13 Week NT Scan

One more test done! I'm happy to say it went very well. I mean, other than me being a complete nervous, wreck. I honestly think that the specialists office should just stamp every single piece of paper in my file with the words "Basket case." It would save us all alot of trouble.

Yasmin and I arrived at the doctor's office our customary half an hour early and waited. Luckily they were running on time once again! A woman took my basic information and handed me a brochure on the procedure I was about to have done, leaving the room with instructions to read it. I promptly tucked it into my purse to discard later. As if I haven't researched everything under the sun about NT scans! Oh well, she was only doing her job so no need to make her feel unimportant!

The doctor came in and I was initially surprised to see it was a man. I don't know why I found that surprising except it's the first man I've ever dealt with when it came to ultrasounds, specialists, and childbirth. I just assume seeing a male Ob/Gyn is kinda like taking your car to a mechanic that's never owned one. Whatever, it was a scan and obviously he does them for a reason.

I find the beginning of the scans the most petrifying. It's so quiet and I stare at the screen with intense concentration just waiting to see that telltale heartbeat. We saw it fairly quickly but the Doctor was still very quiet so I instantly assumed the worst. I made some comment about not wanting to throw up. He instantly asked if I was ok and...I started to cry. I swear these tears have no end! I explained that I was just very nervous. That ultrasounds scared me. He instantly started reassuring me. "Everything looks good. Look...look..there's baby, can you see baby? Baby is waving at mama!" He had an accent and was very sweet. I slowly started to calm down and just waited for the news.

Of course, Little One...who will hence forth be referred to as TM for Troublemaker! Did not want to cooperate and insisted on staying in terrible positions for getting measurements. The Doctor kept apologizing for hurting me because he had to dig the wand into my stomach a few times. I kept thinking to myself: "You have no idea what I'm willing to endure if you're going to tell me my baby's healthy!" While we waited for TM to move he got the heartbeat. 157bpm. That's the third measurement I've gotten that was over 150bpm. According to old wives tales, that's a sign that it's a girl, but who knows!

He next managed to get a CRL (Crown-Rump Length) measurement. TM was measuring right on track so still growing strong! He also got a good look at the spine and neck and said that both looked perfect. He then looked at the head, which to him looked very nicely developed. He also showed me the brain and how it had correctly divided into halves. That never happened with Kaycie. Needless to say, this brought on a whole new flood of tears! Of course, we'll have to wait for the Level II to double check everything and to make sure the brain actually developed, but this was yet another very positive step.

He finally got the Nuchal measurement. It was a beautiful 1.9mm. Being 13 weeks along, 2mm would be considered a "perfect" measurement so my relief was instant. He went over things with me again how well everything looked and how so far he couldn't see anything wrong. This is an elderly doctor who does these specialized ultrasounds constantly and, I'm assuming, for many years. He definitely is someone to be trusted.

Once I was up off the table he showed me the chart from where the numbers were inputted into his computer. My numbers adjusted for measurements and my age are as follows:

Trisomy 21 (Down's Syndrome) 1:1,800
Trisomy 18 - 1:8,500
Trisomy 13 - 1:32,000

Amazing numbers! I could stare at those all day. I then got sent for my triple blood screen. The measurements alone are accurate 70% of the time. Combined with the blood work, they are accurate up to 85% of the time. He told me that unless the blood work severely and negatively impacted the above numbers, they wouldn't call me. So no news on that front is very good news! Because TM was refusing to cooperate we weren't able to get very good pictures, but here is the famous "alien" picture with the baby staring out at us. In case you can't see it at first, the baby's head is on the left and he/she is looking out.




So now it's just a matter of waiting for the Level II. Luckily(?) there are a million things going on between now and then so at least I'll be able to keep myself busy. Mom's double mastectomy is tomorrow, so any prayers and/or positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated!