Peeper Update

I had my first prenatal visit with Dr B this morning, and everything went very well.

At first, they weren't quite sure what to do with me (those were the nurse's exact words), because typically, you have a "confirmation ultrasound" around 6 weeks, then come back for an hour-long appointment with a nurse to get a full history, then start the monthly appointments.

As it turned out, they just did the whole pee / weight / blood pressure thing, then Dr B came in and talked to me really briefly, and said, "We really don't actually need to do anything to you."

I asked, "Can we at least take a listen with the Doppler?"

"Well," she said, "We could, but we might be able to hear anything with it yet. But we could try an ultrasound."

"Yeah, I'll take that!"

So, she rolled in the ultrasound machine and I hopped up on the table and - this was new - I got to keep my pants on!

Well, I did have to unzip them, and pull them down a bit, of course, but she was able to do the ultrasound abdominally, which was kind of milestone, after God only knows how many encounters with the dido-cam.

Her ultrasound machine (and especially the printer) isn't as fancy or high resolution as the one at the fertility clinic, and the photo really doesn't do justice to what we were able to see on the screen, but here it is anyway:

This photo is just kind of a blobby shape that maybe you'll believe has those parts, because they are labeled, but on the screen, what we saw was - get this - a baby.

An honest-to-God, actual, human-shaped (mostly), baby-thing, 4.39 centimeters (1.7 inches) long, with a beating heart (they are conveniently see-through on ultrasound) and two little legs kicking back and forth and very possibly waving an arm at us.

(Shrike said, "S/he's saying, 'Chill out, Mama, I'm fine!'")

This is the first time that we've been able to see actual see Peeper moving in there (other than the beating heart, of course) and that was incredibly cool.

I really wish that there were a way to show what we actually saw, rather than this crappy still photo.

We had been hoping to have video of next week's nuchal translucency scan (we're buying a digital camcorder with our birthday money) but I called to check and they don't allow that - but even with just the stills, I'm expecting much better photos from that, because a> Peeper will be a week older/bigger/more formed and 2> they have the really good machine.

Of course, they'll be posted as soon as we can get them scanned.

In other upcoming-appointment news, I'll go back to the OB on June 2, for the history-taking.

Dr. B said "We'll get a complete family history, and . . . ." so I asked her, "So, do you really need me there for that?

Actually, we'll have to discuss Shrike and Popeye's genetics (I'll bring a print out of his profile - of course, he's been screened for anything important) and my medical history, in terms of things that would affect the pregnancy - my history of kidney disease and hypertension, my gastric bypass, the fact that Anonymama almost certainly had gestational diabetes, although it wasn't diagnosed at the time, etc.

(Anonymama says they should schedule my history appointment for 90 minutes, rather than an hour, since we'll have to discuss three parents instead of two!)

After that, I'll see one of the midwives (I believe) for a check of - well, I'm not sure what all they'll check, but I guess whatever it is that they check each month.

I'm guessing we'll take a listen with the Doppler at that point? Unless I can sweet-talk them into ultrasounds . . . .

I will have appointments with the OB practice (sometimes I'll see Dr. B, sometimes another OB, sometimes a midwife) every four weeks, until I get to 28 weeks. Then I'll go every two weeks until 36 weeks, and then weekly until Peeper is born.

Since (I think) the perinatologist will want to see me every four weeks as well, I'll try to stagger the appointments so that I'm getting some sort of check every couple of weeks, rather than two back-to-back and then nothing for three or four weeks.

That should be often enough keep me relatively calm and reassured. Relatively.

Of course, once I start getting some belly action going on and, later, actually feeling Peeper move, it will be a little easier to believe that there's something going on in there.

I know I'm very lucky that I've felt so good - I'm almost to the end of my first trimester and other than tiredness and ouchy boobs (and that's much better now - if I had bras that fit, they probably wouldn't hurt at all) and that thing about not having had a period since February, I've really experienced almost no pregnancy symptoms at all.

(Ok, I may be a bit more of a cry-baby mush-ball, but that's a tough call, because I always have been.)

I'm certainly not complaining (especially not in front of any woman who's suffered through weeks or months of "morning" sickness) but if it weren't for the ultrasounds (five, so far) I would seriously be wondering if this was real.

Little kicking baby-person on a tv screen, though?

That's pretty fucking real.