Bump, Week 27.5 (plus appointment update)

Today's installation of The Bump Chronicles coincides with the first doctor's appointment of my third trimester!

But before I get to the appointment, a few words about the belly. I swear my Energy & Economics class has just thought I've been getting fatter. While it was easy to tell my Genetics & Ethics class I was pregnant, since it tied to the course material, I never really had the opportunity to tell the energy folks. So they were trying to organize a happy hour a couple of weeks ago, and my prof offered to buy a beer for anyone who wanted one. So he starts to go around the room to ask who wants a beer, and I said "no..." Everyone seemed surprised so I was like, "I've heard that's not a good idea when you're six months pregnant," and I laughed. Suddenly all the guys seemed really uncomfortable and all the girls were like, "Oh Em Gee, you're pregnant!!!" To which I wanted to be like, "Seriously?! I have gained 20 pounds since the first of the semester!" Anyway, I walked into class last night and one of my classmates said, "Aww, you're showing!" I was really excited to be told I look pregnant... a milestone! I went and bought two maternity T-shirts after class to celebrate (haha). :)

Now for Dr. Norwood. Great appointment! My belly is measuring exactly on schedule (27 centimeters for 27 weeks), and the baby's heartbeat was strong and steady. Blood pressure and weight were good. We talked about the royal wedding and how neither of us have TiVo. Then I asked at what point the baby has to be head down, and he told me 35 weeks. He said if the baby is not head down at that time, we'll schedule an external version at 36 weeks to turn the baby into position. So I asked if he could tell me where the baby's head is now, and :::: drum roll :::: THE BABY IS HEAD DOWN!!!!!!!!

I know it might not stay that way, given how much Baby G loves to move, but it gave me a glimmer of hope that my little guy may be more cooperative than I thought. I asked why I always feel kicks so low, and the doctor said they probably weren't kicks, but punches (duh, Katie!).

After my next appointment, I'll start going every two weeks, then beginning in late June, every week. I'm getting excited to meet this baby man of mine!

Genetics

I decided a few weeks ago to do a very standard screening test to see if Baby G has any markers for Down Syndrome. That's when I got to watch the cutest fetus in the world wriggle and squirm on the ultrasound, as you saw in the video. The test involved taking a measurement of Baby's head (the nuchal fold) and drawing a blood sample to see if a certain protein was present. It took a while for my doctor's office to get back to me, but the good news is it looks like the Babe Gaultney has a very low risk of having Down Syndrome or serious congenital heart problems.

To borrow from the American Pregnancy Association's website, this test is approximately 85 percent accurate with a false positive rate of 5 percent. This means that:

• Approximately 85 out of every 100 babies affected by the abnormalities addressed by the screen will be identified.
• Approximately 5 percent of all normal pregnancies will receive a positive result or an abnormal level.
• A positive test means that you have a 1/100 to 1/300 chance of experiencing one of the abnormalities.

In related news, I'm taking a genetics and ethics course at SMU right now. My professor is convinced she is going to terrify me with all of the chromosomal disorders we're going to talk about, but I am truly not apprehensive about the course. I figure there is absolutely nothing I can do about it now, if the baby were to have some abnormality, so why get worked up? The most interesting chromosomal disorder I have learned about so far is called Lesch-Nyhan's, where an X chromosome mutation causes the sufferer to self-mutilate. An M.D. who is a student in the class said he treated a case where the child would try to bite all of his fingers off and bash his head against walls. People afflicted with this disorder have to be strapped into beds, sedated, kept in padded rooms... It's terrible, and truly amazing how important balance is in our bodies. If you have an extra set of chromosomes, a missing set, or if a chromosome is bigger or smaller than it should be, it can throw everything off.

The course has also got me thinking about dominant and recessive traits. What eye color is Baby most likely to have? As it turns out, since Brad and I both have hazel eyes, it's awfully hard to predict. Interesting, anyway!

This is sort of a rambling post. I'll end by saying we're really grateful that Baby G seems to be healthy so far!