Between weeks eleven and thirteen, you’re supposed to get tests done to screen for genetic abnormalities. There are two tests you must complete:
Nuchal Translucency: an ultrasound that measures the thickness of the fluid collected behind the baby’s neck. A measurement of 3 mm of more means there’s a possibility of the baby being born with a birth defect.
Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS): a test that studies the baby’s genetic makeup and determines whether he/she has a chromosomal condition. The test is conducted by taking a sample of the placenta (either through the cervix or the abdomen). This test carries a risk of miscarriage with it - the chance of it is less than 1%, but if it can be avoided, why not?
Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT): a test that studies the baby’s DNA through the mama’s blood. This test doesn’t conclusively tell you whether the baby has a chromosomal condition, but it can tell you the likelihood of it by up to 99.99%. And because it is a simple blood test, it doesn’t carry a risk of miscarriage.
The nuchal translucency is something I had to do, but I had an option between the NIPT and CVS. Luckily, our OBGYN said that because we completed chromosomal tests on all the embryos before the transfer, there was no need for a CVS (only if the results from the NIPT raises any red flags).
The NIPT was not all that interesting - just another blood draw.
The nuchal translucency was a completely different story. Before even starting, the ultrasound tech asked me if I felt the baby move. At my last appointment, the baby was 2.4 cm… how much more could she have grown??? And how active could she be???
Then she started the ultrasound, and I immediately knew why she started with that question.
This little one would NOT stay still.
She rolled around, squirmed, and even used her legs to jump off the placenta wall and bounce around. She was moving around so much that the tech had to stop and wait for her to calm down a bit so that she could get all the measurements she needed (she never really calmed all the way down… ever).
Thankfully, the nuchal translucency measured the fluid thickness at 2.1 mm - well under the 3 mm cut-off.
And we saw that she was now 6.4 cm, and got some new photos of the little one:
She now has a nasal bone!
Her fingers made a fist that kept bopping up and down each time she jumped.
Her legs kept pushing and jumping off the placenta wall.
She was active, and maybe it was my imagination, but she looked happy. It was one of the giddiest moments I’ve ever had in my life - the tech and I couldn’t stop laughing at her movement. It was a bummer that Jin couldn’t be there with me to see her bouncing and jumping (again, thank you, COVID), but I’ll be able to FaceTime with him at my next appointment, so hopefully, she’ll be just as active so that her papa can see her in action too!