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Congrats Carlas27!!! You must be so excited to have your baby in your arms :) Great news!!!! Thanks for coming back and posting. Steffie it is hard to be (or even act) excited when the wind has been kicked out of you. No matter what the potential problem may with our babies it is awful to think of any possibility that your child may not have the best of everything or may suffer in some way. And truth be told it's also hard to think about what that may mean for us as parents, even though you don't want to be selfish and think of yourself. Will they need care after we have pa__sed away, will we need a new house without stairs, etc?? My suggestion is that you tell your mother. I don't know what your relationship with her is like but I told my mom and she was very loving and supportive. I could tell her all my fears and not feel bad, I couldn't do that with my friends in the same way (I only told 2 friends). Plus, it seems your mom already knows something is up anyway.... It took me months to get to an ok place with this and I know you will get there too. It may not feel like it now but time does help. It also helps as you get bigger and become more obviously pregnant. Everyone will start talking to you about it, strangers, friends, aquaintances, etc. It may be uncomfortable for a while but the more it happens the easier it gets. Just as with anything. I am beginning my 37th week and I still have a little something in the back of my mind, sometimes (not all the time!), but I don't pay much attention to it anymore. I am just excited for my baby to come and also to be done with being pregnant. Being pregnant is hard enough and all this worry and stress we all have doesn't help. Ohhmuffin I have been reading your posts and am so happy that all is well with your babys feet and also for how positive you are feeling. What a nice place to be in!!! Your att_tude is infectious and made me feel better too :)

1moremom - I don't think I can tell my mom. She is too much of a worry wart. She has been telling me how much she is worrying about this pregnancy since day 1 and that made me feel nervous about it. This would only amplify her worriness. She already puts off enough negative energy that I stopped telling her things about the pregnancy before I even found out about the focus. We've told 1 friend and my sister, both of whom have been very supportive. I think this is something my husband and I have to keep to ourselves.

Hello All, Just thought I would post another "stress reliever"! haha! I think that we all need them right now with these winter blah's!!! I got a phone call asking me to be a "practice patient" for our obstetrics clinic so that they could practice with their portable ultrasounds the doctors use. The head radiologist from our hospital (which is a small hospital) was there, teaching the doctors how to take measurements, what to look for, etc. Anyways, the doctors confirmed that my baby does indeed have a head (suprise suprise!!! lol) and took a ton of measurements, looking at everything from the wee-nuts liver, kidneys, heart, etc. I *mentioned* the echogenic focus to the radiologist, so she focused in on the heart with the doctors, pointed it out to them, pointed out to me how small it really is, then said to the doctors "if you ever see something like this, don't mention it to the poor mom's if you see nothing else.....it makes them worry too much and it's nothing". She was so funny! She told me that she would be a millionaire if she got a dollar for everytime she saw this show up. Echoing what previous posters have written, she honestly said that they see this so much now with the increase in ultrasound sensitivity, yet for some reason, they feel that it's more important to give someone a false positive than it is to give false negative for ds. She, again, rea__sured me that it's all okay, not to worry and to be honest, I wasn't worried going into the ultrasound, but just thought I would pick someone else's brain! lol! Nice of me!!! hehehe! So for all of you who are worried, relax!!! I have 7 weeks now until the wee-nut arrives and I think I'm more concerned about sleep now than I am the foci! Just wishing I could get comfy!!! I actually slept decent last night, until 2:30 a.m. when someone decided to use my bladder as a trampoline! My husband said I sounded like a chainsaw, snoring so loudly! I guess baby is just preparing me for when I get up with him/her 50 times during the night to feed. Oh, and I thought maybe the doctors would screw up and tell me what baby is. My husband doesn't want to know but I really do, and I'm not one who can keep a secret from my husband so I haven't been able to find out. He comes to every appointment, so I haven't even been able to try to persuade the doctor to tell me! lol! Anyways, thought with this extra "laid-back" ultrasound appointment that maybe they would let us know, but no such luck. Baby kept it's legs crossed anyways, so couldn't see a thing! Darn it!!!! Little booger! Hope everyone else will relax, enjoy your pregnancy and try to have a positive outlook! Smile!!!! We have nothing to worry about :)

Ohmuffin - I love your entire post! I really do think that we are all ok. The more that I hear about techs and Dr.s not being concerned the more I figure it is all going to be ok. I saw the main Dr. today in my practice and he didnt even mention it. I thought that he would have something to say since he wrote on the top of my chart to schedule an amnio the last time I went to the office. Now I think it was just an FYI if I really felt like I needed to know either way. I am feeling so much better mentaly and finally phisically! I am 21 weeks and I am not feeling so sick anymore! I am usually feeling fine with this whole thing until I see someone with a child with some kind of disability. That usually sends my mind in to 50 different directions. I really do think that everything is going to be fine. Everyone please keep up all the positive news. Without this site I dont know where my mind would be.

hello everyone,- This is my first time posting a message, but have spent all day reading everyones messages. I just went to my 20wk ultrasound, having a completely normal pregnancy so far, I went in to the U/S expecting the same. Unfortantly, I was informed about a "calcium deposit" in my daughter's left atrium of her heart. I was told not to worry since all my tests came back good, and her growth was good,.( my doctor even informed me that she has a calcium deposit in her own heart and is perfectly healthy) but have spent all day crying worring about this I am waiting for the doctor to call with my appt. time to see a specialist...Reading all the messages in this forum has eased alot of anxiety...thanks!

