Reminder to listen to your intuition/instincts!

[KittyKat]

I've recently had some really clear reminders to listen to my intuition, and since I know others on this board have similar views on the importance of intuition, I feel more "safe" sharing this experience here!

I got pregnant with this baby in December. I had a strong feeling right away that I was carrying a boy. I couldn't tell you WHY or HOW, I just felt it.

With this "knowing" came a deep desire to discuss circumscision with my husband. I have no desire to debate the issue here, I am just sharing my experiences. My two older boys are circ'd, and all I have to say about that is "When you know better, you do better." So I started sending DH links, and I asked him to look past his emotional reaction to the idea, and really think about it. He agreed to this. I hadn't felt strongly about pressing this issue with my last pregnancy, even though I had already decided about circ. She was all girl, and it wasn't an issue anyhow. This time, I felt I HAD TO get this resolved.

As my pregnancy progressed, I began to have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I wanted to have an U/S. This was made stronger by my close friend discovering that her baby has a severe (but most likely repairable) neural tube defect. I'm not one to go in for routine ultrasound. My last 3 pregnancies I did not have routine U/S. I felt strong and confident in that choice, even when others questioned me. I considered the possibility that I was experiencing an emotional response to my friend's situation, and while that was part of it, that wasn't all of it. I didn't believe there was anything severe to be concerned about, but *something* was insisting we needed to know something.

I approached my DH, and told him I wanted to get an U/S this time. He had been saying he wanted to know the gender, which I really didn't want to know. I offered him a compromise: we would find out, like he wanted, and IF the baby was a boy, he would agree to my wishes on circumcision, like I wanted. He agreed!

Yesterday, we went in for a 20 week ultrasound. I asked the tech not to tell us the sex, but after the measurements, we wanted to guess. Well, when she zoomed in on the leg area to measure femur length, I could tell. My little BOY was not being shy at all.

Intuition #1 and #2, confirmed. So happy! Relieved! In love!

The tech continued with her measurements. Spine, head circumference, heart chambers, kidneys...

Oh boy. The Kidneys. She said there was more fluid on them than normal, and the doctor would need to talk with us about it. Intuition #3. Right there.

The doctor was great. He told us that excess fluid on the kidneys is fairly common as far as "things we see on ultrasound" and that it's much more common in boys for some reason. It's possible it will resolve before birth, it's possible he will need to see a pediatric urologist to keep an eye on it. It's more likely it will clear up without surgery as he grows than that surgery will become necessary. However, it IS something we have to keep an eye on. If we didn't discover this before birth, the first sign of trouble would probably have been a raging UTI or kidney infection, with severe pain and fever. Knowing about it means we can keep on top of it, and hopefully prevent an infection from developing (and damaging his kidneys)!

When I first got pregnant, I didn't plan on having any ultrasound at all. I am SO glad I listened to that nagging little *something* in the back of my mind. There's no treatment we can do before birth, but we CAN keep an eye on this, and know whether more treatment/close monitoring is warranted after he's born. This doesn't make me high risk, and doesn't change my plans for a midwife-attended hospital waterbirth.

I would be lying if I said I'm not at all worried. I'm MOSTLY not worried, because this is a minor thing, that rarely requires treatment. But obviously telling a momma not to worry about her baby is like telling the tide not to go out! My sense of relief that we know about this, and I can be PREPARED ahead of time is much stronger than any worry. I feel strong, I feel empowered, I feel like I have been given a gentle kick in the pants to listen to my intuition, and follow it.

Have you had similar experiences? Do you have something at the back of your mind that's trying to tell you something? Our intuition/instincts can be amazing and helpful. 15 years ago, I would probably have said I wasn't sure I believed in intuition or instinct, but now? I am absolutely convinced that our intuition can help us learn things about ourselves and those around us!

[OrangeMoon]

Congratulations on the boy! And the no circ! They said one of my sons kidney's had that and my ob/gyn said that it's totally not a big deal, super common in boys. He actually said his wife had the same thing when she was pregnant with their son, and when the tech told them she laughed hysterically, because to try and make his wife not worry he said "They always find something on u/s's so don't worry til we talk about it" lol. It's never easy thinking there's something wrong with your babe though, good luck!