9w5d ultrasound! no ultrasound! well maybe....

Today I'm actually at 10 weeks exactly, but I started writing this on Thursday and I haven't had time to finish it until now.  If anybody is actually following my posts, then I apologize for the lag!  Here's the latest from 9w5d:


Today I went in for my next appointment in the series.  This time with a nurse-midwife who was excellent, and my husband along for the ride so he could finally see the baby.  As is his fashion he got there stylishly late and when he arrived I was peeing into a cup in the bathroom, but they let him in my exam room for me.  Then the nurse's aid came in and mentioned that it would only be a breast exam and some talking, so I only needed to take my top off and put on the robe.  I said, "But I was told that it would be another ultrasound!  That's why my husband is here!"  She said, "Then it's strange they gave you this midwife, she's not trained in ultrasounds."  She said she'd mention that I was expecting a U/S to the midwife, and she left.   I then fretted out loud while my husband tried to calm me down by reading every boring post he came across on facebook.

Soon the nurse midwife joined us.  She was a lovely woman, a little older than me, with a sweet, calm energy about her.  She explained that she's not well versed in the ultrasound machine, but she had brought in a doppler and we could listen for the heartbeat.  I explained that I had never made it this far in a pregnancy before and that I was just really looking forward to knowing if everything was OK or not.  Then I started to cry, which surprised me a little, but my hormones are crazy now.  Also, I thought for sure there was an ultrasound at this appointment and after three babies that stopped growing before 8 weeks, I was really counting on some proof that everything was advancing.  I managed to gather myself together and she examined my breasts (OW!) and then lubed up the doppler and applied it to my belly.  It didn't go so well.  It took a long time to find anything. At one point she said, "I hear it!" but she couldn't hold it there and we never heard it.  I told her I wouldn't be devastated if she couldn't find it, I figure there are lots of reasons it's hard to find.  She tried and tried again, pressing on my bladder which I thought was empty but apparently had filled right back up again.  She finally gave up and said she'd go get the ultrasound machine.  Yay!  

While we waited I suggested to my husband that he quickly google some images of a 9w5d ultrasound so that he can have an idea if what we see is on track, since we were set up to not have the best guide.

The aid helped set up the machine, then split.  The nurse midwife started the ultrasound and announced that I have a VERY tilted uterus, and this is why we couldn't hear the heartbeat on the doppler.  Apparently the baby is back by my spine somewhere, buried under lots of intestines and whatnot.  Tilted uteruses (uteri?) will un-tilt during pregnancy, so that's good to know.  Otherwise I'd have my pregnancy bump on my back, which would be most horrid.

Despite the midwife's lack of experience and my uber-tilted uterus, she managed to hone right in on the cutest lil' niblet you ever did see.  A sweet little side profile of a huge head on top of an equal-sized body, with little legs and arms, waving and waving at us!  She lined up the sensor over the beating heart, and we saw and heard it beating away, at what seemed to be a nice, fast pace.  Since this wasn't her regular thing, she didn't measure the baby, nor record the heartrate, but I figured I'd rather have that done by a pro anyway so we didn't have misinformation, and I do have yet another ultrasound in 5 days as preparation for the CVS.

Long story short, it was a great appointment even though it started off rocky, and I am feeling reassured for now.  I'm still going to wait until after the CVS results to tell family and friends though.  So from today (the real today, 10 weeks) I have about 2 weeks until I can let anyone know what's been going on.  

In the meantime, I'm glad I have this blog!