AdventureDad

A few weeks ago we suddenly had to make an unscheduled visit to the emergency room for some internal bleeding.  Turned out everything was alright and we got confirmed that the heart was ticking.  Sandra was recommended to take it very easy, no exercise and no heavy lifting.  Since then we have been to two more visits to our regular private gynecologist.  Both of them have been very quick but interesting. 

Tanditas or  the latest map from the weather channel???

During the first one we were obviously a bit concerned and had lots of questions.  The doctor was very calm and did not seem concerned at all.  He told Sandra to take it very easy and come back in a couple of weeks. We did an ultrasound and could kind of see the little one moving around.  I don’t know about you but I have trouble seeing much on those ultrasounds.  The doctor is talking about the head, legs, and toes while I’m completely lost.  To me it looks more like a world map and our baby usually hangs out in the Southern European area. Other days I swear I’m looking at the same picture as I saw earlier in the morning on the weather channel.  I can clearly see the storm moving west and that cold-front getting worse:-))

Todays visit also went well and it was the correct time to do  a nuchal  translucency screening test.  What the hell is that you might ask?  It’s a simple routine screening test with ultra sound that gives you an indication of potential genetic disorders, like Downs syndrome.  Sandra is 34 years old and as you know the risks during pregnancy increase with age. Usually the increased risks occur above 35 years of age but you can never be sure.  Between week 11 and roughly 13 the amount of liquid behind the baby’s neck is measured.  This can be done very easily through ultra sound and does of course not disturb the baby.  More liquid means higher risk for potential problems.  After week 13-14 the liquid disappears even if you baby has some genetic disorder so it’s crucial to do this test at the correct time.  Our test looked good and showed almost no liquid.  If there is more than a few millimeters of liquid the risks increase and further testing should be done.  If you’ve got 6 or more millimeters of liquid there is large risk you child has Down syndrome.  The next step would be to do an amniocentesis but this procedure is more complicated and the chance for miscarriage increases.  Everything looks fine at the moment so we will most likely not be doing any more tests for genetic disorders.

The little one, or Tanditas as he/she is called, is now around 5 centimeters tall, or just over two inches for those of you who still don’t know the Metric system.  Now I can clearly see the little one moving around in the stomach.  Head, legs, and arms can  bee seen and I could swear the baby was giving me the finger.  Or perhaps it was a thumbs up, hard to tell.  Foxy wife has  not completely stopped bleeding but today we found out why.  She has a bleeding in her stomach which  can been seen on the ultra sound.  It looks like a small extra compartment in the stomach.  This bleeding does no affect the baby at all and should simply be absorbed by the body eventually.  She needs to continue to take it easy, not exercise, and have me do all the work.  You know, same as always:-)) 

Categories: Family, Tanditas
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