Pregnancy: Week 24
You hear about "pregnancy brain." The syndrome that occurs in pregnant women that causes bouts of forgetfulness and clumsiness. Well, it's real. It's alive and kicking. This morning alone I tried to put milk in the pantry and I stirred my coffee with a fork. Overall, I just don't feel quite as sharp as usual. I am forgetful and absentminded. I drop everything. I had a sensory lapse for a split second yesterday and dropped a hand mirror on the bathroom floor. It landed face down with the handle breaking off and coming to rest four feet away from the mirror. I didn't pick it up for two hours because I didn't want to see that I shattered it to smithereens. I'm not officially superstitious, but come on... Breaking a mirror just gives you a bad feeling. Fortunately, the mirror itself was spared. It's just handle-less now.
Apparently, my brain is marinating in increased estrogen and progesterone levels. Well, it feels like it's marinating in Redbull. The few times I ever tried an energy drink they always made me feel weird and stupid. I don't think they ever actually gave me energy, and any tiny morsel they did give me was false energy. That's what I feel like now. I get up some mornings with the energy of an Olympic athlete, then I unload the dishwasher and I need a nap.
I had my 24 week check up and got to see our little girl once again. I've been a little on the fence about how "serious" to get on these blog posts. Well, here goes nothing. When we went for my 20 week visit back in December we had a routine ultrasound. During this ultrasound they check for an array of things, like the baby's spine, brain, heart, and other tiny organs. It was a longer ultrasound with lots of measuring and photos. At the end she asked if we wished to know the gender and then we were left in the waiting room for my actual doctor appointment. Ben had to be back at work, so he only stayed for the ultrasound. When I met with my doctor she informed me that they saw a cyst on the right side of the baby's brain. The world stopped. She went on to explain that it is fairly common to see this in ultrasounds and that it is part of normal brain development. Fairly common? I didn't know what to think.
A few weeks prior (somewhere around week 16) Ben and I had opted out of doing the routine genetic DNA testing. The genetic test isn't diagnostic, it only tells you if there are increased chances of your baby having different genetic disorders. For this reason, we decided it wasn't for us. If I found out there was higher chances I would just worry and there would be nothing that could be done about it. My doctor explained that a cyst on the brain is on the list of symptoms of Down Syndrome. She said it was at the very bottom of the list and is more often than not just an effect of brain development, but because it was on the list she asked me one last time if I would like to do the genetic testing. I was 20 weeks and you can't do the testing after 20, so I essentially had to make a decision immediately. She suggested that I do the test (to ease my mind, if nothing else) and to have another ultrasound at my 24 week visit. So, that's what I did. It was a couple of weeks before I got the results back, because it all fell on the holidays. But I had a feeling deep down that everything was okay and so did Ben.
The genetic tests came back completely normal, with no elevated levels. Sigh. Now, snap back to week 24. With Ben being in flight school he wasn't able to come with me to the doctor, but I went in feeling pretty good about everything. The ultrasound tech found a good position to view her brain and I held my breath. She pointed something out to me and said, "This is the cyst. It's much smaller." It was a tiny spot on her brain that she measured and took pictures of. After the ultrasound I met with my doctor and she told me that the cyst was half the size it was last time, which is an excellent sign and means that it is diminishing. She also put things into perspective a bit by telling me that four of her patients have had the same thing happen that week alone.
So, I'll have another ultrasound at my next routine visit for them to check again. I feel really good about it. However, I will be happy when it's completely gone. Even with my optimism, all positive energy is appreciated. :)
The ultrasound tech was nice enough to snap a few 4D photos for me during the ultrasound. The darker area along the right side of her face is the umbilical cord. There's a video where you can see her holding the cord up at her face. This technology is mind-blowing, as well as the fact that at 24 weeks our baby looks like a fully developed miniature person. I'm in love with her already.
She changed things up on me a bit this week. I can usually feel her moving and kicking pretty consistently throughout the day. I always feel it mid-belly area on either side. Well, several days went by at the beginning of the week where I didn't feel her at all. I was beginning to get worried, but my doctor told me that she likely had changed positions. Well, that was confirmed yesterday with a swift kick to the... cervix, for lack of a better word. A few hours later I felt it in the ribs. So, rather than laying horizontally, she's oriented in an up and down fashion these days. Apparently, her position is also to blame for me feeling some days that my belly is huge, then others days thinking that it seems much smaller.
