Thursday, September 2, 2010

I'm back and CRAZY long update!!

Hey everyone! So sorry for my little blogging hiatus, and thank you to everyone who was wondering where I was over on LTB's blog...you guys are the best and I instantly felt terrible that I was worrying all my blog buddies!

Anyways, my life has been a complete whirlwind the last few weeks. Where to start?

House News (good stuff):

Well first off, I noted in my New Year's post this year one of my resolutions was to tear down our house and build a new one. This has always been the plan when we bought our little starter home. Well, in the matter of a month we realized we needed to start now if we were going to be in anytime close to the baby being born (we'll be living with my parents in the meantime...yikes). So we found an architect, made the plans, submitted to the village for building permits, found builders to bid out the project, packed up our entire house, moved in with my parents, and still need to move boxes from our house into the storage unit before demolition! Its basically become another part time job! But we're beyond excited to get going on this and have a brand new home for baby Skooter!

Baby News (bad and then good stuff):

Okay, so our 20 week ultrasound didn't quite go as planned. Hubby and I both took the day off expecting to go downtown that morning, and then celebrate all day with lunch and a couple of baby stores which I've yet to venture into yet. Well we did the u/s first and then you have to meet with your dr. The wait in between literally took an hour and a half!! Finally we met with the dr. and she starts off by saying everything looks great, but there is one small issue. Skooter had a couple small cysts in his/her brain...cue me starting to totally panic and go into state of shock. The Dr. went on to say that they are in no way harmful to the baby, however...they can be considered a soft marker for chromosomal abnormal ties...okay, now I'm totally freaking out in my head but trying to stay calm and hear her out.

She said when they are isolated, meaning they're the only thing they find in the u/s they're almost always found to be nothing. It's when they're found with other markers, such as heart defects, issues with hands/feet they can be associated with downs and more specifically trisomy 18 which is so severe most babies will be stillborn or die soon after being born. She's continues to tell us because we're so young, and all our screens came back negative we really shouldn't be worried, and we don't need to consider an amnio yet...as she's handing me a prescription for a level II ultrasound to get in the next couple weeks. I was in such shock that I didn't even ask any questions because I was just trying not to burst into tears.

So we walk out of the office, and THEN I burst into tears. Hubby and I were just like what just happened in there. We thought the 20 week u/s was supposed to be nothing but exciting and fun...and we felt like we'd been hit with a truck. We went home and I immediately consulted with Dr. Google, which shockingly enough made me feel better and just confirmed what my dr. had stated.

We luckily got in for our level II ultrasound the very next day (thank god cause I wouldn't have survived waiting more than a day), to which she confirmed the cysts were definitely isolated. She said she wasn't recommending an amnio, but that would be the only way to confirm one way or the other. So as much as we left that u/s feeling relieved they were in fact isolated, we still knew that we wouldn't be 100% certain until we either got an amnio or waited until the baby was born.

So for the last two weeks hubby and I have literally been agonizing over what to do. We'd go back and forth like its absolutely crazy to consider an amnio and put ourselves and Skooter at risk (there is a very very small risk of miscarriage). But at the same time everyday at work I was obsessively googling every possible study on isolated cysts, I called my dr. twice to get her opinion, I called the specialist once who did my first and second trimester screenings and got his opinion. As much as everything was saying just let this go, the odds are SO low anything is wrong with the baby...I could not get it out of my head.

I mean truthfully this was probably the hardest decision of my life. On one hand knowing myself I would be agonizing about this until the baby was born. And on that day instead of being 100% excited to meet our little one, in the back of both our heads we'd be wondering if the baby would be healthy when it came out. Then on the other hand we could do the amnio, which I would get same day results and have peace of mind Skooter was in fact healthy, but be terrified for who knows how long about possible miscarrying this baby we've waited so long for who most likely is perfectly fine based on the odds. But then again those are just odds, and you can see how I go back and forth.

To sum it up I decided to make an appt with for the amnio yesterday morning, with the stipulation we would go more for info on the procedure and would most likely back out which the nurse says happens all the time. The appt was yesterday morning and I was literally sick all the way downtown. After meeting with one of the genetic counselors, who told us she wouldn't be worried about the cysts because she sees them all the time, but she also wouldn't be worried about the amnio if she had to get one. And the fact we even made the appt probably meant we needed some peace of mind.

Long story short we decided to go through with it. I was so nervous, and was crying the entire time. The procedure itself lasted about 30 seconds. The dr. who performed it has been doing amnios all day every day for the last 20 years or something, and the nurse said in the last 4 years she's been there, only one person has had an issue post-amnio. After almost fainting in the lobby of the hospital (I have a weird fainting complex that is totally mental, I can go down after bee stings and almost bit it in the RE's office when the nurse was just showing hubby how to do my first shot) I went home and put myself on strict bedrest (even though the dr. said to just take it easy), and got the call that afternoon that Skooter is 100% healthy. I can't even begin to tell you the weight that has been lifted from our shoulders, and I'm just glad we can finally put this behind us.

Its been a tough couple of weeks, and sorry again for worrying you guys!! In other happier news I'm pretty sure I have Dav.id Beck.ham brewing in my tummy. Skooter is kicking like crazy, last night especially and I'm pretty sure he was trying to let mommy know he was okay! My stomach totally pops and hubby and I love watching from the outside...SO crazy!! Oh, and with our level 1, level 2, and amnio ultrasounds we somehow managed to stay strong and not find out the sex and there were no he/she slip ups from any of the techs. So Skooter will be surprising us all when he/she is born in January!

