Second OB Appointment (12 Weeks)

Nick and I had my second OB appointment on Wednesday.  Believe me, I was most excited that we were past the transvaginal ultrasound stage! No more peeing on the ultrasound tech! Yay! :)

This was the first appointment with blood work. Oh, goodie. My favorite thing. As they were putting in the needle, I just kept thinking of mom getting needled every day for years, and I didn't complain. Of course, I didn't love it, but once life hits you in the face with a dose of perspective, you tend to do things differently. I just kept looking at my "strength" tattoo.

Filling out the paperwork (I look handicapped here):

I am up 4 pounds from the last visit, to 180. I was actually shocked that it wasn't higher, as it has been toooooo hot to run (for example: it was 106 when I got home today), and I have been eating like crazy. Everything I have read says that you're not supposed to gain in the 1st trimester, but since eating keeps me from feeling more nauseous, I consider 4 pounds a victory. It will hopefully cool off again soon, so I can get back to running.  This kid is definitely a mix of Nick and I: its favorite foods are french fries and pasta!

I absolutely love the ultrasound part. It's so cool to see the heartbeat flutter, and see all the new parts that have formed. The nugget now looks more like an actual baby (with a *huge* head--like Sputnik!), instead of a tadpole. I am thankful I don't have to be like Rachel (from "Friends") and ask the ultrasound tech where it is over and over--I had no trouble making everything out on the screen. Clear head and body, arms and legs. Nugget had their hand up where the nose would be, so it looked a little like Pinocchio or something. I'm thinking either Nugget is self-conscious of its nose already, or it was giving us the Fist Pump of Power!

One temporarily nervous moment was when the ultrasound tech was looking for the nuchal wall (the thickness between the skin and the spine on the back of the neck--includes the muscle tissue), and she kept looking and looking. I got a little uneasy, thinking, "Is this a bad thing, or a good thing?" She eventually got the angle she was looking for, measured, and told us that it was the correct thickness (a symptom of Down's Syndrome is to have a nuchal wall thickness of 3 or more--mine was 1.3).

While she was looking, though, she kept the ultrasound wand still for a few seconds, and I got to see the little Nugget jump a little bit! Until now, it's just been kind of a static image, without any noticeable movement. So it was amazing to see it move on it's own, instead of moving because of the ultrasound movement.

I was really nervous before the appointment for some reason, that we wouldn't hear a heartbeat, or that the baby would be stillborn or something. I haven't had any worries about that before now, so it was weird that that was kind of running through my head. I guess because I was feeling a little bit better in the afternoons, and I thought that maybe it meant that something was wrong. Just crazy talk.

I did mention to the doctor about my being down in the dumps (Andrea). She did seem very concerned, and has Nick on "sadness watch". She said if I'm not better in two weeks, that I am supposed to go back.  I'm hoping that feeling better physically will help me to feel better mentally.  (She did suggest maybe having a sweet tea every now and then would make me feel better. Hey--if the doctor orders it...)

I also did a breast cancer screening, since I can't do any mammograms while pregnant/nursing. It will check for the breast cancer gene. It's an expensive test, but since we're definitely going to hit our deductible this year, it is as good a time as any.

I'm going to have to start doing a weekly photo--my shorts are getting tighter, so I'll actually have something to show!