12 Weeks, 5 Days

Things are finally moving along. They say time slows down during pregnancy, and that is no lie! But, now it's starting to get exciting. The first appointment with the OB actually happened yesterday. Ryan was there to experience the fun. Right away the Nurse listened to the heartbeat of the baby which blared through her stethoscope speaker very loud and fast. It was such a relief to hear since we were fairly anxious that nothing was going on in there. How could I feel this good and be pregnant?! We met with Dr. Ricci and had a great discussion. She said that all the lab work looked great and went over the process of appointments, etc. She wasn't concerned that I had lost 2 pounds since my first visit since you really don't need to gain weight the first trimester (although my home scale says I gained 2 pounds, which is still nothing). We also talked about the first trimester screening for Trisomy 31, neural tube defects, Down's syndrome and some others. This needs to be done right away because I'm already over 12 weeks along so I elected to go to a facility later that day for the ultrasound and blood test. My due date is September 25th, but since I will be having a C-section (due to my previous pelvis fracture 10 years ago), the birth will be scheduled between September 18-23. It is becoming so real! Ryan was glowing after hearing the heartbeat. I think I was too (actually, I was quite emotional).

That afternoon, I had the ultrasound for the 1st Trimester Screening where they were measuring the thickness of the baby's neck, among other things. Only Ryan's baby would be stubborn enough to be standing in the uterus, not wanting to move for the right shot. ;) The Sonogramist said that is the worst position for the measurements. We waited 30 minutes, with her shaking my belly trying to get the baby to move. S/He moved here and there and would go right back to the same position. S/He loves holding up it's hand. I saw the whole body - the head, legs, arms....it was so special seeing an actual baby. I did see her/him flip on to it's stomach and move around at one point. We finally got some good shots and she said the neck thickness was normal. I'll still need another blood test in a few weeks to complete the screening process. I did not get great shots this time compared to what I saw, but here they are below. The heartbeat waves are shown - very strong at 163 beats per minute. Thank God for Ryan's athletic genes!