And, We're Back! (Weeks 13 - 19)

I guess you are wondering...where have we been? Well, we just don't have a great answer or excuse, but our goal today is to catch you up on all the exciting pit stops we have had along the way in our journey of parents to be.

Looking back from our last post we had a doctor's appointment on 4/3/08. During our visit the doctor had a little difficulty finding the baby's heartbeat on the audio scan, which made us extremely nervous. After a long awaited hour, the tech quickly relieved our fears when she found the heartbeat shortly after the ultrasound began. This was definitely our first scare as parents, but we are sure not our last worry! And, can we say...WOW...baby Young has developed so much that the baby was trying to give us a wave (as you can see from the picture below- 13 weeks).

We were so completely blown away that after 4 weeks we could actually start to see the formation of the face, body and limbs. Now, our daydreams of what he or she is going to look like really began. We have posted a short video of Baby Young's first on-screen debut...a small case of the hiccups as you will see, and if you listen closely you can hear the heartbeat! Each time we visit the doctor, the reality sets in even more and more...our little one will be here soon and we can't wait!




As we look ahead to 4 weeks later, we are back at the doctor's office in anticipation of finding out if we are having a boy or girl. It is 4/29/08 and Julie is 17 weeks and definitely showing!

This visit was a little different because Kevin was on the road. Not to worry, because that's what grandparents are for. Rita (Sharon) came along on the visit and was very excited to see all the technological advancements in the world of ultrasounds.

We met the doctor, heard the heartbeat, then went to get some bloodwork before the ultrasound. We waited over 2 hours to get the bloodwork done. Rita (Sharon) can tell you that I was not a happy camper. I thought for sure we would miss being able to have an ultrasound today...that chance to find out is it a boy or a girl?! Stay calm, we made it back in time.

This baby of ours sure has made some more major advancements. It completely blows are minds how quickly he or she is developing. Each time we are able to get a little more detail of the physical charateristics of Baby Young. And, yes we now know the gender of the baby. Well, sort of. Kevin wasn't able to be here for this appointment and we decided to have the doctor write in a card the gender so that when Kevin comes back home on May 19, we can open it up and find out what we are having together. For those of you who know me (Julie) best, you know the anticipation is driving me nuts. I am the girl who opened all her Christmas presents early and re-wrapped them before mom and dad could find out. How was I to keep from looking in the envelope? This time, it was easy. I knew how excited I was to see Kevin's face and be in his presence when we find out. So, we will all have to wait for now. But, here is a recent photo of the little one...in 3-D imaging! Baby Young is weighing in at 6 ounces while Julie is weighing in at, well let's just say Julie has gained a total of 5 pounds total for the pregnancy so far. (You thought I was going to tell you my weight!)

Thursday, May 8, 2008, I (Julie) received a phone call from the doctor telling me some discouraging news. The blood test/screening I had done on my last appointment show up with an extremely elevated risk of us having a Down Syndrome baby. The normal rate of risk for someone at my age is 1 out of 649. My tests came back with a risk of 1 out of 60 chance of having a Downs Baby. The doctor scheduled me a follow-up ultrasound on May 13 where they will look for what is called soft markers of Down Syndrome. The blood test/screening that was performed only has an 81% rate of detection of Down Syndrome, so it not a definitive test. It is a preliminary test that is performed to alert any high risks. This blood test/screening also carries a great deal of false-positives, meaning that many of high risk patients will go on to deliver healthy babies.

A plethora of emotions came over me as I was listening to this information. Kevin has been out on the road and that was an extremely hard phone call to make to him. We both agree that this baby is a miracle and gift of God that no matter if the results were not in our favor, we would continue to love Baby Young as we always have. It was just such tough news to take about our baby. Our hearts wept from the thought of our baby having to go through any emotional or physical suffering. Immediately, we turned to God and put our faith in him to heal any illness that might be trying to invade our precious baby's body.

Kevin is not due to come back home until May 19, and we were having a difficult time wrapping our thoughts around the unknown position we were in of whether Baby Young would have Down Syndrome or not. On Friday morning, I recieved a message that some of God's angels (you know who you are) wanted to fly me out to see Kevin over the weekend (Mother's Day weekend). This was an absolute great gift and Kevin & I want to say THANK YOU! Being able to console each other's fears, learn more about the blood test/screening that had been performed, more about Down Syndrome and more about each other's feelings while being in the physical presence of one another made the news much easier on our hearts. For all of those who knew what was happening at this point and for all the prayers that were lifted up and continue to be lifted up, we cannot say THANK YOU enough.

In the midst of our visit together, we were able to relish and celebrate some AMAZING news...it's a GIRL! I brought along the card and ultrasound video from my last visit to the doctor just in case we wanted to find out early. And, of course we did! We watched the video late Friday night and called our parents afterwards. (Which I must say with the 2 hour time zone difference we woke our parents up around 1:30 a.m. to say...it's a girl!) From now on, we will refer to her as Avery Young. We have not settled on a middle name, yet. I started feeling Avery move around and kick late Thursday night and so all weekend when I was still, she would be moving and when I was moving she would be still. I guess we haven't been able to get on each other's sleeping schedules, yet! I am sure I will have to adjust to hers first. :) I know I haven't posted a picture of me, so here I am without a doubt pregnant!

Sunday came and it was time to go home. Kevin and I said our goodbyes and anxiously awaited the doctor's visit on Tuesday, May 13.

Tuesday, May 13, Rita (Sharon), David & I are heading to Louisville today for my ultrasound test, where the doctor will be looking for any soft markers that would indicate Down Syndrome. As any parent, I was extremely nervous throughout the entire appointment. Some of the indicators that the doctor is looking for are the presence of a nasal bone, normal length of the thigh bone, 4-chamber healthy heart, structure of the fingers & toes, which all turned out to be normal. There was one glitch in the ultrasound that brought up a red flag. Avery appears to have what doctors call a "double bubble" (duodenal atresia), which is where the stomach empties itself into the intestines, but there is some obstruction in the intestines that creates a secondary sac of fluid to form a bubble. A "double bubble" is a soft marker for Down Syndrome, however the doctor could not make a definitive conclusion that what he saw was in fact a "double bubble". In most cases of Down Syndrome, fetuses will show more than one soft marker during the ultrasound. Now, we have two tests that are showing a high risk for Down Syndrome and are faced with the question of having an amniocentesis procedure performed that will tell us 99% sure if Avery has Down Syndrome or not. There is a 0.5% miscarriage rate with the amniocentesis procedure, which is why we are struggling with whether to have the test done or not. We already know that she perfect in our eyes and God's no matter what. We opted to not have the procedure done today and take the next few weeks to pray and let God direct as to whether we should have the amniocentisis done or not. We did receive more pictures of Avery from this appointment and I have attached the most amazing one. She weighs 9 ounces!

Our next appointment is on Tuesday, May 27 and we will have another ultrasound at that appointment to see if the doctor can tell more. We will also make a decision for the amniocentesis on that date as well. Kevin and I ask that you would keep Avery in your prayers and continue to pray for her health throughout the rest of the pregnancy and birth.

God Bless each of you! All our love,

~Kevin & Julie Young