Going Public

Ok, I should probably follow up that last post with something just a bit more positive... And going public has certainly been positive!

I had drawn the line in the sand that I was waiting for the official results of the nuchal translucency screen before going public. Once I heard that all looked good and my chances of something horrible were very low, I figured that was a good time to go public, and it worked out nicely with the timing, in terms of when most people tend to let the cat out of the bag.

So, last Tuesday, a woman from the Center for Women called and said my results were in, and it was a negative screen. She also said my chances for Down Syndrome were now 1/1,100, and that my provider would go over the results in more detail at my next appointment. Which worked out well, because my appointment was the next day.

My midwife repeated that my chances of Down Syndrome went from 1/110 to 1/1,100, and she said that my chances of Trisomy 18 are now 1/10,000 (I think it was something like 1/360 before the screen, but I don't know if I'm remembering that right). The doctor told me on scan day that the nuchal measurement was 1.4mm, and I knew that was good from having googled it the day before. :)

I asked my midwife to print out a copy of the report for me, which she did, but I forgot to pick it up at the front desk (or wherever it printed) on my way out, so I still have to get that, because I want to file it away somewhere. I just like to have these things.

Anyway... I'd posted an update on the SMC Forum with this info, and said I was ready to go public, but that I was open for suggestions as to a cute/fun way to announce on facebook, since I hadn't been able to come up with anything. Thank you to M, a fellow SMC, who gave me a very cute idea for facebook...

So, the very next day, which just randomly happened to be Groundhog's Day, I posted a status update on facebook that said the following:

My Groundhog's Day Announcement... Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow,

so there will be 26 more weeks of pregnancy!

(Yes, you read that right. :) )

And then I commented on my own post, saying, "Yes, on my own, and yes, on purpose. Just ask if you have any questions!"

And so the comments started rolling in. Positive comments, each and every one of them! There are a total of 75 comments and 62 "likes" as of now. And a few people wrote on my wall or messaged me privately, and a couple of people asked questions. Every single person is supportive; if anyone has any negative thoughts on the subject, they're keeping them to themselves (and I'm glad they are!).

Before I posted on facebook, I talked to the nurse manager of the emergency department where I work. I really wanted to make sure she heard directly from me, and not from the grapevine, so I didn't want to start spreading the news at work (aside from the handful of nurses who already knew and who were sworn to secrecy) until I'd talked to her. She was very supportive and thinks it's great. She's already pissing me off about my maternity leave - not in terms of me taking the leave, that's no problem - but in terms of hiring someone to fill all my hours. She's basically being cheap and obnoxious, and saying at that time of year, it's fine to have some holes in coverage, if someone else picks up just some of my hours that'll be enough. Which makes me mad, because I just don't feel validated and respected and important professionally, when my maternity leave ends up serving to save the department a couple of bucks, and not that I'm seen as important enough to hire someone to cover for me. It's kind of hard to explain if you're not in the field, so I'll leave it at that.

But, back to the point of this post, it was SO NICE to finally go public, and not have to keep this big, huge secret anymore. And to not have to try to hide my belly anymore, because I've kind of started to show! I think basically because I already had a belly, it didn't take much to kind of push it out just a little more, just enough to be noticeable and possibly make people wonder.

So, without making a big announcement either in the ED or in the child life department, the news is out there, and it's starting to spread. Later in the day, I told the Education Coordinator in the child life department, and also our administrative assistant, both of whom thought it was fantastic news.

I really do LOVE not having to keep it a secret anymore!