Fetal Echo was CLEAR

We had been scheduled for a fetal echo months ago.  After you have one child with a severe congenital heart defect, your chances of having another go up.  Our doctor (who I love, but is a little ditsy at times) told me to schedule the fetal at about 20-22 weeks.  I knew that was early.  We didn't have our first echo with Sam until 27 months along.   Well turns out you can do them as early as 18 months, but they do prefer to do them a little closer to 27.  The echo tech said it didn't really matter to her, she was confident in her skills, but she said she could totally see our doctor telling us the wrong time frame. 

The plus to doing it this early was that the echo looked more like a high class ultrasound.  Sam was so much bigger at 27 weeks, and I don't remember being able to see him move or see other body parts.  But since this baby was so much smaller (we are 21-22 weeks), I could see EVERYTHING.  Legs, legs, legs for days.  And he was moving the ENTIRE time.  He was playing with the cord in his hands, and even kicking it with his feet. 

Now, we had our 20 week US last week, and I knew we had a 4 chamber heart.  That doesn't rule out all the major defects, but it was already better news that we had with Sam.  I went into this echo feeling pretty confident.  But within the first 5 minutes I started to sweat.  The tech, who had been really chatty, stopped talking.  and we didn't say a word to each other...for the next 45 minutes!  Oh yeah that's right....on top of not talking, she was taking A MILLION photos.  Chris has been out of town, and I was alone.  I was thinking I wish he was here to hear the bad news with me, but then again I was glad he wasn't here bc he would be freakin' out.  Over that hour long echo, I convinced myself that whatever the news was, we would be ok.  I knew it would be bad.

Then, just like that, the echo was over and the tech says "well I think the doctor will be pleased".  Oh....OK....   Suddenly relieved, I sat down in a chair in the room and watched as the tech brought in the doctor and started going over the echo photos.  My stomach pitted again, as they began to WHISPER about the photos.  The tech pointed out a series of photos to him, where she was worried about one of the fetal circulatory holes that exist until birth in the atrial septum.  He kind of brushed it off and whispered an explanation to her.  Then he turned to me and said that he can rule out all major, life effecting defects with this echo.  However, he went on, the echo can't pick up with any accuracy small septal defects.  He never said that is what they were discussing, but he said that he feels the baby's heart looks great, and if anything exists, it is too small to need surgical correction.  Curious discussion...but having been where we have been with Sam, I do trust him that the baby's heart is healthy and we won't have anything to worry about. 

Sam and I have been keeping ourselves busy over the last week.  Chris had to go out of town, so we have been hanging out, watchin' Yo Gabba Gabba, going out to eat, and shopping.  We bought some new clothes for the baby, and have started setting up Sam's room to be a room for two.  Photos to follow when we get a matress on the bed, and when Sam gets his new bed spread (Yo Gabba Gabba, of course). 

~Kathy