P3 - 8 weeks

(written October 1, 2016 - posted after 12 week appointment)

Our anxiously awaited 8 week appointment was September 27th and it went really well.  Baby wiggled his little tail (please excuse my over use of the male pronoun, it's just force of habit) and had a strong heartbeat at 154 bpm.  He measured about 7 weeks 4 days which is about 3 days behind what the first day of my last period would predict (same as Korban), but that could very well be due to a late ovulation cycle.  Based off my last 2 periods and the amount of time it took to get a positive pregnancy test, Dr. Dalton thinks I might ovulate late which is fine, just tends to throw the due date off a little.  She is sticking to my predicted date of May 9th for now and calling every Tuesday the date my weeks change.  She was very encouraged by the start of leg and arm buds on baby, a visible healthy yolk sac and all of my anatomy looked to be progressing as needed.  She also liked the fact that I've been feeling nauseous and overly tired lately...feeling hungover was a sign of a healthy pregnancy with Jase so I'll deal.  As of now, I have not noticed any spotting, but we didn't have our first ultra sound appointment for Korban until 11 weeks so hopefully that won't come up between now and the next appointment at 12 weeks.

It's very hard to feel encouraged ourselves since everything looked great with Korban until 18 weeks, but we're trying.  I don't like to say it out loud, but that nagging feeling in my stomach telling me that something is wrong isn't there.  I'm worried about it all the time, but it's different...again, I can't explain it.

We did a lot of talking about our 12 week appointment that is now scheduled for October 26 (1 day after Korban's due date) because that is when the blood draws for any genetic testing would take place.  I strongly feel Dr Dalton would prefer we did the testing, but she completely reassured us that she would respect whatever decision we made.  We have the option to get the regular testing that is offered to all moms between 11 & 12 weeks (downs, trisomy 18 &13), take it up a level to the Informaseq test that screen for a larger range of chromosomal abnormalities & has a higher percentage of accuracy OR screen for nothing and only give blood samples for normal prenatal tests.  I am at such a loss on how to decide this.  I think Kiel's initial reaction was to do the testing assuming insurance will cover a good portion, but after some discussion, I think he is on the fence as well.

My first thought about getting these tests done at 12 weeks was complete terror.  We didn't find out there was something wrong with Korban until 1 day before he passed away...it was less than 48 hours that we found out and then delivered him.  I cannot imagine finding out any earlier that there could be complications and then going about our daily lives waiting for what could be days, weeks or even months.  The fact that none of these tests can tell us if this baby suffers from Holoprosencephaly or the type of Triploidy Korban had, makes me standoffish to start.  The other issue I have with the tests is that they do not tell you what is exactly wrong, just that there is a possibility for an abnormality.  So a test could come back positive but there could actually be nothing wrong and on the flip side, there is always a chance that the test could come back negative and there actually is something wrong. And yes, as I mentioned, the test we're being offered has a higher accuracy rate, but it's still just a possibility.  sigh.

I received a call today from Lab Corp who would perform the tests after a blood draw at my Dr's office and they informed me insurance is still not going to cover these tests.  But lucky for us (or not), Lab Corp offers the testing which would normally be $950+ out of pocket at a flat rate of $250 for people who do not have insurance coverage.  I was hoping it would be outrageously expensive so it was an easy decision.  After getting off the phone with the woman at Lab Corp, I called a nurse at Dr. Dalton's office to make sure the test they were referring too was everything and we wouldn't be surprised with any other expenses.  She did assure me that the Informaseq w/XY comparison is the only test we would need and gave me a little piece of advice Dr. Nord had once given her.  He said, "I understand why you don't do the genetic testing, but please know we do those tests so we can be assured if there is anything we can do for you or your baby in the outcome of an abnormality, that we have you in the correct facility with the correct people."  I had been so consumed with the thought "the results won't make us terminate the pregnancy" with Jase and "I don't want to find out early just to sit around and worry" with Korban, that I never even considered an abnormality that could be fixed.  A heart defect that would need a heart specialist or anyone else with a higher qualification than the Drs at BroMenn.  I am still not convinced these tests are necessary, but I haven't closed the door...

So many things to consider and worry about.  So different than the first 12 weeks of my last 2 pregnancies.

-Nicole