Friday, June 25, 2010

A Beautiful Sound

On Tuesday we had our first visit with the doctor since learning we were pregnant. We had been in once for an early ultrasound around 6 weeks due to spotting & we also had our nurse visit in the beginning of June. We had met our perinatologist once before, a few months after losing Janessa. We had scheduled a consultation with her so we could know what to expect for future pregnancies. We seem to like her so far. She is calm & relaxed which is refreshing when we obviously find it difficult to be.

For the nurse visit we met with one nurse who told us she was filling in for the day & she usually works with the woman who struggle with infertility. On Tuesday the same nurse greeted us & brought us into our room where another nurse was already there. They took my pressure which wasn’t great. 140/82. On the way to the hospital I decided to stop at a pharmacy & take my pressure & it was 122/72. I wanted to test out this theory of “white coat syndrome”. So I either have it or all the pharmacies machines are off on their readings. When I check myself my reading is always a under 130/80. The doctor’s office is another story. Thankfully I have a blood pressure cup on its way to my house so I can closely monitor it.

That day I gave half my blood supply & more urine then I could ever imagine they would need. I also learned I had protein in my urine. I am too early for it to be preeclampsia so we have to figure out why its present. I will be doing a 24 hour urine catch on July 1st. How lovely.

After that the nurse who greeted us got out the doppler to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. She said “Since its still early it may take me a few moments to find it.” It then clicked that she was training, which explained the other nurse in the room. The last time I had a doppler placed on my stomach was May 13th, 2009. It was the day they could not find Janessa’s heartbeat. To try & explain the emotions I felt when she placed that doppler on my stomach would almost be impossible. She tried for a few moments & then the other nurse started giving her pointers. “Make smaller circles, start on one side then go to the other”… I explained to her about the last time I had this done & the other nurse quickly took over. This time around I cannot be a training case. I just don’t have the ability to deal with that. The second nurse found it rather quickly & what beautiful sound it was. I wish I had been able to see my husband’s face. The nurse was positioned right in front of him. I’ll never forget his expression when we heard Jayden & Janessa’s for the first time. I knew he was pretty tensed up from the amount of time it took to find the heartbeat. I told the nurse I had forgotten our camera & we planned on recording it. She asked if we had our phone & it had slipped my mind that we had a video camera on there as well. We were able to record this clip.



We went on to meet the nurse practitioner. She stressed to us to call with any concerns & she even gave me her email address. We talked about Janessa’s pregnancy & what will be done differently this time. She explained about all the many many ultrasounds we will be getting & eventually the non stress tests. When the doctor came in the room they spoke about how we would stay very on top of things & they tried to be very reassuring. I left there feeling pretty good.

We have an ultrasound scheduled for July 2nd. This will be the Nuchal translucency test aka the NT Scan. This test scans the fluid under the skin at the back of the baby’s neck. This is used to identify the risk of down syndrome. I never had this done with JJ or Janessa. Because this pregnancy is considered high risk (for my risk of abruption & preeclampsia) I was offered this. This is just one of the extra tests & procedures offered when dealing with high risk pregnancies. We opted to do it to get a peek at our little one & to be alerted if there was a problem. Our risk of down syndrome is not very high but as we have learned we can be that “lucky” one out of a ratio.

I cannot lie & say I won’t be nervous for the scan after everything we
have been through but I am eager to see our little munchkin!

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To learn more about a NT Scan click here


6 comments:

Debby@Just Breathe said...

The sound of the heartbeat, awesome! ((HUGS))

Lisette said...

What a beautiful sound. I am glad you are comfortable with the medical staff that is attending to you.

Good luck with the NT. I am traumatized by that however in the future I will definately get it done again. It gave plenty of time to prepare for what was to come. I pray that everything goes well for you.


I am so happy for your guys!!! ((HUGS))

Anonymous said...

thats just so awsome malory.. the heartbeat is amazing just to listen too and im sure for you its priceless. i bet your heart just sank, im so very happy for you guys and have faith that everythiong wil be just fine.

Lana said...

thats such wonderful news malory... i must admit i have been a bit aloof on blogger and wasnt aware of your news... my fingers and toes and everything else are crossed for you and your little family... I am currently 18 weeks pregnant following the loss of our little girl and the ride is bumpy but stay positive and know that you are not alone!
*hugs*
lana

Mary said...

I am so gald that you found a place where they understand you and the anxiety of this pregnancy. I will continue to pray all goes well.

With Out My Punkin said...

Congrats on your pregnancy! I will have you in my thoughts. I love the sound of a baby's hb inside the womb. So happy for you!

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