CVS Test Today!

Today was the big CVS test day. It’s one thing to take a test that will tell you the health of your unborn child, but it’s especially nerve-wracking to know the test will be uncomfortable and could potentially cause miscarriage. It sort of defeats the joy of being a week away from your 2nd trimester. Everything I read online about CVS said the potential for miscarriage increases with the inexperience of the tester, so make sure you go to someone who does more that 50 a year. That’s not very reassuring. What if the doctor had a sleepless night?! What if they were hung over? Or what if they were just having a bad day? There are too many what ifs. Thankfully when we arrived, we were both relieved to see the sheer magnitude of the waiting room and how full it was. This guy OBVIOUSLY did way more than 50 a year—he probably does 50 every two days!

First we went in for genetic counseling where a very nice lady explained the procedure in detail, gave us a list of possible side effects and then drew a family tree to determine if there were any genetic issues to be concerned with.

After that we went into a low-lit room. I laid on the table while Jeremy sat next to me. A nurse did an ultrasound from a million different angles and took a lot of measurements. There was a big screen TV above her head so we could watch. Much of it looked like weird undecipherable masses, but anytime she scrolled by the baby it’s image was quite clear and she would pause to show us. The first time we saw the little thing it had its arm laying alongside the head as if it was chillin’ out. It was so cute…we had to laugh. Yup, that’s our little laid back baby.

The test itself lasted only a minute, but it was extremely uncomfortable. Poor Jeremy’s seat was eye level with my belly—not exactly the bird’s eye view you’d want in a situation like this. I asked him if he was going to watch and he said, “no”. Instead we both watched the TV during the procedure, but it made me so uncomfortable I had to stop after a few seconds. Afterwards they checked the baby’s heart rate and zoomed in to it’s little head which was moving around…probably wondering what the heck was going on! I was glad to have the whole ordeal over with. Now we just have to wait 1 to 2 weeks for the results.