OB appointment today

I had my OB appointment this afternoon. I found out that I have a small subchorionic hematoma, which was detected at my ultrasound last week. She said it should just resolve itself - let's hope so! That probably explains the spotting I've had on and off. I don't know what size it is, except that it's "small". I'm trying not to worry about it.

My blood pressure was kinda high, also. Since it's always been fine since I started seeing my OB back in May, she said it's probably just a random high result. I feel fine, just tired but that's definitely normal in the first trimester! She had me give a blood sample so they have a baseline, but said that she thinks I'm OK. I really hope it'll be fine.

I've gained just under 3 pounds since my first prenatal appointment (on 9/10). I've been so damn hungry a lot of the time, I'm just glad I haven't gained more than that. Nobody mentioned it so it must be OK. 

I'll be seeing my OB again in 4 weeks time, and by then we should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat! She said we're about a week early to hear it at the moment, which doesn't surprise me. Honestly I'm glad she didn't try to find it, because I don't think she would have been successful, and even though it would be normal at this point because the baby's probably behind bone, that would still probably make me worry!

We talked about the NT scan and she doesn't think I really need to have it. She told us that oftentimes it can cause unnecessary stress and I know that I'm a worrywart as it is, so it's probably better to avoid that. I would really like to see the baby again soon, but the NT scan can really open a can of worms and I don't know if we should go down that road. I've heard of women who've been given very reassuring results and their babies did in fact have Trisomy 21 or other issues, and I've heard of lots of women who've been given bad results and worried for the remainder of their pregnancies only to have everything be perfect in the end. We'll still get the 20 week scan, so if there are any issues they should be picked up then. We're going to think about it for a little while but I think we're leaning towards not getting the NT scan. I really want to enjoy my pregnancy as much as possible, and not spend most of it stressing out. It's stressful enough without adding more things to worry about!

The NT scan and associated blood test gives you odds, rather than definitive results. If you have a high chance of your baby having an abnormality, the only way to find out for certain is to do an amniocentesis or CVS - both of which are invasive and carry a risk of miscarriage. I would hate to have an amnio, and would probably choose not to have it done. Then we'd be worrying for months. It doesn't sound appealing, honestly. If the baby had T13 or T18, those are incompatible with life anyway. T21 (Down syndrome) isn't something we would terminate for. So based on all of that, it would seem there's no point having the NT scan.

I'll be 10 weeks tomorrow, which is kind of hard to believe! I'll be so relieved when I get past the first trimester, but I find it much easier to relax now than I did previously. That seems to help a lot; the time isn't dragging as much.

Most people know now that we're expecting. I kind of had to tell some of the pug rescue people because I'm not lifting things like I usually would, and we had a big fundraiser on Sunday so I didn't want them to think I was just being lazy! I also told one of my best friends (the one who wasn't very supportive when we were struggling to get pregnant), and my aunt. Today I got an e-card from my uncle and his crazy wife, so I guess my aunt told them too. I've told my 2 favorite cousins as well.

Speaking of cousins, my cousin and his wife had their second baby a week ago - another boy, weighing 6 pounds 4 ounces! Tiny! He was a week early but apparently he was measuring small all along. They're all doing well and their older son (2 and a half) loves his new brother a lot. So cute :)

I found out from our mutual aunt (the one I think told my uncle and his wife) by email on Monday morning, and then my cousin called about an hour later to tell me the happy news. He wasn't impressed that our aunt had beaten him to it! She's the one who also told me they were expecting again... I'm seeing a theme here. I guess that anything I want to share about this pregnancy should be told to her after I've told others myself! I know she's probably just excited, but it's a little bit unfair of her to spill the beans when people want to share their happy news themselves. She might have to be the last to know in future!