Valiant Birth

Did I mention that I went to this appointment under protest?  I have done it twice before with my last two pregnancies, my husband remains the same, my family history hasn't changed, and we wouldn't terminate or agree to an amniocentesis.  So why did I go?  Because it was easier than making more waves I suppose?  I am being forced to make so many hard decisions that I guess I am choosing my battles.
My appointment took about 20 minutes start to finish, and probably half of that was spent chatting with the geneticist.  It turns out that our oldest 3 children are the same age, so we got to compare notes for a few minutes.  As for the appointment itself, my husband and I are not related to each other, our parents and grandparents have lived decently long lives, and we have no family history of genetic defects.  She also explained that there is no switch that is flipped when you turn 35 and reach that magical age of "advanced maternal age" but that it was a numbers game.  35 was the age that the number crunchers found the risk of defects begin to balance out the risk of miscarriage from an amnio.  That is reassuring <tic>.  She did share with me that it is office policy to request ultrasounds every 4 weeks for mothers over 40.  When I mentioned that wouldn't be an option, she told me I could negotiate with my OB.  Something else to look forward to.  Onward to the "big" ultrasound tomorrow.  Prayers and positive thoughts are appreciated that this doesn't turn into another point of *negotiation.