Yesterday I had the CVS procedure done. It will take 2 weeks to get results. At that time, we’ll know if there are any chromosomal abnormalities. And we’ll know if it’s a girl or boy! It’s a good thing I am on vacation for a couple of days because this will be a long 2 weeks.

We drove down to Stanford’s Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, to their perinatal testing unit. First, we had a session with a genetic counselor, who asked us questions about our families (to see if there was any increased risk in certain birth defects. Thankfully our families have all been healthy) and told us what to expect with the procedure.  Because I have a tipped uterus, there was some chance we would have to wait another week for them to have good access, which would have bummed me out. I went in and they did an ultrasound to determine where the placenta is – that determines whether they would be able to do the procedure and whether they would need go in through the abdomen or the cervix. So, we got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat, which was just awesome. The docs said they would go through the abdomen and talked amongst themselves about the best angle and about needle size. I was trying to ignore this and I looked only at EB and grabbed his hands and progressively squeezed harder and harder through the procedure.  They gave me a shot of local anesthesia, which pinched a little. Then came the needle. I am told it was quite long. It hurt a little and mostly just felt odd and crampy. I think the worst part was not knowing if it would get worse or how long it would last. It was probably weirder for EB because he was watching the ultrasound monitor during the procedure. Then they were done and checked to make sure they had enough of a sample. On went a Daffy Duck band-aid. They did another ultrasound and I asked them to hear the heartbeat again. It was  more erratic, which kinds of scared us but the doctor saw the look in EB’s face and said it was moving around a lot and that’s why.

I’m not supposed to exercise or lift anything for 3 days. We’re up in Tahoe with friends at a gorgeous cabin so it’s a great place to relax. I’m relieved because there has been no bleeding or other unusual symptoms. After the weekend, the risk of something happening to the baby as a result of the procedure goes way down. I feel fine and think everything is going to be fine.

This is the blog for Jean and E.B. Sandberg.  Our good friends the Huffs have a blog that I followed with great enthusiasm during their pregnancy (and still follow, actually) and so we are blatantly copycat-ing them.  Speaking of the Huffs, thanks to Jen for helping me set our blog up (or, to be purely technical, ”helping me” isn’t quite accurate; she did it and I watched).

 I”ve never actually kept a blog before, and until the afore-mentioned Huff blog, had never followed one either, so I really don’t know what to expect.  At a bare minimum, this will help us keep everybody up to date (well, everybody who checks the blog), and I think it will also be fun to look back at these early posts and remember what we were doing, thinking, feeling, etc. 

 So, check in any time, post any comments that come to mind, and enjoy our blog!