The morning arrived, as did some snow. Prepared for this, we gave ourselves over an hour to get there vs. the expected half hour on a normal day. While we’re in Oak Park, it literally only takes us a half hour to drive into the heart of the city and make an appointment, and that’s in rush hour traffic. The end result was that we made it way early. We parked at the W hotel, as recommended to us and walked the half block to the building where the doctor who conducts the CVS test is stationed, at 680 N. Lake Shore, the same building which houses Playboy. It’s a little weird entering a building you equate with a hospital and seeing an enormous PLAYBOY sign in the lobby.

Despite it all, we made it the 14th floor and filled out the paperwork. At our appointment, we met with Dr. Frederickson (recommended strongly by our OB/GYN, Dr. Clinton) who asked us lots of questions about family history, personal habits, etc. and gave us our risk factors statistics. It was somewhat unsettling but not unexpected. Elizabeth signed something that said she understood and also that we would indeed like to learn the sex of the baby. We returned to the waiting room while they prepped for the procedure.

I was allowed to accompany her, which was good since we knew this might be uncomfortable. It started off nice since we got to experience ultrasound #4, our first external ultrasound where they squirt clear goo on the belly and use a hand scanner. Just like you see in the movies… we realized this would be the way it would be from now on. More than just for taking the usual progress snapshot, the doctor had to follow the u/s during the CVS procedure in order to extract the sample.

Our baby was moving like crazy!!! We could see arms and legs thrusting and twisting, it was really showing some moves. I got a bit of a laugh that in spite of all the evidence in front of us, Elizabeth asked alarmed, “Where’s the heartbeat?” The technician obliged and positioned the u/s scanner so we could see a clear, strong heartbeat. The baby measured at 6cm and although the u/s printout doesn’t estimate an age, charts I saw say the average 12 week-old is 5.4cm. That means we’re back to the somewhat advanced schedule we thought we were on before. Based on that average, we were about a week ahead of our “official” time. Seeing the movement was really the highlight.

I had a good view of the u/s machine as the doctor performed the procedure. I could see the thin tube enter the picture and stop near the baby. I could see fluid actually being drawn through the tube, also. At that point, the doctor withdrew and it was over quickly. While it didn’t take long, it was clearly very uncomfortable for Elizabeth.

We were told that we would receive the results in “48 hours” and that they would call us immediately when they received it. They said they did not “sit on the results,” which I think was a way of saying “don’t call us, we’ll call you.” It was all a little strange because we have a close friend who just had the same procedure with a different doctor and she got her results the same day. Apparently, our doctor has the tests analyzed by a lab in California and we figure that’s why it takes two days.

Elizabeth was a real trooper and we had extra time on our parking so we had breakfast at the W. Expensive but delicious and a small reward for a big day.

In two days we’ll know whether our baby is healthy and free of chromosomal defects. In my mind, these are the final hurdles we face due to being older parents. And we DO get to find out the sex of our baby. For me, that’s secondary since we’ll be happy either way if its healthy. Fingers crossed.

Ultrasound #4, January 6, 2009. 6cm

Ultrasound #4, January 6, 2009. 6cm