Amniocentesis

Two days after our 2nd opinion visit, we went back in for an amniocentesis.

I was not looking forward to this.

Essentially they take a long thin needle and insert it through my belly, into the uterus, and take a sample of amniotic fluid. 20 cc is about a shot glass and a half (how I explained it to my dad). Considering we already had low fluid, I was concerned about them taking more.

The procedure started with an ultrasound to see where baby was and if there were pockets of fluid for them to take. The tech measured fluid at 11, which is normal (over 10 is okay) but when the Dr came in she was shocked at how low it looked visually. She was confident she could get a sample for the amnio however.

We also wanted a little extra fluid drawn for the FISH results, which is essentially a really fast amnio result. It uses fluorescent staining to see if baby has any of the trisomy genetic problems. Results come in 3 days instead of 7-14.

This scan gave us a little bit of brighter news! Dr. K thought that the brain looked just fine--no worries about that lateral ventricle. She also thought the fluid looked a little better--perhaps he was replenishing it! Baby boy always has some in his bladder and is peeing it out like he is supposed to, which is awesome. She did note the enlarged kidneys and also noticed his bowels are slightly echogenic as well. Again, this could be normal or could not. (Sigh.)

Then it was time for the procedure. (EEEk.)

They scrubbed my belly with betadine a few times and covered the ultrasound wand to make it sterile. They kept the ultrasound going the whole time so that they could see where they were and see where baby was. Dr. K did say not to worry, because if baby bumped the needle he would do what we do--move away! Whew. She brought over a truly gigantic needle (maybe 4 inches?) and I decided I should look at the picture on the wall and now what they were doing.

They held the wand on the left side of my belly where they had a good pocket of fluid. The doctor warned me that I would feel the needle but it was like getting blood drawn--however, sometimes the needle caused cramping when it went in the uterus.

She did not lie. I felt it go through skin, then the uterus (ow ow ow). It was right by the ulrasound wand and it was not pleasant at all. I felt a lot of pressure and a bit of pain. It was not unbearable by any means, but it was highly unpleasant. I believe it lasted about 2 minutes because my fluid was so low it took a while longer to get enough. Towards the end I had to ask Nick to distract me by talking. He was so good and held my hand the whole time, though he couldn't look at the needle either. I did look up at the ultrasound screen once or twice--it showed baby boy's head and the needle quite close to it! He stayed far enough away, thank goodness, because if they had to poke me again for more I would not have been happy.

The needle removal was painless, thank goodness. Then I got to roll on my side for a rhogam shot because my blood type is negative rh factor (you know that plus or minus after your blood type? If you have negative, and you partner is positive, your baby may be positive. Your body can form antibodies that attack baby and cause anemia and other bad things. It usually doesn't happen until baby number 2 because you have to have your blood mix, and that usually happens at birth. With a shot of rhogam a few times, that risk is mitigated.) Because the amnio caused our blood to mix, I got a shot of rhogam right above my butt. Lovely.

Then I got to have my blood drawn for the micro array. I was confused because I thought it was done with the amnio, but apparently not. Or maybe both. Honestly, I was so light-headed and shaky that I didn't care. It took forever for this lady to get my blood out. Nick guessed my blood pressure was low from the procedure which is why it took so long.

FINALLY we were done. We went back home and I went to the couch and Nick brought me some delicious sugary tart lemonade. I wasn't too uncomfortable any more but I did have some tenderness.

All in all, I dislike amnios. However, the results it gives are important and if it is a test you need done.... I guess just bite the bullet and get 'er done. I would do it again for the peace of mind the results would give. But I might ask for a local anesthetic or numbing spray ahead of time!

That night my uncle was in town so we went out for a quiet dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place. It was lovely to see him and a great distraction!