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Hi everyone!
Gretchen- Congratulations on Levi!!! When I saw your name on the board and saw that there was a new post from you I was so eager and excited to read it. YEAH!!! Put a big smile on my face :)
Paolan- I am so sorry to hear about your loss. It must be devastating and I hope you are doing ok. There are no words to express my sorrow for you but I do wish you and your family all the best.
As for all the ladies that have been keeping me in your thoughts and keeping track of my due date, THANK YOU!! You all have made me feel so good and it really made my day to see how many of you are rooting for me and remembering me.
I just got back from my doc appt and my girl has, once again, flipped and is now head down. I am starting to feel as if she will never come but it must be soon. Her due date is tomorrow but I have a feeling the date will pass me by and she will be a little longer, unfortunately. I can't wait to see her but for now she is content where she is. She looked good on her ultrasound and is measuring almost 8 lbs.
Kimma I must say I agree with Texasmom in that your blood test results should give you a great measure of hope. Those scores are fabulous and I'm sure all is perfect with you and your baby. As a reference, my score, after EIF, is 1/80....
Ohmuffin- 5 weeks! getting close!! I love to read your posts and will definately continue to do so and check up on you and your baby. I look forward to hearing your take on the birth. You always have such a funny take on things, I like to see it. I especially loved your post about the baby using your bladder for a trampoline. You not only nailed it but had me and my husband rolling on the floor laughing!!
Steffie and wannalil1- Thanks so much again for keeping me in your thoughts. It means so much!!!
And lipstick I do agree that setting up a girls room is pretty fun. All girl clothes too are just so fabulous.
WISHING YOU ALL A WONDERFUL DAY!!!!

Hi Ladies,
A concerned husband here. We went for our second ultrasound last week. The thech/nurse said she saw a spot on the heart, and wanted the associated doctor to look at it. He is a high risk specialist, one of the best in the area. He is associated with the midwivery service, so it is not like they are sending us to him specially.

The nurse said it was nothing to worry about, and 9 otu of 10 times it is normal, she just wanted it looked at. The 4D ultrasound is not for another 4 weeks though.

She did not mention the link between the spot and DS. I found that out through some later searching. My wife it taking it all in stride, saying whatever happens, happens. I am freaking out though. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and things like this make me nuts, it is all I can think about.

We opted not to have the bloodwork done for testing at 14 weeks, I now wish we did. We figured we would be OK, as we are still fairly young, and have 2 other healty childern. My wife was 30 when she became pregnant, and just turned 31, in Jan.

We called the nurse back after finding out that the spot can be associated with DS. She said she has seen many others, and has never seen it mean anything. She says it does raise the risk, and there is a very slight chance of DS, but in her opinion, not enough to worry about. She could not get a good look at the babys face, as he kept putting his hands up in front, so she could not tell any facial features, but she did get good measurements of the head, kidneys, and femur. Those were all on the money for size. The one kidney was a little large at 4.1mm, but she said it is well within the normal range. She looked at the feet and the hands, did not measure them, but said they appeared long, and not short as would be expected with DS. She also said that the skin at the back of the neck was normal, and head shape was normal.

They did not give us any odds for a DS, so I kind of figured up my own, see if I am figuring this right. A 30-31 year old has default odds of about 1/900. The spot on the heart, if it is the only indicator, basicaly doubles that rist to 1/450, or a 0.22% cance of the baby having DS. That means there is a 99.88% the baby will not have DS. Can somene verify i figured this correctly?

Should I realy be this concerned? Do they give you all the information in these cases, or could they be hiding another indicator. The nurse assured us, this was the only thing found, and everything else looked good.

After reading the stories here, it seems they are all good outcomes. Has anyone actually had a bad outcome here?

Thanks,
Andrew

Wannalili1- I actually went back to your past posts, and when I am reading your story and your feelings, its as though I'm reading mine. It makes me feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one going through these mixed feelings. And another thing in common, it was also my husband that put his foot down and said no way on the amnio, he is so lax about it, sometimes it makes me angry, but the truth is I'm grateful because he's keeping me sane.

Steffie92s- The thing is Steffie, I did have these feelings before, but just because when I got my first HCG results at 15dpo it was 1789 when the max should have been 500. Being a research freak that I am, I looked it up online and got 3 explanations: molar pregnancy (not), Multiple pregnancy (not) or DS (?), so when I got the news from the EIF I became freaked out. The DR said those # vary though, and that early HCG don't matter, its just a beta subunit of them or something, but still I can't help but worry and wonder if he should've picked up something before.

Kimma- Welcome, sorry you have to join us, but let me tell you these past 2 weeks this group has been a great part of my support system, hang in there, we're all in this together.

Gretchen- Congrats on a healthy Levi!!!! You just pt a huge smile on my face!!!! The best for you and your family!!!! Thanks for giving us hope!!!!

