WHERE TO BEGIN?
How 'bout week 17?
I was feeling pregnant up until then with all the nausea, vomiting, headaches, etc, but at week 17, my stomach just popped out one day and I started looking pregnant too, exciting!
We had our anatomy ultrasound scheduled for a week from today, (yes that's futuristic...I will explain why in a minute) so I asked everyone if they thought it would be a BOY or a GIRL (using this clever idea/adorable keychains my mom got us at our trip to Disneyland over the summer).
The overwhelming majority of people guessed it would be a girl. I'm not sure why...it's not like I'm that girly (oh wait). I admit, I really like the idea of headbands and bracelets and 4th of July dresses with ribbons. However, I also REALLY like the whole "big brother" aspect. After all, it worked out very well for me growing up :)
SO, this past Monday at 4:30 as I was minding my own business watching the Ellen show while Jeff was still at school, my phone rang. Looking back, the conversation was awful, terrifying and uncalled for. It went like this:
"Ms. Mohlman?"
"Yes, this is she."
"Hello Ms. Mohlman this is ______ at the OBGYN office. I'm calling to let you know the
results of the pregnancy blood tests you took recently. You came back negative for neural tube
defects and trisomy 18, however you screened positive for down-syndrome."
"Wait, what? I----"
"Therefore, because of these very abnormal results, your numbers came back more at risk than that of a
35 year-old woman, we are sending you to a specialist and his name is Dr.____, he's a specialist
and he's here at the hospital on the 7th floor and I made your appointment for September 25h
and 8:30 am."
"............................................WHAT?? So you're saying my unborn child has down-syndrome? How
do you, wait, when is my new appointment, wait, can I please speak with my Doctor?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, she already left for the day."
"OH.....well then, but, then, wait, I already have my anatomy ultrasound scheduled with you for the
27th. Do I no longer see my doctor anymore and transfer to this new one?"
"I'm not sure, you'll have to see what the specialist says."
"Well, how many women have had abnormal results that you've called since you've been there?"
"Hmm, maybe only three."
".........oh. okay. bye" (I said through the tears welling up in my eyes).
As soon as I hung up, I called Jeff to tell him our child has down-syndrome. He was just as confused as I was until I managed to explain the call I had just received. Then he got frustrated....He told me he has studied ALL about these pregnancy screenings and that most of the time, when these screenings came back abnormal, the woman goes on to have a perfectly normal and healthy pregnancy. The abnormal rates are due to a slightly extra amount of hcg levels that could be caused by just about anything and also due to the fact that it's a screening so it has to factor in all risk rates (I didn't understand the latter part, but he basically said it was like a grading curve on a test, not extremely accurate or telling).
I felt a little better but I wished I could just talk to my doctor about it. I tried to relax as Jeff suggested we go out to eat instead that night. Our new appointment was still a week away and I didn't know if I could wait that long to find out what was really going on. That night, I prayed a lot that I would be able to get my appointment moved to an earlier day. The next morning, I called this specialist's office. They told us to come in the next day on the 19th.
I was excited because I knew we'd find out the gender, but I was also nervous for what else he'd find.
We signed in and went right back. The Doctor came in. He was about mid-60's and had been practicing for almost 40 years. I could tell he was VERY knowledgeable. He walked in and said:
"So, I hear you received a slightly abnormal blood screening." (he rolled his eyes-which made me feel better all of a sudden)
"Yeah, I guess, I'm not really sure what it means."
"Basically, the down-syndrome ratio is every 1 in 250 births. Yours came back 1 in 240. I'd say you have about as good a chance as having a child with down-syndrome as you do winning the lottery."
I wanted to shout hurray! And then I wanted to cry too...why had the conversation on Monday happened the way it did? Why didn't my doctor just call and tell me that? Why had I gone through such unnecessary panic? He gave me quick ultrasound and looked at the (what he called them) perfect four heart chambers and ventricles, some other anatomy and then he said, "Looks like you've got yourself a normal boy!"
"A BOY???!!!!" Jeff and I smiled at each other.
As soon as we got out of the office, I called my mom and then everyone else in our family. I texted friends and of course, announced it on Facebook :) On our way home, we stopped here.
Earlier that week, we learned it was pirate day at Krispy Kreme, so we stopped for some celebratory doughnuts. Jeff had his left over Halloween eyepatch, bandana, sword and earring in the car, so we got a dozen free of these:
Later that day, I decided to share the news with some of my girlfriends who were already getting together for a craft day. I brought the unopened box of doughnuts in and opened them for everyone as they screamed with excitement for the news. And later that night, we went to Target and for only 30 dollars got all of these cute little boy outfits :)
(Look-alike BYU Basketball shorts-Jeff was SO excited).
PHEW!! So those are the crazy, yet happy events so far. Note-to-self, if a doctor's office calls, just don't answer it.
;)
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