The procedure -- amniocentesis

Today I had an amniocentesis.  The visit took about 2 hrs, but the actual procedure took about a minute. You can be sure I didn't look at the needle.  The sonagram/ultrasound guided where to place the needle, but I didn't watch that either.  The doctor was very amicable and professional, and made me feel at ease.

Most of the appointment was spent with a genetic counselor, talking about what the test detects and what it doesn't.  I am happy to be receiving irrefutable information about all chromosomal disorders and 96% accuracy on spina bifida and other neural defects.  If only we could know about gene mutations to the same amount of accuracy.  I guess that's one thing we'll never know for sure.

The procedure itself was not painful....more like discomfort and pressure.  The doctor took two 50 mL centrifuge tubes of slightly yellow clear fluid. The fluid containing over one thousand cells will be shipped via FedEx to labs in Florida where they will be spun down, pelleted, and cultured with a mitogen.  After the cells have grown, growth will be arrested in metaphase, when the chromosomes are thickest, and isolated from the cells for chromosomal analysis. We should know results in 10 days or so.

So Much Calcium, so little time!

I have been craving calcium.  The other day, I had yogurt for breakfast, then a cup of hot cocoa (made with milk), then mac and cheese for lunch, followed by a small bowl of ice cream for dessert. Am I strange or what?????

Pregnant at 41

I haven't ever blogged before, and I'm actually not sure I have time for a blog. But so many thoughts keep swirling through my head and I'd love a forum in which to share them. I have read other women's blogs -- they are all so funny, positive, and sound so excited about their pregnancies!  I must say that at 16 weeks, I'm still pretty darn petrified. My body is changing. I'm not officially showing yet, but I look fat, and my chest has grown a whole cup size. There's no doubt I'm pregnant, but I'm in the weird awkward stage of who I tell, who can tell anyway, how I respond when I notice people looking at my belly and then not saying anything to me.  My husband is more concerned about my health and that of the baby's than about planning for the future. He's not ready to start working on names, go shopping for baby furniture, thinking about redecorating the guest room or anything like that that might help ME get more excited and make this seem more real.  Everyone who has kids simply loves them, and is so excited to share information. What about me? Will I be like that?  What if I'm sad? What if I yearn for my own old life?