dr. h

I had my 24 week checkup on Tuesday. Dr. B is on vacation this week, so I got to meet Dr. H. Dr. H is a short squatty guy with a balding head, but very nice. And I didn't have to wait a half an hour to see him, so bonus!

As Dr. H said, the 24 week checkup is a rather boring one. I peed in a cup, he asked me how I was feeling, listened for the heartbeat with the doppler (137 bpm), measured me, and I was on my way.

Actually this is the first time I've actually been measured. Dr. B has told me in the past that I "measure small," but she never actually measured. Dr. H got out a little measuring tape and measured from my pubic bone to the top of my uterus, which he said was 22 cm. So slightly on the small side, but nothing to worry about. As a rule of thumb, the measurement should equal the number of weeks you are pregnant. But 2 cm in either direction is considered within normal size.

He also told me that the pain I've been experiencing in the center of my ribs is probably heartburn and indigestion. He also said the ache in my right side could be my gull - caused by the same thing. For both I'm suppose to stay away from fried and greasy food, eat smaller meals, and recline as much as possible. Not sure I buy it though, it feels more like a bruise than a sharp pain. I'm more inclined to think that it's from my uterus growing and putting pressure on my ribs. But what do I know?

My next appointment is August 30th when I get to do the sugar test to look for gestational diabetes. Yay!

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ultrasound

Finally. Finally the day of our ultrasound came! It's hard for me to even find the words to explain. Such a strange and wonderful day.

Hubby and I were both coming from work, so we were in separate vehicles. I arrived first. Hubby was on his way, but had to stop at the mechanics shop because he was having car issues again. He said it would just take a minute and he'd be right there.

No big deal, I needed to get registered first anyway. I was headed to the lab first, and then up to see Dr. B afterward. I wasn't sure whether I should go to the lab right away, in case there was a long wait - or stall a little bit, in case there wasn't a wait at all! I waited in the lobby for five minutes, and then headed in. Hubby still wasn't there.

I sat another five minutes in the waiting room, then they called my name. Crap. I was hoping it would take a while once I got in the room. I always have to sit int he room and wait for Dr. B after talking to the nurse, so I was hoping it would be similar down in the lab. Not the case.

The ultrasound technician brought me right in the room and told me to hop up on the table, no fan fair of any sort. I let her know I was concerned my hubby wouldn't make it on time. I didn't have any idea what to expect; I'd never had ultrasound before! For all I knew it would only take five minutes and hubby would miss the whole thing! She was very sweet and said not to worry - that we'd be in there for a while.

Luckily, just as she got started I got a phone call from hubby that he was walking in. He got there just a few seconds after she started.

Let me just say, ultrasounds.are.amazing! I've seen plenty of ultrasound photos in the past, and I'll be honest, I never really understood what the big deal was. It's just a little blob that kinda looks like it could possibly be a baby, or sometimes even a tadpole!

But when it's your own it's completely different! I suppose it's quite different too since I'm 20 weeks and having my first ultrasound. So MY ultrasound photos actually look like a real little baby!

A real baby that's a GIRL!

That's right. We are going to have a little baby girl!

I was surprised. Hubby not so much, he had a feeling it was going to be a girl. We both secretly wanted a girl ... but both felt like we wanted a boy first. But I guess God had other plans!

Back to the ultrasound, we ended up being in there for 40 minutes! Our little baby girl is a little gymnast! She did not stop moving once the entire time! So the ultrasound tech had a difficult time getting all the photos she needed - the heart and the spine were the hardest. She kept having me roll onto my side, then to my back again, then to my other side - just to try to coerce the little girl to stay in the positions she needed her to.

She did finally get all the shots she needed. And I wasn't complaining one bit because it meant that I got to see my little girl for that much longer! I thought the most amazing thing yet was just feeling her move and kick inside of me. Well I was wrong. It is so much cooler to SEE and FEEL her kick at the same time!

It was such an amazing experience laying on that bed, holding hubby's hand the whole time, and watching our little baby girl kick and squirm around inside of me. Inside of me. Such a strange thing to think about a real live person living inside of me!

