I had my first official ultrasound last Friday, Feb 22nd. It was at the Utah fertility center because my OB won't start seeing me until I am closer to 7 weeks. And my first ultrasound was set for just before or at week 6 (depending on who you talk to about dates). Anyway, I made the long drive to the clinic and was all ready to go. I wasn't worried about not being pregnant because I had two positive home pregnancy tests and a blood test to confirm. I was more curious to see if there would be one or two. I thought about it and decided I was fine with whatever, just that there needs to be at least one healthy baby.
I got in to my appointment pretty quickly and was all ready to go. I ended up with my newer ultrasound tech but they actually had a new one do the ultrasound. She had a hard time at first and couldn't see anything. She and the other girl looked around for a while and weren't saying anything. I started to panic! I was worried that they couldn't see anything because there wasn't anything. Or that it was bad news. I finally had to ask them what was going on. They finally told me that there was a "shadow" and they were having a hard time locating the embryos. The more experienced girl finally took over and located a "yolk sac". She turned the screen so I could watch what she was looking at and take photos. I noticed the picture was not clear at all and commented on this. I was really frustrated that they seemed to have inferior equipment. You would think that a clinic that specializes in fertility needs would have a super sonic awesome ultrasound machine (especially since it was an internal ultrasound and they were not gentle with that wand) but instead it was fuzzy and hard to read. She was able to see the "yolk sac" and showed me that it does have a "fetal pole or stem" inside of it. It was super tiny and hard to see but I finally saw what she saw. It was basically a black circle-ish shape with a tiny grey thing inside it. She measured it and said it measured at 5 weeks 5 days. She wasn't able to find a heart beat but said that it normal and some fetus (feti?) won't show a heart beat until week 7. She felt confident it was fine and told me not to worry about it. Then she did some more looking (and digging around) and located a second yolk sac. This one was much smaller and she could not see any grey material inside it. She said that there is a chance it may not become anything but there is also a chance that it could catch up and grow later. She talked about how most twins have one that develops slower and smaller than the other. I snapped a couple pics and they printed off a few for me as well. I did my blood work and then started the long drive home.
My blood work ended up showing that my estrogen and progesterone levels are perfect so I will continue with the same meds. My second HCG level was 5,095. I checked the surro website and saw that number is right in the middle of either a singleton or twins. And everyone seems to have different types of numbers.
I also talked with the IM later. She had spoken with the clinic. They were being realistic and said not to get our hopes up until she have a positive heart beat. They agreed we should monitor the large one but felt that the small one most likely won't grow. That kind of made me sad because while having twins would be hard on the family, I also don't want to give up on Squishie. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.
The next step is another ultrasound this Friday. This one is with my OB. I am hoping their equipment is so much better, And I am crossing my fingers for heart beats. Plural. ;)
As far as pregnancy, I feel pretty good. I still get tired easy and have the occasional heartburn. Tums has become my friend and I have bottles everywhere. The best thing I do for being tired is sleep. I am usually in bed by 9:30 pm every night. Which is weird for me because usually I am up til 11 trying to get stuff done around the house and have some quiet time. I have also found I don't have as much energy and want to just sit around and rest. I guess I should enjoy it while I can because I plan to start exercising again once they clear me. And I know exercise will help me feel better and have more energy. I also can't wait to take a bath. I may just sit in one for about two days straight.
I have had a few cravings but I am not sure I can blame them on the pregnancy. I craved lasagna one day and made it. This last weekend it was beef stew. I have noticed that red meat (cooked) and pickles taste so good. Not necessarily mixed together but I may have to try that now. I like pickles anyway but I do remember craving and and eating a lot of pickles when I was pregnant before. Shall we do an early prediction there is a boy?? I have not been feeling nauseous or sick at all. I never had to worry about that and haven't had any so far this time. Thank goodness. I also haven't feel overly emotional. I do get overwhelmed with everything going on but I think that is part of this process and experience. There is a lot more stress and pressure this time around. But nothing I can't handle. I do cry about weird commercials on TV but I have always been that way.
Everything else seems to be going well.
Home and work are good. I have been updating my kid about everything. He was a little sad about maybe not having both embryos work out. But then he understood that sometimes things don't always work out. He thought about it for a minute and then said that if only one works out, we will nickname is "oh Grandma" instead of either P. Shirley or Squishie. He felt that was fair. Sometimes I wish I could crawl in his head and figure out what he is thinking sometimes.
I started my new job last week. It is still doing therapy but at a facility and has a lot of perks. No more going out to homes to see people, no being exposed to unsafe environments, no late nights. I am grateful this opportunity came up when it did. I haven't told them about the pregnancy yet and am not sure how I will bring it up. I guess I will wait until the time is right. I am sure they will be supportive of it.
I am not sure what else to say for this week. And I am tired and ready for bed. Post comments if you have any particular comments and I will answer them. And keep those heartbeat fingers crossed for Friday. :)
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