16 week appointment

Yesterday was my 16 week appointment. I can't believe I'm already on my 16th week. It's just flying by so fast. Rich's mom came along with me. She had the day off and Rich wasn't gonna be home yet from work so I invited her along. It was a pretty quick appointment...urine check, Blood pressure check, weight check, blood work, and baby's heartbeat check. I only gained around 2 more pounds since the last appointment. The blood work they did was the second part of the genetic screening. The challenging part was finding the heartbeat. It kinda made me nervous because it took so long to find it. I thought I'd heart one beat but then it would disappear. Finally we found it and it was strong. The problem was that the baby was moving all over, which is a good thing! Then my OB came in to examine me and he said he's happy how everything is progressing and I am right on track. So my next appointment with him is at 20 weeks...I scheduled it two days after my 20 week ultrasound so hopefully he'll have my results by then. He also wants me to schedule a fetal echocardiogram, which is a sonogram of the baby's heart. It relieved me that he suggested it, with my history of congenital heart defects. So I will schedule that around 22 weeks.

I still have been feeling pretty good overall. I have a cold right now but it seems to be getting better today. I am still pretty tired overall; I am hoping that will go away soon.

12 week appointment

Rich and I went to the 12 week appointment yesterday after he got out of work. It was a pretty quick appointment. Did the standard pee in a cup, weight check, and Blood pressure check. The nurses also checked the heartbeat with a doppler. They said to not worry if we didn't hear it cuz I am still early and then they would have did an ultrasound to check. It took a little while, which made me nervous (I am always nervous going to appointments). But the nurse finally found it. It is really cool how they can put the doppler up to my stomach now and hear the baby's heartbeat. They asked us both if we heard it and we both said yes. But of course, when the nurses walked out of the room Rich told me he actually didn't hear it. I was so upset at him. I told him he should have spoke up. They would have helped him hear it. That's why I brought him to the appointment....to hear the heartbeat on the doppler. The doctor then came in and told us the NT scan we had a week ago showed low risk for Down's and that all my bloodwork and urine has been good so far. He said I've only gained two pounds so far, which is right on track. He also said that the ovarian cyst is no longer a concern anymore, even if it's there. I no longer have restrictions, which is a relief. I plan on seeing him in 4 weeks. He also gave me the information about where to schedule my level II ultrasound. I called today so that we could get the time of our choosing...it is scheduled for November 10 at 9:30am. So hopefully if this little one behaves, we will be able to find out then if we are having a boy or girl! Rich will be taking the day off so we can go there and then celebrate by going to lunch and starting our registry. We can't wait!

NT scan

On Saturday, we had our NT scan. NT means Nuchal translucency screening. According to babycenter.com this scan can help your healthcare practitioner assess your baby's risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.The NT test uses ultrasound to measure the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of your developing baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average.The NT scan must be done when you're between 11 and 14 weeks pregnant. It's usually offered along with a blood test in what's known as first-trimester combined screening. I was so happy that they scheduled it for a Saturday so Rich was able to see the baby himself, since he hasn't been able to make any appointments yet. I guess I was still expecting them to do an internal ultrasound, but was happy they were able to do it abdominally. I can't believe how big our baby has gotten and how much our baby has changed since the 8 1/2 week appointment. Although Rich denies that he said this, he did say "wow it actually looks like a baby". I saw the mouth and hands moving. It was wild! So they measured the back of the neck and the measurement was .77...and i think anything below 2 is good. They also did a finger prick for the genetic screening test. I will get the results next week when I go back to see my OB. The tech also checked on my left ovary where I had the three cysts. I thought a week or so ago, I may have burst one of them...and I think I was right cuz there is only one cyst left...hopefully that will go away soon. Here are two pictures they gave us from the ultrasound.

I have been feeling pretty good still. I am a little less tired than I have been but it's still there. Haven't had any morning sickness. Yesterday, however, I woke up with stomach hurting..I ended up vomitting three times. I couldn't hold anything down. I thought that maybe it was related to pregnancy but was a little confused that it would wait til 11 weeks ago. Later on in the day though it ended up going the other way. So I must have had a stomach bug. I feel a little better today. I am able to keep food down. And no more stomach issues since early this morning. So don't know where this stomach bug came from but happy I am feeling better.

First appointment with the OB

My first big appointment with my OB was yesterday. The first ultrasound was just with the tech. It was a pretty standard appointment....blood work, exam, going over my history and family history. Then I had another ultrasound! It wasn't just a speck this time...I actually could start to see legs and arms, and a defined head and body. Baby Luckman is right on track...measuring what it's supposed to at 8 weeks and 3 days. Here's another ultrasound picture...


Down side is that the three ovarian cysts are still there. The OB said it's just a side effect of the clomid I had to take in order to have this baby. I am set for another ultrasound at 11 weeks, 1 day...it's a Saturday so Rich will finally be able to come with me. I think he's excited to finally be able to see the baby himself...just seeing a little picture I'm sure is not the same. Then I go back at 12 1/2 weeks to see my OB.

I am still pretty tired. I was on vacation during week 6 and 7 of the pregnancy so I got a lot of rest. I went back to work week 8 and of course worked three days in a row. I have one more of these and then I have to stop. It's just too tiring for me right now. I am hoping my energy will come back at some point. I don't have any nausea so I'm pretty psyched about that. I am actually eating quite a bit. I was worried I already gain so much cuz I feel like everything is fitting differently...but when I was weighed in the office I hadn't changed! I really want to start eating healthier, like i was prior to getting pregnant, but right now my cravings include chicken nuggets, pickles, mac and cheese, and pizza. I figured if my body is asking for it, there is a reason...so I will give in to it now.

The first ultrasound

On August 5th I had my first ultrasound. Rich was unable to attend because he just started a new job the day before, so I invited my mom along (she and my dad were visiting from NH). It was really amazing. The baby measured 6 weeks and 4 days which brought our due date to March 27, 2009. If calculations are correct we had a July 4 baby! The best part of the whole visit is that we got to see and hear the heart beat through the ultrasound! It was amazing. Downside is that there is three ovarian cysts on my left ovary. That means I need to take it easy. Hopefully it will shrink in time. Here is a picture of our baby!


When I went to babycenter.com, they said the baby at 6 weeks is a size of a lentil bean! It's so crazy to know that something is growing inside me that Rich and I created. I don't think it's really hit him at this point. It'll probably take him much longer.

At the 6 week mark, my biggest complaint was being tired. I only feel slightly nauseous when it's time for me to eat...and then I feel fine. I think I'm pretty lucky.