[Mooncat]

<p>hi all!  i'm trying to catch up w/ all the posts i've missed since i've been MIA the past few days.  just wanted to share that i went in for my first doctor's appt on friday and we got to see the little lentil bean and his/her thumpity-thumping heart!  it was amazing!!!!!!!  <span><img alt="luxlove.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/luxlove.gif"></span>i was really beginning to wonder if there was anything in there- haven't had any morning sickness and my main symptom is serious fatigue.  it was wonderful to get some confirmation and see the little one.  my dh and i were pretty much on cloud 9 after that.  the doc says he wants to speak w/ us regarding potential genetic testing given my age - i need to do some reading up on stuff and figure out what we're going to opt for besides the amnio.  any advice from you experienced mamas?</p>

 

[ozzyemm]

<p>Obviously, this is a very personal choice.  My hubby and i decided that since we will be keeping the baby no matter what, we will not be doing any testing, amnio or otherwise.</p>

 

[miblair]

<p>Because of some genetic issues that I have, I opted for the CVS test with my first son, and will again for this next one, because you can do it about a month earlier than the amnio.  Just FYI.</p>

 

[Jaysmylilpunkin]

<p>My good friend had an amnio due to age and the needle hit the baby and killed him, baby was close to 30 weeks. It was a sad experience and one that makes me think the amnio can't be worth it. But it is a personal decision.</p>

 

[slimkins]

<p>With my first, we had a SequentialScreen done. For several reasons. I felt it to be pretty non-invasive. It doesn't have the best accuracy (in comparison to amnio), but is more accurate than a lot of the other non-invasive screenings.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure we will be doing the same with this baby.</p>

 

[Mooncat]

<p>thanks for the replies, ladies!  we have a lot to research and think about.</p>

 

[hildare]

<p>congratulations on hearing the heartbeat! </p>
<p>a good ob or ultrasound tech can do a Nucal Translucency Scan with an ultrasound and let you decide whether to continue with other (invasive) testing. they measure the neck of the baby and use a formula.  statistically the chances of the most common problem associated wtih age is associated with that measurement (done at 11-14 weeks, so soon.)  i'd do that before considering anything else.  i'm older too, but that would be my comfort level. </p>

 

[Mooncat]

<p>thanks, hildare! w/ this being our 1st i'm nervous and clueless.  bad combo!  thanks so much for the info. </p>

 

[atomicrocket]

<p>This is my first as well, and I've opted for the nuchal translucency ultrasound.  If there is a problem I will consider other testing, but I basically just wanted the NT scan so I could see what was going on in my uterus before my 20 week scan <img alt="orngbiggrin.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif"></p>

 

[montanamama1]

<p>We've also opted against testing of any sort. </p>

 

[hildare]

<p>hm.. i personally was once against that kind of testing, but i am a huge blog addict.. and there's a super popular, awesome blog in which the mama found out about the baby's heart defect through one of the u/s tests and was able to get medical help right from birth-- everyone was prepared for it-- and the baby is doing very well.  that really changed my mind about the scans.  something like that, it could make a real difference in the health of the child. </p>
<p>plus, if you're scanning for down's, there's a very large percentage of those children who also have heart defects.  while i do think that we're offered a lot of unnecessary testing, those anatomy scans aren't invasive and i feel as though they can really make a difference if there is a problem.  just my 2 cents <3</p>

 

[atomicrocket]

<p>Good point.  I think it's important to know about potential health problems so we can be prepared to deal with them, medically and emotionally.  A family friend also had a little girl with Down syndrome, but they knew ahead of time and saw a specialist and were prepared at birth to deal with the many heart problems she had early on.</p>

 

[Janel47]

<p>Similar here... we would keep the baby regardless, so invasive testing doesn't make sense.  We will get the 20 wk scan to see that everything is in order and DH will try really hard not to see what the gender is.  I can never tell... they have to point out everything but the head to me.  </p>

 

[slimkins]

<br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>hildare</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1319348/1st-ultrasound#post_16525517"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a><br><br><p>congratulations on hearing the heartbeat! </p>
<p>a good ob or ultrasound tech can do a Nucal Translucency Scan with an ultrasound and let you decide whether to continue with other (invasive) testing. they measure the neck of the baby and use a formula.  statistically the chances of the most common problem associated wtih age is associated with that measurement (done at 11-14 weeks, so soon.)  i'd do that before considering anything else.  i'm older too, but that would be my comfort level. </p>
</div>
</div>
<p><br>
The screening that I had done, does this u/s combined with two blood drawls. One blood drawl at the time of the u/s, and a second is somewhere around 16-20 weeks. The u/s combined with the blood drawl makes for a higher percentage of accuracy.</p>
<p>I know that there can be false positives, but I still feel it's worth it to be prepared.</p>
<p> </p>

 

[MountainMama2Be]

<p>Hi there! I haven't been on here in MONTHS.....but I'm back! <span><img alt="rocks.jpg" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/rocks.jpg"></span></p>
<p>I just wanted to share that I'm going in for my first Ultrasound next Tuesday 7/5/11! Yay! <span><img alt="joy.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/joy.gif"></span> Can't wait to hear the baby's heartbeat and see on the screen! That's when the magic starts.</p>
<p>Good luck to all the Momma's To Be out there! Fingers Crossed for us all.</p>
<p>Sticky's all around! <span><img alt="grouphug.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/grouphug.gif"></span></p>

 

[CatholicBFMama]

<p>We also have never had any tests other than a couple of ultrasounds with our pregnancies. Abortion isn't an option for us, but DH feels better having at least one u/s so that we can know if there's anything major that they can see on u/s that we might be able to prepare for. I don't want to take the risk that comes with the more invasive tests, so it's just u/s for us. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/smile.gif"></p>