Rainbow, 9 weeks ultrasound

Luckily there is a Perinatal Center a couple of minutes away from my house. It's a lot faster to get to, and there are a lot less people waiting, then at the Perinatal Center at the hospital, so it works out well. (I still have to go to the hospital for MFM appointments though.) The only downside is that there isn't a doctor on-site there, but they have doctors watching the pictures because they all go to the main Perinatal center where there's a doctor on duty all the time.

I really liked the ultrasound tech today. She had actually read my chart so she didn't ask me "is this your first pregnancy?" and "why are you here?" and crap like that. But she also didn't pretend like it never happened, she told me she was sorry we lost our daughter and was asking me what the HELLP pain felt like. I really appreciated it. This center only has 2 techs, and since I'm going back every 4 weeks and then more often later, I'll definitely be seeing her again.

The tech was excited to consider this the "first baby picture" even though it's hardly the first, so I didn't tell her otherwise. The baby was measuring exactly on track, and one day ahead on measurements! Joe and I call this the "shrimp" stage, because the baby looks rather similar to a shrimp.

This is the best "baby-like" picture of the bunch, I think:

And a very shrimp-looking picture:

And one more:

The baby's heart rate was 153 beats per minute.

Rainbow, 8.5 weeks ultrasound, first doctor visit

Today was my first "regular doctor" (ie. OB/GYN) visit. After a week of lovenox, I was anxious to see how things were going. My doctor made the comment, "If we could just get you to 28 weeks, that would be fantastic!" (Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I'm kind of hoping to make it 30ish weeks. I don't really think either doctor seriously expects me to make it 36/37 weeks, but to make it in the 30's is sort of my goal. Well, my first goal is to make it out of the first trimester. Then to 24 weeks. Then to 26 weeks. etc. etc.)   She was also really relieved that there was only one baby.

The nurse seriously made me go through my entire medical history and pregnancy with Olivia, all over again, even though I'm using the same doctor so they have more of the details in my records than I know. She at least seemed to sort of realize that Olivia had died, although she "had to ask", she at least didn't smile brightly and say, "Oh you have a one year old!" or something along the lines. And she almost whispered as if saying it softly made it more gentle, "Sorry but I have to ask, did your baby die?" I'm pretty comfortable these days, telling even strangers if they ask how many kids we have, that our daughter died. (Not really the answer they usually expect but that's not my problem, I'm not going to act like she never existed.) So, it's not talking about it that bothers me, although I might get a little teary eyed sometimes, I usually don't anymore. It just seems a little redundant to have to re-hash it over and over again with people that have all of the information in my chart anyway.

I got to skip the bloodwork because I had it done with the MFM the week before, although that really annoyed the nurse and they even called me an hour after my appointment to scold me for not getting it done, when my OB had told me not to do the bloodwork that they'd just get it from the MFM.

The baby is looking gradually more baby and less embryo. The best news is that EVERYTHING MEASURED ON TRACK! (Coincidence or is that lovenox already working?) The baby's heart rate was 176.

Here are the pictures:

 

Rainbow, 7 weeks, first high risk appointment

Today was our first appointment with the high risk doctor (who I will usually try to refer to as the MFM- maternal fetal specialist). Honestly, I went in with the expectation of learning that the baby had died. Surprisingly, my blood pressure was pretty good, especially considering the nurse said, "Oh, so you have a little girl at home?" while taking my blood pressure. (This is the second or third time this has happened, I'm almost used to it, I guess.) I said flatly, "No, she died," while Joe glared daggers at the woman. And I let him, especially considering that this was the same nurse who we went over my entire medical history and pregnancy with Olivia with last year, at our pre-conception consult. Not that I expected her to remember us a year later, but apparently my chart needs a big red "baby died" flag or sticker, for every doctor and dentist I see.

Anyway, the doctor checked out the baby with the roll in ultrasound machine, and we saw the baby/embryo alive and well, heart beating rapidly as it's supposed to be, and she measured the growth and now we are only 3 days behind, so that was a little more reassuring. (The doctor is not worried at all about the growth. Since I was seeing a fertility doctor, we are sure of my due date so they won't change that even if the baby measures behind throughout the pregnancy.) Here's the pictures:

  

And they taught me how to do the lovenox shots, which will be 2 times a day, and I have to inject them in my stomach. (Which really really burns.) They took about 7 vials of blood, for all of the regular prenatal labs, plus baselines of my liver enzymes and platelets so they know what we are starting at for pregnancy, and a baseline 24 hour urine.

So far, everything looks okay.