Saturday, June 20, 2009

Monday's 12 1/2 Week Appt

Sorry for the delay in posting, I was busy and I kept leaving the ultrasound picture in inconvenient locations - at home, in the car, etc.

Last Saturday I was scared with a couple of episodes of cramping. The day before I had spent five hours on my feet and during that time had two large bottles of Gatorade, but I don't think that was enough - I was dehydrated for five days after that! And like I mentioned the next morning I had some scary cramps. Immediately, I got off my feet, drank a ton of water, went to the bathroom .. and they subsided ... until the second round came around dinner. I followed the same steps and things resolved much more quickly. Since then I haven't had any strange symptoms or feelings ... but I will say that it heightened the fear at my Monday morning appointment.

So last Monday (6/15) was our first appointment with our OB. It is scary because Berilac (for the last two appointments) has shown up later than me, so they walk me to the exam room alone and I get so worried that he's not going to make it in time - but he has both times. This past week was especially scary because they walked me back to the very first exam room I'd ever seen in their clinic - the one where I learned that the baby from our first pregnancy had died. I took a deep breath and entered the room.

They had me pee in a cup and my protein levels and sugar levels are fine. My blood pressure came in at a nice 110/70 and I haven't gained any weight since Colorado. Then the OB discreetly brought out the Doppler and gently pushed me to my back to place in on my stomach - I was in the middle of a sentence so I hardly recognized what she was doing ... not to mention I've never seen or used a Doppler before. As I lay there I could feel my heart pounding so hard against my ribs, I kept thinking she's not going to be able to find a heartbeat, what if she can't find a heartbeat!!?! ... And after a few minutes of probing around (and pretty low too) she said that all she could hear was my enormously loud heartbeat that was quickening in pace so she said - "let me get the ultrasound machine to calm you down."

When she left the room I put the inside crook of my elbow over my eyes and took deep breaths while Berilac prayed for us. It was so reminiscent of our first appointment there - at that appointment they had left us alone for a few minutes while they found someone else to prove that nobody could find a heartbeat. But this time, the appointment ended differently ... whew.

The doctor came back with the ultrasound machine and for the first time used the abdominal wand. Very quickly she found the little one hanging out tucked back into the uterus. When she found the heartbeat (about 150bpm) - I cried and started breathing again. It was so emotional and I was so scared. Unlike the 10 week appointment the baby wasn't dancing - all the baby gave us was an arm swing which I like to think of as a wave.

In this picture you are looking at the close up head shot of the baby with his/her left arm lifted above his/her head - kind of like in a "Hi Mom!" kind of positioning. The crown of the baby's head is pointing toward the 10 o'clock - so it's not like the baby is straight up and down.


After the appointment we went downstairs for the integrated screening blood work. We should have the results back by Tuesday in the Peri's office, while we do the NT ultrasound.

When we left Berilac was pressing me for a smile. He was so happy that things turned out differently this time and that we found the baby's heartbeat. I shared with him that I was (and still am) a little nervous because our baby was so active last time, and so quiet and subdued this time. The OB kept trying to get the baby to move positions to get a good profile shot, but baby kept in the same spot and only moved to give a wave.

I'm glad, after this appointment, that there's only 8 days between ultrasounds. Our next appointment is on Tuesday at the Perinatologist's office - we will be getting a 1 hour scan where they will look at many different things - specifically measuring the nuchal fold at the back of the baby's neck and checking for a nasal bone. I'm sure they'll do other investigations, but I'm not exactly sure what.

Please keep praying for our little one.

27 comments:

  1. Hey Polly, Yeah! So happy for you that things are continuing to go well. I wanted to tell you that I bought a doppler machine on line (Amazon.com). I think it was about $140 but the best investment I have ever made. I listened to the heartbeat everyday and it relieved my fears and allowed me to relax a little more.

    I was so tied up with anxiety that I needed constant reassurance.

    Also, don't worry about the little one not being active at the last appointment. Our little guy sometimes slept through the whole thing or he was up and didn't budge. He was very chilled. The NT ultrasound is really exciting. You get to see them so clearly and our tech even gave us a 3D picture.

    Hugs
    Jill (Canada)

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  2. Hey Polly, Yeah! So happy for you that things are continuing to go well. I wanted to tell you that I bought a doppler machine on line (Amazon.com). I think it was about $140 but the best investment I have ever made. I listened to the heartbeat everyday and it relieved my fears and allowed me to relax a little more.

    I was so tied up with anxiety that I needed constant reassurance.

