18 week sonogram

Today we had our 18 week sonogram - aka the sonogram where we would (if we were going to) find out the gender of the baby.  I did really good and told the tech and the dr right away that we did not want to find out so to please let us know when we should turn away...it actually wasn't that bad.  We saw baby's heartbeat (144 BPM) and got baby's official weight at 8oz.  She checked all baby's organs and then when she was going to check the cord she told us that we might want to turn away since it is close to the "gender specific" area. She did take a little while on the cord area but I didn't really thing anything of it. After the tech finished up she gave us some pictures - yay, no clear visibility to the gender!

Next Dr. Reinhart came in to check everything.  He double-checked everything and said all looked great. When he turned off the machine he said that he was going to tell us something that is going to sound scary but after he explains it all that we shouldn't worry. Hmmm...that was a tad frightening. I had no idea what he was about to say.  He then told us that this baby has a two-vessel umbilical cord (verses a normal 3 vessel cord) and that it is a birth defect. Woah - birth defect...that sure stuck in my mind. He basically told us that of all birth defects this would be the one to have because it's on the cord so it doesn't really affect the baby once its born. He also mentioned that he has this conversation with patients about twice a week. He said everything else looked great and that there is really nothing that we should be concerned with BUT they will now need to monitor the baby monthly just to make sure everything is growing properly. Dr. Reinhart did not seem to think it was much of an issue but just wanted to let us know type thing. Although it is scary to know that there is something a little different going on this pregnancy hopefully that is all it will be.

And with that news...what is a girl to do...I know I shouldn't have but I did...I googled it. I knew my mom and mother-in-law would be googling so I decided to check out what they would be reading - it always makes it worse. It makes everything seem scarier but I just have to remember how calm Dr. Rienhart was about it and trust that everything will be fine. He seriously almost acted like it was a common everyday occurrence. I just have to keep that in mind because after reading what I found it sounds like it could be more serious. I do know that this condition is linked to genetic disorders but since we already did the genetic screening and he checked the baby's organs we know that this is probably not something we need to be worried about.  There are a lot of horrible stories out there related to this which makes it a lot scarier than the doctor made it seem.  I guess one more thing that also scares me a little is preterm labor...Ryan was three weeks early - I can't image going into labor even earlier!

After my appointment Ryan and I headed to the Arboretum where I met Nat and some of her friends. When I was telling her what happened at my appointment her friend said she had the exact same thing - she said she was so worried/upset for at least a month during her pregnancy but she had her little man on time and he is as healthy as can be! It was so nice to hear her story - made me feel much better (especially after all that googling). If anyone has had a baby with this condition or knows someone I would love to hear from you.