Big Sigh of RELIEF!!

Although I instinctively knew that everything was ok, it was nice to hear from the folks about my Ultrascreen results today.

From the Genecare website:

UltraScreen is a test performed at 11 to 13 week 6 days which identifies fetuses (unborn babies) at increased risk of having certain birth defects. A blood test is combined with an ultrasound measurement to estimate your specific risk for Down syndrome and trisomy 18. The blood drawn by fingerstick or venipuncture is analyzed for two proteins called freeBeta-hCG and PAPP-A which are normally found in the blood of all pregnant women. The ultrasound examines the baby’s neck, measuring the amount of fluid accumulation behind the neck of the baby, called the nuchal translucency (NT). This test is safe for you and your baby. UltraScreen is the most accurate and earliest prenatal screening test available. The blood test alone (performed between 9-14 weeks) detects for 68% of Down syndrome and 90% of trisomy 18 fetuses. Combining the blood test with the NT increases detection to 91% for Down syndrome, 97% for trisomy 18, 40% of heart defects, and some other birth defects

My risk of down's syndrome is 1 in 3,061 and my risk of Trisomy 18 is 1 in 5,721 - the same risk as for a 20 year old mother.

This is awesome news and convinces me that I will not be going for an early amniocentesis to scan for these things. It doesn't mean that the baby doesn't have downs or another chromosomal problem, but definitely makes it a much more remote possibility. At this point, the risk of losing the baby because of complications of amnio is greater than the risk of a problem.

I'm over a lot of the morning sickness now. Instead of being close to hurling just any minute, I'm back to being able to control it with a snack. I was feeling urpy on Saturday for a few minutes, but settled it quickly with a lemon Preggie Pop.

I LOVE Preggie Pops. They are awesome. I can't deal with the Peppermint or the Spearmint flavors - I still have trouble with minty stuff - but the sour stuff (raspberry, orange, lemon) settle me down immediately. Of course, my gag reflex is on overload right now, so I can't really suck any hard candy at all without gagging. But the lollipops are a good size to lick.

Despite a head cold, Moo and I worked on getting things in the house ready for the baby. We have a 3 bedroom house. The master bedroom is HUGE, as big as our living room. The other bedrooms are tiny in comparison. Moo's office is in the smaller of the two bedrooms and mine is in the other. I'm moving out of the bigger bedroom and setting up my desk in a corner of the dining room. Moo is moving his office from the smaller bedroom into the bigger bedroom and we'll be creating a combo office/guest room out of his room. The smaller bedroom will be the baby's room.

My former office is 80% clear. Moo wants it 99% clear before he paints, so we'll be working on it a bit this week so that he can paint this weekend.