    Also, don't worry about the little one not being active at the last appointment. Our little guy sometimes slept through the whole thing or he was up and didn't budge. He was very chilled. The NT ultrasound is really exciting. You get to see them so clearly and our tech even gave us a 3D picture.

    Hugs
    Jill (Canada)

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  3. glad your appt went well! that's great! i remember alex going from moving at an appt to completely asleep, no matter what, the next. by the following, he was moving crazy again. our doc assured us that the sleep a lot and to not worry, even though that is easier said than done.

    cant wait to hear more good news!

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  4. Whew, you had my heart racing, I can't imagine how terrified you were. So happy that everything turned out perfect!

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  5. That is one cute baby! :)

    Polly, this is the time you succeed - no more worries and crying. You walk in there next time totally confident - just eager to see your little one again, without any fear whatsoever that it'll be "like last time." This time it's all different.

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  6. 150bmp is a wonderful heartbeat! :) I think you need to invest in a fetal doppler. Alex bought me one and I use it every day. It's just nice to be able to hear it whenever you want. He bought a nice one for $100 online. I can give you the brand name that we bought, if you like.

    I really believe this is your time...it's your turn...you're going to have a healthy pregnancy. I'll continue to pray that you will be able to believe that soon. I totally understand your fears...with all that you have been through, bless your heart.

    ((hugs))

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  7. Congrats Polly! this is great news! I can't imagine how stressful it must have been when she couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler, but I'm so glad that it turned out ok in the end. I'm sure the worrying will never completely go away, but I hope all of these small victories help in some way.

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  8. So glad that everything is going so well!! Thinking of you often. {{hugs}}

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  9. Oh, Polly, that must have been so scary! I so wish that we could enjoy this. I don't know - maybe we'll reach a point where we can, but, for now, we suffer and struggle between appointments and pray for the best, right?

    So glad your prayers are being answered!!

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  10. The home doppler definitely preserved what was left of my sanity, but I'm a control freak like that...LOL!

    I just wanted to say that everything you're feeling/seeing is normal. I had major cramps around that time as well...turns out the first time you make it that far that your body is going through lots of new physical changes (mainly the uterus finally growing and starting to move out of the pelvis) that HURT...but you stop noticing it once you start getting kicks and wiggles. The slow down in activity is also normal...they're jumping all over the place at the 9-10w u/s and then they calm down at the NT scan...totally normal! Everything sounds absolutely perfect!!

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  11. Found your blog via the blogoversary site.

    Happy blogoversary!

    And much congrats on your pregnancy!

    :)

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  12. Just found you accidentally on a search and wanted to assure you that it's normal to get some strong cramping feelings at this point because of ligaments stretching.

    If you make it to 16 weeks, the chances of you NOT being in the clear are no worse than any other woman's. BTDT.

    (For me? Secondary infertility, five years of trying to conceive another one that hung around.)

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  13. That doctors appt would have scared me too! So happy to see your beautiful pic, Polly! You are almost to the 14 week mark!!!

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  14. What a beautiful little bean!

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  15. What a beautiful little bean!

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  16. Thanks for keeping us updated! Glad to hear the outcome of the appointment was good, but man..how nervewracking! The changes in movements are totally normal so don't worry that it means more than it really does. At my NT ultrasound I had to shake my hips around, drink lots of water and even resorted to doing a handstand to try to get the baby to move into a position where they could get accurate measurements. They just said the baby was comfortable where it was, so don't worry.

    Good luck at the next appointment.

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  17. Congrats on a good appointment. I'm sure you were exhausted after wards. Can't wait to hear how appt. at Peri goes. Hopefully they will give you the 4 D images. Way cool! Hugs.

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  18. Oh, wow, how scary, Polly. I'm so glad that everything turned out positive. Yay! To reassure you, I had several ultrasounds: for some Z was doing acrobatics and others she was sleeping. 150 bpm is a great rate! Your little one is just cozy, I'm sure. :)

    Can't wait to hear how things go today. I'll be sending you very positive, happy vibes for a great NT scan. Have fun watching your little one. That u/s is so clear and you get so much time to see your babe! xo

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  19. Hey, just another "I had a similar experience" post. My 10 week u/s baby was dancing. At my nuchal scan (exactly 12 weeks) the tech COULD NOT make that child move, and she really tried. He was completely still. NT results fine and baby now very happy and healthy.
    I had several early miscarriages and just wasn't convinced my body could carry a pregnancy. The time from 4 weeks to 12 was one of such intense anxiety it's hard to think back on it.
    So happy for you by the way.

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