Blood Test Results..

So, two days after I got my blood drawn for test I got a call back and the results are excellent! She said all my levels are right where they should be. We got the tests mainly for Trisomy 18, but I think they also tested for spina bifida and Down Syndrome. Fortunately everything was perfect :) Blood tests aren't yes or no answers but they can give hints as to whether the baby MIGHT have a disorder or might NOT. So my chances of the baby having any of these is very low, and with having no other abnormalities that we saw on the ultrasound, it's pretty safe to say my son is going to be a healthy baby boy. YAY! Now we can all put this little scare behind us :)

Love you little man. Knew you'd be just fine <3

Results From Latest Sonogram 5/23/11

Now that I got my venting out, it's time to talk about my appointment with genetics and my ultrasound. First thing we did there was talk to a genetics counseler, who got the family history on both sides of our family. She talked about the choroid plexus cyst and gave me my options and her professional opinion of what I should do. To sum it up, I was there to get an ultrasound to look for any other markers for trisomy 18, but I could also get blood tests done to look for other markers or get an amnio to get a straight yes or no answer. But with amnio right now, the risk of miscarriage is much higher than the risk of having trisomy 18 with a completely clear ultrasound. So I decided to get the blood work done and if that is clear, I'll put this all behind me. The ultrasound was nice and long :) got to see my boy for a while. The difference between this ultrasound and the one I had 4 days earlier was this one was more in depth and the technician/doctor actually explained to us all what she was looking at and whether it looked normal or not. Thank god, everything was normal. The ultrasound may have been slightly clearer but not a big difference. I got four more pictures but they were all profile and I got better profile pictures at the first ultrasound. My favorite parts were when we all got to see him doing cool things, like swallowing! I'm not so sure we'd be able to see that on the other ultrasound, but it was VERY clear and SUPER adorable to watch that! Not only that, he gave us all a very clear thumbs up! As if he was telling us all he's okay and there's no need to worry :) What I thought was weird was his position..his feet were completely above his head! That sounds very uncomfortable to me but he seemed to like it!
So anyway, after the ultrasound I got my blood drawn. Took 30 seconds and I should get the results back any day now. I've always been a champ with needles ;) in fact, after I give birth I'm going to give blood. My blood type is O-, the universal donor. Now here's a lesson for those of you who are confused or don't know about this. Some people I know seem to think O+ is the universal donor. BUT. Rh+ people cannot donate to rh- people. A can't donate to B or O, B can't donate to A or O. AB+ is the universal recipient since it has the A antigen, B antigen, and is rh+. You can't put something in someones body that isn't already there or the body will see it as a foreigner and attack it. So for me the good news is I can donate because my blood is very valuable. Bad news is the ONLY blood I can receive is my own blood type, which is somewhat rare. I can't get A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, or O+. To anyone who has O-, DONATE!!!!!!

Baby Naming DRAMA!

Times like these I wish I was having a girl. My boyfriend and I had a name picked out for a girl that we BOTH liked. Unfortunately it's not a girl, and we can't agree on a boy name. In the beginning when we first discussed names, when I asked my boyfriend what he would want to name his son or daughter, he said his son after his dad, or his daughter what his parents would have named him if he were a girl. No thought to it whatsoever. And I personally didn't like either name. Then at some point I'm not aware of, we agreed that I would choose the girl name and he would choose the boy name. Without coming to an agreement he told his dad if we had a boy we'd name it after him, and he got really excited. Now that pissed me off, because I never agreed to it and when I told him I didn't want to name my son after his dad, I knew they'd both be disappointed. I couldn't be more right. Now, no name is good enough. He only likes that one name. He can't agree on anything with me. Now tell me if I'm wrong, but it's OUR son right? We should BOTH be agreeing on what to name him. If his dad is getting disappointed because we aren't naming our son after him, why didn't he name HIS son after him? After all, this isn't his kid. So now baby daddy and I are arguing nonstop about it. When it comes down to it, when the baby is born I'll be the one that chooses the name to go on the birth certificate and I even get to choose whose last name he gets since the father and I are not married. So once again tell me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be easier if he just helped me pick out a name we BOTH like? If not, I'll pick the name myself and maybe even give him my last name. I'm done venting now.

First Blog! 18 Weeks Pregnant

Today I am 18 weeks and 2 days pregnant. Things have been going smoothly for me but I'm not liking my vitamins...they make me feel sick! I just have to let it pass and move on. It sucks. I found out the sex on thursday! I had my second ultrasound at 17 weeks 5 days, and the baby cooperated :) I think we were slightly lucky though because the legs were crossed at the ankles..but we still got to peek inside those legs! I don't understand why I had to drink 16 oz. of water an hour before my appointment..all it made me do was need to pee really bad. and midway through the ultrasound the technician told me to empty my bladder so we could continue! Oh well though. She didn't point out that anything looked unusual. The baby was wiggling around, the heartbeat was good, ten fingers, ten toes, saw the brain, stomach, other organs. All looked good. However, the next day I got a call from my doctor after he received the pictures and he told me my baby had a choroid plexus cyst in the brain. He was very reassuring, saying in his 21 years of working there he has never seen this cyst as a sign of anything more serious, but it could be trisomy 18. He suggested I see genetics to get counseling and a follow up ultrasound. Although he emphasized very strongly that it was most likely nothing and he was just obligated to let me know and give me my options, of course I worried. Today I'm going to that appointment. I'm not as worried anymore..more just excited that I'll get to see my baby again!! Here are some sites I found that'll go more in-depth explaining choroid plexus cysts:

http://www.gbmc.org/body.cfm?id=314  (This is actually the hospital my doctor is at and where I'm giving birth!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choroid_plexus_cyst

http://www.steadyhealth.com/The_consequences_of_choroid_plexus_cyst_t53266.html

I'm still very nervous. Hoping no other abnormalities are found. For the record, at my first doctors visit we determined my EDD was October 22. My first ultrasound showed the baby measuring 3 days behind, but my doctor didnt change the due date. And on this ultrasound, the baby was measuring 5 days ahead! The baby is growing at an excellent pace, not stunted at all. THANK GOD. If anyone reading this has had a baby with a choroid plexus cyst, or recently found out their baby has one, I'm sure I'll be able to answer any questions :)

That's all for today, might do something later after my appointment with genetics. But for now, here is my beautiful little baby....it's a BOY!!

Profile at 17 weeks 5 days

Whole Body!

Little tootsies :) slightly crossed at the ankles.

This was how little he was just 10 weeks ago. He's grown so much!