All- Count me in after lipstick.... at the end of June.... of God I'm just 20 weeks... I can't believe I still have 20 more of this..... I now I'm being a big baby but I almost feel sorry for myself to have this situation in my first pregnancy.... not how I expected it...

1moremom- All the luck to you!!! 8 pounds seems great!!!!! You'll be the next one posting your good news!!!!

94- Welcome... and again sorry you have to be here. See, we're in the same situation just the other way around, my husband is super relaxed and I'm suffering from the worst anxiety, I can't even sleep.... but hey thats good that she's keeping you sane, imagine knut-jobs together!!! I am not sure what the risk for a 31 year old is, but my peri did tell me the risk it doubled once a marker is found, so your calculations should be about right, maybe one of the girls can help you with the exact risk number for 31yr old. I've read many stories on these forum whose Dr's don't even reduce the risk after the EIF, even my OBGYN said my Peri's take on splitting the risk in half was a little conservative for him...

All- Keep the faith!!!!

Hi Andrew!
Nice to see a guy on here now too, although it would be better if it was under different circumstances!
Best piece of advice........read through the gazillion posts on this site and you will honestly see that so far, not one piece of negativity about a sole echogenic focus in the heart. Your ultrasound tech and the high risk doctor have said everything is fine, and unfortunately, we get this planted in our heads about the link between this and ds, but it is SO COMMON!!! We don't hear about how common this is in ultrasounds and the fact that they can't explain why it occurs just makes it worse in our own minds. I wish they would even tell us about this, however, they have to. It seems that there are a lot of scholarly articles out there though, debating about the validity of these "soft markers", especially when they are sole markers.
So, as hard as it is to relax, especially in your case, honestly.....RELAX! It will take a few weeks probably while things settle down and you take a breather, but we've all been there, some more recently than others, but I think we all eventually have come to some sort of "happy place". And we get even happier when we hear stories of Gretchen's little boy being born healthy, and next, 1moremom coming back and reporting (just after delivery I might add!!!) that her little one is fine too :) Keep your head up and try to know that everything is going to be fine! Keep posting on here on the rough days, and post on the good ones too! We all need to talk, and this is the perfect place to do it! Sometimes it feels like we can at least be more open when we don't know who it is on the other end of the computer (someone even thought I was funny!!!! HA!). :-)

Hope everyone else is staying healthy and strong. 1moremom, I have a feeling today is the day, not that that counts for much! hehehe! Hope your time comes soon and you don't go too overdue!
Can't wait to hear some more good news :)

94 - I have seen different odds for ages, so I just turned 30 in March and I used the figure of 1/750 before the EIF so now my odds are around 1/300 so that puts me somewhere in the same rang of 99.7% of the time everything is fine. I too do not have bloodwork or the NT scan results to compare to. My husband and I skipped all of that. I know what you mean about going nuts over this. I really my really irrational days and then better days. I have pretty high anxiety at times. My husband is the opposite and is at least appearing calm on the outside. My docs told us the same thing that we really shouldn't be worrying about it but it is hard once that seed has been planted. Unfortunately it looks like you will be joining us in the wait ahead:( I haven't heard any bad stories being posted and we always ask that people post good and bad. I think you will find this to be a good support group for you on your good and bad days.

Eugenia - see i thought the same thing as you after I got my HCG no's back. My doc they were on the higher side. I think you doc is right though, about the beta subunit thing. I was a little worried before I even had the 20 wk u/s and I'm sure the tech was surprised that I kept asking all these questions about femur length, cysts on the brain etc to look for signs of DS. Actually my husband is very lax too. I think he is doing it for my sake though because I have had more than my fair share of freak out days. I know that it is crazy that you still have about 20 weeks to go. I thought the same thing, how am I going to make it through these next 20 weeks but I am almost at 30 weeks now and when looking back it does seem like they went by pretty fast. Also it is my first pregnancy as well and definitely not what I expected it to be. I am almost jealous of some of my friends that talk about how much they loved being pregnant. They dont' know about my situation but I almost blurt out, "you may not love it so much if you had to worry everyday if your baby has DS or not".

ohhmuffin - you are so positive! I love it! Keep that up. It is definitely helping me:)

1moremom- i hope your baby comes today!

Sorry for such a long post everyone!

Ok ladies and gentleman...Someone needs to talk me off the ledge today. I am having a bad day and last night all I could do was stare at my lilttle one's 3D sono pics. I am driving myself insane thinking her nose looks wide. It is probably just normal bbecause of the fluids and there is some distortion, but I am driving myself insane. I pulled out the 12 week Nuchal sonogram pics and was looking for a nasal bone. Crazy?! I know....They never mentioned NOT seeing one at 12 weeks and given that my results were so good, I think they would have mentioned NOT seeing it. I know from my 20 week that the nasal bone was definitely there...but still it freaks me out....HELP.... 1 in greater than 5,000 that needs to be my mantra.....

