NT scan update (updated)

We had our NT scan this morning. I was soooo nervous beforehand, but it went really well! We got to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time - it was 158 bpm today, which is great :)

There was no sign of any abnormalities at all - baby has a nasal bone and the NT measurement was 2mm, which is well within normal range.

Baby is measuring 12 weeks 6 days, and I'm 12 weeks 4 days. We're very happy with that!

We saw the heart, brain, kidneys, stomach and even a tiny hand! It was a truly amazing experience. The tech couldn't be certain, but thinks the baby might be a girl. We don't have any preference, but I've been thinking girl for a while. We'll see at our 18-20 week scan, anyway!

We're in love :)

Looked like baby was waving!

Edited 11/6/12 to add: I completely forgot to write about my SCH yesterday, but I'm very happy to report that it's gone now. What a relief! :)

Scan scheduled

Our NT scan is scheduled for next Monday, 11/5, in the morning. One week from now. Now that we have a date, I feel kind of nervous about it!

Well, I'm glad it's in the morning so I don't have to think about it all day (unlike our first ultrasound, which was at 4:30PM.) My hubby will be there with me one way or another - his work are usually pretty good about him having appointments, but since we don't know how long this one will take (or whether we'll go in on time, etc.) he might take the day off for it. The NT scan is being done at one of the OB office locations, whereas our first ultrasound was at an imaging center. It's a shame the NT scan can't be done in the same place, because they have awesome hours! (until 9pm, and they're open 7 days a week.)
I think it might be best if he takes the day off so he doesn't have to worry about getting back to work, in case it ends up taking a while. It's about a 20-30 minute drive each way, too, so even if my appointment happens on time he'd be out of work quite a while.

He had a dream last night that our baby is a girl. I feel as though it might be, but only because of the high heart-rate at our dating ultrasound. I know that's not 100% though, of course. Either way, we just really want a healthy baby. That's all we've ever wanted.

Going for it

I got a call from a lady at my OB office on Thursday, who had been told my message was for her (it wasn't). When I called I specifically said my message was for my OB, and I left the message on the doctors' voicemail, so I don't know how that happened. Anyway she relayed my message to my OB so she called yesterday morning. I asked whether we could monitor the SCH by ultrasound periodically and she said that in my ultrasound report no actual dimensions were given for the SCH, which means it's very small. She said it's probably just a little speck, which doesn't need monitoring. So we decided to go ahead with the NT scan, and she said I can ask the person who does the scan to check the SCH if I want to.

I'm a little nervous about the NT scan, but we're going to try and look at the results in a logical, level-headed way. Hopefully there won't be anything to worry about but if there is, we'll deal with it when the time comes. I'm in the process of scheduling the scan now (well, I will be on Monday morning when the office opens). We were out of town yesterday and my cell phone signal wasn't great, so when we got home we had a message on our home phone but it was too late to call them back.

My OB said that between 11 and 12 weeks is the best time to get the NT scan, so if that's the case it will hopefully be done before Thursday next week when I reach 12 weeks. I know it can be done between 11 and 13/14 weeks though, so if it can't be scheduled before 12 weeks we can still get the scan. We're very excited about seeing our baby again, and hoping that everything looks great! :)

Waiting on a call back

This morning I called our insurance company to find out if the NT scan would be covered: the answer is yes. I then called and left a message for my OB asking her to call me to discuss the NT scan. When she calls I'm going to ask if there's any way we can monitor the SCH without doing the NT scan. If she says no, then I think we'll go ahead with the NT scan. I actually really hope she'll agree to send me for a regular ultrasound, because I'm fully aware that the NT scan can present a whole range of issues and I'd rather not deal with that. I know we probably don't need to do the NT scan, since we're not considered "high risk" for chromosomal abnormalities. I really would like to see our baby again, though, and it would be so reassuring if the SCH is shrinking (or gone altogether).

I'll update when I hear back from my OB, anyway  :)

Still trying to decide

We're still undecided about the NT scan. I'm not sure my reasons for wanting to have it are good enough, you know? Really I just want to see our baby again, looking more baby-like. I'd also like to know what's happening with my subchorionic hematoma. Sass (http://fertilityunexplained.blogspot.com/) had a good suggestion about the SCH - that I should ask for a follow-up ultrasound to check on it. I'm going to call my OB and ask if that would be possible. I feel as though she's probably going to say no, but it's worth a shot. At my appointment I asked if I could just have a regular ultrasound around 12 weeks (not the NT scan), and she said no. I don't really want to get the NT scan just so we can find out about the SCH, but I have a feeling that might be our only option - unless my OB surprises me by agreeing to another regular ultrasound. That would be the best solution, really. I'd prefer not to do the NT scan because I know it can cause a lot of stress and worry. A regular ultrasound, though? That would be awesome!

I've had some more spotting today. I hate that, it makes my heart sink every single time. I always worry that it's going to be the start of something worse... This is the 10th episode of spotting since I've been pregnant, so it's not like it's happening all the time. I feel OK, so hopefully it's just one of those things.

As far as symptoms go I'm mainly just really tired, and I'm still having some on and off nausea. I've been very lucky in that respect, though; I fully expected to have full-on morning sickness, and so far I haven't actually thrown up at all. Being super tired is a breeze compared to puking all the time, I'm sure. I've been having some food aversions, but that's easy enough to handle too. My regular jeans and shorts are starting to get pretty uncomfortable, so I think I'll be buying some maternity jeans soon. I know it sounds crazy saying my shorts aren't fitting right, because we're getting towards the end of October - the truth is, we're still waiting for our high temps to drop below 85. It looks like it might be 84 tomorrow - that would be wonderful! I know I shouldn't complain because it's probably cold in most places now, but the summer here is brutal and this year it started earlier than usual. I know it's been Fall for like a month already, but you wouldn't know it here! I'm actually looking forward to wearing sweaters again!

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!