Well, I was supposed to see my OB on August 9th, but that OB was put on leave and my appointment had to be rescheduled. I was able to go to my other appointment on August 10th though for what I thought would be a CVS test. The appointment was at a fetal monitoring clinic that sees patients who may be a higher risk during their pregnancy and because of the intended mother's age and the fact that this is her egg, the fetus could be a higher risk of some genetic disorders. The doctor's office I visited provided us with an in-depth ultrasound and a meeting with the intended parents (IPs) and a genetic counselor to determine what screening tests and/or diagnostic tests the couple would be deciding to proceed with. Prior to this, we had agreed on the CVS test, however, after speaking with the genetic counselor the couple decided that the risk of miscarriage from the CVS test was too high and that they would feel more comfortable starting with the regular blood draw screening test first.
I had blood taken for the state screening test, which will compare the blood results with the ultrasound and a second set of blood test results from the 2nd trimester. If any of the results appear abnormal, then the IPs will decide if they want to proceed with an invasive diagnostic test, like the CVS. But at that point it would have to be an amniocentesis. The CVS test can only be done up to 13 weeks, 6 days and I am already 13 weeks, 3 days at this point. An amniocentesis can be done between 16-22 weeks.
The genetic counselor also suggested a new test that just came out this year, called the Mother 21. This test, unlike the state screening test that only
detects 70-80% of babies with down syndrome (and a couple other rare genetic disorders), the Mother 21 is 99%
accurate in detecting those disorders. And it's just one blood test. So my IPs also wanted this test,
but the nurse said the lab wouldn't accept the lab slip without my
insurance card attached, despite the fact that my IPs wanted to pay cash for the test. We opted to not have the test run that day, and not give up my insurance card, so not to raise any red flags to my insurance company - especially since I have not
seen my OB yet. I have checked with CSP (Center for Surrogate Parenting, the agency I used for this surrogacy) and am waiting to hear back, but
they said I was right to not offer the insurance card. Hopefully the agency can work something out with the lab that runs the Mother 21 test, and it can be processed as a cash payment and not through my insurance. This new test can be done up to 20 weeks, so there is not as big of a rush to get this figured out yet.
Also at the appointment last week, the intended mother (IM) had blood drawn to see if she was a
carrier of the following disorders: Cystic Fibrosis, Fragile X, and tay-sachs. If she is a carrier of any of those, then they will
take blood from IF to see if he is also a carrier, if so, then they will
test baby (via amniocentesis) - if IM is not a carrier, or she is, but IF isn't, then it
is fine and no further testing is necessary. Those results will be ready in about a week or so.
We also had a 3D/4D ultrasound as well. It went GREAT! Baby looks terrific, measuring a day ahead for size! Weighing a whopping 2 ounces and is 2 and 1/2 inches in length. :) The fluid behind the baby's neck was also checked, because if there is too much fluid that can be a red flag of down syndrome. But the fluid looked great, just as it was supposed to. Yay! Also, the doctor surprised us all by asking the IPs if they wanted to know the gender....
IT'S A BOY!
Here are some of the ultrasound photos. I didn't get any of THE "boy" shot, but I definitely saw it! Haha! These first two are the 3D images...
And then the regular 2D views...
The intended father (IF) was ecstatic! I had no idea he was secretly hoping for a boy. The doctor said at this point, it was fairly likely that the baby was indeed a boy. I guess if they are wrong in identifying the gender at 12 weeks, it's usually the other way around - told a girl, but really a boy. So it was really nice to see the parents so happy with the news.
After the appointment, all three of us went out to dinner to celebrate the great news. I am so thrilled for them. I know we still have the blood tests results to wait for, but I am hopeful that everything will be OK and that in about 6 months I will be able to give my couple a very healthy, happy, baby boy!!!
Up next: finally get to see a new OB from my regular medical office near me on September 4th and will have the second blood draw for the state screening test then. And just waiting on word for that Mother 21 blood test, I would need to go back to the fetal monitoring clinic to have that one done.
~The Baby Fairy
