There is going to be a Baby Tall!! (Future and current Dad's thread)

[Mano]

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On a serious note, does anyone have any thoughts on testing the baby for Genetic/Birth Defects and the whatnot. I have heard it was possible, but I don't really have any more info that that. Can anyone shed some light on that sort of thing? Never thought I would be posting in a thread like this. This board is now like the 8th person to know. LOL, I need more friends...

C-Dog

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I am not a doctor, but went through a [censored] of testing when my wife was pregnant.

If your wife is over 35, they've probably recommend she have an amnio, which involves actually drawing some amniotic fluid out of her and testing it. The results from amnios are pretty definitive, but there is SOME risk involved with the procedure. I think over the age of 35 the risk of birth defects, etc, exceeds the risk from the amnio so they go ahead with it.

My wife and I both have lots of funky health issues so we met with a geneticist and were tested for a bunch of stuff. If you and your wife are from the same ethnic background/area of the world originally, especially Jews from Eastern Europe, I think there's some higher risk.

Talk to her OB. If she's under 35 and you both have no history of genetic disorders I think there are some simple blood tests they can do that will reduce the likelihood of birth defects to a really small number.

And congratulations!

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They have some blood tests for Down's syndrome, and can pick up stuff on the ultra-sound (especially the second one). If they need to be sure of something they do an Amnio or a fetal biopsy, but there is always a small chance (about .5%) of these procedures triggering a miscarriage, so usually only done if there are some other strong indicators that something may be wrong.

[Joe Tall]

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she sees me wearing my Sox hat she yells "NEED MY RED SOX HAT NEED MY RED SOX HAT" until I put hers on her, and she says "Daddy and Sully are both wearing Red Sox hats!" Then she says "I loooooove the Red Sox." She knows what makes her Daddy happy.


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Baby Tall's mam is Japanese, so I'm sure to have an avid Dice-K fan for sure!

Love all the suggestions in this thread, great job guys!

Thanks again,
Joe Tall

[private joker]

Joe -- please name the baby some form of "blah blah chow meow."

[Mermade]

Regarding tests such as the triple screen, I rejected them all the first time and again this second time around. (BTW, just 3 weeks to go.) I should note however that I have none of the risk factors that would increase the probability of a positive result on the triple screen and young enough where amnio is not an issue.

Have a conversation with Michelle about this. The bloodtests aren't instrusive like an amnio, BUT they are notorious for false positives. I have many friends who had multiple positive tests only to birth children completely free of genetic abnormalities. The stress of fearing the worst was hard for them.

My husband and I decided in advance that we weren't going to abort regardless of the outcome of the testing, and we would have plenty of time after birth to educate ourselves should our child be born with abnormalities. In addition, when we refused the triple screen our doctor ordered a level 2 ultrasound. This more detailed ultrashound will detect many abnormalities that are treatable as well as gross malformations, etc.

The triple screen test, etc. is considered completely routine, but there are reasons for avoiding it. I just wanted to mention there are some who decline it.

[Tommy Angelo]

Mongo huggy congrats my man!

[MissT74]

Best piece of advice I've ever had (and used, it really works!)

Starting on the first day you get home from the hospital, for about a week, run the vacuum near the crip/bassinet while the baby is sleeping. This will get the baby used to noises while sleeping and will prevent the baby from being a "light" sleeper. Amazing how it works.

Also, car rides work very well at getting the baby to fall asleep, especially if he/she has colic. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

GL!

T

[JoseRijo]

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On a serious note, does anyone have any thoughts on testing the baby for Genetic/Birth Defects and the whatnot. I have heard it was possible, but I don't really have any more info that that. Can anyone shed some light on that sort of thing?

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Those tests are (IMHO) a joke. The non-amnio tests basically give you odds that your baby has a disorder. But these aren't odds you're going to hit your flush draw. They're 80-1, or 150-1, or 300-1, or 500-1. What kind of decision am I supposed to make with that information?

The amnio is only good for detecting Downs. Sure, it can detect other deformities, but those deformities are either unsurvivable or relatively benign. Do you even want to know if your baby will be sterile or short? What decision will you make?

So my point is that you shouldn't stress about having these tests. Your baby is almost assuredly fine. But a little prayer never hurts.

[robracing]

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car rides work very well at getting the baby to fall asleep


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The above is sanity-saving tip!

My two cents :-

Remember that it is never too soon to begin to brainwash your kids into supporting the same sports teams that you do.

Be sure to kit them out in your team's romper suits, bibs, etc and repeat every year.

It drives me mad to see kids that support different teams from their Dad's. Talk about negligent parenting! Your kids will come under plenty of peer pressure in the school yard to follow whoever the local fashionable team happens to be, so get your brainwashing done much earlier.

Ideally, you want your children to grow up with exactly the same set of sporting preferences that you have, in terms of both sports and teams.

Once they are old enough to come and play/watch sports with you, you will never hear any complaints from their mother, because you are doing stuff to entertain the kids!

I spent my entire childhood playing/watching sports with my Dad, which in the UK meant mainly golf and soccer.

[samjjones]

This is fine, but can lead to unpleasantries if the parents support rival teams. For example, I am a lifelong Mets fan, and my wife likes the Yankees. I absolutely abhor the Yankees and their fans. At the baby shower, my family bought the kid Mets stuff, and her family bought the kid Yankees stuff. Now, I can't let him wear either since the families went immediately to overkill status with the sports stuff.

p.s. The car ride/vacuum suggestions are spot on.

[nolanfan34]

The only danger I've seen about the car ride thing, is that you have to be careful about overdoing it. We had some friends that used that trick too much - so their kid could ONLY fall asleep by riding in the car. Trust me, you don't want to have to go driving around every night to get the kid asleep.

My advice about sleeping, not sure if it has been mentioned yet, is to get them used to going to be early once they're sleeping through the night. If you keep that routine up, it makes it a lot easier when they're 2 or 3 years old. One of my buddies, they did that, and he can put his son down at 7:30 or 8:00 every night, because that's what the kid expects.

My nephew on the other hand, goes to bed anywhere from 9-11 pm, because his mom doesn't enforce a regular routine. So he's learned he can push that boundary, and getting him to go to bed at 9 can be a big ordeal because he thinks he's going to be "missing out" on the action. My 2 cents.