Week 34: Brains*

My NST went well this morning. Baby's heart rate looked good, never dipping below 140 and rising when he would wiggle around. The only downside was the test only lasted about 20 minutes, and the chair was super comfy; I wouldn't have minded spending another hour or so there.

My e-mail newsletter from Fit Pregnancy this week tells me that Baby weighs five pounds or more and will continue to gain about two or more pounds in the next six weeks. It also tells me that Baby may be prepping for Harvard right now:

Now that your baby's brain has formed billions of neurons, it must accomplish the even more complex feat of hooking the neurons and synapses together. Your baby's brain is forming trillions of connections, making it possible for her to learn in the womb. All of this brain development may be the reason that your baby sleeps frequently at this stage. She may even be dreaming—her eyes dart around rapidly just as an adult's might in REM sleep.

(I may have read into that a little.)

They go on to tell me it's time to have our car seat purchased (oops!), diapers (not yet), some outfits (yep, thanks to Heather!) and a place for baby to sleep (yep, and more on that later).

With a shower coming soon, we will have lots more for Baby and I will feel closer to being ready. Although, I have to admit I do feel like it's a lot easier to care for Baby where he's living at the moment than it will be later. Still, I am looking forward to meeting him in person (just not for a few more weeks).

*Brain - the part of the central nervous system enclosed in the cranium of humans and other vertebrates, consisting of a soft, convoluted mass of gray and white matter and serving to control and coordinate the mental and physical actions; zombie food

NST*

Tomorrow, I head to the doctor for an NST. Having a baby-addled brain, it didn't occur to me to ask exactly what an NST is. When the doctor told me to schedule it, I just kind of assumed it had to do with growth and was just something I needed to have. I have since looked up what an NST is.

According to the American Pregnancy Association, an NST is a Fetal Non-Stress Test. It's "a simple, non-invasive test performed in pregnancies over 28 weeks gestation. The test is named 'non-stress' because no stress is placed on the fetus during the test."

The test involves attaching one belt to the mother’s abdomen to measure fetal heart rate and another belt to measure contractions. Movement, heart rate and “reactivity” of heart rate to movement is measured for 20-30 minutes. If the baby does not move, it does not necessarily indicate that there is a problem; the baby could just be asleep. A nurse may use a small “buzzer” to wake the baby for the remainder of the test.

The test is performed if

• You sense that the baby is not moving as frequently as usual
• You are overdue
• There is any reason to suspect that the placenta is not functioning adequately
• You are high risk for any other reason

I fall into that last category because of my advanced maternal age. Baby has been moving plenty. Sometimes my belly looks like waves of the ocean rolling along. And he's given me some really strong kicks to the ribs on several occasions. But nothing's quite compares to how weird it feels when he gets the hiccups. It's a bit like a muscle spasm but not exactly. Although hiccups are a little more steady as opposed to the karate kick to the ribs that can take my breath away and make me sit up straight. Maybe that's his strategy -- trying to improve Mommy's posture.

*OK, technically, this is an acronym rather than a word, but whatever.

Week 25: Entering the homestretch

I visited by doctor this morning, and everything with my pregnancy is right on track. I've gained a decent amount of weight, but not too much (despite the overload of cookies and junk during the holidays) and the growth of my belly is where it should be.

We listened to Baby's heart beat, and the doctor told the S.O. if he wants to feel Baby move around more he can push on my tummy to get him to push back. Baby is moving around a lot, just not when the S.O. tries to feel it. He'll be kicking up a storm in there, but as soon as I call the S.O. over to feel, everything goes quiet. It's kind of cute.

My e-mail newsletter from Fit Pregnancy is comparing my wee one to a bag of sugar (again?), also telling me that my baby "has a regular sleep schedule now and active and inactive periods. You may or may not be able to discern what those periods are."

I can tell you he moves around a lot right before I go to sleep and right when I get up in the morning. He seems to get really active if I'm hungry, as well. Imagine your stomach is growling and someone keeps kicking it. It's awesome.

Actually, it is pretty awesome to feel that movement and quite strange to know that in just a few short months my little alien is going to be a whole other person.

Fit Pregnancy goes on to say:

"While reaching the third trimester feels like great progress, with it comes a return to fatigue, dizziness, and constant trips to the bathroom."

A "return to" ... right. As if any of that ever went away.

