The First Ultrasound

This week we had our first ultrasound @  7 weeks 6 days! Being the first, it was the most nerve wracking for me. We did hcg blood level tests which were rising as expected, but we haven't done any testing or monitoring since right before we left Reno. The gaps in testing were hard because I'm so used to getting looked at so often, and well, it's our first pregnancy. My worries were something like this: Am I really pregnant or do I have a blighted ovum? If I am pregnant, am  I going to miscarry because of the stress and upset of all the things wrapped up in moving and not having a full time job? I would cycle back and forth with these thoughts all week leading up to our appointment. It was HARD to keep my mind quiet. I'm very happy to say, my concerns were put to rest after our ultrasound.

To give you a sense of my irrationality and nervousness, I was so upset at one point in waiting that I did another pregnancy test - knowing it wouldn't tell me if I was miscarrying. I'm not sure why I did it, knowing that. I just felt like I needed to do something...It did make me feel better that the test line was significantly darker than the control line.

Anyway, the protocol for NCRM is to do an ultrasound at 7 weeks and another one at 9 weeks before releasing patients to a regular OB. The Reproductive Health Specialists in Pittsburgh couldn't fit us in right at 7 weeks, so we had a little delay.  When we arrived at our appointment, Lara and I were a little uncomfortable. Anyone who has gone to a fertility specialist for a while will tell you, you get comfortable with the staff. We  saw the NCRM group at least once a week the last few months prior to leaving. Before we left, we actually stopped by to say goodbye to them - we really love NCRM. After all, they did help us achieve the miracle of having a family. Beyond the staff, the vibe there was always good too - comfy couches, skylit lobby, Norah Jones music playing, and endless shortbread cookies with tea and coffee on hand. Ugh, I miss our RE's office! Sorry about the tangent...at the PA RE, it was a little sterile, absolute silence (no music, chatter, etc) and I felt like a Roomba being ushered in and out of rooms. It was hard, but they don't have a personal rapport with us and neither do we with them.  I paint this picture so you get the feel of what we were feeling about our surroundings - compounded with our nerves and excitement - waiting to get our ultrasound.

We finally get ushered back with an ultrasound tech to a huge room where I did the usual undress below the waist, wrap the disposable sheet around my waist, sit on the table, get my feet in the stirrups, and scoot all the way down to the edge of the table. Interesting, I had a transvaginal ultrasound, and the lady let me put the wand in myself, which I've never done before. I think I prefer someone else doing it; it was...weird. Anyway, we are watching the monitor wide eyed. I know Lara's so focused on that monitor because she didn't even have her camera out of the bag yet!  And then, with just one picture, the ultrasound tech gave us the best news and relief ever!

Isn't the little gummy bear (Mel), peanut (Kim), T Rex (Lara =D), mini Mo (me) the cutest thing ever? It's crazy to love someone so much that you haven't even met. Lara and I both cheesed out with huge smiles and gave each other that knowing look that 'this is really happening'. I felt instant love, and instant responsibility - to make this baby's life the best possible, to put his/her happiness before mine, and to share with and protect him/her from all the amazing things this world has to offer. It is such a crazy and unexplainable feeling.

On the photo, the red circle is the heart, the blue the head, and the green the arm and leg buds =D

We got the approximate length of the baby 15mm (little more than 1/2"), and we got to see the heartbeat with this motion video technology. You can see what we saw in the video below. It's still a few weeks too early to hear a heartbeat, but they can capture the motion changes and measure the heart rate that way. I looked up the average heart rate is about 170 bpm, and our baby's is 173 bpm :) Right on track!

Just wanted to share the good news with everyone! We're waiting now to see if we need to do a second ultrasound before being released to an OB or do we just go straight to the OB. Either way, we're doing great and trucking along :)

Lara here: I'm in love with that little T-rex! It's a crazy feeling :)