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!

7w4d first ultrasound!

I had my first prenatal appointment today, and -- hold your breath -- there was nothing to be worried about!  There was a little niblet in a sac, with a beating heart, and what looked to be a few other sacs as well but turned out to be blood vessles, said the doctor.  Based on when I usually ovulate (18th day of my cycle), I had me at 7w4d, but based on when my hubs and I did the deed around then, we could have been at either 7w6d or 7w3d.  The doctor measured it once, and got 7w1d, then he tried again and got 7w3d.  If it had been up to me I would have had him try a third time, but it wasn't up to me.  That's OK because for the first time ever, everything seems to be going forward positively.  It's an absolutely new experience for me, and I'm grateful.

 

Blood vessels and one little niblet in a sac!

My appointment was fast at first, then got slower and slower.  I arrived early to fill out the hefty stack of informational pages they needed from me.  I had told my husband to come a little after the start time of the meeting, as he wasn't going to have much of a break and I had assumed there'd be some extra time at first -- doctors are always running behind, and you end up sitting in the room, waiting, half naked and feeling vulnerable under a plastic blanket.  But noooo.  I hadn't even gotten that plastic blanket on my lap when he knock-knocked and came right on in!  Oh well, it didn't matter, he was about to know all about my body in mere moments.   

Sadly, my husband hadn't even left work yet, he was just about to leave.  We were texting madly and I told him not to bother at that point, since the doctor was grabbing the ultrasound machine and the wand and then voila! it was happening.  But it was all happening a little too fast.  Deano wasn't with me, and the doctor (an older man whose first language wasn't English, and whose demeanor wasn't warm and inviting) whooshed in and I saw what looked like 2 sacs.  "There's two?" I said, and he said "No!".  He focused the image over the baby and measured once, with a measurement of 7w1d, then he repositioned it and measured again at 7w3d, but I wasn't sure if it was the same sac, so I said, "Is that a second baby?" and he said "No!  There's just one!"  Then he says, "there's the heartbeat", which I caught for about 3 seconds total before he moved the wand out and started cleaning up.  I said, "Are you going to measure the heart rate?" and he looked at me like I was crazy.  "No, it's fine. Didn't you see it?"  "Barely," I said.   I gotta be honest, I was disappointed.  I didn't get to see how fast it was flickering, and one of my miscarriages had a slow heartbeat.  I am not positive that this heart was fast enough, so I just have to trust that since the doctor was OK with it, there should be nothing to worry about.  He told me to get dressed and to come to his office next door.  Immediately I decided I would be switching doctors.

When I walked in, I asked him, "Can I get a copy of the ultrasound photos?" and he handed me the photo saying, "Yes, this is yours."  Now, if I were the doctor, I would have told the patient that she'd be getting a copy after I'd printed them out in the exam room.  This guy just had no bedside manner.  He told me that based on my last period, that I was at 8 weeks.  I explained that my ovulatory phase is 4 days longer than most womens', so really I was at 7w4d or thereabouts.  He said that this is how they do it, based on first day of last period, and announced that my due date is now 11/6/13 (I have it at 11/9/13, and that is wayyy more in line with the measurement today).   

~~~more thoughts of switching doctors!!~~~

It wasn't until the very end of the meeting with him that he finally smiled, sticking out his hand and saying, "Congratulations!"   I can see that he's a fine doctor who simply has some cultural differences from myself, and I would probably be in good hands were I to stay with him.  But, quite frankly, I want someone I can relate to more, with whom I can joke, who smiles easily and is concerned for my feelings and well being.

I had a longer meeting with the prenatal consultant, who discussed with me what was ahead, and arranged for my next meeting in 2 weeks to be with a nurse midwife  (not this same doctor).  She also explained that due to my age and my 3 previous miscarriages, that I will probably be seen by the high-risk obstetricians in a different location going forward, and that there is a woman doctor amongst them so I can switch doctors at that time.  We talked about genetics testing, and I told her I would like to talk to a consultant, so she said she'd arrange that.  She was sweet and easy to talk to, so I left the office in a better mood.

Then my day dragged on as I went to give blood, only to find that I had to do a one-hour glucose test.  So I drank the orange drink and waited an hour before giving my 6 vials of blood.  Finally, 3 hours later, I left the medical facility.  

There's more to my day (I spoke with and set up appointments for genentics counseling and a CVS), but I'm quite tired now so I'll save that for next time.   For now, me and the niblet are going to get some sleep!