26 comments:

Andrea said...

God Bless you my precious friend. Oh my goodness, I cry as I read this post just thinking of all that you have endured. This is absolutely scary! I don't know how you kept your composure with your Dr., as I would have melted right there. As for the amnio, I would have opted to do it as well given the situation.

I'm so happy you and Scooter are okay and this baby is healthy. GOD IS GOOD!!!

Much Love as you continue on to complete success :)

xoxo

T said...

Oh I am so thankful that everything is ok. Next time just put a qiuick post...we are all good...talk to you soon :O)

I LOVE that you guys are waiting to find out boy/girl!

Rach said...

Wow, lots of things going on. Glad you were able to come to a decision and now you know the baby is nice and healthy! Congrats!

Anonymous said...

Oh, sweetie. What a nightmare! I am so glad that it's over and that Skooter is okay. You had me so worried when you weren't posting, but I completely understand why.

Crossing my fingers for a smooth ride for Skooter from this point forward. No more scares!

xo

Anonymous said...

Whew! I'm so glad you started baby news with the sentence "bad news then good news" so I knew there was good news to end this with!

I would have done the amnio as well so don't beat yourself up. I'd rather KNOW than wonder for the last 20 weeks. I'm so glad everything is OK!

Anonymous said...

Oh my Lord. :( That is so incredibly stressful and scary. I am SOOOOO relieved all is well with your perfect babe.

And I would've done the EXACT same thing, re: amnio. I'm so happy you did it and have 100% peace of mind. xo

Rebecca said...

How amazingly stressful!!! I think I would have done the exact same thing. I couldn't handle just not knowing and wondering. And, the stress couldn't have been good for you or Skooter!!

I'm SO glad everything is OK!! :)

Good luck with the house!

Anonymous said...

So glad your baby is ok and the amnio came out clear. choroid plexus cysts can be nothing or something. They told my boss the same thing and she freaked out. She didn't get the amnio because she was told the risk for the amnio was more than the risk for her child having it. In the end her baby was fine as yours will be.

Anonymous said...

What a crazy couple of weeks! I can totally understand the go arounds in your head, but I think you made the right choice...just for the peace of mind. So glad that things are great! And I totally admire your will power to NOT find out the gender. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow!! Scary stuff! So glad everything is ok!

Thanks for the update! :)

Stefanie Blakely said...

OMG!!! I can't believe that you just went through all of that-- how terrifying. What a relief that everything is ok. Sending the bigfgest hugs your way!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you've been busy!!! I'm so happy that Skooter is ok, that must have been sooo scary. I'm really glad everything is ok. =)

Alison said...

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry you had such a scare! I am SO relieved that Skooter is ok and you have peace of mind. I think I would have done the amnio, too, there's no way I could wait 20 more weeks to know if something was wrong. Now you can relax and anxiously await Skooter's arrival! Gosh, I'm glad everything is OK.
Congrats on the house, too!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad Skooter is ok!

RD said...

I'm so relieved that everything is ok!! (Yay for Team Green!)

Good luck with the new house project!

Littlest True Blue said...

Yippee! You are alive and well! Thanks for posting! I'm so sorry for the STRESSFUL (to say the least) past couple of weeks but I am sooooo happy that you now know without a shadow of a doubt that Skooter is perfect! Have a great long weekend! Adn congrats on the house build! So fun!
LTB

Anonymous said...

How incredibly stressful for you and you husband. I'm so glad that everything is okay!

Maureen said...

Oh my gosh sweetie, I cannot even imagine how scary and emotional these past few weeks have been for you. I am thrilled that everything is great with Scooter! You deserve an uneventful rest of the pregnancy filled with happy moments and lots of little kicks (Scooters way of saying "hey mom, all is well in here").

Marianne said...

What a relief! Now you have some peace of mind :)

Browniris said...

I am so glad that everything is well with baby and it turns out you have nothing to worry about!

Erin said...

How scary! A friend of mine had soft markers for Trisomy 18 with her pregnancy, and she also had a ton of risk factors too -- pregnancy shortly after a miscarriage, a boy, etc. It's such a scary genetic disorder. I'm so glad you decided to do the amnio and get some peace of mind!

Laura said...

What an emotional rollercoaster for you sweetie!! I am sorry you had to go through all of this but I am thankful that all is as perfect as it should be!! I wish you a more relaxed and less eventful rest of your pregnancy from now on!!

Chelle said...

Oh my gosh. That is so scary! I am so glad everything is fine, and that you have peace of mind. I would have been freaking out too. As infertiles, it is our prerogative to freak out when we feel the need to. At least you know Skooter is perfectly healthy.

I can't believe you are tearing down your house! That is so crazy. Best wishes with the new build. I hope it goes smoothly and that you completely love the new house when its all done.

Nick and Kristi said...

Did you notice you used the word he as refering to the baby a few times:) You really have been on a rollercoaster ride these last couple of weeks but glad all is well...Take care

N said...

Whew, so glad everything is ok.

Jane said...

Phew!! That was nerve wracking just to read!! SOOOOO glad things worked out okay in the end. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing from here on out!