Cross-posted at 23andMe's pregnancy community!
My second fed ex box from 23andMe arrived yesterday. This one contained THREE spit kits: for my partner, and both of our children.
On the one hand, I'm incredibly excited. We're about to find out more about Noah and Josie's paternal heritage than we ever imagined we'd be able to know.
He was an anonymous sperm donor to a cryobank. Everything we know about him is summarized in a few dozen pages of medical history and personal interest information that he filled out when he applied to become a donor. And while it is interesting to know that he's a U2 fan, I'm a lot more interested in finding out whether or not he gave my children increased risk of diabetes or Parkinsons as well as Noah's golden brown eyes and height that makes people guess he's a year older than his actual age.
I'm also a little bit scared. What if the kids are at increased risk of a serious illness? Or as I fear more, what if Jill is? Jill's mother is in excellent health for her age, but she is also a 3 time cancer survivor -- twice of breast cancer. Jill already gets annual mammograms, so there's not much we could probably change in terms of monitoring for that.
Then there's the logistical challenge: Jill can certainly spit in a tube. But what about Noah? I think a 3 year old will enjoy the challenge. Will we? Less clear. And how on earth do you get a vial of spit from a 7 month old? (She doesn't seem to be teething at the moment, so there's no copious volume of drool currently running down her chin.)
I'll post an update on the logistics as we tackle this project, but if you have any suggestions, I sure would appreciate them.
For the baby, use and I dropper to suction spit. For Noah-- i suggest outdoors.
Posted by: Clare | 04/17/2009 at 06:44 PM