Heart Beat on the Doppler

I have been trying about once per week for a few weeks to find the baby's heart beat on my at home doppler. I was finding my own heart beat and placenta sounds, but no baby...until today!! It was lower on my belly than I thought it would be for 11 weeks, but it was nice and strong. Reading anywhere between 150-180 in the 2 minutes that I listened to it. I have the Sonoline B doppler. That is the BEST sound in the world when you are pregnant! I feel some great reassurance going in to my appointment on Wednesday. I have been feeling a lot of cramps and pulls, most likely stretching and growing, but I was worried it was the worst. We miscarried our little girl last year on the 29th, so I've been a bit more down and worried this week. I guess that just comes with the territory. I can't even begin to say how much better hearing that heart beat makes me feel! I tried to call my husband at work to tell him, but he must have been in a meeting. I can't wait to tell him the great news!

Happy Halloween! I'm looking forward to Trick-or-Treat tonight with my little Snow White. She is super excited this year and really gets what it's all about. Last year it was a new thing for her, so she wasn't too sure at first. I'm thinking of my friends who don't have a child to take Trick-or-Treating yet and I'm hoping they all get their turn to do this someday soon.

Wiggling Baby!

I had my first appointment at my Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists office today. We met with the nurse practitioner. Everyone I came in contact with there seemed wonderful, upbeat, and caring. The office is in the hospital, so ultrasounds are in the hospital too with the higher quality machines, which is great! She went over my history, answered questions, and gave me a lab order for some blood work. I had an ultrasound afterwards, and everything looked "perfect" according to the tech. The baby is measuring spot on at 9 weeks 3 days/9 weeks 4 days (depending on different measurements). Heart rate was 172, which is great. We even got to see the baby wiggle around!  It was the cutest thing ever!

My next appointment is November 2nd with my OB. I'll be setting up the NT Scan for sometime around 12 weeks. I am beyond thrilled. This ultrasound made everything seem so much more real. I think it was the wiggling baby.

I was especially nervous coming into this one. It was about this time last year, at about the same stage in my pregnancy, and meeting my new doctor for the first time, when we found out we lost our little girl. It felt a bit like Groundhog's Day and that made me really anxious. Thank goodness history did not repeat itself. She did an abdominal ultrasound today and it didn't take too terribly long for us to see the heart beating. Then the wiggling, the adorable wiggling. She took some measurements and gave us some photos and told us everything looked perfect, then said we were free to go. Our NP told us if all looked fine that's how it would go (no waiting for doctors to come and talk to us), so we feel very reassured.

Here are some photos of our beautiful baby...

Starting To Get Excited!

We had an ultrasound with my RE today. It started out a little nerve racking because we didn't see the heart beat at first. It took a few seconds, a little zoom, then we all breathed a sigh of relief, including my doctor. It was flickering away, she turned it on so we could hear it too, the most beautiful sound! The heart rate was 173, nice and strong. The baby measured 8 weeks 1 day, only 1 day shy of what I actually am.



I spent a good part of the afternoon on the phone coordinating things. I am now set up with my Maternal Fetal Medicine/Perinatologist. I go in for my first appointment with the nurse practitioner on October 19th. I'll also have an ultrasound that day. Only a little over a week to wait and see our baby again! I needed to get my records sent over from my different dr's offices. When I called my old OB's office, the receptionist knew who I was right away and she was so excited and happy for us. It makes me really miss them there. I was always in such great hands. I'm sure I'll like my new office too, it will just take a little time to warm up into it. She's going to gather the info for that I had at the interim OB for 1 appointment when we lost our little girl last year. I'm happy that I don't have to take care of that one too. I'll meet my new doctor on November 2nd and I'll also be setting up the NT scan when I meet with the NP.

Today I got my flu shot, I'm glad to have that taken care of. I was really worried about catching the flu while pregnant, with asthma. That could be really dangerous. The craziest thing happened last week. I was eating lunch and part of my molar broke and fell out! I went to the dentist and they put a temporary thing on it and said I could go ahead and get a crown with the okay from my RE (with a local). She told me to wait until the second trimester if at all possible, so that's what I'm doing. Hopefully the temporary seal will stay on until then.

So, I guess we are just here, growing a little human. I can't think of anything better to do with my time. I'm starting to get excited and think this is really going to happen this time! I hope the rest of this pregnancy goes smoothly.

Another Week

Well, it has been another week and all seems to be going okay. I am 7 weeks 2 days pregnant today. Morning sickness has really set in now. I spent a good part of my weekend sleeping and trying to find food and beverages that settle, so that's a good sign. It's the only time in my life where I welcome nausea and am excited about it! Don't get me wrong though, I'm looking forward to the second trimester. Last night I had a dream about miscarriage, which has me all kinds of freaked out. It wasn't about me having one at least, it was something that I was watching on the news about incomplete miscarriages. I woke up startled and had trouble going back to sleep. This morning I can't help but worry that something is wrong.

For the most part I have been relatively calm and feeling positive about this pregnancy, which is really different for me. I am still having my moments of doubt and fear, but they are fewer than I thought, given my history of loss and anxiety. I'm just ready to have the NT Scan, get great results, and feel more comfortable and confident about everything. Next Monday I have another ultrasound. Right now I'm feeling blessed and thankful and hoping for the best.