Ultrasound.

Monday, we went to the OB/Gyn-Kenobi for Lauren’s 20 weeks check up and Ultra-Sound. (must…reach…Beta Capsule. Sorry, that is from Ultra Man). We were delighted to be able to see the baby for the first time. The technician made small talk with us as she started the process of moving the wand over Lauren’s belly and clicked away on her computer. She made measurements of different body parts and was printing pictures. I was not paying too much attention because I had Max, and the excitement of finding out the gender overwhelmed me. We were able to see the gender of the baby and as far as we could tell everything looked great. The technician mentioned that the placenta was a little low, but that should correct itself.

We then waited for Dr. Jones to review the photos and listen to the heartbeat. Lauren and I were excited and happy knowing what we were going to have and were smiling, and talking to Maxfield about his new baby sibling. We were happy. Dr. Jones entered, carrying the pictures and said, “Everything looks okay, but I noticed the placenta is a little low medical mumbo jumbo, blah bah blah, so no sex for eight weeks, medical mumbo jumbo, blah blah blah.”

“Whoa? Did you just say no sex?” I said. “Did she put you up to this?”

Dr. Jones, Lauren and I all laughed and were making jokes about prescribing no sex. Dr. Jones then got serious and said, “We also noted there is a bright spot on the baby’s heart. We feel you should go see a specialist right away for a better Ultrasound.”

The happiness and the jokes came to a screeching halt. We asked questions.

Dr. Jones said that it probably is nothing to be concerned about but we should get the second opinion as soon as possible so we could have a more definitive answer and to ease our minds. The bright spot could be a tumor or a cyst and it is also an indicator of Down's Syndrome. Dr. Jones called the specialist and set an appointment for later that day, in two hours.

That is 120 minutes. 7200 seconds. Forever.

We made arrangements to have our neighbor watch Max for the rest of the day and tried to think positive thoughts. The drive to the specialist was a somber one. We went from joy and elation to worry and tension in a matter of seconds and neither Lauren nor I could really speak.

We entered the Ultra sound room at the specialist’s and the technician made small talk as she started the process of moving the wand over Lauren’s belly and clicked away on the computer. I was focused on what she was doing. She measured the femur, the kidneys, the head. Click. Click. Click. The tech found the heart and started taking pictures. Sure enough you could see the bright spot. She took more measurements. Click Click. She then changed the image on the computer to show the blood flow. It looked like Thermo imaging. She said things looked fine.

She stopped the small talk and said that she sees this bright spot at least 10 times a week, at that 90 % turn out to be just a cluster of muscle tissue that corrects itself as the baby develops. It is not a tumor. A tumor would look different. I think I finally caught my breath at this point. She gave us a couple of the prints and she left to consult the doctor.

We waited for about 5 minutes. 300 seconds. Forever.

The doctor entered, smiled and said. “The baby is fine. You have nothing to worry about. All the other measurements are normal so I do not think it is Down's. This is just a cluster of muscle tissue that should correct itself.” Wow what a relief.

The doctor spoke for a few more minutes. “The placenta seems low and medical mumbo jumbo, blah blah blah, no sex for 8 weeks, medical mumbo jumbo.”

“What? C’mon you doctors are killing me.” I said.

The doctor, Lauren and I all laughed and started joking. We were happy again. Relieved.

8 weeks. 56 days. 1344 hours. 80,640 minutes. Forever. I don’t care*. My kid is okay.
We do need to get another Ultrasound in 8 weeks just to make sure.

For those that want to know the gender of the new Poop and Boogies baby. Go HERE. Please refrain from leaving a comment here in regards to the gender because I know some people do not want to know.

* Lauren- I do care but I can wait.