As of today Shu and I are celebrating 18-weeks of pregnancy. We feel extremely blessed and grateful to experience firsthand the miracle of life forming inside Shu. Thanks for your continued support and prayers for Shu and baby's well-being. As of last Wed, 12/8 Shu has completed the major court case she started on 10/18. The case spanned just about 7.5 weeks with Shu's legal team coming out victorious. Congrats to Shu and baby for winning both their first jury trial!
During our 1st trimester screening tests our baby was given a 1 in 320 risk of Down Syndrome. Last week we received results of our 2nd trimester screening test with an updated Down Syndrome risk of 1 in 200. This was low enough that after consultation with our parents and the genetic counselor today we decided to forgo performing amniocentesis, which would have a minuscule risk of complications or miscarriage. (We are blessed that Shu's current risk assessment for abnormal chromosomes is actually now statistically equivalent to a woman 5 years younger than her age.)
After meeting with the genetic counselor this morning, the doctor performed the 2nd trimester ultrasound. This was an extremely thorough check-up with the doctor snapping dozens of photos of all the major body parts and organs, including head, chest, heart, limbs, kidneys, bladder, spine, and even lips! Based on her examination the baby seems perfectly healthy. See attached for a few photos from the ultrasound. One shows the baby with raised hand showing all five fingers very clearly - yeah five! Shu says it's "as if to say 'Hi mom!'" but I think it's more likely, 'Where's my racquet???'"
Shu's Christmas wishlist mostly consists of maternity clothes as she's ever expanding and has begun to taste the comforts of maternity-specific clothing.
Thanks again for your continued prayers and well-wishes.
Love and hugs,
Paul and Shu
