Sorry to have not posted in the last few days – I have been alternately exhausted or busy. Everything is great – the embryo is exactly the size it should be, the due date is currently correct, and there is a little heartbeat that I saw but didn’t hear (such a good child already) – the doctor didn’t want to do extra ultrasound to get the sound of it, when the nurse suggested it. It is currently 1.15cm long from crown to rump (actually probably a bit bigger now, seeing as I have been so slack posting this). I also got to see the blood pumping – he changed it to colour code in red and blue to show in and out flow. Unfortunately, there was no way of printing out a photo, and I didn’t think to ask until after the scan, so all I had to take a quick phone-shot of was the still of the measurement – if I had known earlier I would have videoed the blood pumping and the heart beat. But I did at least get that final picture – see below.
As soon as the doctor inserted the probe he immediately (maybe after 2sec or so) said “well, I’m not worried and you can relax now”, before going on the do the main checks etc. So that was good – relieving. And after the scan, the nurse took me aside and gave me a little gift bag full of info and some samples. It was the nurse who had inseminated me (and was apparently really stoked to hear I got knocked up) which was nice – good to see her and thank her (I asked her to thank the other nurses too, and I think I will send them some chocolates or something – they were all so lovely).
So yeah – sorry if anyone was vaguely worried – I did say that I would post on the Wednesday if it was good news and maybe not if it was bad, so some of you may have thought it was bad. I just didn’t realise earlier how exhausted I would be when I got home the next few days, and yesterday I drove to New Plymouth to visit my mum and have been busy ever since.
I asked the doctor about B6, and he immediately said “yes, B6 and ginger”. He also reminded me about the existence of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), which is a maternal blood test that gets sent to the USA or Australia where they search for and amplify the free foetal DNA in the mother’s blood, and then test it for chromosomal abnormalities (and, incidentally, sex), with >99% accuracy for picking up Down Syndrome. It is not recommended for most people, as it is still fairly new and thus costly, but if you have any risk factors, it is worth considering. One of the risk factors is age >35 years, which I am.
It costs $675 at Labtests, and I think a bit more at Ascot Radiology (they have a faster turnaround cos they send the sample to Australia instead of the USA). Which is a lot of money, but I think I might do it anyway, as it will bring peace of mind (plus I get to find out the sex!). So I have to wait until 10 weeks (I am 8 weeks today) and then ask my midwife to do a referral. It will be interesting to hear what she thinks – if she is all “pooh pooh, standard testing is fine” or not. Standard testing probably is fine, really, in general, but only has 95% accuracy (I think) for Down Syndrome. And if I have the money, why not!
It is still technically a screening test, not a diagnostic test, so if it is positive I would still need to consider an amniocentesis to confirm. Which I think I would do. But that carries a slightly increased risk of miscarriage, so that would suck. Which is why this NIPT is so good, making the chance of risking that much lower.
I am meeting a potential New Plymouth midwife tomorrow. Still waiting to hear back from my first choice… it isn’t looking good, really. 🙁
Choice Symbiote 