Positive Vibes Only: How I Chose to Handle an Extra Chromosome

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“You popped positive for Down syndrome, probably a false positive though…”

And so my high risk pregnancy began.

I opted for the NIPT (non invasive pre natal test), if I’m honest, to find out the gender of our much anticipated sweet baby. What I found out was so much more. 

Not only did I find out my “risk” of having a baby with a genetic abnormality, but I quickly learned about amniocentesis, karotyping, and all of these other very scary sounding medical terms. 

I learned about the odds, and the chances and my husband and I were suddenly in the middle of waiting to find out if we won the generic lottery.

The possibility that our baby would have a genetic abnormality was less than a tenth of a percent. With a postive NIPT result and my age taken into account, those odds jumped to 64%. 

The results were in, the FISH test obtained from amniocentesis (pretty much the fast track to results that are available in a few days) confirmed that extra chromosome. A week later, the karotyping was complete and we knew about every cell in our little baby’s body. 

These are all the things I “learned” when I became high risk, but no medical fact, scenario, or “what if,” can prepare you for this unique journey. 

I read the forums, I researched families on Instagram, I reached out to the non-profits in town…all the resources in the world available at my fingertips (so grateful to live in a time where this is the case), and nothing helped more than just looking inside myself and choosing this journey and most importantly, choosing to LOVE this journey.

I vowed to myself I wouldn’t compare my journey to others, or wish my unique journey away. I chose complete and utter positivity.

Was I scared? Heck yes. Did I doubt myself and fear the future? Yes. But, in the end we are in control of our destiny and choosing the positive side of things has always been my vibe.

Your thoughts and your mind are a powerful thing, your life and your happiness are entirely in your hands. Life is truly what you make it. I changed my high risk mentality into a high reward mentality, and prepared for the birth of my beautiful boy. 

November 9th came and Teddy Mellow came into this world big, strong, and sporting that extra chromie like we knew he would.

Did I hope amniocentesis was wrong? That we would defy the odds and all the testing was miraculously incorrect? I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart, that I did not. 

A positive NIPT is not something to be afraid of. It’s an opportunity to learn new things, a wealth of information, and make your choice on how you will navigate these waters.

Positivity was my choice and I never looked back.  

PS: I say genetic “abnormality” only because medically thats what it’s called. My son is perfect and not abnormal, he is different, just as we all are. 

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