Our CEO's wife came into the office today for a visit and asked me if I'm expecting! Oh my goodness!! That is the first time that anyone has asked me that or been able to tell! It was a really neat experience. She said she could tell when I was sitting at my desk that my belly was bigger than normal and noticed it when I walked by her as well. So exciting!! There's no real bump there yet, but my whole torso has widened and kind of thickened. Hopefully the bump will make it's appearance soon!
Hugs,
Nile
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Hello 2nd Trimester!
We've made it!! Today is officially my first day in the second trimester! Wahoo!! I know there aren't any new guarantees as of today, but I am so thrilled that we've made it to this landmark! We couldn't be happier! One trimester down, just two to go!
I think we're going to celebrate this milestone by browsing our first baby stores this weekend! We haven't gone in any so far, not wanting to jinx anything, so it'll be really fun to look around!
Here's what's going on this week with our little bambino...the baby can now squint, grasp, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, the facial muscles are getting a workout as his/her tiny features form one expression after another. The kidneys are producing urine, which will be released into the amniotic fluid — a process that will continue up until birth.
The baby is also stretching out. From head to bottom, he/she measures ~3.5 inches — about the size of a lemon — and weighs 1.5 ounces. The body's growing faster than his/her head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, the arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body, but the legs still have some lengthening to do. The baby is starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over his/her body. And baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Even though I can't feel any tiny punches and kicks yet, our little one's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.
My next appointment is in about 2 weeks, on October 6th. This appointment doesn't include an ultrasound, but I will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat again with the doppler. My blood pressure and weight will also be checked during the appointment and I'll do the follow-up bloodwork to continue testing for abnormalities.
Thank you all for your prayers, love and support! We have made it to the 2nd trimester and are so thrilled!!
Love you all!
Nile & David
I think we're going to celebrate this milestone by browsing our first baby stores this weekend! We haven't gone in any so far, not wanting to jinx anything, so it'll be really fun to look around!
Here's what's going on this week with our little bambino...the baby can now squint, grasp, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, the facial muscles are getting a workout as his/her tiny features form one expression after another. The kidneys are producing urine, which will be released into the amniotic fluid — a process that will continue up until birth.
The baby is also stretching out. From head to bottom, he/she measures ~3.5 inches — about the size of a lemon — and weighs 1.5 ounces. The body's growing faster than his/her head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, the arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body, but the legs still have some lengthening to do. The baby is starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over his/her body. And baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Even though I can't feel any tiny punches and kicks yet, our little one's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.
My next appointment is in about 2 weeks, on October 6th. This appointment doesn't include an ultrasound, but I will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat again with the doppler. My blood pressure and weight will also be checked during the appointment and I'll do the follow-up bloodwork to continue testing for abnormalities.
Thank you all for your prayers, love and support! We have made it to the 2nd trimester and are so thrilled!!
Love you all!
Nile & David
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Results Are In!
I received the results of my NT (nuchal translucency) test back today and I am well within the normal range for everything! Our chance of the baby having downs syndrome is 1 in 2,105 and our chances of trisomy 13 or 18 is 1 in 9,123!
The reason that my chances for trisomy are lower is because it is not as common an abnormality as downs syndrome. I asked more about my downs syndrome number because even though they said I was within the normal range, the number scared me a little bit (since it was so much lower than the trisomy number). They let me know that based on my age alone, the chance of having a downs baby is 1 in 421. When you combine my age with an average bloodwork result and ultrascan measurement, my chances would be 1 in 304. So the fact that, with all my factors combined, my chance is 1 in 2,105 is great...I'm 5-7x less likely than the "average" person my age to have a baby with downs syndrome. So all is good!
At my next appointment on October 6th, they will do another round of bloodwork which will test again for these three abnormalities as well as spina bifida. I'll then have a final set of bloodwork done at my 20 week appointment (November 3rd) which will retest for everything again. The results of the three tests combined will give us a result with 95% accuracy (this initial test alone has an 85% accuracy rate).
So things are looking good and we're well within the normal range for everything! Thank you for all of your prayers!
Now I am just anxious for Saturday to get here...my first day in the 2nd trimester!
Love you all!
