A Portrait of a Pregnancy

My personal journey building our family.

Week 7

on September 7, 2012

Today was my first OB appointment.  I was elated and dreading it a little.  I always get nauseous at the doctor’s office.  It has something to do with the sterile smells and the poor lighting and the disgusting bodily fluid talks.  I must confess, I hoped it would make me nauseous.  However, this hospital is brand spanking new (so new it doesn’t yet even have a blood lab…boo!), and I didn’t at all feel uncomfortable or feel like I was diseased or something.  First things first, they wanted my weight, the bastards.  Couldn’t they have weighed me…um 7 weeks ago??  It was certainly a shock to step on the scale and see that I gained 4 pounds since I got pregnant.  “Really?!” I can hear you asking.  Before you roll your eyes at me, my doctor confirmed my suspicions.  I might only be 4-5 weeks pregnant, because of my irregular periods.  It seems that pregnancy tests really are in fact pretty accurate, even when barely pregnant, which it seems that I am.  Let me remind you, I was on day 43 of my cycle when I tested…and I was probably JUST at the implantation stage.  Yay Thyroid disorders!!

I took my husband along as my security blanket.  I knew what to expect of course, the usual pelvic exam, a transvaginal ultrasound, etc.  My poor husband.  (Granted, that’s what you get when you decide you don’t care enough to research the condition your wife is currently in (bad hormones! bad!).)  Anyways.  I got to wear a cute little paper top and a paper sheet over my lap.  I warned him to move more to the side of me LOL.  The benefit of this though was to welcome him behind the curtain of this pregnancy, since we are in this together.  But also, my husband got to see the sac in the ultrasound, if not much of anything else.  It looked a little like this:

Early Pregnancy Ultrasound

Early Pregnancy Ultrasound

A little disappointed doesn’t really describe it.  Where are the fingers and the outline of the spine??  Where is my little blueberry?!  I have already read to seven weeks in my What to Expect book and on the internet…and now going back to Week 4/5, there isn’t much there in terms of a baby.  My doctor wants to monitor my blood for HCG increases, and for progesterone levels.  (Funny.  That’s why I wanted to get into the doctor before “week 8”.)  Of course, I can’t help but think worst case scenario.  Blighted ovum.  She told me there is in fact a 25% risk of miscarriage right now.  She was being honest, and says she sees it all the time.  I know that most women will wait a could of months, and boom they are pregnant again with a very healthy pregnancy.  She also said that also might not be the case, and I just am in fact not that far along, and am perfectly normal.  Only the blood work will tell.  Ultimately, I know that either way we will be fine.  I am pregnant and I am capable of becoming pregnant and that is fantastic.  But now, my pregnancy feels like it has a bit of a raincloud hanging over it.

According to a little more online research once  I got home, I am more comfortable saying that I am probably just only 4 weeks along (conceiving on August 9th), rather than something horrible.  I am trying to be positive and tell myself that everything is fine, I’m just a little earlier in my pregnancy than I thought.

I have two more draws, one on Saturday, and the next on Monday.  I hope that means I hear good news on Tuesday.  Meanwhile, what am I to think?  How many of you have had this happen?  How on earth do you get your mind off of it so you can focus on work, and the rest of your life?

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