Edited to Show & Tell: 9w1d & First Appointment with New OB's Office

I totally forgot about the big Show & Tell move. Today's the day, so be sure to check out what the rest of the class is showing.

As fair warning, my Show & Tell will be very boring for anyone who's had a successful pregnancy, and irritating for anyone who is still trying, and for that, I apologize in advance. Please move on down the list to check out the rest of the class, if you're in a bad baby place. And without further ado, here it is:



It didn't scan great, but if you look closely, you can see the baby's head on the right side of the u/s. I had my first appointment with my new OB's office this morning, which resulted in a surprise ultrasound. I think I am really going to like it there. First, they are really, really nice. Second, their office is very attractive and has good magazines (which aren't just pregnancy related, like my old OB's office), which makes it relaxing to go there.

When I first sat down with the NP, she went over my history in detail, let me ask lots of questions, and went over lots of options. When I told her I was struggling with making a choice on testing, she offered to refer me to a local MFM so that I could have a more in-depth discussion. Compare this with my first (unsuccessful) pregancy, where at my first appointment, the NP glossed over everything, and then told me that "of course you'll have an amnio." No discussion about it--just, at your age, of course you'll have it. Since I was fairly sure something was wrong (I'd been bleeding for two weeks), I didn't dwell on it, but now that I'm back in this position again, it makes me mad to think of how little attention she paid to the testing issue, and how she gave me NO options.

The NP seemed to totally understand the stress of previous loss, too. She tried to do the doppler to find the baby's heart rate, but warned me in advance that at 9 weeks, you can only hear the baby's heartbeat on doppler about 60% of the time. She also warned me that if I have a tipped ute (which I do), that makes it less likely that we'd be able to hear it. And (and for this I loved her), she said that we could have an ultrasound if we couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler.

We couldn't hear the heartbeat on the doppler, but she'd already made me so comfortable that I wasn't worried at all. I waited a few minutes, and they did an ultrasound. I was pleased to discover that they have really good equipment right there in the office. It was an abdominal one this time, which I was psyched about. We not only got to see the baby and the heartbeat, but we got to hear it! The heart rate was 180 beats per minute. The tech spent some time showing us stuff. (There is the baby's head. Oh my, the baby has a head! Oh my, the baby is moving!). It was amazing. Then, she printed us out two huge pictures.

So, things continue to go well. I'm Rh-positive, so I won't need Rhogam. They will be calling me later to schedule the MFM genetic counseling session. Right this second, I'm leaning toward the early risk screen (Nuchal fold, and two blood tests), and then amnio. But, it's all subject to change still. If you have thoughts or experiences with prenatal testing, I'd love to hear them.

Update: I heard back from the office about the MFM session. They scheduled me for nuchal fold test and blood work on 6/30, and I'll also talk to a genetic counselor that day. My Level 2 ultrasound is also already scheduled for early August. It is really starting to feel real.