We had another follow-up appointment at Washington University today. It was really amazing to see how much the baby has changed in just two short weeks (now 18.1 mm). The baby is developing its arm and leg buds at this point. It even appears that the baby has chubby cheeks and a pudgy little belly. The ultrasound tech was telling us how cute our baby was. I told her she must tell everyone that, and she said that our baby is more photogenic than most. I sort of think the baby looks like a gummy bear right now, and we were giggling about the membrane surrounding the baby because it looks like "bubble boy." I guess humor is important through this process. The heart rate was normal (176 bpm), and they used color technology to show us the blood flow to the heart. Technology is pretty amazing!
We were feeling relatively relieved (or at least I know I was) until we met with the doctor. She said the baby is developing normal, but there is a cyst on my umbilical cord. The doctor said that she consulted with her partner and they felt that there wasn't anything to worry about, but she would be sending a note to my local doctor that I needed to have another sonogram at approximately 11 weeks to examine the cyst. She also commented that with increased technology they are able to do genetic testing at that point and examine the folds on the back of the neck. I've been pretty upset, and spent the afternoon crying and sleeping. I looked up information when I got home, and much like most research there is mixed information. Some articles stated that these cysts disappear by the second trimester and there is no negative impact. Another study said that if the cyst persists into the second trimester (and also depending on the location of the cyst), that 20% of the births result in chromosomal abnormalities (specifically trisomy 13 and 18).
Sometimes it's hard to imagine life just with the addition of a baby, let alone a baby with special needs. It would have been irresponsible to not acknowledge that things could potentially go awry, but it's still really hard hearing it. My hopes are that the cyst will either disappear in the next few weeks, or we'll be in the fortunate 80% that go on to have a typically developing baby.
I've been anxious throughout this process in general, but was relieved to see Baby T again today. Everything is developing normally and the doctor said that once a baby makes it to 8 weeks with a strong heart beat, there is only a 5% chance of miscarriage. I know the next few weeks are going to be difficult, but I have to keep telling myself that the next ultrasound will reveal that everything is perfect!
2 comments:
We do all the QUAD etc testing. I discovered that I'm a carrier of cystic fibrosis a couple of weeks ago, I was pretty scared. Fortunately KK got tested and he's not a carrier. As someone once told me, it's better to have the information up front so you can be prepared at the delivery. I didn't want to go through my whole pregnancy thinking my baby was going to be perfect on delivery day only to be blindsided with some abnormality. It's tough either way, but I think arming yourself with information is key. Prayers are headed your way!
kelly, (s)he is beautiful! what a chubby little gummy! my friend's husband was born with a cyst on his cord - they didn't even know it was there until he was born, and he's totally fine. as for the nt scan and any other scans, remember they do produce a lot of false positives. we opted to *not* have any of that testing done, because really - what would we do if it came back positive for a trisomy or something else? stay positive and don't stress yourself out because it's not good for the baby! you're doing great!
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