Acassandra

So much for my flashes of psychic intuition... in the best possible way I add hastily.

The ultrasound technician said they would do a quick check before the doctor came in to make sure my bladder was full enough, to get a sense of where the placenta was attached....

"... to check if it is dead," I prompted.

You could see her hands twitch when I said that and I am assuming she just wanted to pat my pumpkin-face in gentle sympathy. Or smack me. One or the other.

This was Steve's first ultrasound for this pregnancy ("Steve, fetus- Fetus, your father") and I had forgotten how USEFUL he is in these situations. As soon as she zoomed in he started calling the play-by-play: Heartbeat! Ludicrously over-sized novelty head! Punching arm stubs! Kicking leg-like appendages! 

The growth was finally perfect (it had been a little wonky. I didn't want to say anything because I know how you worry, but each ultrasound for a while there seemed to be losing us a day). So, all in all, if you stick the tip of your tongue out of the corner of your mouth and squint and hold your thumb up just so you could reasonably say that everything looks, you know, normal. So far. As of this morning. Which is great. Of course.

The same perinatalogist who did CVS for Patrick did this one. I said, ah, yes, how nice to see you again. We exchanged a moment of pleasantries. Then I said, "Ha ha. Last time you used a tenaculum and I have subsequently never forgotten you."

She stopped and looked squarely at me. "I ALWAYS use a tenaculum," she said. "That is why I am so extremely good at this procedure."

I was all, damn. Shwissssh.

But you have to respect professional confidence, particularly when that professional is about to thread a tiny pair of nail scissors through your soft squishy pink bits and start hacking away at the life support system of a close relation. The procedure was momentarily pinchy and crampy but the good doctor was ecstatic with how it went. Picture perfect, she chortled. Textbook, she enthused. I just wish I was teaching a class on this today, she gloated.

So good good good.

The only bummer is that we cannot do FISH. FISH is a quickie analysis with fast turnaround times but it is primarily used for the most common trisomies. My particular lab does not have probes for chromosomes one and four so we will not get results until the end of next week. They were SO UNDERSTANDING about our urgent desire for results, though, that the genetics counselor and the head of the lab and the perinatalogist had a brief meeting to see what could be done. The perinatalogist wound up taking a slightly larger than normal sample, which the lab guy agreed could be tested by next Friday. The counselor then arranged to get the results to us as soon as she gets them from the lab, despite the fact that the office is closed next Friday for the National Maternal-Fetal Awareness Day Parade. No, I mean Good Friday. The day perinatalogy puts its hands in the air as if it is indifferent to the opinion of others, or something. (GOOD FRIDAY? Really? As a medical holiday? OK. Fine. Color me non-practicing.)

So that is it, kids. Better and better. AND my mother is here now so I am luxuriating in solicitous concern. I sent the whole family to the library to pick up a book for me (read: enable me to post here when I am supposed to be resting the placenta and whatnot) and now I need to go arrange myself in a pale and interesting way on the bed. I might even get out of making dinner.

Hot-cha-cha.

Enjoy your weekends. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!   

Comments

[Janonymous]

Excellent. I just burst with joy every time you get a step closer!

Jan

[Noelle]

Wonderful! Splendid! Lovely! Excellent! Insert other Happy Adjectives here! (Wait, are those adjectives?) (Why am I worrying about grammar at a time like this?) (When there is good news and other people to make you dinner to celebrate?)

Spectacular!

[Mete]

I'd have to say that TODAY sounds like Good Friday to me. :)

[Liz]

Yea! Keep up the good baby growing.

[another anna]

Hey! Alright! Wooha! So happy for you. So relieved.

Carry on, good Sir or Madam Fetbryo!

[Mallie]

Yay yay yay yay yay yay yay!!! :-D

[DebbieS]

Yipppeeeee!!!!

[Brooklyn Girl]

Good stuff, my friend.

Have a lovely weekend as the center of solicitous concern. Make them wait on you hand and foot.

[Natalee]

Good, good, indeed :).

[Karen]

Wow, great post, wonderful news. Go rest and be pale and dramatically nauseated. Have a terrificly normal weekend!

[Leslie]

Just now realized I had been holding my breath waiting for this post. Am SO SO SO happy to read continued good news!!! You and the Little Embryo That Could deserve a nice rest and some of Mom's cooking (or take out depending on how well Mom cooks.) Now holding breath again for next Friday...

[Moxie]

Oh, thank God.

I can't believe you can't get the FISH. Especially during Lent.

I crack myself up.

[Lucy]

Yay, Yay, Yay!!!!

