I had my second prenatal visit yesterday. It was so much shorter than the first one- maybe 20 minutes. I got there, and they weighed me (ugh!). I gained 7 lbs. I was bummed, but what can you do? I’ve been trying to eat healthy and exercise, but morning sickness is getting in the way. They took a urine sample. After that, we went to the exam room. The nurse said my result were normal from the blood work they did at the last visit. I had figured since I didn’t get a call from them. She took my blood pressure. I wasn’t feeling good, and started to cry. I was just so upset about being nauseated all the time. The nurse was very sweet. She got me a mint and some water. The OB came in, and we talked a little bit about results. She said they got a fax about my First Trimester Screening, and everything was normal. I was relieved. She didn’t have a ratio for me, so I’m assuming that I will get that next week when I hear from the office that did the screening. We talked about my morning sickness. The last few days have been terrible, and I’ve been throwing up at work, which was really stressing me out. She gave me a prescription for an anti-nausea medication. After, we listened to the baby’s heartbeat, which was so neat. The baby seems healthy, so that makes me happy! I start week 13 tomorrow. I’m hoping morning sickness lessens in the coming week!
I had my First Trimester Screening on Tuesday. It was an interesting experience. Big surprise, I was feeling nauseated. After I checked in, I had to use the restroom since they wanted me to have an empty bladder for the ultrasound. When it was my turn, a nurse took me to a small conference room. We talked about my history and any risk factors I may have. She explained that they would be combining my family history with my age, blood work, and ultrasound measurements. She said I would get the results in a week. Since I was almost 30, she said my ratio was already 1:500. She explained that the Second Trimester Screening would look at the anatomy and gender. They would also take blood at that time. They would get an idea of my risk for cleft palate and spina bifida. If the baby was leaking spinal fluid, then it would show up in my blood. I’m not sure if I got all the details correct- the nurse talked so fast. I’m sure she’s been going through that speech at least 20 times that day!
After that, they took be back to the waiting room to wait for an ultrasound room to be available. I took another trip to the potty to make sure my bladder was empty. When they called me back, I was taken to the ultrasound room. They used a doppler on my belly. I had to pull the top of my pants down so they could goop me up with gel. The ultrasound was amazing. I could see the heartbeat, and I even got to hear it. I saw the baby move around. It was surreal! It really looked like a baby. It was amazing how much he changed since my first ultrasound 4 weeks ago! I saw arms and legs. He was so cute. The tech said it was too early to tell gender. I couldn’t tell what was umbilical cord or gender, so I’m taking her word for it. They did a 4D view for a little bit, but it didn’t look as cool. I can imagine 4D looking amazing what the child is bigger. DH wasn’t able to go, so I was so happy they put the whole thing on DVD. It was so fun to watch it later at home. They also gave me a few pictures.
After the ultrasound, the a nurse came in to take my blood. I was feeling woozy since it was close to lunch time, so I laid down. The doctor came in for about 30 sec. to let me know that things looked good and to answer any questions. He said the results would be ready in a week. After that I scheduled my second trimester screening, and the appointment was over. I’m interested to hear the ratio. I left feeling positive about the experience and my chances of having a healthy baby.
Filed under: Baby Worries, Pregnancy Symptoms, Second Trimester | Tags: Pregnant
I finally made it to 12 weeks. Wow- this went by so fast, and so terribly slow! Morning sickness really takes it out of you. I didn’t throw up that much- maybe three times, but feeling nauseated all the time is tiring. I’m not even going to talk about diarrhea. All of it involved some crying on the floor of my bathroom. Not quite the image I had of the first trimester, and certainly not what you see in the movies! I felt like all I could do was sit on the couch. Even that was too much some times. Foods that made me feel better at first started to make me feel sick. Mornings are hard still, but yesterday was the first day I felt like myself. I actually cleaned the counters in my kitchen… which doesn’t sound like much, but I hadn’t touched them in almost 8 weeks. I vacuumed too. We have two dogs, so I was just happy I didn’t break the vacuum. I feel normal today, too. I’m crossing my fingers that things will ease up over the next few weeks.
On Tuesday, I go in for my First Trimester Screening. I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited to get another look at the baby. They are going to take blood as well. All the information they get will help them determine the baby’s risk for having chromosomal abnormalities. I’m mostly concerned with neural tube defects and cleft palate because of the medication I am taking, but it would be so wonderful to rule out chromosomal defects as well. If this screening is good, then hopefully, I won’t be interested in further, more invasive, testing. My fingers are crossed that everything looks good…