After the tech got all the shots she needed, we headed up to see Dr. B. She was running behind schedule, so we ended up waiting 45 minutes to see her! But it was a good appointment, she said everything on the ultrasound looked good! She listened for the heartbeat again with the doppler, 145 bpm. (The ultrasound said it was 158 bpm.) She answered a few questions for me, and then we were off!

Pictures are coming soon!

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quad marker screen

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from Dr. B's nurse. She said she had a favor to ask me. For a split second I got really nervous. My ultrasound and 20 week OB visit are scheduled for Friday afternoon. Was she going to ask me to postpone my ultrasound? I didn't think I could handle waiting any longer! But I worried for nothing. I was also scheduled to get the quad marker screen blood test on Friday.

The quad test is a voluntary test. It measures for four substances: alpha-fetoprotein, unconjugated estriol, human chorionic gonadotropin, and  inhibin-A. Basically, it's looking for the likelihood of certain birth defects and chromosomal abnormalities, like neural tube defects and Down syndrome. It does not tell you whether your baby has a defect or not, only tells you if there is a greater risk. And it only predicts about 75% of cases. There is also a great chance that the test would tell you there is a risk of a birth defect, and then have a perfectly healthy baby.

I originally didn't think it was necessary. The test isn't 100% accurate, and doesn't really give you any definitive results. If there is something different about our baby it won't change anything for us, since terminating the pregnancy is not an option we would consider. But after talking it over with Dr. B and hubby I changed my mind. She said that if they did find that there was a risk of a major birth defect, they may consider having me deliver at a larger hospital. And as hubby said, why wouldn't we want to find out everything there is to know about our baby? So we scheduled it for this appointment.

The quad test is supposed to be done between 16 and 20 weeks. According to their records, I was 20 weeks yesterday. The nurse said she knew it sounded crazy, that two days probably wouldn't make a difference, but she'd hate to send my blood sample in to Mayo only to have it rejected because it was two days late. So she was simply wondering if I could come in that afternoon to get the blood test done. No problem.

After I got off the phone with her, I called hubby just to let him know what was going on. He was ready to drop everything and meet me there! I assured him that wasn't necessary. I was just going in to give a blood sample and urine sample (they did that at the same time so I didn't have to bother with it on Friday when the lab would be busier.) He wasn't so sure. After telling him a few more times that, really, I was just going to run in there, have a test done and then leave, he finally said ok. Just told me that if I needed him, he'd be there in a heartbeat.

It really was as uneventful as I thought. I went up to see the nurse first. She weighed me, jotted a few things in my records, then sent me down to the lab. Then I left.

It took me a while to get a hold of hubby after I left, and he was going crazy! He wanted to make sure everything was ok. He told me I can't "keep him away from appointments anymore!" Really, how lucky am I to have a hubby that even wants to come with to get a blood sample taken!

It'll take about a week to get the results back. Tomorrow is the ultrasound!

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another visit with Dr. B

We met with the OB - let's call her Dr. B - for the second time on Friday. It was a pretty uneventful appointment. She mostly just asked how I'd been feeling; any cramping, bleeding, etc. Then she brought out the doppler, and found the heartbeat right away again - which was still just as amazing to hear!

I must have misunderstood her at my 10 week appointment. I THOUGHT she said that I WOULD get an ultrasound at the next visit, but IF she could find a "medical excuse" she would do one at this visit.

Turns out, she has to have a "medical reason" to do an ultrasound. Period. Apparently some company did a study a few years back that looked at low risk pregnancies, and whether or not the 18-20 week ultrasound made a difference in the end. They found it didn't. So of course the insurance companies jumped all over that, and now don't cover ultrasounds unless there is a medical reason to perform one.

In other words, you could technically go through your entire pregnancy without ever getting an ultrasound!?! I don't know about you, but that just doesn't sit well with me. That means they basically just go on what you say. Well, that and finding a heartbeat I guess. But there is so much that the ultrasound shows that you can't get any other way!

Thankfully, Dr. B said I'm "measuring small" so I will be getting an ultrasound next time! Phew! (I don't know if I actually AM measuring small, but I'm thinking no since she didn't even measure me ...)

