I Met With The Specialist Today

Well, today was my appointment with the specialist, and I feel really at peace after meeting with him. Everybody at that office, from the receptionist to the genetic counselor, treated me so graciously and patiently. What a blessing that was! They were so nice, I didn't even mind the hour and half wait, haha!

They took an ultrasound of Baby Declan, which is always my favorite part. This kid is going to come into the world already photogenic, with all of the pictures he's had so far! He didn't want to move his head in the direction the ultrasound tech was coaxing him, despite her pleas with him. I wanted to tell her not to take it offensively; he doesn't speak English yet. She had me do jumping jacks for about five minutes, which accomplished little more than a jump start on my exercising for today.

After she gave up on whatever measurement she was trying to get, I met with the genetic counselor. She is the nicest woman in the world, and was really patient in her explanations to me. She essentially said that everything on the ultrasound looked good today. Baby Declan is almost three pounds, which is big for his age. She told me that more times than not, brightness on a bowel resolves itself and turns out to be nothing. She explained that it can be indicative of a chromosomal disorder, such as Down Syndrome, but it seemed like a silly thing for the other doctor to highlight to me, since it usually ended up being nothing. She also said that it can be an indicator of about four other things, all of which are pretty unlikely. She did say that as it is an abnormality, they would probably want to keep seeing me throughout the pregnancy.

Next I met with the doctor who diagnosed my fibroid. He essentially told me the same thing as the genetic counselor. However, he said that they did see the brightness on the bowel today. I'm not sure if he was mistaken or if it was the genetic counselor, but it didn't seem like a big deal either way. He said that, as the genetic counselor told me, there's a good chance this is nothing. He wanted to run a few blood tests to rule out certain infections and meet with me again in six weeks. He also said that they'd probably keep meeting with me throughout the pregnancy just to make sure everything was going smoothly, but that Declan looks great. As long as the baby looks healthy and is growing at a good rate (he is, trust me), they're not really worried about it.

So, essentially I got the same news as last time from an entirely different perspective. Maybe these doctors are just used to seeing abnormalities, and so they know when something is serious and when it's not, but they definitely put my mind at ease today. They said that yes, this could be an indicator of Down Syndrome, but that it was pretty unlikely-- especially since Declan has shown great prenatal development. All in all, it was a very encouraging appointment!

In other news, Matt and I will be heading up North for Easter/Spring Break to visit with family. We're really looking forward to that, as it will probably be the last time we head up before the baby is born. Time is flying! God has blessed us in countless ways this past year, and we're filled with His joy upon entering into this next phase of life!