Ashleykorn - You've come to the right place to find support!!! All of us are in the same boat, and hopefully you too will realize how much we are all worrying for nothing. I think that it has taken a bit for all of us to get to that "comfort zone", where we don't stress out as much, but one thing for sure, is that posting on this site and talking to other people has made things easier! It's hard to get through in the beginning, and I know I BAWLED like a baby for the first two weeks, but things are better now, I've found my "happy place". Try to relax, keep reading the posts, as far back as the beginning and just know that so many other women are dealing with the same thing! Take care and keep us posted how you are doing!

Hi Everyone... I haven't posted in awhile but i have checked this site daily during my pregnancy for rea__surance that my baby was going to be healthy. I can FINALLY tell you that my baby boy was born Jan 14, 2009, healthy and happy and four days early. There was no mention of the echo foci or any further testing done after he was born. I am so relieved and only wish i had enjoyed my pregnancy more. The only advice i have is to have faith and try to stay calm, positive and happy. I know it's way easier said than done and i hope and pray all you moms going through this have some rea__surance it will be ok:) Everyone keep posting this site helps so many of us!

Congratulations Cindyp! That's great news! Thanks for coming back and sharing your woderful news! Hope your little guy is doing fantastic and letting momma get some rest too! It's wonderful hearing more good news! Keep 'em comin' ladies! Hurray!!!!

Woooooo Hoooooooooo!!! Congrats Cindyp!!! That is such great news. Thanks for posting back. Another success story!!!

CindyP - thank you for sharing your wonderful news. Every positive story we hear is more rea__surance! Enjoy your baby boy! Ashleykorn - we have all been in your shoes and know exactly how you feel. As others have said as time goes on you WILL feel better about your pregnancy. Don't get me wrong it is still in the back of my mind but I can get through the day without crying or feeling depressed. It has been exactly 6 weeks since I found out about the focus on the left ventricle. I just had an u/s last week and the baby is still measuring great, no other markers and the focus is still there. Are they having you get a level 2? My docs tell me not to worry about this but we all know that it is not possible to not worry. Keep checking in and hear the positive stories. It will make you feel better. We are all here for you!

wannalil1 -I remember having my good day and really bad one I would cry so much and not talk to anyone about the baby and I also went for a 3d 4d and tried to look to see if I saw anything.. I was even so scared I didn’t want to have a baby shower because I felt the day I went in for that second trim ultrasound was the day the took the joy out of me.. i wish they had never mentioned it to me... steffie92s - your right you do come to a peace with it but the worry never goes away until the day they are born and your hear the first cry I really hope they STOP telling mothers about the echogenci focus if they don’t find anything else or if the baby looks great they should just keep it to themselves I know they have to tell us but it puts so much stress on all of us and its not fear.. While I was waiting for them to prep me for the C-section I started crying and one of the Dr. said to me r u ok and I said im worried about the EIF and she turned to me and said my baby had the same thing don’t worry your baby will be fine it felt wonderful knowing at that moment I was not alone with this problem before they took him out.

hello everyone- Well i went to see the specialist and grief counselor that my doctor referred me too(after finding a calcium deposit in my daughters heart, thursday) and left very relieved. The doctor informed me that he wished that doctors didnt even bring findings of calcium deposits in a fetus's heart to an expected mother's attention. He went on to say that these calcium deposits are way to common, with the result being absolutely nothing, that it causes mothers to worry for no reason and with my quad screen and US looking perfectly normal that I should not worry at all. I have also began to relize that GOD has a plan for everyone, if GOD wants someone to have a baby with DS or without, then that is what will be done. Putting this whole situation in GOD's hands has made this a lot easier, his will, will be done. GOD will never give anyone more than they can handle-

I'm finally adding a post here after reading every single post in this incredible thread. My baby too showed one echogenic focus on the heart and I was told it was a soft maker for Down's. The genetic counselor caused me so much more anxiety than rea__surance, even though my previous screening numbers were great. I ended up getting an amnio just for peace of mind and the results are that everything is just fine and chromosomally normal! So far I haven't heard of any cases where an isolated EIF resulted in a Down's Syndrome baby. I also wanted to post because I read a lot of posts about having faith, prayers, and putting ourselves in God's hands, and to be totally honest, that didn't help me at all. What did was thinking about the great scientific odds in our favor. They really ARE in our favor, and I hope this helps someone or anyone else out there going through these same EIF worries.

ashleykorn, I am so happy that you have good news. I know it is such a relief! I agree with you about God's plan for everyone's life. I have a couison that has DS and she is a blessing to the family. She is a beautiful, 6 year old girl with long blonde hair and is the MOST loving child I've ever known. I continue to ask God to bless each and every one of us that use this chat room. God is good! CindyP - congratulations on your new healthy baby boy!!!

Julie - Thanks for your post! I too am more of a numbers person than anything, but whatever gets us through this is a great thing. Congratulations on your healthy little one and I hope that the rest of your pregnancy goes wonderfully! How is everyone else doing? Any new news? Who is the next one of us to be having their little bundles of joy? Am I the next one? Our due date is March 14th, so only 6 weeks now! Holy Moly! Hope that everyone one is doing great and feeling positive! Soon we'll all be holding healthy little babies in our arms and this will be a distant memory :)

Thank you Julie for posting. I am into numbers as well but without the rea__surance of an amnio I have to put faith in someone else like God besides numbers. Glad you hear you have a healthy baby! As for me I have no news. I am just hoping the weeks will start going by faster. I am almost 28 weeks right now. I am wondering if my due date will change because the baby is measuring a week ahead right now. I am definitely not the next one to deliver so it may be you ohhmuffin! I'm not due until April 26.