your risk factor. We are supposed to get those results in about 10 business days. From there, we will make a decision on whether or not to pursue an amniocentesis.
After my lab work, we headed back out to the lobby and were done!! We decided to all go to lunch together at McAllister's Deli to celebrate the good report. Both Jacob and I got a bacon spud with a cup of chili and boy was it good! I think it tasted even better because a little bit of stress had been lifted from our shoulders.
We went to our appointment in New Bern for our anatomy scan after some bumps in the road with scheduling. Let's just say one of the receptionists assumed that since I was going to Greenville, she should cancel my appointment. Needless to say I was hot to trot! Mandy had specifically told me to keep the appointment since my high risk appointment was so far away and it may put our minds at ease a little bit. So after getting it rescheduled for the same time, we headed off to East Carolina Women's Center on Monday, November 24 to find out what we were having if our baby had indicators of Down Syndrome. Funny how perspective changes things. In fact, I wasn't the least bit excited, knowing that we could leave broken.
We arrived about 15 minutes early because the office will cancel your ultrasound appointment if you aren't there on time. And then, the tech was running about 20 minutes behind. So that meant that we waited for an exorbitant amount of time and my nerves built up even more. When we finally got called back for our ultrasound, my nerves were a mess and a student from Pitt Community College was helping out. I laid down and we immediately saw our little one pinging around gleefully in my belly. That may or may not have been because I drank 12 oz of orange juice about an hour before! :) The tech kept saying, your baby is one of the wiggliest little ones-- haha, whoops! After about 25 minutes of ultrasounding, and very little conversation related to what was happening, I broke down. I started crying (poor ultrasound student) and explained that I was a basket case. So our tech, Currie, told me a little about what they were seeing. She told me not to worry, that she was seeing some good things, but pretty much left it at that. Afterwards, we met with Mandy who eased our fears significantly. She told us that no soft markers had been found and that she was even less concerned than before (which wasn't much).
We left the doctors office with some ultrasound pictures and much more peace of mind than we had come in with. Oh yeah, I almost forgot- and an envelope with a gender picture! Jacob and I went home for a quiet dinner of leftovers and sat on the couch, processing, and watching TV together. About 2-3 hours after getting home, we finally decided to open the envelope and we found out that IT's A..... Just kidding! We haven't told our families :-)
Wednesday, October 22 was the first time that we were able to hear the heartbeat. Jacob came along- just in case- and I'm glad he did! It ranged from about 165-174.
On October 1, Jacob and I left for a very nerve-wracking (in my opinion) doctors appointment. It was the appointment of our first ultrasound. I was supposed to be almost 11 weeks along, but since I hadn't been overly symptomatic I was still hesitant to accept the "pregnant" label. My appointment was at 2:15 and we arrived just in the knick of time! After waiting for about 30 minutes (which felt like an eternity), they finally called me back. The ultrasound was internal and as soon as the tech (named Currie) put the wand in, I immediately saw what I thought I would never see.
I think my exact words were something like, "Oh my gosh. There is a baby in there." And Currie's response, "What did you think would be in there?!" I explained to her how apprehensive and nervous I was about everything and she was great. The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes and she pointed out the arms, legs, heart (which you could see fluttering away), brain, and spine. While we couldn't hear baby Morgan's heartbeat, Currie did clock it in at 178 bpm. She also mentioned something about the baby wiggling around. Well, apparently I wasn't paying very good attention because I was oblivious. So she patiently held the wand still and waited for a few minutes for baby Morgan to show off again. And sure enough, we got to see the little nubby arms and legs wiggle around!
There's nothing like seeing that. I didn't know what I would feel. I didn't know if tears would start spilling down my face. I just didn't know..... But what I do know, is that I became a little more at ease with everything after that appointment. I saw and felt a glimmer of excitement. And something about Jacob sitting behind me was also prophetical in a sense. Because through it all, I know that my husband is my #1 supporter. He'll always have my back. And at the sight of our baby moving, my heart melted because a little, "awww" escaped from my man.
After the ultrasound, we met with Dr. Tinga who informed us that everything looked great. But, he was also very proud of himself for being right. He told me that he suspected all along that I wasn't quite as far as we had originally thought. So all in all, they changed my due date from April 24 to May 4 which put me at 9 weeks, 2 days. I mean, I'm going to be a cooperative participant here and not question them. But quite frankly, their calculations don't add up to my dates which I know to be correct!
When all was said and done we left with three little momentos tucked safely into my wallet. Oh yeah.....and a bill for $1100 (but we won't talk about that- haha). Then, we headed to a celebration dinner at El Tequila! We had a buy one, get one free dinner coupon which landed our bill at a whopping $10.98 which included Jacob's drink. And while a margarita sounded unbelievably amazing--- probably because I know I can't have it.....or maybe because they were on special for $3--- I decided to be a good role model and not "contribute to the delinquency of {the} minor" (as my FIL would say) growing inside of me.
On Thursday, September 18 I had my first OB appointment (at 8 weeks pregnant). It was definitely surreal and my stomach was in knots. For some reason, the doctors office scheduled me for two appointments back to back. The first was my meeting with the OB nurse, the second was my first OB physical. This is important because the entire time I was there each person I saw questioned why I had two appointments in one day. My response always went something like this, "Um....I don't know?! That's what the nurse on the phone did!"
I met with the OB nurse who gave me this bright pink bag that screams "I'm pregnant"!!!! And for someone who isn't quite comfortable with that idea yet, the bag may have been a little much. Then, I had my physical with Dr. Tinga who is crazy tall....6'8" to be exact. All of his exams tables are lifted, and all of his doorways are custom height.
Funny story. Maybe TMI, but you can decide.
So, you know how when you've been in a profession for a while you may forget to tell someone something because you assume it to be common knowledge. Well the OB nurse that I first met with was older and slightly cantankerous. As I was leaving, she handed me a urine sample cup and a wipe and told me to go pee in the cup. No further instructions needed, right? So, I went into the bathroom and peed in the cup. Thinking I must be Intellectually Gifted in my cup-peeing skills, I thought, "well, I didn't even need this wipe thingy because I got absolutely no pee on my cup." Walking out head held a little higher, I passed my cup off to the lab lady. Fast forward about 15 minutes to when they ran my urine sample and saw that I was "spilling over white blood cells". Dr. Tinga and his nurse were in there when the report came in and he asked if I had been having any UTI like symptoms. Nope, none! Then the nurse chimed in, "Maybe you just didn't wipe well enough before peeing in the cup." HAHA!! I almost died laughing but instead held it together and said, "Yeah, I bet that's exactly what happened." WHOOPS-- so that is what the wipe was for!!
So the rest of the appointment can be summed up in- couldn't hear the heartbeat, talked to Dr. Tinga in his office, and headed on out. And just like that I had survived my very first OB appointment :-)
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