16 Weeks: Avocado

Watch what you say...tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean she can now pick up your voice. A few more minuscule changes: Eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

15.5 Week Update

My poor neglected blog.  Let me ramble on a bit.

We're 15.5 weeks and I couldn't be happier.  I'm feeling good.  The nausea and vomitting seem to have passed for the most part, and I'm on day two being headache free.  My thyroid is holding its own - Dr. K is watching me like a hawk and running my blood every 3 weeks.  Last check, my TSH (0.03) was low, but my T3 (311) and T4 (1.1) are running the show, and they are normal. 

I'm barely showing.  Those that know my body type know the bump is new, but to everyone else, I look like I've indulged in one too many Christmas cookies.  Well, I have actually.  LOL!  Shockingly enough, I'm only up 8 pounds as of this morning, so that is pretty darn good, especially considering how easily I normally gain weight.  It's been a joy to not count calories for the past four months, and weighing weekly instead of daily has been a change for the better for me.

Okay, let's get down to the nitty gritty.  The cramping is making me CRAZY.  It's been so long since I've seen the babies (over 3 weeks which seems like ages to me) and I'm paranoid and dying for an ultrasound.  My OB apparently only does a doppler check at 16 weeks, but I think I'm going to beg her to measure the babies and check their fluid.  I think I've read one too many stories of people leaking fluid or having an incompetent cervix and I'm terrified of having a second trimester loss now.  I guess I'm just paranoid of a loss, period.  I can't imagine getting this far and then losing them.  I've been listening to their heartbeats every night with the doppler, so I know there hearts are still beating away. I'm thankful we've had that to hold on to.

15 Weeks: Naval Orange

Continuing the march toward normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure his arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably can't feel the movements just yet.

Week 14: Lemon

Since when is a lemon bigger than a peach?  I'm a bit shocked (and disappointed) that my belly is not growing much at all.  I really expected to be showing more by now, but my little itty bitty bump hasn't grown at all.  Which worries me, of course.



Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, making urine, and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over her body for warmth.

The Results are IN!!!

The Genetic Counselor called this afternoon.  I had left two messages for her, and I guess she could hear the worry in my voice.  She said the results hadn't come in yet, but she called and had them faxed.

I was concerned because...well, I'm old.  Also, the risk of chromosomal issues is higher with people pregnant after IVF/ICSI because the process of natural selection is eliminated.

So as I said a few posts down, our measurements were 1.3 and 1.6, which is fabulous - below the 2.5 that they wanted to see.

The risk of Down's Syndrome just based on my age alone is about 1/250.  I don't know the risk of T18 just based on age alone.

Here are the numbers based on my age, my measurements above, and my bloodwork (PAPP-A and HCG):

Based on my age
Down's Syndrome:  1/1600
Trisomy 18:  1/53000

Based on the embryo's age (they were retrieved in May)
Down's Syndrome:  1/1800
Trisomy 18:  1/71000

We could not be more THRILLED!  God is surely blessing us tenfold, and we are SO very grateful.

Next stop:  Anatomy/Gender Scan on 1/20/2010!!!!!

Week 13: Peach

Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy.

Photo and text courtesy of thebump.com

For Alysia...

Because you asked...

10 weeks 5 days (pardon the messy mirror)


12 weeks 3 days (not sure what's up with the wrinkle just above my pants...nice...NOT!)

NT Scan and Genetic Counseling

We had our NT Scan and Genetic Counseling today.  I tossed and turned ALL night long thinking about this appointment.  Funny though, I didn't get as worried as I normally get before an ultrasound.  I guess it's sinking in that I'm pregnant. 

The scan went great.  Their nuchal folds measured 1.3 and 1.6 which is below the 2mm "there might be a problem" coverline.  I loved seeing our little ones on the screen.  They were kicking and squirming like crazy.  SO amazing.  The babies were measuring 12w5d and 12w6d and heartbeats were 155 and 156.  Fabulous news all around!!!  Here are my little loves!!!  Cuties, huh?





Then the Perinatologist came in, checked on all the measurements, and talked about what lies ahead.  We had previously been told we wouldn't be sent for the first trimester screening blood work because our third sac (blighted ovum) would skew the results, but then he said because he couldn't see the third sac, he was going to run the bloodwork portion of the scan anyways.  This was a little upsetting to me, because I was happy and thrilled with the news we already had, and I've heard way too many stories of false positives with twins/triplets.  But I gave up the blood and then we left for lunch.

We came back after lunch and met with the Genetic Counselor.  She went over our family, medical and reproductive histories.  We talked in detail about odds and false postives and the "what ifs", and I told her that I wasn't sure I wanted them to run my blood.  She said that they could cancel the order if that was what I decided.  In the end, she felt like my results would be better than the results from my embyro age, which is 1:150, so we went ahead with it.  We did decline doing a CVS and I'm 99% sure we won't do an amnio either.  They'll call with the blood results in about 10 days.

So overall it was a GREAT day and I couldn't be happier.  I still can't believe these two little people will be in our arms in 6 short months!  I'm still in a daze!!!