Hi wannalil1, I'm so sorry you're having a bad day. But that is all it is, a bad day and they do go away.
The 3d pix can be both amazing and scary, I've had both. There is a lot of distortion so please do not worry. You should reassure yourself that the doctor has an obligation to tell you of potential hazzards. If he saw something wrong with the nose, or anything else, he would have told you.
Also, remember that when you first saw the u/s she looked perfect to you!!
I know things will get better, sometimes we just have to suffer through the worrysome bad days. They saw ALL women have the bad days and scary thoughts in pregnancy, even the women who haven't been told of the EIF or any other problems. It's all these damn hormones.
I just know all will be well for you and for all the lovely ladies and gentlemen on this forum.

wannalil1 - aww hun don't worry they as 1moremom said. They would have definitely told you about the nasal bone! Look how the docs are obligated to tell us about the echogenic focus. I know what you mean though. I don't have 3D pics but I whip out my u/s pics and scutinze over them. Those 3D pics can definitely be distorted. Don't worry today's bad day will pass.

1moremom - I guess no baby yet and 1 day past your due date? Any signs of progression?

wannalil1- i forgot to write that my lastest worry is the femur length. They said at every u/s that everything was measureing great. I am wondering though how were my meaurements in the range? Were they on the low side or the high side. I am sure my tech is going to get sick of me questioning EVERYTHING and now questioning where things fall in the range. Of course that could make me panic even more so maybe i shouldn' ask!

1moremom - You are supposed to be in labor right now, not logging onto this site, unless it's to report some good news for all of us! Haha....sorry, just had to be a goof! :)

wannalil1 - We all understand! Rough days SUCK! I know initially I was scrutinizing over EVERY little detail of my lil' one's profile ultrasound photo. And my profile pics I got SUCKED the big one! It looks like my baby doesn't even have a nose! I was so upset about this later on once I found out about the focus. Made me so upset! But then when I had that practice ultrasound with our docs in the office, I got to see my little ones button nose and looked so cute. We don't have the option for a 3d ultrasound here, since we are a small hospital.....I would have to drive 4 hours away and with it being winter and lots of snow, it just isn't happening!

Take each day as it comes and just know that right now, as long as you are taking care of yourself, you are taking care of your little one. I know it's hard to let go and just let things be.....I had a rough time with that for a month. I dwelled on every negative thought that came into my mind. I cried, pouted, bawled, ATE.....oh lordy did I eat! lol! But what did it achieve in the end? Some extra pounds of baby weight so far, but it wasn't going to change the outcome regardless and the stress I was putting on myself wasn't good for the baby either.
Some may think I'm being strong....I for one think that I put up a good front and hide behind humor sometimes. But whatever gets us through to the end, whatever!

Anyways, that's my outlook on things. Some days are crappy, other days are great. Keep your head up and know this is one of those crap days but it too will pass!

1moremom - Patiently waiting to hear about your little one! I officially gave my peanut it's one month eviction notice! I was very polite, but felt maybe I needed to put it in writing! lol! Because once you have your perfect little one, everyone will be hounding me next for news! So, I will hound you before the hounding begins for myself.....fair, right? :) I knew you'd understand!

Take care everyone! I'm off to watch Tinkerbell for the 80 millionth time with my two year old :s Lord help me.......

AW, thank you so much for the words of encouragement ladies. This board always makes me feel better. I am starting to feel better...I wish I could post a pic on this site but it will not let me. I had a few people comment on how cute her 3D profile pic is...so maybe it is just my own self induced paranoia. 10 more weeks to meet my little princess.

1moremom - Sending you tons of LABOR dust. Can not wait for you to post your good news!!!

Just on an off topic :)

Where is everyone from? And does anyone else have facebook? Just thought maybe that was a place, for those of us who want to, would be able to share photos as well and maybe stay connected? Let me know what you guys think!

I'm from a small community in British Columbia, Canada.....right along the US Border :)

ohhmuffin - I am from Pennsylvania and I do have a FB account. I have one ultrasound picture on there but I have some baby bump pics and some maternity pics that I had done 2 weeks ago. Email me at steffie92_bfas at yahoo.com if you want to exchange FB info.

ohh muffin - we could always start up a FB page just for this group of women (and dads) who are dealing with echogenic foci? I haven't done that before but my brother has for something else. Let me ask him how you do it and I'll set it up for us.

All - I created a support group for echogenic focus on Facebook. This will let us exchange more information such as interesting articles we find, photos (if you want) or anything else you want to share. I did make this a secret group because I don't want my family and friends seeing it on my profile becaues I have not told them about the echogenic focus. So do a search for the group using the word "echogenic focus" and it should come up. I think you can either request to join or send me a message and I think I can add you that way. Let me know if you have any problems.

Thanks!

Steffie92s - I tried to find the group but because you have it as secret, you have to invite people to join the group, we can't search for it. If you want to add me to your friends, we can figure it out together :) My e-mail addy is ohhmuffin "at" yahoo.com This forum won't let us post websites or anything, so have to put the e-mail that way, but it is typed out the normal way obviously! lol!