Another Fun Appointment!

15 weeks, Four days

Today we had our 15 week appointment. Looks like I passed my first round of blood tests with flying colors...an A+ in fact! Okay.... I’m an A positive blood type, but a positive is a positive and I’ll take it! Everything looked good, including the test to see if I was a carrier of Cystic Fibrosis gene, (I am not).

It was a short visit, more blood tests, a routine pap smear, cervix sample, the ‘quad screen test’ and a fun surprise for us both at the end.

The quad screen is a prenatal test that measures levels of four substances in a pregnant woman's blood:

• Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a protein produced by the baby's liver
• Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced by the placenta
• Estriol, another pregnancy-related hormone
• Inhibin A, another pregnancy-related protein.

Typically, the quad screen is done between weeks 15 and 20 of pregnancy. Results of the quad screen indicate your risk of carrying a baby who has certain developmental or chromosomal conditions, such as spina bifida or Down syndrome.

If your risk level is low, the quad screen can offer reassurance of a healthy pregnancy. If your risk level is moderate or high, you may choose to follow the quad screen with more invasive diagnostic testing — such as amniocentesis — to determine whether the baby actually has Down syndrome or other developmental or chromosomal conditions.

Soon after we sat down with the nurse, Jack asked if we would be having an ultrasound this visit. The nurse said one was not scheduled and they weren’t typical at fifteen weeks but we could ask the doctor.

We didn’t have a whole lot of questions this time. No, I could not overdose on fish oil, 3,000mg per day was okay. Airborne is safe to take while traveling. The Swine Flu vaccine is not yet available (maybe in a couple weeks). And if I do come down with flu like symptoms while we are on our trip to ask for Tama flu asap.

We said goodbye to the nurse, made the gown change and waited for the doctor. Sure enough, as soon as he had the opportunity, Jack quizzed the doctor and asked if we could see the baby today. After a bit of hemming and hawing the doctor reluctantly gave an ‘I’m sorry guys, not this time’. I think we were both were a little disappointed, but completely understood. I asked as a conciliation prize could hear the heart beat he assured us that was a for sure each visit.

But sure enough, once the physical portion of the exam was over, the doctor conceded and said we could take a quick peek at the baby. It’s amazing how fast those lil’ things grow! The fingers were longer and the knuckles defined, elbows were bending and arms waving, we were able to see each vertebra in the spine, and hear the little heartbeat (measuring a healthily 150 beats per minute).

And to add to all the cuteness....the lil’ thing had the hiccups! It was fun to watch the little bean hop around like that, it was a great end to a good appointment.

From The Bump

Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.