NT Scan Results

I'm obviously running a little behind on things, but we had our NT scan on Monday. I swung by the office last Thursday to give a blood sample so they could run a few quick tests and have the results ready by Monday.

Monday came, and we went back for the ultrasound. The nurse was super-nice and took the time to explain everything. Then she put the gel on my stomach (brr! cold!) and Baby Costella popped up on the screen!

He/She was wiggling all over the place, doing some flips and all kinds of crazy. Of course, I found this hilarious and came down with an embarrassing case of the giggles that made it impossible to get a good look for the next 5 minutes. Yikes.

Once I had calmed down a little bit, she started snapping pictures. She even printed a lot of them out for us to take home!!! Here are a few:

  

It actually looks like a baby! So adorable. She mentioned that the bright white spot was the baby's nasal bone, which is an awesome sign - most babies with Down's Syndrome don't develop a nasal bone (at least not this early). She finished up making the measurements behind the baby's neck for the NT scan, and then the doctor came in. The doctor repeated a few of the pictures the nurse had taken, and also randomly just switched the machine over to 3D and took a few pictures over there! I think they're a little creepy looking, but still pretty cool.

 

We also got to see the baby's heart in 3D and watched it fill with blood. That was awesome. Heartrate was 169 beats per minute! Still spot on!

This particular doctor also prides himself on "early sex guessing", so we asked him what he thought. His guess was that Baby Costella is a little girl - with 80% confidence. It's still pretty early though, so we shall see! He also is very involved in the diagnosis of spine and heart conditions, and said that from his experience things are looking really good.

After the ultrasound, we met with the genetic counselor on staff and she went over the NT scan results with us. Based on my age, our risk of Down's going into this appointment was 1:850. Based on the results of the scan (presence of nasal bone, ulltrasound measurements, and blood tests results), that risk has dropped to 1:15,000! Similar results for a few of the less-common other genetic disorders. Baby C is looking really healthy!!

Everything else is going great. We're slowly starting to spread the news to close friends and family. The official date the floodgates open will be Feb 1 (I think that date is circled in red on my mom's calendar!).  I'm not sure if we'll do an official Facebook announcement or not. That is how I stay connected with most of my cousins, but I'm also just not big about putting personal info on Facebook like that. We'll see.

 Here are last week's and this week's belly pictures. I kinda forgot to post last weeks... whoops!

Next appointment is a checkup on Feb 18th. Our next ultrasound is scheduled for April 7th. Team blue or pink? We'll find out then!!

xoxo

Happy Update!

We heard the heartbeat and it was beautiful.



The doctor said it was between 170-180 bpm - fast, but perfect.
He answered a few other questions we had, and then it was back out the door. Next appointment is February 17th.

We do need to decide if we want to get the NT scan that screens for increased odds of chromosomal defects. The scan just tells you if you're at increased risk - with our young ages, right now our odds are ~1:1200. It's so nervewrecking - such a big decision. We're talking things over and then we'll make a decision.

Besides that, things are good! My morning sickness is calming itself down a lot, which has been nice. We're just really happy and excited for everything to come!

My roommate from college and her boyfriend are coming to visit this weekend, along with my sister. I'm so excited to see them! It should be a fun weekend of wine tasting (well, DDing for me), great food, and happy times!

Also we're almost done with our new backsplash in the kitchen - Brad is such a handy guy. He's done a great job! I'll post a picture once it's all finished.

xoxo.

Anxious

I'm getting so anxious for my appointment on Monday. I can't wait to hear our baby bean's heartbeat!

This weekend is going to be a mix of catching up on sleep, getting ahead on schoolwork, and hopefully a little productivity as well. I'd like to build a headboard for our room, so I need to get some fabric for that. And Brad is putting up a backsplash in our kitchen, so I'm excited to see how that turns out!

Without further ado, here's my most recent picture. I'm at 11 weeks as if Friday and the baby keeps growing! Size of a lime now... Crazy.

Monday again

The last week was good. Nothing all that new going on here. My next appointment is a week from tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to hearing our baby bean's heartbeat then!

Class starts tomorrow, which isn't all that exciting. I've got class M/W from 2-3:15 and T/Th from 5/6:15. The good news is that once I'm done with these two, I've only got two classes to go! Graduation 2015 here I come!

I'm ten weeks along and the baby is the size of a prune. Next week is a lime!! He/she is growing so fast!! Here's my most recent bump picture. I feel like there's something starting to pop through, but I could just be wishing :) I haven't gained any weight yet, which is good. I don't really need to at this point. Either way, pants suck these days and I'm wearing leggings (or just unbuttoning my jeans) any chance I get. Fingers crossed for a good update next week!

xoxo

Nothing new.

Same ol same ol.

Still nauseous off and on for most of the day. Still exhausted all the time (I slept until 10, went to church, then napped for another FIVE hours on Sunday). I throw up in my mouth on a pretty regular basis and feel gassy and bloated and not too pretty...

But you know what? It is all so so worth it and I wouldn't trade a second of it. 

xoxo

Almost 9 weeks!

And time marches on.

I'm 8 weeks 6 days today, and things are progressing along slowly. I'm still bloated and feel pretty gross 90% of the time. Foods that make me gag include salad (what?!), hummus, and CHOCOLATE. No joke. That last one is killing me (and helped Brad to realize that being pregnant is not the same as having PMS).

I threw up in the bushes last Monday. It's funny because I've felt almost constantly nauseous, but never actually gotten sick. So when I felt like I might throw up on Monday morning on my way out of the house, I shrugged it off. Thirty seconds later, I'm hovered over the bushes. Not a pretty sight.

Besides that, things are good. New Years Eve was pretty lame - I fell asleep at 9:45 (but woke up at 11:45 in time to give Brad a kiss and drink some sparkling cider!). New Years Day was spent entirely in pajamas, alternating between football and naps. It was heavenly. I can't believe that this is the year we're having a baby! Insane.

Here's my week 8 picture. Still no bump - just bloat. I actually bought some maternity gear at an Old Navy sale this week. Pretty surreal! Mostly just basic tops that are a little longer than normal (which honestly, I like for non-pregnancy wear), but I did pick up a pair of maternity jeans. My goodness they're comfy. Right now I'm sticking with the rubber band trick or the Be-Bands to keep my unbuttoned pants laying flat, but I'm excited to make the switch over!

I had lunch with my momma today. It was great to spend a little extra time with her. And I think we're heading to Richmond this weekend to take a class on tiling (we'd like to put up a nice little backsplash in the kitchen), so we'll get to see my family again there too.

All I can say right now is, thank GOODNESS it's already Thursday. I could use a Wednesday off every week!