My next doctor appointment will include my glucose screen,  and I'll receive a Rhogam shot because I have a negative blood type. That doctor appointment will also be my last four-week appointment. After that, I will go to every two weeks, and before you know it, I'll be writing about an actual baby boy kicking and crying and needing changed instead of the little alien kicking me to pieces from the inside.

When negative is positive

Last week, at my doctor's appointment, I had blood drawn for a Quad Screen. It's a simple blood test that screens for:

• Problems in the development of the fetus's brain and spinal cord, called open neural tube defects. The quad marker screen can predict approximately 75-80% of open neural tube defects.
• Genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality. The quad marker screen can predict approximately 75% of Down syndrome cases in women under age 35 and over 80% of Down syndrome cases in women age 35 years and older.

The good news is my Quad Screen came back normal. And, WebMD tells me:

"In over 98% of pregnancies, normal quad marker screen results predict healthy babies and births without major complications."

Those sound like pretty good odds to me. The Web site does go on to tell me "there are no prenatal tests that can guarantee your baby and pregnancy will be completely healthy or without complications."

But, you know, they have to cover their WebMD butts, so they're going to be Negative Nancies. I, on the other hand, am going to focus on the positive.

Heartbeat and more

I saw my doctor today for my 16-week appointment. I love my doctor. She makes me feel great. She's excited about my weight gain. I have to keep reminding myself that it's OK -- no, necessary -- to gain that weight. So many years of obsessing about my weight are hard to overcome.

I had blood drawn today. We're checking my thyroid level again and checking risk factors for some other stuff, including Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida. The scariest part of that test is they are quite often wrong. So, despite the nurse telling me not to freak out about a positive result, you know I will.

I have another ultrasound coming up in the next couple of weeks. We'll have that one with the experts in advanced maternal age, so they should be able to tell some of that kind of stuff, too.

Now, on the upside -- and not at all scary -- we got to hear the baby's heartbeat again. It seems a lot louder now, and the heart rate is 150. Which according to the wives' tales, means I'm carrying a girl. On the other hand, according to the wives' tales, other things I'm experiencing point to a boy. For instance, the headaches, dry hands and dad-to-be packing on weight (don't tell him I told you) mean Nubbin is a boy.

A few years ago, I did a story for Pikes Peak Parent about these methods of determining baby's sex and was told by experts that these "tests" don't stand the test of time. Looking back at that story, I see that some of the things mentioned in the story contradict methods I've read of recenty. One thing the experts I talked to agreed on though, was that the mother's gut feeling about the baby's sex  is often correct. We'll see.

I'm off to hold a ring on a string over my belly now to see if it's a boy or a girl.

Testing 1-2-3

Because of my advanced maternal age, I have been offered birth defects screening. In fact, it's recommended. The S.O. and I have some differing views on the tests. Having suffered a miscarriage in the past, I worry about the risk of the tests. My doc says the risk of a miscarriage from the tests is about one in 250 compared to the about one in 40 chance of someone my age having a baby with Down Syndrome. (Side note: My doctor, who has been practicing in the area for several decades, says she has only had two patients give birth to Down Syndrome babies. Which makes me think the odds are a little off.)

My other issue with the tests is that nowhere do I read that these tests can DEFINITIVELY tell us that our baby WILL have a birth defect. They also can't tell us how severe the problem might be. On top of that, there are no tests for autism -- which is much more prevalent. And there's no test to tell me if my baby will grow up to be an ax-wielding maniac, a reality-TV contestant, a big jerk or a Nobel Prize winner.

At this point, I'm doing everything I can to nurture and protect this pregnancy. And I'm not sure these tests contribute to that. Am I afraid of raising a child with Down Syndrome? Honestly (and totally selfishly), yes. I am afraid. Because I don't know enough about it. Perhaps knowing ahead of time would allow me to prepare for such a life.

Of course, the other side of the coin is would knowing make me want to terminate this pregnancy that I thought wasn't supposed to happen?

I think I know the answer to that last question and I'm not sure the S.O. shares my view. Obviously, it's something we need to discuss more. And whether or not to have the first of these tests is something we're supposed to decide in the next week or so.

Is it better to know? What if the tests are all negative, and everything's fine, but I have a miscarriage?

It all makes me what to bury my head in the sand.