NT Scan Update

Friday we had our NT scan.  This is a more detailed ultrasound where they are checking to make sure that there aren't any signs of neural tube defects, or any soft markers for chromosomal abnormalities like Down's Syndrome.  They look at Baby's spine, the thickness of the skin at the back of the neck, the nasal bone and the brain.  The also take measurements of the other parts of Baby's body. 

So Friday morning Mom came down for my appointment.  We went to Swedish, tracked down a wheelchair for Mom and found the ultrasound office.  They got us back pretty quickly and found Baby immediately.  Our little one's heart as beating at 159 bpm, nasal bone was present, brain and spine looked good, and the skin thickness was 1.6 (I believe you want the measurement to be less than 3).  Baby was bouncing around and waving.  It started with it's legs crossed, but then began kicking them out, looking a little like a frog.  The ultrasound tech loved our little one and took lots of pictures.  She was thrilled that she got to see each of Baby's fingers, and loved the kicking Baby was doing.  She also had a guess as far as gender, but we are going to keep that under our hats for the time being as it is way too early to be accurate.

After the ultrasound, I met with a woman who is working on a study at Swedish.  They are trying to determine factors that make certain women more at risk for pre-eclampsia, looking specifically at women who have had migraines.  She went over the study with me and then met me at my OB's office to do a blood draw.  We stopped for lunch, and then went up to the OB's office. 

Mom got to meet Dr J, which was great.  I had told Mom so much about it, I'm sure it was nice to match a face to a name.  We went over my list of questions and because we had just had an ultrasound, Dr J didn't use the doppler.  She said that she couldn't give me the official results of the NT scan because they had to also look at blood work that was taken that day and then would be taken again at 15 weeks, but she thought it all looked good.  She is also going to have me come in an do an early glucose tolerance test at 15 weeks when I come back for the other blood draw.  And she gave me a prescription for physical therapy for my back since insurance won't cover massage therapy.  She went over my operative report from my uterine surgery in 2004 and said she doesn't think there is a reason why I would need to have a C section, but she is going to double check with some of the perinatal guys to see what they think.  Finally, she warned me that I will be on the Lovenox for 6 weeks after delivery, which means I won't be able to have my reconstruction until my blood goes back to normal after going off the Lovenox.  Overall, it was a pretty good appointment.

We got back home and Mom was wiped out.  She hasn't been feeling well (can't seem to hold any food down), so she asked if we could drive her home.  Once R got off work, we stopped and got gyros and then took Mom home.  Since we were in the neighborhood, we also stopped to visit with R's mom and daughter.  We had a nice chat, but didn't get home until almost 3:00 am.  Man, was I wiped out!  It ended up being quite the big day.  Without further ado, here are the latest pictures of our baby:

Baby waving at the camera.

Baby crossing it's legs.

Baby kicking its legs out like a frog.

- J

12 week update, 4th of July and a surprise!

This has been an interesting week.  I was able to get a prosthetic on Friday and while I don't like wearing it, I am feeling more human when I leave the house.  We had a very busy weekend.  Saturday we took a "day trip" to Mt Rainier.  We were supposed to go camping, but I wasn't up to it, so this was our compromise.  We left at 9:45 am and didn't arrive until 4:00 pm.  It should have taken 2-3 hours, but there was a traffic light out in South Hill which held up traffic.  It took us two and a half hours to go 3 miles.  The campsite was gorgeous though.  R and I are already talking about camping there next year with little one.  We ended up hanging out until 10:00 pm and didn't get home until 1:00 am.  It was a very, very long day.  I ended up sleeping most of Sunday in an effort to get caught up on my rest.

Monday was the 4th of July and with it, baby's first fireworks.  We woke up early and went upstairs to camp a spot on the roof to watch the fireworks from.  We sat up there from 9:00 am until midnight.  We both got so sunburned!!  We had a great time though and everyone enjoyed the BBQ.  Surprisingly, the roof was not as packed as it has been in prior years, but it was still good that we camped a spot.  And the fireworks were fantastic!

Tuesday, my Doppler arrived.  I tried it out immediately, but had a really hard time trying to find baby's heartbeat.  I'm sure it was a combination of being early, overweight, and user error.  I ended up calling the on call Dr though because I get paranoid after our previous experiences.  She said that I could come in for a quick check on Wednesday, so that is exactly what I did.  I felt a little better when the nurse couldn't find the heartbeat either.  I knew in my heart that little one was probably okay, but they offered an ultrasound to make sure, so I went with it.  I was waiting for the nurse to do the ultrasound, but my Dr ended up doing it instead.  Baby was bouncing around and waving.  There was a nice strong heart beating away.  Here's the latest pic of baby:

Little one's head is down in the middle, and the little hand is waving.  Baby's butt and feet are up in the air to the right.  And the best part is that I will have more pics tomorrow!


Weekly Check In:

• How far along?: 12 weeks

• Total weight gain: I will find out tomorrow.  I am actually really nervous about it.

• How big is baby?: Baby is the size of a plum this week. 

• Maternity clothes?: Fully in maternity clothes at this point.  They are so comfortable.

• Movement: Still way too early.  I have felt faint little twitches and rumbles, but I am not sure if that is Baby or not.

• Stretch marks?: Just the ones I already had.

• Sleep?: Still waking up in the middle of the night at least once to pee, but I am sleeping better.  My dreams are still crazy though.

• Symptoms?: Starting to be a little less exhausted and nauseous.  Heartburn, heightened sense of smell, frequent urination, gassy, constipated, really vivid dreams, food aversions and round ligament pain are all still there.  

• Food cravings:  I think baby has a bit of a sweet tooth.  I have been craving chocolate, cookies, cake, ice cream.  If it's desert, I want it.  I have also been loving faux macaroni and cheese from the box, which I used to hate.

• Belly button in or out?: Still an innie.

• What I miss: I'm actually not missing too much at the moment.  I was missing coffee, but I have started having the occasional iced decaf coffee and am feeling much better now.

• What I'm looking forward to: My NT scan and OB appointment are tomorrow!  I can't wait to get a nice long view of little one.

• Best Moment this week: Getting to see baby moving around and waving on the ultrasound yesterday.

• Milestone: Baby has fingernails and toenails now.  Also, little one's facial features are becoming more defined.  Depending on which method you use to calculate the trimesters, I will be in the second trimester at the end of this week!

- J