OK, so glad to see that I wasn't the ONLY one obsessively refreshing your page all day.

[Sandy]

I just got a little, bubbly, spring of happiness in my stomach reading this post. Wonderful, wonderful news!

[Alexa]

Too happy to be coherent! Enjoy the solicitations--wait, that's not right...

[Nancy]

Hooray!

Have an excellent weekend -- hopefully with much coddling.

[JenniferD]

Yessssssssss!!!!!!!! ;0)

[Dana]

that's great!

relax and enjoy the weekend.

[Sheila]

So happy for you!

[bad penguin]

That's wonderful news. Your foreboding had me worried.

[Marsha]

"See?" said the rooters from the Internets.

[SarahD]

So glad it went well for you and easy as it could be. *hugs*

[nate]

Baby baby ba-by!
Baby baby ba-by!
Baby baby ba-by!
Baby baby ba-by!

(Sung to the tune of Everybody Lim-bo!)

Have a most excellent weekend!

[Elaina]

Every little step is headed in the right direction. Hoping that the results from CVS are perfect!

[Summer]

Hooray for the heartbeat! Hooray for the ludicrously over-sized novelty head! Hooray for the punching arm stubs! Hooray for the kicking leg-like appendages!

Hooray!

(Hokey, I know, but couldn't come up with another way to show my enthusiasm that wasn't taken already!)

[Libby]

YAY!!!

[martha]

Well, holy shit. Congratulations! It certainly seems like you are past the biggest hurdles. And here's hoping you are able to make it through the agonizing wait for results without too much trouble--good luck!

[AmyinMotown]

FABULOUS news. I find the stuff I work myself up into the biggest lathers about beforehand end up being fine--it's the stuff I am not expecting to be eventful that smacks me in the face. Are you finding out if it's a boy or girl? After, you know, the whole "normal baby, mazel tov" part?

[shannon]

Fingers crossed for good lab results!

[Cas]

Yeeeeeee-haaaaaw!

Thanks for the speedy update too. You know we're all balanced on the edge of our seats right along with you.

Hoping the CVS results assure you that you'll have another pair of perfect feet to kiss in a few months.

[Sarah]

YES!

[Emily]

Amazing news. So glad that you had no idea what you were talking about with yesterday's post.

Enjoy your mom's visit!

[Jen-Again]

What a great post to read on a dull and dreary Friday! So happy that NBHHY!

[Katherine]

Such good news - and fantastic puns about Good Friday and FISH during lent - too boot!

Yippee!Yippee!Yippee!

[Hay Lady]

HOORAY!!!

I am so excited for you. Good things can and are happening. Can't wait for that confirmation on "Good" Friday :)

[kathleen999]

Sometimes when bad things keep happening I think we borrow trouble and expect the bad news in advance. Maybe that's what your psychic moment was all about. So glad you were wrong and TLETC (see post above) is up and doing, with a heart for any fate. Which by the way, you should NOT be doing, so go be pale and interesting and eat grapes.

[Julia]

Good stuff, good stuff.

Next Friday, huh? Maybe I'll be self-involved enough to make the time pass quickly.

[Terry]

Beautiful.

About the wonky growth: Yeah, I had that, too. On ultrasounds. Very disconcerting.

Now I have a tremendous 4 year-old.

So happy for you!

[Sarah]

This has to be one of the best posts I've read on any blog ever. 1) It's good news. 2) You have such a funny, heartfelt way of conveying such important subjects. 3) The end left me smiling and laughing to the confusion of my coworkers. Glad to hear the good news, Julia.

[Jennifer]

I believe I just caught a fine blue wafting feather from those quaint little birds you tend to shed...what a wonderful day! Really, really delighted for you.

[Stormie]

I am clapping and jumping for joy, for you! I hope everything goes smoothly from here on out!

[Tine]

Yay! That's all I have to say. :)

[Accidental Poet]

Crying at work, Julia. You don't have to cook your own supper????

[Miz S]

That's what I'm TALKIN' about!

[Catizhere]

WOO FRICKIN HOO!!!!

[libby]

Hot Damn. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee is right! May all your other medical procedures proceed as positively. Thank you for keeping us updated. The internet loves you.

[samantha]

"That is why I am so extremely good at this procedure." I love it! I will say it for the rest of my days! And it will be funny to nobody but myself.

That's another way of saying, "YES!" So happy for you and all your lovely family.

[Lisame]

TOLDYA!

[Aria]

Lurker here saying "Yippeeee"
Hugs from all of us out here in my world.

[victoria]

YAY!!!