First Trimester Screening - part 1

We had the ultrasound part of our first trimester screening today. It was great! I cried on the table, totally freaking out the ultrasonographer. I'm 12 weeks and 5 days today, and Sprout is measuring 12 weeks and 6 days, which is great. He/She was moving around and flopping from side to side. All in all, it was awesome, as you can see:

A couple of profiles (that's actually most of what we got....)

Little arms and hands, shot from above his/her head....

My favorite profile - I think he/she has my nose.... :)

So...the nitty gritty details, for those of you who want to know. Everything looks good on the ultrasound. The nuchal translucency measured between 1 and 1.5 mm. (The ultrasound tech measured it at least 8 times; then when the doc came in, he measured it twice...made me very nervous). The doc told me that, back in the day, when they used to use nuchal translucency as an indicator of birth defects alone, that the threshhold for worrying about something was when the translucency was above 3 mm. So, Sprout looks good in that regard.

They also drew a little blood. Using the ultrasound, my age, family history of birth defects, and the proteins they measure in the blood, they'll come up with a risk factor for us having a child with birth defects. Anything below a 1 in 250 chance is considered "normal". Anything higher is considered abnormal. The doctor I saw today didn't seem worried, so I'm taking his lead and just enjoying the pictures of the Sprout!

I'll update you all when we get the results of the bloodwork back.
Lots of love!

p.s....I know the format of this post is weird, and you know I've tried to fix it about a zillion times, but I can't figure it out and I'm getting ready to go home, so I'm leaving it as is :)

Doctor's Appointment #2 - update

The appointment today was really good. My weight is good (actually lost 3.5 pounds and am down below my pre-pregnancy weight, which is not suprising considering how nauseated I've been), my blood pressure is great, and I'm progressing just like I'm supposed to. The pee-in-the-cup test shows that I haven't been eating or drinking as much as I should, but the doctor isn't worried. She says that our bodies are designed to be pregnant, so Sprout will get what he/she needs and I'll catch up in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

Best part of all - we heard Sprout's heartbeat again. It took her awhile to find it, which made me a little nervous because of how quickly I found it last week (I sorta didn't tell her that I did that.....). But we heard it and it's nice and strong, right at 160 beats per minute. What's that old wives' tale...high heart rate is a girl and low is a boy? Or is it the other way around?

We're scheduled to have first trimester screening on the 26th of this month. (Click the link for more info, if you're interested.) I'll be excited to get another look at Sprout now that he/she looks like a baby instead of a blob :) Next regular OB appointment is the 13th of March.

11 weeks today....time is flying!

Onward and Upward... (in size, that is...)

Today marks the first day that I am actually wearing maternity clothes. It was a lot sooner than I had anticipated it, but I am so much more comfortable. On days when I'm super nauseated (like today), I can't stand to have anything on my stomach. Even loosely tied scrub pants. So I went through part the loads and loads of maternity clothes that my fabulous sisters-in-law (thanks Amy and Andrea!!) gave me, and so far I've found one pair of pants that will work for a while. So if I'm wearing pink corduroy pants a lot, you'll know why :) I'll probably try to go through another good bit of them tonight.

Doug is out of town for a neat project he's working on, so I've had the house to myself for the last two days. You'd think I'd get loads of housework done, right? Wrong. To bed at 8:00 last night, and I see that in tonight's forecast as well... I'll say it again: I never knew someone could be quite this tired. How am I going to deal when there's an actual baby???

Next OB appointment Thursday. I'll let you know how it goes.

150-160

Our next appointment isn't until next week. At that appointment, they'll check my weight, blood pressure, and listen for Sprout's heartbeat. Well...today, I decided that I couldn't wait that long. So I purposely went to work early, "borrowed" a doppler and some ultrasound gel from the clinic, and hightailed it into an empty exam room. And I found Sprout's heartbeat very quickly, even though he/she was moving around quite a bit. It's beating between 150 and 160 times per minute, which is just perfect. So, I'm not the best patient in the world, but I'm a happy one today :)

10 weeks today....only 30 more to go!!

Surprise!

So, I had thought in the last few days that my morning sickness was getting better. However, I was surprised this morning. I was at work and thought the worst of it was over. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I had to interrupt the conversation I was having with my boss, and hurry to find the employee bathroom, while praying that it was empty. Quite the morning! (Doug, being the doting husband and father-to-be, offered to go by the house and pick up my nausea meds and bring them to me at work on his way through town. I had them with me, but was touched nonetheless.)

We had a great basketball weekend. Tom's team won both games. We had a lot of fun at the games and hanging out with Doug's family. The cousins are very excited about a new baby to play with. On Doug's side of the family, Sprout will be the youngest of 7, ranging from age 7 down to 8 months. On my side, he/she will be the youngest of 10, ranging from 18 to 3. (I know...how is it possible that I have a nephew who is 18....)

And that's all the excitement for today. Next OB appointment is on Valentine's Day.

Off to bed...It's 9:00...past my bedtime. I even fell asleep during the Super Bowl yesterday.....

p.s....congrats to my beautiful, brilliant, and talented sister who just got into the nursing program at the local community college. You're going to be great!

The Pooch Has Arrived...

...no...not a dog. My belly. It is offically poochy. I'm 9 weeks and 1 day pregnant. And, if you look, you can tell. Luckily my lab coat still hides it. It's not a huge secret at work, but I feel a little silly walking around 2 months' pregnant with a belly. I'm going to have to go back to wearing scrubs, because I have very few work pants that will fit. I'm terrified to see how large I get as I get more pregnant.

I had Doug take a picture of me yesterday showing the pooch, and it's very visible (Doug is very supportive and gentle - "You need to stop snacking on all those Cheetos!"), but I look highly sleep deprived and worn out, so I might have to take another one to post.

I'm actually at work right now, so I guess I should actually go do some work. Hope you all are well!

p.s....Don't forget to vote for whether you think Sprout is a he or a she!