Uncharted Territory

I just got back from my first regular OB appointment, and the baby is still alive. It’s measuring at 8 weeks 3 days, even though today is 8 weeks 2 days. And the heartbeat is great – 157 bpm. I’ve never had a baby this big in my belly. So today, officially, I’m further along than I ever have been. And that makes me very happy.

The appointment went well – I love this doctor. I’ve seen him for about two years, I remember telling him we were trying. He’s the one who recommended my RE. He’s the one who did my D&C last June. And now he’s the one who will hopefully follow me through this pregnancy. He’s great – he’s all about the good bedside manner. He told me that once I stop the weekly RE visits, that I can call his nurse at any time, and they will get me in for an ultrasound, just to cure my anxiety. I talked with him about getting a Doppler, and he said that it’s fine – after about 20 weeks. Until then he even has a hard time finding the heartbeat on a Doppler sometimes, so he doesn’t recommend it to his patients. But by 20 weeks, I should be able to feel the baby kick, so what’s the point? So I’m going to try to take his advice and hold off on purchasing one.

I spoke to the doc for awhile about Lovenox, and he said he has plenty of patients who use Lovenox successfully through their pregnancy. He wants to change a couple things for my pregnancy compared to a normal one: starting at around 28-29 weeks, I’ll start going in for weekly non-stress tests. He wants to monitor my blood flow, and make sure everything looks good. So the weekly appointments will start early. And the second thing is because I should be off Lovenox for 24-48 hours prior to delivery, he doesn’t like to wait until I go into labor. So he wants to induce me at around 38 weeks. So my due date is officially November 12 (really it should be November 13 but the baby is measuring a day big, but who cares?), but I’ll likely give birth in late October. I was hoping to go as long as possible, and I’ve heard bad things about the inducing process, but that’s ok. I just want to do whatever I can to have a healthy baby, and if it takes inducing, or shots throughout the pregnancy, or standing on my head for the next seven months, I’ll do it.

Believe me, I’m still nervous, but we have reached a new point. I have my NT scan on April 29, and hopefully everything will look good then. Perhaps after that point I’ll be able to relax a little. I hope so!