Baby Hanson/Hanson Family Update

Since my last post about learning our baby's a boy, we've had a roller coaster of a time. I didn't post anything initially because there wasn't anything to post except my worries and a list of questions for my doctor, and at any rate, all has turned out rather well for us.

So, here goes...

One week after our ultrasound, my doctor called me at home (on a Friday morning, so I had to wait all weekend to ask any questions) with the news that my blood screen results were back and that I "had a positive result for spina bifida," her words exactly, and that she was recommending us to a specialist who deals in high-risk pregnancy. After panicking and calling Mom and Brandon, I researched the blood screen I had taken, called the Quad-screen or the Triple-screen, depending on whether or not the analyst checks that fourth enzyme or not. The results don't show whether or not a baby has a birth defect, only if the baby is at risk for a birth defect. So Doc's announcement that I had a positive result for SB was off the mark a bit.

I looked further into it, and the particular enzyme that is identified with SB, called alfafetoprotein, or AFP, can indicate 6 other situations. In order of likelihood, they are 1) the mother is too far along to take the test, 2) the baby is further along than we calculated, 3) it's twins, 4) the baby has spina bifida, 5) the baby has an opening in it's abdominal cavity (organs growing outside the body), or 6) the baby is dead. Our particular situation was that I was past the recommended 20-week mark for this test, and we found that out at our specialist appointment last Friday. Now , seeing this list, doesn't it make sense NOT to scare the life out of your patient by telling her that the test has a positive result for spina bifida???

The specialist appointment went very well: the sonographer was very sweet and talked us through everything she was looking at, and even though she couldn't give us any definitive answers (that's the doc's job), she told us exactly what she was looking at, what she needed to see, etc., totally putting us at ease. Baby Boy was extremely cooperative this time, rolling over and showing off his beautiful, completely perfect spine and skin covering it, then showing his belly so we could see all was perfectly round and covered there, too.

In addition, Cutie Pie was showing off his charms as well. In one shot, we saw him with one knee up nearly in his face, and the opposite hand was grasping his toes! How adorable is that! And the sonographer decided to double-check him to make sure he's a boy, and he sure is. As soon as I learn how to post pics, I'll add them to my blog (after all, what's the point of all this posting, if you can't SEE Baby Hanson growing?!).

The best confirmation of our baby's health was the visit with the specialist doc. He was great, a little Italian man, smelled of Old Spice, and talked really fast. He said as soon as we walked in that there was a lot of nothing to talk about, and started explaining some statistical terms, standard deviation and others. Brandon ate it all up, knowing exactly what the doc was saying (I just smiled and nodded.): The results of the blood test were higher for AFP than was allowable by a regular dr's office, but by the standards of a specialist, the result fell just past the 2.5 standard deviation, at 2.9. Specialists don't get concerned until it reaches 4.0 or above. Yay!

(As if this wasn't enough excitement, that same night Brandon had to take me to the emergency room because my back, which had been plaguing me for a couple weeks, began to ache constantly, rather than intermittently. I suspected a urinary tract infection, but my doc said a UTI could cause contractions, real ones, so she referred me to the ER, then to triage, where another doctor confirmed that I had a UTI. After a round of antibiotics, I'm very well, Baby Hanson is very well, and Brandon is very well.)