Does this Milk Smell Funny?

We have all done it.

You stagger to the kitchen, pour a bowl of cereal, reach for the milk, and through blurry eyes you realize that the expiration date was yesterday.

So you open the carton, jam your nose in and sniff. It smells funny.

That's when you realize that milk always smells funny. Even the freshest, purest milk has an odd odor. The question is, does this milk smell abnormally funny? So you get a second opinion.

In my case, my wife's sense of smell is much more acute then mine so I hand it off to her and 9 times out of 10 she reassures me that it is perfectly fine.

"The date is the sell-by date! Not an expiration date!" She will exclaim for the umpteenth time.

When you are pregnant, there are a series of tests done for all manner of reasons. As you can imagine, blood work is one of those tests and it basically amounts to the "sniff test".

"Does anything here smell abnormally funny?"

Yesterday, we received a voice mail from the doctor's office.

The results are in on the blood work. There is no indication of Downs Syndrome which, given our slightly older age, was a primary concern of ours.

However . . . There was a slight elevation in some chemical or other that has to do with neural-tube disorders.

Spina Bifida was mentioned.

The doc recommended that we go in for some additional and more definitive tests (Picture me sleepily handing the carton of milk to my wife for a second opinion).

Fortunately, because my wife will be over the age of 34 on our due date, we are already scheduled to see a specialist this coming Monday.

Am I worried? No. Mildly concerned? Yes.

I think my wife may have stronger feelings on the matter.

Since all we have so far is a voice mail from the doc, the wife and I are going to do a conference call first thing this morning to get some more information.

Your prayers are appreciated.