13 weeks

Well, I am happy to say that I have finally reached the start of my second trimester of pregnancy! I had a check up with my OB/GYN Dr. Sherren this afternoon. She tried to get the baby's heartbeat for us, but since my bladder was so full at the time, we had a hard time hearing one, so she took a peek by ultrasound and saw the beating heart, and thought that all looked great!The baby is measuring at 13 weeks, 3 days, which is pretty right on. I guess we will have to wait to hear a heartbeat until the next time!! This is the first time that I have got to see my actual doctor since I found out I was pregnant, my first visit was with a nurse practictioner, and normally with our clinic I would continue to rotate between doctor and nurse for visits, but due to my health issues (high blood pressure and hypothyroidism) my doctor wants me to see her for every prenatal visit, and if she is on vacation, I will see one of her partners. I will also have to have my thyroid hormone levels checked out often, and they will closely monitor me for preeclampsia (a condition that can happen with high blood pressure). My doctor also told me that because of the high blood pressure and thyroid condition that I will probably have more ultrasounds, just to keep an eye on the baby's size and growth. My next ultrasound will be between 18-20 weeks (so in about a month) and they will be doing a Level 2 Ultrasound, which is a more in depth look. We will speak with a perinatologist immediately after the ultrasound and be given the results in the same day. This will be the ultrasound at which we will learn the baby's sex if it cooperates with us!

Last week we had our first trimester screen (an ultrasound that measure nuchal translucency). Basically it shows any indications of what your chances are of having child with Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 18. Our tests came back within the normal range. According to the blood test, and what was found in the ultrasound, we have a 1 in 2600 chance of having a baby with Down Syndrome, and a 1 in 10,000 chance of having a baby with Trisomy 18. It was nice to have the chance to see the baby with some good photos, Brad said he thought the baby even waved at him!

My next Dr. appointment is on Friday January 2,2009! I will keep you posted on future ultrasound dates, etc.