And She Lived To Tell the Tale

Well I survived my amnio. Whoo hoo! It started with a nurse looking at a sonogram of the sprite, followed by the doctor doing his own sonogram. Why two? I have no idea. But wow were they cool. I mean, really really cool.

My husband and I gawked at the image of our baby rolling around, its tiny ankles crossed, its arms tucked next to its head one minute and waving around the next. We saw the spine, the brain, the heart. I mean, good god, I have never seen anything more fantastic in my life. They told us that what they can see is normal, but it's a little too early to see a whole lot. The doc couldn't tell, for example, if the heart has four chambers or not. I'm supposed to go back at 20 weeks for a more thorough look.

My husband kept asking me if I could feel all that movement, and didn't seem to believe me when I said I don't feel a thing. It does seem hard to believe, seeing the sprite do somersaults on the screen, that I can't sense anything. But it turns out I have an anterior placenta, so maybe that's why I can't feel the raucous party going on in my uterus.

The actual procedure was not as big a deal as I'd feared. Though I admit that when the needle went in I thought, "okay, yeah, that hurts." But once it was in, I didn't feel much -- not even the smallest cramp. It was surreal to watch the amniotic fluid bubble up into the syringe.

The doctor said to "take it easy" for 24 hours which I decided meant "get your ass into bed". So I spent yesterday under the comforter. I was also told to get off my feet if I had any cramping, and I have had some cramping today, so I'm right back in bed for the time being. I'm not particularly nervous about it (which is so unlike me!) yet I don't see any reason to take chances. Especially when playing it safe means I get to loll around in bed for another day. It's not such a great sacrifice, you know?

So now we wait. It'll be 7-10 days before we get the results. I'm not hugely worried about it, if you can believe it. I guess I figure I've got no real reason to believe anything is wrong, so why get worked up about it? Except for my "advanced maternal age" (a phrase I have come to loathe), we have no increased risk for anomalies etc. I do have fleeting moments of panic, but mostly I'm feeling fairly calm. I hope this week goes by fast though. It'll be great to know for sure if everything's okay.

Comments

[Menita]

What a very beautiful thing! Here's to more days of calm and happiness!

[Meriel]

Oh Lobster, big happy tears rolling down my face. I have nothing to say just lots of happy tears and big kisses for you all.

[Dee]

So very glad to hear that the amnio went well! And the 'extra' u/s view in the process? Priceless. And it really is surprising to see the baby moving around so much but yet you can't feel it. No worries though--you'll be feeling it before you know it!

[B Mare]

Oh hooray that is over, and so glad it went well. You are a brave girl. Very well done.