The Amnio and A Confession

Yesterday was the amniocentesis. The ultrasound before the procedure was a lot of fun. Lovebug was very active and the sonographer had a difficult time even getting a heartbeat, baby was moving around so much! The procedure itself went well. And the actual insertion of the needle was far less painful this year than last, so that was a pleasant surprise. There was one point when I got a little anxious. Lovebug had been so good and was staying very still but toward the end got a little antsy and began to squirm-- right toward the needle. Lovebug wasn't punctured and the sonographer checked the heartrate to make sure there was no distress present, but Wow! did that terrify me!

I felt pretty good afterward, with only some cramping and discomfort around the insertion site for the rest of the day. Immediately following we went out for lunch and then to our favorite coffee shop while we waited to make sure there were no complications from the procedure. After that we went for some very leisurely shopping. I needed a few more items to keep me clothed this winter, so we casually walked our way through the mall and I would look in one store. Then we would head to the bookstore where I could sit for twenty minutes before heading to the next store. The shopping was successful as I did find a few items.

And our "confession":

For the "visually impaired" (translation: my mother), the wording in this picture is "It's a Girl!" Two weeks ago our sonographer said to us, "They told you it was a boy? It looks like a girl to me." We did not want to say anything until we could be sure, and yesterday we had the same sonographer who looked and said, "It still looks girlish" and added the message to the defining shot. She did say that it is rare to get a boy reading wrong, even as early as 13 weeks, but in this case, they did.

While at work, Dave got a call from our genetics counselor and the initial chromosome count is in. There are no signs of any major abnormalities (like down's sydrome), so this is wonderful news and we rejoice in that. And the baby girl status was confirmed. Dave is tickled pink (pun intended) to have "his girls." And I'm pretty excited too.

And just a reminder: Results for Von Hippel-Lindau Disease will take up to six weeks. While we certainly hope and pray that Lovebug does not share the same disease as daddy and sister, we will love her all the same and cannot wait to meet her.