Yesterday I had my first ultrasound since the last one at 6 weeks, 2 days. It was very exciting. At 9 weeks, 5 days, this little thing growing inside of me is actually starting to look human (instead of like a grain of rice or a peanut). We saw a big head (about 80% of the entire body!) and two little sticks for legs. And we think we see at least one arm (and hopefully the other one is lurking in there somewhere!) And my husband finally got to hear the heart beat that I was able to hear last week. It's unbelievable.
We talked to the doctor about genetic testing and to her amazement, I asked for the entire Jewish panel of blood tests. She was very surprised to hear that my insurance company paid for the tests, but I assured her that it was covered for those of Ashkenzi Jewish descent. I think she was annoyed by all of the paperwork/consent forms that she would have to fill out.
Then we talked about the other testing choices. We opted to do the serial sequential screening, which is an ultrasound and blood tests in 2 weeks, followed by more bloods tests in the beginning of the second trimester. Together, these tests yield a 95% accuracy on whether our child will have Down Syndrome or other trisomy disorders. We decided that the 1/300 risk of miscarriage with an amniocentesis (or possibly higher with CVS) wasn't worth it to get to 99% accuracy. And what makes me feel better is that if something abnormal shows up from the serial sequential screening, I can still do the amnio. So I have my next ultrasound in 2 weeks. I hope the baby looks even more human then!
So far, this pregnancy has been quite easy for me. Other than being pretty tired after 9:30 pm, I have had no nauseousness or food aversions. Of course, I wanted to eat only eggs on a toasted bagel on Thursday night, but so be it. I guess you could consider that my first craving, but I don't feel like it was strong enough to be a craving. But it's what I wanted to eat. But as payback for the lack of other pregnancy symptoms (metallic taste in mouth, excessive saliva, puking, etc.), I had amazingly horrendous cramps last night. They lasted for 15 minutes and all I could do was moan out loud and put a heating pad on my midsection. I was on the verge of tears when they finally stopped and I was able to go to sleep. If I had any bleeding last night, I would have been sure that I was having a miscarriage. Those cramps hurt. They never let up. They were constant for the full 15 minutes. I'm very happy that they haven't appeared again today (knock on wood).
And last but not least, today was the LAST DAY OF MY PROGESTERONE SHOTS! I'm done. I can finally shed the infertility patient needles and be a normal pregnant woman. Life is good.
We talked to the doctor about genetic testing and to her amazement, I asked for the entire Jewish panel of blood tests. She was very surprised to hear that my insurance company paid for the tests, but I assured her that it was covered for those of Ashkenzi Jewish descent. I think she was annoyed by all of the paperwork/consent forms that she would have to fill out.
Then we talked about the other testing choices. We opted to do the serial sequential screening, which is an ultrasound and blood tests in 2 weeks, followed by more bloods tests in the beginning of the second trimester. Together, these tests yield a 95% accuracy on whether our child will have Down Syndrome or other trisomy disorders. We decided that the 1/300 risk of miscarriage with an amniocentesis (or possibly higher with CVS) wasn't worth it to get to 99% accuracy. And what makes me feel better is that if something abnormal shows up from the serial sequential screening, I can still do the amnio. So I have my next ultrasound in 2 weeks. I hope the baby looks even more human then!
So far, this pregnancy has been quite easy for me. Other than being pretty tired after 9:30 pm, I have had no nauseousness or food aversions. Of course, I wanted to eat only eggs on a toasted bagel on Thursday night, but so be it. I guess you could consider that my first craving, but I don't feel like it was strong enough to be a craving. But it's what I wanted to eat. But as payback for the lack of other pregnancy symptoms (metallic taste in mouth, excessive saliva, puking, etc.), I had amazingly horrendous cramps last night. They lasted for 15 minutes and all I could do was moan out loud and put a heating pad on my midsection. I was on the verge of tears when they finally stopped and I was able to go to sleep. If I had any bleeding last night, I would have been sure that I was having a miscarriage. Those cramps hurt. They never let up. They were constant for the full 15 minutes. I'm very happy that they haven't appeared again today (knock on wood).
And last but not least, today was the LAST DAY OF MY PROGESTERONE SHOTS! I'm done. I can finally shed the infertility patient needles and be a normal pregnant woman. Life is good.
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