A pleasant surprise

Last night at my appointment with the midwife, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat. I had no idea she would even try to find it. It was tough to find at first and I admit I got a bit nervous. But then, suddenly, there it was. A strong 168 beats per minute. I felt badly the IJ didn't get to hear it. The midwife grabbed my purse for me so I could try to record it on my phone but I guess the baby moved so we couldn't find it again.

After that, I had to get some basic "girl tests" done. It seems my retroverted uterus is even more retroverted now that baby is on board. I have never had that much pain during a basic pap. Otherwise, the appointment was fine, lots of questions about medical history and talk about my hypertension. I am right on the border of it being too high for pregnancy. I knew as soon as that BFP came in that my medication would be at least doubled. So I need to talk to my own doctor about that today.

I also decided on my Downs Syndrome and Trisomy 18 testing. Since I have no intention of aborting (note: this is our personal choice, I am not soap boxing here) I decided not to do the diagnostic testing (Amniocenthesis or CVS). I felt it would be irresponsible of me to not do any testing (note: again, a personal decision for IJ and I) so I decided to go with the sequential screening. It involves bloodwork and an ultrasound in both the first and second trimesters. This way, if there is an issue, we can take some time to understand the situation and research how to best help our baby once he/she arrives. I feel good about the choice. And I am looking forward to another ultrasound of course!