It's interesting how the gender scan and anatomy scan take place simultaneously (the ultrasound, that is), so just as the unborn baby starts to take on an imagined personality, you may get devastating news about his development. That's not meant to be a complaint, just an observation.
But I suppose it was always that way. Before ultrasounds, you found out your baby's gender and his overall condition on the day of his birth, not before. And there was always the mixture of feelings, but it was still a gift of life.
After finding out we were having a boy, the ultrasound technician went on to check all the major organs, each time mentioning what COULD go wrong, but then mentioning that ours was normal. Then at one point she noticed something.
"Hmmmm, there's a something something. Very interesting. Let's hope that's the only anomaly." Ummm, what?
Then the machine broke.
Andrei hastily grabbed a paper towel to cover me up as someone came in to look at the machine. Then he took the moment to ask the technician what she had seen.
"There's a cyst on the something something,"she said.
The machine started up again and then broke again, but she had gotten all the measurements and we were ready to go home, even without thefreaky alien fancy advanced imagery.
I got home and looked up the word...an umbilical cord cyst (you can see a bubble in the pictures).
I did a tiny bit of research and decided there wasn't anything helpful online. The doctor never called to offer additional testing or anything, not that we would have done it anyway.
It's interesting how the baby makes his presence felt. In the first trimester you feel yucky, so you know something's going on, and in the second trimester you start showing and then you feel him kicking, so you know he's still in there.
After waiting a month and going to the next check-up, I asked the doctor about the cyst and she said they had recommended doing another ultrasound later on; that is, in May.
For now, we are both doing well!
But I suppose it was always that way. Before ultrasounds, you found out your baby's gender and his overall condition on the day of his birth, not before. And there was always the mixture of feelings, but it was still a gift of life.
After finding out we were having a boy, the ultrasound technician went on to check all the major organs, each time mentioning what COULD go wrong, but then mentioning that ours was normal. Then at one point she noticed something.
"Hmmmm, there's a something something. Very interesting. Let's hope that's the only anomaly." Ummm, what?
Then the machine broke.
Andrei hastily grabbed a paper towel to cover me up as someone came in to look at the machine. Then he took the moment to ask the technician what she had seen.
"There's a cyst on the something something,"she said.
The machine started up again and then broke again, but she had gotten all the measurements and we were ready to go home, even without the
I got home and looked up the word...an umbilical cord cyst (you can see a bubble in the pictures).
I did a tiny bit of research and decided there wasn't anything helpful online. The doctor never called to offer additional testing or anything, not that we would have done it anyway.
It's interesting how the baby makes his presence felt. In the first trimester you feel yucky, so you know something's going on, and in the second trimester you start showing and then you feel him kicking, so you know he's still in there.
After waiting a month and going to the next check-up, I asked the doctor about the cyst and she said they had recommended doing another ultrasound later on; that is, in May.
For now, we are both doing well!
Sometimes I think we live in a world of TMI (too much information) - of all kinds! Undoubtedly nothing...one difference with Russian doctors as contrasted with American ones (explained to me by our Russian pediatrician) is that they go at their job LOOKING FOR the things that VARY from the "model" - even though most of the time there is so much varation among humans that these differences don't mean anything.
ReplyDeleteKeeping you and your sweet baby in my prayers...
Liz, I had to laugh! Just your whole description of the Russian clinic...
ReplyDeleteBut for you, I pray that you and Andrei are filled with peace. CONGRATULATIONS on your little boy!!!
Well, I don't have any prior experience to compare it to, so the whole thing is pretty surreal, Russia or not!
ReplyDeleteAnnie, do you mean Russian doctors tend to look for anomalies more, or Americans? I was thinking about how as Americans we crave information. It happens all the time here that I want to know why the metro is closed, why there's a traffic jam, etc. I'm used to looking things up on the Internet when I'm curious. There's always this hunger to know EVERYTHING. I think Russians are usually more content not knowing all the facts.
Ultrasounds are one thing, but you should see the pregnancy forums these days! Not content with the doctor's comments, these women come right home and start searching for all their measurements and symptoms on the Internet to see what they mean. In most cases they are just spreading information among themselves and no one is a professional. One woman started a rumor that women with scoliosis can't get an epidural! Etc.
In all seriousness, it makes me uncomfortable how much people want to know about babies before they're born. Genes, chromosomes, measurements, all that. Definitely more than we were meant to have at our disposal.
Thanks for the prayers!
Congratulations Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteGoing for the ultrasound scan is one of the most wonderful yet scary experiences you can have. All you can think about is whether baby is healthy or not. When you hear your babies tiny heartbeat its just amazing.
I'm sure everything will be OK.
Thank you very much!
ReplyDelete