Doctors

Hi everyone, its the future mama here with an update about doctors.

Well, we just had our 20 week visit and Dr. Vaneck, our great OBGYN (who reminds me of my cousin Leslie, which may be why I adore her) told us the baby is weighing in at the 51st percentile. We listened to his/her heartbeat and got my blood drawn for the Quad Screening that tests for Spina Bifida and Downs Syndrome. We should have those results in a few more days. We will go back to Dr. Vaneck in 4 weeks for another check-up (April 2nd).

Then, on March 31st, we are scheduled for another ultrasound to see the baby. At the last one on February 27th, we got a good look at most parts of the baby except his/her heart. Dr. King (our Maternal-Fetal specialist) wants to make sure there are no defects in any of the baby's four heart chambers, so we'll look again.

And, on April 5th, we are scheduled for a fetal echocardiogram. Apparently, this is a routine thing for diabetic women having a baby. It in no way means there is something wrong with the baby; it is meant to rule out any cardiac defects that are more common in pregnancies complicated by diabetes.

As I wade through my workday, I can't help but wonder if "knowing" is better or worse. People never used to know if there were problems, but then again, more babies died. The mama in me knows that our baby will be fine and the doctors are being cautious. No one is twisting my arm to keep these appointments being made for me or forcing me to surrender blood samples. So, it is an interesting place to be.

If I am going to be honest on this thing, all of the prenatal care and scare (as I have come to refer to it in my own private conversations with the baby) causes this cloud of sadness to come over the true joy and elation I have when I think of being a mama. And so, welcome to our blog. All of our news, be it good or sad will be shared here as long as I can bear it. It is not meant to replace the personal emails we enjoy with one another, but rather to share information with more of our friends and family. Plus, having a blog is way hip when you have a kid as our friends Sara & Brandon Lynaugh showed us (I still check theirs every few days and their daughter Taryn is a year old!).

- Wendy