I Like Those Odds!

The genetic counselor called today with the results of our Ultrascreen from last week.  I missed her initial call, but she left a message sharing that our results are "within the normal range".  I sure like it when they give you the good news right away instead of saying "we have your results...please call us at your convenience".  I called her back to thank her, and to ask if there were any details which I should know about.

She shared that for a woman who will be giving birth at age 31, there is a 1:560 chance of the baby having Down's Syndrome.  Based on the measurements of the skin at the baby's neck, combined with the proteins from my blood sample, our baby's risk of Down's Syndrome drops to 1:7,427.  She went on to share that for a woman who will be giving birth at age 31, there is a 1:1,000 chance of the baby having Trisomy 13 or 18 genetic mutations.  Based on our measurements and blood sample, our baby's risk of these genetic mutations drops to 1:10,000. 

Wow!  I like those odds!  Of course, there are all kinds of other things that our baby could face...I have scoliosis...my husband's father was born with a club foot.  And we would love a child with special needs just as much.  But these results are just another answered prayer in a long line or prayer requests.

I'm starting to feel a little bit of "tugging" or "pulling" in my lower abdomen...which I'm tempted to believe is round ligament stretching.  It's definitely different than "cramps", and it's not necessarily causing any "pain" or "discomfort" at this point...just something that I started noticing today.  I don't think (operative word being "think") that I'm feeling the baby moving yet...but I am totally looking forward to that sensation.

In addition to the positive results, I was blessed with the chance to meet two of my incoming first-year students today during their visit to campus.  They will be part of one of the student groups that I oversee and work with on a regular basis, and it's really cool to get to know them throughout the course of the year.  I typically teach a class for this group in the Fall semester...but since I'm hoping to be out from late-September through the Winter Break, I don't know what I'm going to do about the class.  I'm sure we'll figure out something.  But for now, I'm blessed to be re-energized by their excitement to start their college career.