Plugging along

It's official: We have one healthy grain of rice-sized embryo on board! Our first ultrasound was Thursday, November 8th up at our fertility clinic in Seattle. I'd had another very vivid dream, only instead of an empty uterus, this time there were twins and a third embryo that had stopped developing. Stupid pregnancy brain. It stressed me out for days. I was more concerned that we would see more than one heartbeat than I was that we'd find no heartbeat at all.

Well,  no need to stress. Our ONE little emby was clearly visible, it's little heart flickering away. We were so relieved! The appointment was over quickly, but Dr. H. asked us to please send a photo of our baby to them in July for their photo wall. Sure thing.

After that, we drove over to the main UW Medical Center campus for our other two appointments. We were super early so had plenty of time to people watch (my God, people walk fast!) and eat some lunch.

We met with the genetics counselor first. She didn't really tell us anything we hadn't already found ourselves online. She did offer us a referral to Seattle Children's Hospital if we'd like to speak with doctors who treat babies with the syndrome we're facing, but we've decided to wait until we know we actually have problems severe enough to need that consult.

Finally, we met with Dr. C., my MFM. Poor Paul seemed overwhelmed by the talk of all the ultrasounds I'm going to have during this pregnancy. I think because he expects to be present at each one, he's worried about how much time he'll need to take off, but luckily, many of those ultrasounds will just be to measure my cervical length (from 16 weeks to 26 weeks), so we won't even look at the baby during those. We will have an NT scan up at UW on December 20th at 12 weeks 2 days to screen for other genetic problems (this was the scan the twins did so well at), and then our full anatomy scan ultrasound at 20 weeks. Most of my appointments will be in Olympia with Dr. M., the first being November 26th for my first prenatal visit.

Things so far are great. I'm calling myself the Hungry Hippo because that's how my appetite has been...a good thing, since morning sickness arrived at 5w5d, right on schedule (about the same as with the twins), and while I haven't thrown up yet, each day it's getting a little worse. Let's just say my gag reflex is alive and well. Given I didn't gain any weight with the twins during my entire 14w2d pregnancy, I'm trying to get a head start just in case I end up as sick as I was. Dr. C. recommended I try 50 mg of Vitamin B-6 three times a day, and half a Unisom pill at night, as that combination has been shown to be very effective in reducing nausea. I'll start today, but will not hesitate to ask for a prescription this time if it doesn't work. I don't want to spend my entire first trimester miserable again.

No other worries or complaints right now. I haven't spotted at all, which is reassuring...although I didn't until Aliya's abruption at 7w3d last time, either, so it's hard to say. I do know we're in the very best possible hands, and I will be very carefully monitored throughout my pregnancy:

• Cervical length ultrasounds from 16-26 weeks
• Hydroxyprogesterone (P17) shots weekly from 16-36 weeks or until delivery, whichever comes first
• Blood pressure monitoring (it's in the low pre-hypertension range currently)
• Frequent growth ultrasounds and nonstress tests in my 3rd trimester due to the blood pressure

It's still so very early. Anything can happen. We don't anticipate our little one having additional issues that could lead to early miscarriage, but the PGD can't screen hearts or neurological systems, so if there's a physical defect, we wouldn't know yet. We are in no way out of the woods. We won't feel out of the woods until we reach that 28-week mark...Paul already identified that for both of us. But, for today, we're still pregnant and grateful.

Little E2 at 6w2d along.