And Squall Is...

First item of note: "Squall" is the nickname I chose for the baby, because until the last few weeks, it kept causing panic storms in the form of spotting and light bleeding. (I realize it wasn't the baby's fault, but it felt apropos when it popped into my head.)

Now that our families have been informed, I can make the announcement official. But first, the background.

Due to my diagnosis of “advanced maternal age,” the OBs at the Big Hospital felt that it would be prudent to couple my 12-week ultrasound – where they measure nuchal translucency – with Non Invasive Prenatal Testing. This involves the drawing of a single vial of blood from my arm. As it turns out, some of Squall’s blood can be found in my blood stream (thanks, placenta!) This allows a laboratory in Massachusetts to identify Squall’s blood within the sample I provided, and detect any chromosomal abnormalities in the blood.

The good news is: Between the ultrasound and NIPT results, the doctors have determined that Squall is perfectly normal.

The part I forgot about the NIPT, is that it can tell you what gender the baby is. So when my Favorite Nurse at The Big Hospital called me yesterday to tell me that everything looked okay, she asked if I wanted to know Squall’s sex.

“Oh! I forgot you could do that! YES!” I responded dazedly.

“Are you sure you want to know?” She asked, trying to be sure I understood the offer.

“Yes,” I replied enthusiastically, “My husband and I agreed ages ago that we want to know.”

“Well then, it’s a boy,” my Favorite Nurse supplied; an audible smile in her voice.

I thanked her, hung up, and proceeded to tell everyone in my family. EVERYONE.

And now you all know, too! Honestly, I didn’t care whether the baby was male or female. I just wanted a healthy baby. I’m thrilled it’s a boy, but I’d be just as thrilled if my Favorite Nurse had said it was a girl.