June 26th, 2007: NT screening at EMC

Today's the big day. I have been thinking alot about the different ways this day can play out and I convince myself I am ready for whatever I hear. I am grateful for what we've been given and I can't claim a right to more - to perfect babies, to anything. I can only be thankful for what I have. I feel much calmer than I have before the other appointments. I only worry that we'll get someone as incommunicative as the GYN we had last time at this hospital. We have no kids with us today - it was hard to arrange something for Rowen, but the daycare agreed to swap days, this one time, so she is safe there. The boys are at school for the day.

We get there and the idiot doctor has written the appointment down wrong, so we have a longish wait. But this hospital does do things on time, so it's not too bad. Our technicians are friendly and forthcoming. Again, the file does not contain the information that it's twins, but the techs are quick to adapt and don't seem upset. We start with a thru-the-belly ultrasound. The babies are both laying the wrong way to see the neck fold, but she manages to get alot of other necessary measurements while the other tech enters them into the computer program. After a good half hour, it's decided that we'll have to continue internally. Not too fun, but definately clearer images. The little buggers still won't turn the right way, but the twin on my left is going through a whole range of movements. You'd swear he/she is showing off. At one point, s/he's on her/his head and kicking straight up in the "air"! We all crack up at the antics ... meanwhile, the twin to my right is sitting up exactly as if s/he were reading a book. We did get a picture of this. Too funny. :D The tech askes me to cough, hard, in hopes it'll make them move. They do, but not as desired. LOL! Finally, she says we'll try again via the belly. It seems they've done all their tricks for us now, and both cooperate at exactly the same moment and the tech is able to get very clear, very accurate readings of that teensy neck fold. Amazing. After having watched them for nearly a full hour, I cannot believe there could be anything wrong. We know the organs are all okay, so it's 'only' a matter of the Down's risk figure. I don't care. At this point, they could say the computer went down and they couldn't calculate it. It wouldn't matter. But of course we sit there and go through the figures with them and the babies are in great shape - our risk factor is that same as that of a 29 year old pregnant woman, which is to say, nearly statistically insignificant. We're walking on air. We're so happy we both forget we don't have money for the parking and Niek has to go back to the hospital while I doze and daydream in the car. We're having two beautiful babies, everyone!!