Take Your Vitamins

The good news is that Grandpa is better, just like new. The bad news is that we had a scare last week.

I haven't said too much about my pregnancy on this blog because I think that deep down (or perhaps not so deep down) I am a bit superstitious about counting chicks before they hatch. I will only feel comfortable once I can count all the fingers and toes for myself, and that won't be for a while yet.

On Monday I had a prenatal check up. Part of it entailed getting blood drawn for an AFP test. The best part was that even though Papi was traveling, Gusi came into the examining room with me and we both heard the baby's heart beat. Gusi was thrilled! So was I. Since then he's reminded me several times that he heard the baby's heart. How happy it makes me to see him participating in the pregnancy this way.

On Wednesday I got a phone call from the embassy doctor. The alfa-fetal protein test that had been done came back five times the normal level. This was not good. I knew from my earlier trip to London that Down Syndrome had been ruled out for this baby, but the doctor informed me that I would have to go back to London to rule out any neural tube defects. Since the AFP test is just a screening tool and not a diagnostic one, more tests had to be done especially after these types of blood results. I was terrified but I packed my bags anyway. That same night I caught a flight to London.

Thursday was spent running around without a compass. I barely spent time at the hotel, just enough to drop off my things and shower. Then I was off to the specialists. He did a high definition ultrasound and checked the baby from head to toe. They checked to see if the skin was closed over the spinal column, if the spine was a good shape all the way down, if the cerebellum was the proper shape. All was fine. Great in fact. The baby looked absolutely healthy from all angles. I told the sonographer that if she could find out what the gender was I'd like to know. Unfortunately the little munchkin was sitting cross-legged with the umbilical cord in between the legs so we could see nothing. Oh well, I thought. Then as I was getting up from the table, she remembered that she had forgotten to take some head measurements. I hopped back on the table and she took the measurements. This time the OB walked over. They both smiled and said "there's the willy". It's a boy? Yes. It's a boy. And he's healthy? You're positive of this? Yes, he's perfectly healthy, go home. I was so relieved. I called Papi and told him the news and then I got ready to go home the next morning.

So why does this blog title mention vitamins? Because the folic acid found in prenatal vitamins can prevent the vast majority of neural tube defects, but only if you take it before you get pregnant. In fact, once you find out you are pregnant it is usually too late to change anything. What's high in folic acid aside from prenatal vitamins? Leafy greens, fortified cereals, oranges, strawberries, liver, eggs and beans. But diet alone is not enough for women of reproductive age; supplements are necessary in the form of prenatal vitamins.

If it's one thing I hate it's taking those horse pills called prenatal vitamins, but it is such a small sacrifice of comfort in the end. We do so much for our kids already, this is a piece of cake.