A moment from our date night earlier this week. I scurried over to an empty pair of lounge chairs and, ironically, these books were already there. PROMISE. The one underneath is What to Expect When You're Expecting. When Ben came over with our coffee he looked unimpressed. He totally believed I had planted them there. It wasn't me, it was the universe.
Apparently, my brain is marinating in increased estrogen and progesterone levels. Well, it feels like it's marinating in Redbull. The few times I ever tried an energy drink they always made me feel weird and stupid. I don't think they ever actually gave me energy, and any tiny morsel they did give me was false energy. That's what I feel like now. I get up some mornings with the energy of an Olympic athlete, then I unload the dishwasher and I need a nap.
I had my 24 week check up and got to see our little girl once again. I've been a little on the fence about how "serious" to get on these blog posts. Well, here goes nothing. When we went for my 20 week visit back in December we had a routine ultrasound. During this ultrasound they check for an array of things, like the baby's spine, brain, heart, and other tiny organs. It was a longer ultrasound with lots of measuring and photos. At the end she asked if we wished to know the gender and then we were left in the waiting room for my actual doctor appointment. Ben had to be back at work, so he only stayed for the ultrasound. When I met with my doctor she informed me that they saw a cyst on the right side of the baby's brain. The world stopped. She went on to explain that it is fairly common to see this in ultrasounds and that it is part of normal brain development. Fairly common? I didn't know what to think.
A few weeks prior (somewhere around week 16) Ben and I had opted out of doing the routine genetic DNA testing. The genetic test isn't diagnostic, it only tells you if there are increased chances of your baby having different genetic disorders. For this reason, we decided it wasn't for us. If I found out there was higher chances I would just worry and there would be nothing that could be done about it. My doctor explained that a cyst on the brain is on the list of symptoms of Down Syndrome. She said it was at the very bottom of the list and is more often than not just an effect of brain development, but because it was on the list she asked me one last time if I would like to do the genetic testing. I was 20 weeks and you can't do the testing after 20, so I essentially had to make a decision immediately. She suggested that I do the test (to ease my mind, if nothing else) and to have another ultrasound at my 24 week visit. So, that's what I did. It was a couple of weeks before I got the results back, because it all fell on the holidays. But I had a feeling deep down that everything was okay and so did Ben.
The genetic tests came back completely normal, with no elevated levels. Sigh. Now, snap back to week 24. With Ben being in flight school he wasn't able to come with me to the doctor, but I went in feeling pretty good about everything. The ultrasound tech found a good position to view her brain and I held my breath. She pointed something out to me and said, "This is the cyst. It's much smaller." It was a tiny spot on her brain that she measured and took pictures of. After the ultrasound I met with my doctor and she told me that the cyst was half the size it was last time, which is an excellent sign and means that it is diminishing. She also put things into perspective a bit by telling me that four of her patients have had the same thing happen that week alone.
So, I'll have another ultrasound at my next routine visit for them to check again. I feel really good about it. However, I will be happy when it's completely gone. Even with my optimism, all positive energy is appreciated. :)
The ultrasound tech was nice enough to snap a few 4D photos for me during the ultrasound. The darker area along the right side of her face is the umbilical cord. There's a video where you can see her holding the cord up at her face. This technology is mind-blowing, as well as the fact that at 24 weeks our baby looks like a fully developed miniature person. I'm in love with her already.
She changed things up on me a bit this week. I can usually feel her moving and kicking pretty consistently throughout the day. I always feel it mid-belly area on either side. Well, several days went by at the beginning of the week where I didn't feel her at all. I was beginning to get worried, but my doctor told me that she likely had changed positions. Well, that was confirmed yesterday with a swift kick to the... cervix, for lack of a better word. A few hours later I felt it in the ribs. So, rather than laying horizontally, she's oriented in an up and down fashion these days. Apparently, her position is also to blame for me feeling some days that my belly is huge, then others days thinking that it seems much smaller.
A moment from our date night earlier this week. I scurried over to an empty pair of lounge chairs and, ironically, these books were already there. PROMISE. The one underneath is What to Expect When You're Expecting. When Ben came over with our coffee he looked unimpressed. He totally believed I had planted them there. It wasn't me, it was the universe.
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