Week 12 and a few thoughts about pregnancy

Okay, so it's 2 days before the baby is "officially" 12 weeks old, but I have time now and may not on Tuesday! Below is are some fun details about where the baby is in development so far.

Tomorrow we will be heading up to University of Washington Medical Center for a special ultrasound scan of the baby. It's called an NT Scan or Nuchal Translucency scan where they check the thickness of the baby's neck where the nuchal folds are forming. It's a simple ultrasound that can only be done between weeks 10 and 13 and the data can then be used as part of an equation later, so I opted to go ahead and do it now. Doesn't mean we have to use the information later, but I'd rather get it while I can!! And how fun to get to see more images of the baby! :) And since it's just an ultra sound, the baby doesn't get bothered at all. If you're curious, here's some information about it.

And just to let our readers know, since I know many of you have wondered but not asked: What are the chances of this baby having any problems? Our chances are the same as they were with Katelynn! We are back into the same "risk pool" of having anything wrong with this baby as any other normal healthy pregnancy. Kristen's condition was a genetic abnormality - which means at the moment of conception, her chromosomes were already having issues. There was nothing that could have been done to prevent it, and there's nothing that can be done to replicate it. (scientists are trying all the time to do both!!) There have been NO recorded cases of T18 families having a subsequent T18 baby. We all go back into the "general population" and have the same chances of having anything else happen with the baby - and just the same chances of having a HEALTHY BABY....just like Jane Doe down the street.

I know that there are some people that are all freaked out that something else will happen with this baby - welcome to our world with a lack innocence. If that fear makes you pray for us, then thanks for the prayers!! But please don't remain in that fear. I rest in the fact that God knew our babies (past, present and future) before He made the earth. He's in control of what happens to them. He knows exactly what our family can (or can't) handle and I know that I have very little I can or can't do to "control" this pregnancy. Although I don't have the "pregnancy bliss" that many moms get to experience, I have no reason NOT to expect a healthy baby next May!!

Yes, I will still do some of the prenatal scans and tests but not out of fear, more or less out of routine! I guess that is one silver lining from Kristen's pregnancy. I had a pretty normal pregnancy with her - it was the birth that was traumatic. So this pregnancy, I don't really have any issues with being pregnant. I've never had issues with pregnant women around me. I do however, have some minor issues with baby showers before a baby is born - just that lack of innocence I guess. There are a number of other T18 moms that knew of their baby's T18 condition during the 1st trimester and lived with the fear of losing their baby the whole pregnancy. Every Dr. visit was spent wondering what the bad news would be that time. So now with their next pregnancy, they are reliving that fear. We didn't have that with Kristen. Yeah, we had a few no-too-great results from appointments, but nothing that stopped us in our tracks. So this time around, I am not relating this baby to Kristen in a bad way because there wasn't much about her pregnancy that was bad. The morning sickness is a little worse, but other than that - this is a whole new pregnancy, a whole new baby, a whole new experience for all of us!!

So, on that note! Here's what's up with Baby Balcom in the 12th week?!?!

By this week, our baby is about two to two-and-a-half inches long (keep in mind that, after week 11, growth rates can vary a lot), and could be cradled snugly in a soup spoon. His or her brain's basic structure is now in place, and brain mass is growing all the time.

Several important digestive functions begin around this week. The pancreas begins to produce insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. The liver starts to secrete bile, a thick greenish fluid stored in the gall bladder that helps the body digest fats.

Though still not quite "cute," our baby is starting to look more like a person now. The bridge of the nose and the jawbones are starting to create the familiar outlines of a human face. Inside the mouth, folded tissues come together to make the palate, or roof of the mouth. Fingernails emerge from their nail beds.

As we move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed. (Amazing!!)