A Brief Cardiac Episode

So yesterday I went to the OB for my fourteen-week checkup. The very first thing they always do after getting my urine and vitals is check the baby's heartbeat using the Doppler. Well, I lay there for what seemed like an ETERNITY as the nurse probed and prodded my belly with the machine. She didn't miss a spot; she covered every inch of my upper and lower abdomen SEVERAL TIMES, and still...NO HEARTBEAT. She tapped the machine against her palm and tried again. Finally, after at least five minutes and a lot of grimacing and head-shaking, she said, "I can't find it. Nothing. But I hate this machine...let me go find another one."

So again I lay there for another infinite amount of time while I waited for her to go do whatever it was she was going to do. I just KNEW she was going to get my doctor so he could be the one to break the devastating news. But when she came back, she was still alone and she did have another Doppler.

"How far along are you again?" she asked.

"Fourteen weeks."

"You're just at that weird stage where the baby could be anywhere in there--really high or really low. Let's try again. Can you pull the top of your shorts down a little farther?"

This time she probed what seemed like the top of my thigh, but sure enough, PAY DIRT. A good, strong 155 bpm heartbeat. I have never been so scared and then so relieved in all my life. WHEW.

It's official!

Exactly 13 weeks and 2 days gestation marks the end of the first trimester, so I am now officially in my second tri--YAY FOR ME! Although every passing day has made me feel a little more secure, I am really starting to relax now. I'm still waiting on the results of last week's nuchal translucency test, and I have another OB appointment on Friday; hopefully, I'll get lots of good news and be able to totally enjoy our vacation to Florida next week.

Happy Father's Day, Billy!

To the best dad in the whole world--Max and I love you sooooo much!

Butch at 12 weeks...

Okay, it's not REALLY Butch--it's actually a picture of a twelve week old fetus I found on WebMD--but it's better than any of the crappy pictures I got at my ultrasound yesterday. I went for my nuchal translucency (early Down's) test, which includes among other things a nice, high-def level 2 ultrasound. Although the tech was not allowed to tell me the sex even if she saw it, she made sure to get me a good between-the-legs shot and hold it while I looked. I pretty clearly saw a "protrusion" that looked very similar to every ultrasound I ever saw of Max, but I still have to wait a few weeks to find out for sure. I go to OGA at Women's Hospital, and they have a policy not to say a word until eighteen weeks. Oh well...I don't care one bit either way this time--I just want to be able to start SHOPPING!!! And...as my friend Sherri from WebMD said, "Butch would have been a weird name for a girl, anyway."

I am feeling MUCH better this week, just fat. Of course, Max's Mommy and Me swimming lessons started this week, so I have to get into a bathing suit every day in front of a million people. I feel like I should announce to everyone that I am pregnant, not just pudgy and out of shape. I saw a t-shirt the other day that said "With bump--NOT plump!" and I want it!