Tears and Joy

To say the past few weeks have been eventful would be putting things mildly.  Earlier this year, we got the wonderful news that I was expecting!  (And a huge thank you to all those who sent their love while I was under the weather these past few months.)  We were thrilled, and began all the happy preparations for bringing a new baby into the world.  Then we got terrible news.  According to some prenatal blood work that I had done, the baby was showing a chromosomal abnormality, trisomy 13, which is a terrible diagnosis and almost always fatal in the first year of life. 

Suddenly, all our joy turned to fear and sorrow.  We began the long process of meeting with genetic counselors, who were some of the kindest and most compassionate people I ever had the pleasure of working with.  We decided that we would do a more invasive type of test, sampling the placenta, which gave more accurate results. 

The next two days were absolute hell.  I have so much sympathy for those whose entire futures rest on waiting for a phone call that could come anywhere from 1 to 7 business days.  Fortunately, though, we didn’t have to wait the weekend, and the call came right before 5pm on Friday that our baby, a little girl, was perfectly healthy.

perfect little fingers

We still have more test results coming up within the next week to help us understand what happened in the original test, along with results for all sorts of genetic factors, but the weight was lifted off of our shoulders, and finally we can start enjoying the pregnancy once again and looking forward to welcoming a little girl to our family at the end of the summer!

Don’t Eat the Daisies Shell Beanie and Diaper Cover
by Anne Granger
Free pattern and photo credit.

I usually turn to crochet to help me through nervous periods – a good way to keep my hands busy and to wind the time away.  But after the original diagnosis came, all the baby blankets I was making and the baby accessories, and the baby clothes, and the baby bonnets – all that stopped and I needed to find other, less emotionally painful, ways to occupy my hours. 

Hooded Baby Blanket
by Lion Brand
Free pattern and photo credit.

It was only this weekend that I was finally able to pick up some of the work that I had started weeks prior and allowed myself to dream away baby cobweb dreams, spinning over the bassinet of the little girl that is to come.  Do expect to see an overload of baby crochet in the upcoming months!

Strawberry Booties
by Reba Jones
Free pattern and photo credit.

And as my own PSA: For anyone who gets an early NIPT test that comes back positive for a chromosomal abnormality, the first thing you should do is to schedule a meeting with genetic counseling and get further tests.  NIPT tests are screenings, and not definitive, regardless of maternal age!  We were under the impression that there was virtually no hope, and this was never the case.

Infant’s Crocheted Hood
by Anna Schumacker
Free pattern and photo credit.

For those of you who wrote emails or left questions for me to answer, I will be getting around to answering everyone this week; thanks for your patience.

In health and light,

Mellie