Updates and an Ultrasound

We had a week of good news!

First, Goldie saw the pediatric opthalmologist and it looks like she isn't going to need surgery anytime soon. Her nystagmus continues to improve. In Dr. H's words "sometimes nature does as good a job as I can do with surgery." There is another procedure that can be done to center her null point, but hers continues to move so that will also have to wait.

Then we talked to neurosurgeon. Goldie's numbers from her c-spine xray were in the normal range and she doesn't need to have any restrictions. She said Goldie can be just as active as any other kid her age. The Dr. does want to follow up with us yearly for the next two years to see if things move and get worse or better. Now, we have the all clear to get her tonsils and adenoids out.

Last, but not least, I went for my ultrasound. The baby is measuring a week smaller than my dates, so I may get another week to prepare! The dates could be off because of breastfeeding and not having regular cycles. So, here's were things got weird. The very nice lady doing my ultrasound went to talk to the Dr. about the measurements.(FYI - This is not my Dr. I wasn't expecting to see a Dr. I am being cared for by a group of midwives.) She comes back in the room and explains to us that because we have a child with Down syndrome the doctor wants us to speak to a Genetic Counselor. Right now. He will not see us unless we do. She told him we were declining genetic testing. He still wanted us to talk to someone from genetics.

I feel like I should explain our decision. When I was pg with Goldie I had the quad screen, a level II ultrasound at 17 weeks and another u/s at 36 weeks. I wanted to be prepared if my baby was going to have feeding difficulties or require a hospital stay. We also had other children that would have to be taken care of if I was at the hospital with the baby longer than expected. However, God had other plans. All of the screenings came back as normal and we were totally suprised when told that Goldie may have DS. So, I have very little faith in their ability to diagnose prenatally. I have been told by a genetic counselor that we are among the 5% who have the screenings where nothing shows up. Hank and I have also come to terms with the fact that any time you choose to become a parent you are accepting the risks that come with it. Just as there is a chance that a baby can be born with health complications, there is also the possibility that our older children can develop health problems or get hurt in an accident. You can't "test" your way out of life's rough spots.

Back in the room, Goldie is climbing the wallsand my 7 year old is writhing in her chair. It had been a long morning consisting of wrong directions (twice) and the long ultrasound with a stubborn baby curled in a ball. We were done. They got pictures of everything they needed and I'm sure if something doesn't look "right" we'll get a phone call, so we left.

But, not before we found out we're having a BOY!