3/4/11 - 1 in 4,800

Today I had my 15 week check-up.  This was a very quick in and out appointment.  However, they did give us the results of the nuchal translucency screening that we had about two weeks ago (when we had the first ultrasound done.)

It was all good news.  At my age, the risk of me having a child with Down's Syndrome is about 1 in 400 or so.  After the screening, the results show that my actual chance of having a child with Down's is actually 1 in 4,800, which means it's really unlikely.  The doctor said that he wasn't going to recommend any additional genetic testing, although we are going to have an extended ultrasound done at 20 weeks to make sure that developmentally everything looks normal.  I asked if that was still necessary and he felt like it would just be added precaution, since it's basically non-invasive.  I'm ok with that.  My next regular appointment is April 1st and then the ultrasound is on the 8th.

I am going to take off work that afternoon so that DH and I can go to the appointment together.  Afterward we're going to go to dinner, at a predetermined location based on the gender findings.  For example, if it's a girl we'll go to X, whereas if it's a boy, we'll go to Y.  Not sure why I decided that this is how I wanted to do it, but I like it!

At this appointment they were also able to find the heartbeat right away. No adjustment of my uterus needed, thank you very much. The baby is so low in my abdomen that I am having trouble believing that all of the bulge everywhere else in my abdominal region isn't baby.  I feel enormous, particularly right at this moment, since I just finished lunch.

The price we pay to procreate....