Everything is fine so far

I was overreacting. The dr. started the ultrasound, and he wasn't saying anything right away, and I had a moment of panic, but then the nurse said "See the heartbeat right there?" The dr. said that the heartrate was 160 and the baby looked like it was growing right on track. It definitely looked bigger than last time.

11 days until my next appointment. They will be doing a nuchal fold test at that appointment where they measure the neck fold during the ultrasound. The measurement should be under 3 mm. If it is around or above 3 mm, it indicates a possibility of down's syndrome or other genetic problems. They also do a blood test and combined the two tests to give you a fairly accurate look at the possibility of down's syndrome. I know that at my age (41), my risk is around 1 out of 100 chance that my child will have down's syndrome.

I haven't decided yet whether I will have an amnio. At first, I figured that I would if the pregnancy made to 14-15 weeks. Now, I'm debating about it. If my nuchal fold test comes back positive, I definitely will. But if my nuchal fold test comes back with little risk, I may not. I'm so confused.

I also am not sure when I want to tell people, especially family. My sister knows, and my husband, but no one else does. My parents will worry, and my in-laws will think that it wasn't responsible given our financial situation. Some days, I want to tell people around 12 weeks, but I probably should wait. I feel like I've known forever.

I am trying not to be consumed with worry and to just live my life, but it is tough some days. There IS a lot to worry about. There is the concern about whether I will have another miscarriage, whether the baby will have any problems, whether the baby will make it to full term and that's just until the baby is born. Then I have to worry about how we will afford everything we need for a baby, and I'll have to take care of a newborn again, and worrying about whether I need to get a job, etc., etc.

On a positive note, my sister is 20 weeks now and all seems to be going well.

-Andie (9W3D)