I went to the doctor last Tuesday, April 13th. At the appointment, they checked my weight (the worst part of every doctor visit), blood pressure, and THE BABY'S HEART BEAT! It was as strong as ever and it is always such a relief, to hear that swooshing sound!
I also had the quad- screen blood test. The quad screen measures high and low levels of AFP, abnormal levels of hCG and estriol, and high levels of Inhibin-A. The results are combined with the mother's age and ethnicity in order to assess probabilities of potential genetic disorders.
High levels of AFP may suggest that the developing baby has a neural tube defect such as spina bifida or anencephaly. However, the most common reason for elevated AFP levels is inaccurate dating of the pregnancy. Low levels of AFP and abnormal levels of hCG and estriol may indicate that the developing baby has Trisomy 21(Down syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) or another type of chromosome abnormality. So as you can see this is a huge deal and I was super nervous waiting for the results. Praise the good Lord, everything came back negative (which is good), and is such a relief!
Blaine and I will go back to the doctor May 10th, for our next sonogram- and you know what that means- we will find out if it is a BABY BOY OR BABY GIRL!!! We are both so excited to hear the results- and although we really don't care what the sex is- we still can't wait to find out! Look out Baby's R US!!!!!!!!
We hope all our family and friends have a wonderful Easter! Next year- we will be able to celebrate the holiday with our Baby Akin!!! :) Can't wait!
