Testing, Testing 123

With the impending arrival of Baby #2 Jeff and I have experienced a range of emotions and questions. When we first saw the positive sign we both had a moment of excitement followed by "oh poop," thankfully that feeling only lasted for about 3.2 minutes. We quickly moved on. When we tell people the news we can see the itching desire on their faces to ask us if we are going to do any testing this time. The answer: nope! We only have a 1-2% chance of having another baby with Down syndrome. Also, I don't trust the quad screen. There are so many false positives and false negatives. The only absolute test is the amniocentesis and there is NO WAY I'm doing that test. There is a higher risk of us losing the baby than it actually having DS. Toooo risky. We have decided to go back to the parinatologist for our 18 week ultrasound. They will do as super duper cool 4-D ultrasound of Earl and check for any "abnormalities." This is what we had done with Brady. Oddly enough the results from 2 of those ultrasounds concluded that Brady didn't have DS. HA! We have chosen a different Doctor with more experience this time. If it turns out that Earl does have DS then we will roll with the punches. No doubt we will be disappointed, but we can only hope he or she will be as healthy and strong as Brady. Our greatest hope for this baby is that it is average, no more, no less. Our perspective has changed so much from the first pregnancy. I am grateful for so much more. At my 12 week ultrasound I saw 2 arms, 2 legs, hands, feet and most importantly a healthy beating heart. All things I took for granted last time around.
In reality having a baby with Down syndrome doesn't change many things. It only slows things down so we can truly appreciate every moment and in my mind that is a gift. I knew parenting would teach me a thing or two, but I had no idea the incredible impact our Brady boy would have on our lives. So bring it on Earl!!