Test Results

Because we have a prior history with Downs, we opted to know what our risk assesment would be for this pregnancy so that we could best be prepaired with the risk at delivery. As said in the last post, the doctors wanted to look at the organs and for any soft markers that may come up in an ultrasound. This ultra sound was then combined with the numbers from a prior test that was done called a fetal nuchal translucency test. Basically with the nuchal test, they look for fluid and thickness in the neck (normal for Downs kids) and also at the mothers blood patterns. The level 4 ultra sound looked at bones, head shape, and organs. Baby Girl only had one blip on the radar and that was one bone measuring short but it was not greater than 3% so it is not something that they are worried about. If anyone ever has to have this test done, make a mental note that there are very few babies that actually measure to date on every single bone structure so don't let one bone trip you up! This was wonderful news. With the two tests, the measurements were added together leaving us with this...

chance for trisomy 21 (downs) again is 1 out of 2,661... we were at 1 out of 136 prior to the test
chance for trisomy 13 is one out of 22,000
chance for trisomy 18 is one out of 22,000

While these numbers just represent the risks, this was a very uplifting phone call from Duke and these results have released us from Duke O.B.!!! We will only go back if there are complications... this means that currently we are not a "true" high risk pregnancy anymore where we are having to been seen by a high risk OB!!!! What a wonderful thing to be able to give thanks for... Here's to wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas.

Where our story starts...

Well, as we start this blog, we wanted to let our family and friends know where we are at this point in our lives. We are awaiting the arrival of our second child who is due on April 22, 2008. We have been praying for the health of this child and this pregnancy for over four months now. Getting this child here has been a roller coaster trip that we started two and a half years ago.

After a failed pregnancy in November of 2005 with twins, our first born child, Hope Noelle, was born on June 14, 2006 at 4:04 pm very early with Downs, as well as with multiple organ defects. She was born at 20 weeks weighing 8.6 ounces and was 9.1 inches long. We were blessed to be her parents here on Earth for one glorious hour and then she became our guardian angel. We then found out Christmas 2006 that I was pregnant again but lost that one to a tubal pregnancy in January of 2007.

This August we were shocked to learn that I was once again pregnant. This was a bit overwhelming to us because we had almost given up on our dream of a house full of children. Firm believers that God makes no mistakes, we held our breath once again as we waited to see what the outcome would be for this pregnancy. After multiple trips to the doctors and several visits to Duke, we are very excited to say that we have learned that we have a viable pregnancy! We had an ultrasound done today at 17 weeks and learned that it will be another little girl! Needless to say we are just tickled pink!!!! Before we ever got married we had said that we would like to have 2-3 children and we are very excited about the upcoming arrival of the newest member to our family! We just can not wait to meet her... now we have to come up with a name! As of now, this little girl does not show any markers for Downs and all of the organs seem to be growing normally. We will be getting lab results back within the next week and I will post them as soon as we know something. Since I had such an early delivery last time, our goal date to reach is January 15th when she will be 26+ weeks, thus increasing her chance of viability.

One of my girlfriends Melissa has a blog site where she keeps people up to date on her son and family and it's been a great way to get out pictures and updates. We have opted to start this blog site as a way to share what information we feel like we can and also to keep our family and friends updated as we go along. Since telling people that we have a bun in the oven, many people have asked how things are going and we feel that this will be the easiest way to keep people informed of how this pregnancy is progressing. As of now, we are asking that you join us in prayer through the rest of this journey. We are anxious to wet the ink on the pen of life so that we can write the next chapter of our life with this blessing from above. We ask for prayers that she stays in there as long as possible and that she is healthy and free from any organ defects.