My Belly Revealed!

Yes, on August 28th Ray and I went to Madigan Hospital, (another military hospital in the area), to get detailed ultrasounds of our baby and of my heart. Okay, before you freak out, I have a heart murmur and the doctor just wanted to make sure that everything was okay.

We arrived at Madigan at 7 am, almost two hours before my appointment. We were trying to give ourselves enough time to get through Monday morning traffic. So, with time to kill, Ray and I walked around the park and lake next to the hospital. As it got closer to the time of my appointment we made our way through the maze that is Madigan Medical Center and found our way to the OB/GYN with enough time to spare.

In the waiting room it was interesting to see the looks we got from other couples there. With America always being referred to as the melting pot of the world I forget that to many people a couple like Ray and I are still a rare site and one that unfortunately still gets questioning looks from people.

Despite the stares, Ray and I were very excited to know that in a short matter of time we would find out if this jelly bean growing inside of me was a pink jelly bean or a blue one. Before we knew it my name was called and we headed back to the ultrasound room.

It didn't take long for the technician to see our GIRL spread-eagle showing off her stuff. She was not camera shy at all. She did flips and waved at us. She sucked her thumb and showed off her cute little feet and butt to us. The technician had a hard time trying to get good pictures and measurements of my uterus and the umbilical cord with our little girl wiggling her way into all the photos. I started to cry when the technician was able to re-confirm that our baby was indeed a girl.

When the technician was satisfied with the images Ray helped me clean off my belly of all that ultrasound gel. The technician then advised us to hide our photos before leaving the room because some of the other patients in the hospital may start to get mad if they see the number of pictures we got. I wasn't sure what she meant, and then I saw her pick up an almost three foot scroll of photos from off the floor. She admitted to being a little photo happy and to our surprise we were leaving the ultrasound room with 23 pictures of our baby girl!

While back in the waiting room waiting to see my doctor, Ray and I would turn to look at each other and give an evil grin every time we saw a couple come in with there two or five ultrasound photos.

My doctor was really cool. Her name is Dr. Gotkins. She let us know everything that was going on and explained in detail anything we had questions about. Only a week earlier I had a Quad test that is a blood test to sceen for birth defects. Gotkins told me the results came back with a high count for Down Syndrome. Now the doctor explained to us that this doesn't mean our little girl has DS. The test results just establishes a risk figure on which Ray and I can decided if we want to investigate further.

Ray and I had already decided days before that if my numbers came back high that I would undergo an amniocentesis. Dr. Gotkins felt that based on the ultrasounds there seemed to be no problem with the baby, but to put all our minds at ease it would be a good idea to have the amnio. The doctor just happen to be free in an hour, so we scheduled to come back to have the test done.

We found our way down to the blood lab where Ray went to get some blood drawn. The doctor wanted to make sure that Ray did not carry the Sickle Cell Anemia trait or any other sickle cell trait. After the blood test we waddled our way back to the waiting room. (There was me actually waddling and Ray making fun of me waddling.)

Soon I found myself once again in an ultrasound room. Now if you don't know what an amnio is, pay close attention because I'm about to give you a very detailed account of what one is.

I laid almost flat on the table, my shirt lifted up and a towel tucked under my waistband. There was Ray, the doctor and an assistant present in the room. As a joke the doctor gave me the instructions fo rthe amnio to read. I had everyone in the room laughing as I started to read aloud the steps that should be followed and in what order.

The doctor did a quick ultrasound to find the best spot in which she would insert the needle. Yes, I said needle. An amnio involves taking about a six inch needle and inserting it into your uterus. I am not laying, this is an actual medical procedure and not some sick sceen from a horror movie.

After the doctor found a good spot, she wiped the gel off my stomach while her assitant started covering my surrounding stomach area with sterile cloths. My stomach was rubbed with iodine and a sterile operating gel was applyed to my stomach. Dr. Gotkins again found the spot that she looked at earlier and with the ultrasound wand as her guide she inserted the needle. I thank God Ray was there. Not only did he stand near me, blocking my view of the needle, he was also able to grab my hands and hold me down as my body reacted to a pain it had never felt before.

Whoever said that an amnio sounds worse then it really is must have been on an extremely high dosage of morphine when they said it. An amnio is exactly as bad as it sounds. Your stomach was not designed to have anything stab it, and with your body constantly working to protect your baby from the outside world you can just imagin how my body felt when this six inch needle came in and proceeded to suck amniotic fluid from my uterus. FYI- amniotic fluid looks just like baby pee, in case you were curious.

Ray was a wonderful partner, helping me breath through the pain and saying encouraging words. The whole ordeal lasted less then five minutes which was still too long for me. It felt like I had been stabbed in the stomach, which Ray remineded me, was exactly what just happened.

Dr. Gotkins explained that the samples would be sent to a lab that would take the liquid and seperate the baby's dead skin cells that are floating around in it. They would then take these cells and grow them into cultures. When they had enough cultures they will be able to test it for all sorts of birth defects. The time it takes to grow such cultures meant that we wouldn't find out the results of the test for almost two weeks.

There is only a 1 in 200 chance of something going wrong after having an amnio. Dr. Gotkins let us know all the risk both before and after the test. I was advised that after my heart ultrasound to just go home and relax for the rest of the day. If there was any bleeding or if my water broke I was to get to the emergency room asap.

I think Ray and I both prayed as we made our way to my next appointment on the other side of the hospital. We prayed the results of the test would come back all normal and that I wouldn't be on the left side of that 1 in 200 chance of something going wrong. There was nothing we could do now. On the elevator I put my arms around Ray. He squeezed me tight and simply said, "It's in God's hands now."

My heart ultrasound was pretty much a blur. I had enough on my mind. My stomach was sore and starting to cramp, which the doctor had already told me was to be expected. All I wanted was to get back home and lay down. In another hour I got my wish.

As I laid on our couch slowing drifting into much needed sleep I put my hands on my stomach and prayed that God deliver unto us a beautiful and healthy baby girl. And the little jelly bean inside turned her body toward my hand in response.