Nile & David
The reason that my chances for trisomy are lower is because it is not as common an abnormality as downs syndrome. I asked more about my downs syndrome number because even though they said I was within the normal range, the number scared me a little bit (since it was so much lower than the trisomy number). They let me know that based on my age alone, the chance of having a downs baby is 1 in 421. When you combine my age with an average bloodwork result and ultrascan measurement, my chances would be 1 in 304. So the fact that, with all my factors combined, my chance is 1 in 2,105 is great...I'm 5-7x less likely than the "average" person my age to have a baby with downs syndrome. So all is good!
At my next appointment on October 6th, they will do another round of bloodwork which will test again for these three abnormalities as well as spina bifida. I'll then have a final set of bloodwork done at my 20 week appointment (November 3rd) which will retest for everything again. The results of the three tests combined will give us a result with 95% accuracy (this initial test alone has an 85% accuracy rate).
So things are looking good and we're well within the normal range for everything! Thank you for all of your prayers!
Now I am just anxious for Saturday to get here...my first day in the 2nd trimester!
Love you all!
Nile & David
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Wahoo - Good News!!
Today I had my 12 week appointment and it has been the best day! The appointment started off with an ultrasound, which will help determine our chances of the baby having downs syndrome, trisomy 13 or trisomy 18. The baby was being a little stubborn and not quite getting in the right position, and at the right angle, for the measurements they needed to take but the ultrasound tech was really patient and was able to get everything she needed. We should have the results of this test in about 7-10 days.
The ultrasound tech said the baby is growing right on track and the heart beat was at 159 which is normal. We were able to see the individual fingers and toes which was so amazing and a view from above the head where you could see the brain! She said that seeing individual fingers is a good sign, as most babies with trisomy 13 have their fingers together and in a fist. So that was good news!
Not only was that awesome news, but she then went on to take a look at my fluid pocket...and it is gone!! 100% completely gone! I couldn't believe it! I told her I had been praying that it had gone down, but hadn't at all expected for it to have resolved already. I asked her if it had just gotten a lot smaller or maybe moved somewhere else, but she said it's totally gone and has been reabsorbed by my body!! Oh my goodness!! We couldn't have asked for better news than a growing baby and NO pocket!! Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!
Now, for the fun stuff...photos!! These photos aren't as clear as I had hoped, but she gave me a lot of them so I can't complain too much! I'll do my best at deciphering these for you, but you may need to squint and use your imagination a bit too!
This is a photo of the bottom of the baby's foot, with the toes pointing to the left and the heel on the right.
On this one you can see an arm, hand and fingers (the all white areas are bone).
A full body shot with the head on the right, a hand in the middle (almost looks like he/she is sucking their thumb) and legs on the left hand side.
The ultrasound tech said the baby is growing right on track and the heart beat was at 159 which is normal. We were able to see the individual fingers and toes which was so amazing and a view from above the head where you could see the brain! She said that seeing individual fingers is a good sign, as most babies with trisomy 13 have their fingers together and in a fist. So that was good news!
Not only was that awesome news, but she then went on to take a look at my fluid pocket...and it is gone!! 100% completely gone! I couldn't believe it! I told her I had been praying that it had gone down, but hadn't at all expected for it to have resolved already. I asked her if it had just gotten a lot smaller or maybe moved somewhere else, but she said it's totally gone and has been reabsorbed by my body!! Oh my goodness!! We couldn't have asked for better news than a growing baby and NO pocket!! Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!
Now, for the fun stuff...photos!! These photos aren't as clear as I had hoped, but she gave me a lot of them so I can't complain too much! I'll do my best at deciphering these for you, but you may need to squint and use your imagination a bit too!
This is a photo of the bottom of the baby's foot, with the toes pointing to the left and the heel on the right.
On this one you can see an arm, hand and fingers (the all white areas are bone).A full body shot with the head on the right, a hand in the middle (almost looks like he/she is sucking their thumb) and legs on the left hand side.And one more full body profile, just for the fun of it! 
My next appointment is on October 6th (I'll be 16 weeks and 2 days) for just a meeting with the doctor. I'll get to weigh in, have my blood pressure taken and listen to the heart beat with the doppler.
Thank you all again for your love, support and prayers! We are so happy!
Nile & David
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