7 Weeks 4 Days (for real this time)

How Can Something 1/3 the Size of a Capital "I" Have a Heartbeat?!

Ultrasound # (i lost count) finally arrived. Today I should be at the REAL 7 weeks, and there should be an embryo with a heartbeat inside me. We'll see. So the saying goes "I'll believe it when I see it."

Unfortunately on appointment day, my husband was away on business, so sadly he wasn't able to view the first possible heartbeat with me. I told him I would get a copy of the ultrasound picture and send it to him as soon as I got home.

My appointment time was at 10:30am. This time I got smart. Instead of waking up an hour before to flood my bladder with fluids, I decided just to sleep in until just before the appointment time. I skipped the morning trip to the toilet, keeping my bladder full with last night's liquids. This way I got another hour's worth of sleep, and I didn't have to force feed myself with water first thing in the morning.

I arrived at the appointment promptly. I was once again given a bunch of forms to take downstairs to the ultrasound room where I await for my name to be called. I stole a look at the forms again. Just like last time, the last piece of paper was the results of the last ultrasound. This time, to my delight, it said "Gestational sac seen." I'm hoping the good news continues.

They finally called my name and in I go for the pelvic ultrasound with the full bladder. Note to all ladies out there: your bladder doesn't have to be exploding for the ultrasound. Mine was not bursting at the seams, and they were able to complete the exam just fine. I went to empty my bladder and went back for the transvaginal ultrasound, the one that ultimately would show the embryo and, hopefully, heartbeat.

I laid back down on the table as the technician moved the intrusive device in and around me, trying to get all different angles I assume. After a few minutes of fidgeting, she paused to press some buttons on the machine, and continued fidgeting. Finally, she said "Everything looks good. There is a heartbeat. I will show you in a minute." I think I breathed the loudest sigh of relief without embarassing myself. I waited the long long minute for her to show me what she's seeing on the screen. She turned the screen towards me, and I propped myself up very awkwardly off the table to strain my neck to see. There it was on the screen. The gestational sac, the tiny little embryo, and a strange flashing white spot just to the right of the embryo's body. I asked the technician "Oh is that the heartbeat? That flashing light?" She said "Yes, it's at 135 bpm. That's good." I let my neck have some relief by lying back down on the table, and I actually fought the urge to cry, wishing my husband was here to see this with me. I asked the technician if I could have a copy of that image. She printed one out for me immediately. She finished up her exam, and I got dressed. As I left the room, she gave me the stapled piece of paper with my results on it to walk upstairs to my doctor. I was too distracted looking at my copy of the ultrasound to care about the stapled piece of paper.

I walked into my doctor's office and handed the paper to the receptionist, and took a seat to wait my turn to see the doctor. After about 15 minutes, she called me in. We sat down in her office and she congratulated me on getting pregnant, and that everything looked good. I should add at this point that this doctor is actually a fertility specialist. We were seeing her because we were having trouble conceiving naturally. We were on the verge of starting cycle monitoring when we surprisingly conceived successfully. Because she was the closest thing I had to an OB at this time, I continued to see her for these ultrasounds. But now that there is a pregnancy confirmed and a heartbeat, she told me to go see my family doctor to get a real referral to an OB who would take over my pre-natal care. And that's who exactly I went to see right after I left her office.

I drove straight to my family doctor's office. I hadn't seen her in over a year. If she saw me on the street, I don't think she would recognize me as her patient. But anyhow, I told her the good news and asked her for a referral to an OB in my neighborhood. I had done my research on the internet for some good OBs, and found a specific one i wanted to be referred to. She said she would get the paperwork started right away and they would call me once the appointment is set up.

In my meeting with the fertility doc to go over my ultrasound exam, I was at 7 weeks and 4 days of my pregnancy. However, the embryo measured in a 1cm, which corresponds to a 7 week 0 days gestation. I'm confused as to exactly how far along I am... 7 weeks 4 days or 7 weeks 0 days? But I suppose a few days here and there isn't that important. For my own satisfaction, I've been telling people 7 weeks 4 days just to put me a bit farther along. I already regressed a week from the last ultrasound. But from the expected due date, it seems to be calculated from the 7 weeks 0 days count.

Tomayto-tomahto.