We're not in love, so to speak, with Dr. B - but today we like her because she's giving us an ultrasound next time! Don't get me wrong, she's a great doctor and I have full confidence in her abilities, she just doesn't offer up a lot of extra information. Being new at this, and not necessarily the most outgoing, I would really appreciate that. But if I ask, she is more than happy to answer. So I guess I just have to come better prepared, and be a little more forward with my questions in the future! I've never been very good in the doctors office. (Part of me wishes I could still have my mom come with me!)

My ultrasound/check-up are schedule for July 9th - when I'll be 20 weeks. Again I have to wait 5 weeks between appointments, instead of 4, because of the holiday weekend. But if baby cooperates, we should be able to find out if he's a boy or a girl next time! The heartbeat was right around 140 bpm this time ... so there's another clue!

What do you think we're having? Place your vote in the side bar! Voting will stay open until July 9th at 3:15, when hopefully we'll be finding out the sex! Vote now and vote often! haha, but only if you want to.

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baby has a heartbeat!

Today was the day we've been waiting for! The day of our first OB visit. Last night I was feeling a little nervous. I know they confirmed my pregnancy when I was in two weeks ago, but you never know what can happen in the meantime. Hubby of course was great at bringing perspective, and reminding me that it is all in God's capable hands and we just have to trust Him.

But being nervous and excited didn't make for the greatest nights sleep. I woke up around 2 am having to go to the bathroom of course. And then had really weird dreams. Dreams about being back in high school but still being pregnant, dreams about being engaged but still pregnant, dreams about being on crutches (not sure why) but still pregnant ... you get the idea.

Finally we were up and ready, and it was time to go to our appointment. I of course made sure to get there 10 minutes early and get registered and checked in. And then we waited. And waited. Everyone already in the waiting room when we arrived were called, and then the new people who came after us started getting called. And we waited some more. I think it was 45 minutes later before my name was finally called.

The nurse brought us back, went through all my lab results from last time, and asked a few questions for my records. Then she handed me a gown, told me to strip, and wait for the OB. (She didn't quite say it like that, but basically.) While we waited, I warned hubby about what he was about to experience. He was about to see what we women have to go through every year! He was a great sport. I guess if he wants to be there for the delivery he might as well get used to it now!

The OB finally came, along with a med student! Yay me! (They did ask me if it was ok first.) She asked me a bunch of questions about how I had been feeling, and then started my exam. Lets just say a breast exam is not so pleasant with pregnancy boobs!

Then she got right to the good stuff, the doppler! They squirted some cold gel on my stomach and then she let the med student try to find the heart beat. No success. So the OB took over, and within seconds there it was! My baby's heart, beating away at 150 beats per minute. I wasn't sure how I would react, but in the moment all I could do was smile. I got a little teary, but didn't cry. All I wanted to do was look at my hubby and share the moment with him - not with a room full of doctors and nurses. (The OB was standing between us, so I couldn't see him at first, but I eventually caught his eye. He told me later he could see me the whole time in the mirror.) But it was amazing! I'm sure it is a moment that I will never forget. The moment this baby became real to us.

Then we had to move on to the not-so-pleasant part of the exam. I needed my yearly pap smear too. Everything looked good. She said I looked like I was about 10 weeks along, right on schedule. Then I was gracious enough to let the med student have a try too. Oh joy!

Then it was all over. Just like that. We stopped to schedule our next appointment, June 4th. And then walked away not quite sure how we felt, at least I didn't. Hubby was pretty excited. It was all just so real all of a sudden. I have a baby - growing inside of me. Amazing is the only word I can think of to describe the feeling.

And then I called my mom.

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first prenatal appointment

Yesterday we had our first appointment with the prenatal care coordinator at the woman's clinic. She was absolutely wonderful! I was so nervous, and she just put us at ease. She took time to go through everything with us, let us ask as many questions as we wanted, and didn't make us feel silly for any of our questions! She even sent me home with a bag full of goodies, information, and a cute little journal.

After about an hour with her, she sent me down to the lab to get a full work up of tests. Apparently that does not include an actual pregnancy test! Thankfully hubby was there and asked a bunch of questions and discovered this before we got down to the lab, so we requested a pregnancy test. They took FIVE blood samples, and of course I had to pee in a cup as well.

All in all it was a great experience, and pretty painless. She called back an hour later to tell me everything looked good, and yes, I am indeed pregnant!

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