Stressful January

I've maintained blogger silence over the past month because it's been a stressful time for me.

The top reason being....

I've had some unpleasant news regarding pregnancy number 3.

After Switzerland, I went to see the gynaecologist expecting nothing more than a routine visit.

Had the first trimester Down's Screening as per the first 2 pregnancies.

The results were less than stellar. In 3 days I was recalled about a slightly higher risk of Down's, because the blood test showed that my PappA levels were 1/3 normal. The fetal ultrasound was normal. That made my risk 1:190. The genetic counsellor recommended chorionic villus sampling so I went in the very next day to have it done. After waiting 2.5 hours to see the doctor, I got a surprised look from him, and advice to postpone it for an amniocentesis instead.

All good, except I had 3 nerve wrecking weeks to wait.

In the meantime, my trusted helper, Warni was scheduled to go home for 3 weeks. I hadn't expected anything to crop up when I booked her trip.

I think the stress from having to wait for the amnio made me anxious and impatient, especially with the kids.

I did have some help from my mother-in-law, who just happened to be visiting from Christmas. Timing was perfect, so she was around everyday till today, when she left to go visit her parents in Kota Bahru.

The kids were good, it was just the mornings that were stressful initially. Trying to get them both ready for school in 45 minutes was tiring and demanding on my patience. I think that in retrospect, they also needed time to adjust to school, and realizing that they had to be ready. The past week has been smoother, and today we were actually ready at 8am!

Annika also started drop-off school for the first time on the day that Warni left, so logistically it was stressful getting everything sorted out.

Then I had to plan the amnio day out too, because I was required to rest a few days after the amnio.

So Chris took leave on the Friday that it was done and ferried the kids about to their activities.

The anticipation of the amnio itself was more nerve -wrecking than the actual procedure. Dr John Tee is an excellent surgeon, and his procedure was flawless. He did it under ultrasound guidance, and was very reassuring throughout the procedure. It took all of 5 minutes to get done, and was certainly less painful than the venepuncture I did just prior.

In the blink of the eye the month is suddenly almost over.

My mother-in-law left today to visit her parents.
Warni returns tomorrow afternoon.
The rapid result ( PCR ) from the amnio came back reassuring.

I just hope the last week of January and the rest of the year is going to be better!