Appointment

The nurse called me back for my Q&A (and P) session before the ultrasound and doctor consult. I went back and answered the standard "how are you feeling" type questions. At the OB office, it's just "how are you feeling" or "have you had any problems". At the maternal/fetal office the questions are a little more focused. More like, "Are you having any leakage or bleeding". It was at this time that I mentioned that my little boy had been diagnosed with Fifth's disease yesterday, which unbeknown st to me has been running rampant through the preschool. She looked at me and said, "No. Oh no." Great.

They said that a lot of people (maybe 50%) have been exposed to it in the past and have antibodies. For those that get active cases during pregnancy, it is most dangerous in the first 20 weeks and can cause anemia and edema (swelling) in the baby. If I don't have antibodies and I do have an active case, they will watch me every two weeks via ultrasound to check for anemia in the baby. Some babies have slight problems, but make it okay. Others have to have in-utero fetal blood transfusions into the umbilical cord to try to combat it.

They drew blood. I will have these tests back on Monday or Tuesday. If those show that I have not had it before, I will go back two weeks from now for more tests to see if I have an active case of it.

The ultrasound showed a healthy heart, normal hands, feet, bladder, etc. They could not get a shot of the face to measure the bridge of the nose, eye spacing, or lips because (s)he kept his/her hand right in front! The only thing that looked questionable was there is a choroid plexus cyst in the brain. These can mean NOTHING at all... I think 1 in 100 babies that have ultrasounds have them. It is associated loosely with Trisomy 18 babies. 30% of trisomy 18 babies have these. BUT, we have no other markers... healthy heart, hands, and feet were the big ones. Because this was my only "soft marker" they aren't especially concerned. However, they will be monitoring me for this reason every two weeks to check for any other signs of a problem. They offered the Quad Screen again, which I declined. I'm okay with this cyst because a lot of times it means nothing at all... 1 in 100 babies have these... but if I had a false positive quad screen on top of that I may not be so calm! Really, the doctor was more concerned with the Fifth's than the choroid plexus cyst. (http://www.gbmc.org/genetics/harveygenetics/prenataldx/PatientInformation/cpc.cfm)

SO, I'm trying not to freak out about the Fifth's Disease. I know there is nothing I can really do at this point. Asa is no longer contagious... although he was for the 1-2 weeks prior to us knowing that he had it. If I am not already immune, I'm sure I got it... I mean, the kid sneezed on me at dinner last week I know! Addison may have it and not show the rash yet... I'm trying to stay clear of him as much as a stay at home mom can.