Mommy & Me

Thursday 8/14 I had my appointment at Mission Hospital for my Sequential Screening. For those that don't know what it is, it's a test performed in the 1st trimester to determine my risk factor during this pregnancy (high risk or low risk). It won't tell me if my baby has Down's Syndrome or anything like that but it lets the mommy know how high the chances are of the baby having it. Luckily for me, the younger you are (and also depending on your family history if it's all good) the less likely you are for a high risk pregnancy. The Screening is a combination of blood drawn and an ultrasound. The blood is used to test for measuring hCG levels and PAPP-A (another hormone). The ultrasound is used to measure a thin layer or fluid that accumulates in the back of the baby's neck (NT). If there's more fluid, it could indicate an increased risk. The two tests combined with age provide a risk assessment for Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18. If everything comes back normal I will have a follow up test later on to make sure my risk is still low.
Now that you have the idea of what it is, I'll fill you on the appointment. Let's start with the fact that the only time I've been to Mission Hospital was when I was taken to the ER so I had no idea where to go or anything... and we got lost looking for the correct building and had to be re-directed lol. Once there the impatient waiting began. Soon enough I was called in to get my blood drawn (something I absolutely HATE!). I was then sent back out to the waiting room and asked to wait for the U/S tech to finish up. In the time I was waiting til I was called in for the U/S, I managed to realize how badly I had to pee... and they made me hold it. Laying on the table and looking at the monitor I finally got to see our baby. I looked at my husband and he had a HUGE smile on his face (he said hearing the heartbeat didn't make it real- an u/s would). The tech had no idea it was our first u/s until I told her so she took some awesome pics for us (below). She took three measurements of the NT and all measurements were normal (yay!). She then asked if she could get a good view, if we wanted to know the sex of our baby (at 12 weeks??). Well our baby was very open about its goodies and had no problem spreading its legs. She told us that there was a 75% chance it's a boy... although the umbilical cord COULD have been wrapped through its legs which is common... so we'll see in a few more weeks.
Overall, everything went really well and we were thrilled to finally see our Munchkin. Oh and I finally got to go to the bathroom too! lol.
3 1/2 more weeks until the next appointment when we get to see Munchkin again! Woo Hoo!

And here are the U/S pics:

Munchkin with its arm covering its face:


Our child showing his/her goodies:



And the 12 Weeks belly pics for good measure: