Thank goodness it's over.

Thank you guys SO so much. Your support means the world to us. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends as you guys. I am seriously emotional, but I cried reading your messages. I love you guys!

Okay, so today went really well. Much better than I was expecting. I woke up a completely crabby emotional bear. In fact, we stopped at my parents before we left and my brother and I got in an incredibly stupid fight and I started crying and couldn't stop until we were half way to Madison. I was a wreck, obviously. I was incredibly nervous, as soon as we walked in the hospital I started shaking I was so nervous. Our genetic counselor asked me if I was all right because my teeth were even chattering. She explained things really well to us... and right before we went in the procedure room I felt really calm. They did an u/s first and measured everything they could (baby was still too small to get a GREAT look at some things, like his/her heart). The tech was awesome and explained to us everything she was seeing. The doctor came in and said everything looked really good on the u/s....nothing to cause alarm. The measurements all looked good and the heart and organs (what they could tell) looked great. So that was good news. He said the nuchal thickness had gone down, which I think is normal for this far along, but he seemed encouraged by it and said it was much better than going up.

It was great to see the baby again, moving all around. And he looked SO much bigger than last time. His fingers and toes looked more developed and he just looked great. We didn't get any shot that suggested sex to us. Although Matt jokingly swears he saw a penis, and I "thought" I got a glimpse of what could have been the three white dots of a girl. But really, we saw nothing.


Then they got me all ready for the procedure and I just held Matt's hand and stared at the u/s screen and prayed that the baby would STAY PUT and not go anywhere near the needle. The doctor was WONDERFUL. He was very gentle and explained everything, and was just great. I asked him if he had done a lot of amnios and he laughed and said "oh one or two". He said that he got that question a lot. And the good thing about going there was that was ALL he did (CVS/Amnios/Genetic tests, etc.). It actually wasn't painful when he put the needle in. Just some pressure and a minor "pinching" feeling and then a sort of ache lower in my pelvis while he was doing it. But nothing bad. They even had someone there rubbing my ankles to relax me. And it took about thirty seconds (Matt said...it felt a little longer to me). The doctor said everything went really well and was a very routine procedure. (which makes my worries about the risk subside somewhat). Afterwards I felt some cramping (which is normal) for about 30 minutes and now the area feels tender, but nothing like I was expecting. I told the doctor I was nervous because of all the people telling me NOT to do it. And he said that in our case he thought it was incredibly important and wise that we did do it. So that made me feel better. He also told me what to expect regarding effects and what to call about, so I am prepared for that.

Matt was absolutely wonderful. He LOVES seeing the u/s. I like watching his face when he watches the baby. And he held my hand the whole time, afterwards he asked if he was squeezing my hand to hard. And after it was all over he kissed me and said I had done so well. On the way home I was just so overwhelmed with how lucky the baby and I are to have him. I couldn't imagine going through this without him by my side. He did say with our next baby he didn't want to do ANY testing. And he wanted a later u/s so they didn't detect any nuchal thickening.

I am exhausted. We took a nap when we got home, but I am still so tired. The results come in 10 days about. And really... I don't forsee the waiting to be that bad. I just feel relief that this whole thing is over. And I never want to have a giant needle stuck in my uterus again.