Scariest day of my life...

It's amazing how attached you can become to something about the size of a large lime. Today, I am 12w1d pregnant & so thankful. But, Friday morning, during our routine 12 week appointment (I was actually 11w6d), Baby Worry Bud scared the bejesus out of me & Mr. WB. Let me start where my last post left off...

I have been doing well, not worrying so much about Baby WB. Just having faith that all is going well in there. We haven't had a real appointment since the final one with my RE at 7w6d. At that point, the Drs. were saying everything with the baby looked perfect & they were comfortable releasing me to my regular OB. By then, Baby WB looked like this:


As directed, I stopped my Endometrin (progesterone) & Estradiol (estrogen) supplements at 10 weeks. I was so scared that my baby would still need them, but my RE assured me that it would be fine. So, I stopped them...and all seemed well. No unusual cramping, no bleeding. Mr. WB & I went along with our lives as normal, started some spring cleaning around the house, did some yard work, and even went to Lowes to pick up some paint samples for Baby WB's nursery. I'll likely paint the room the same color regardless of the baby's sex. I even found out that one of my co-workers is also pregnant - only about a week & a half ahead of me! My symptoms continued to be pretty minimal - extreme fatigue, slight twisting/stretching/occasional quick stabbing pain in my ute area, shooting pain starting in my left butt cheek & going down to my leg, slightly sore breasts, larger breasts, seemingly swollen ute area, sore hips. I did experience nausea, but never actually threw up & that worried me only a little, since I have read that not all pregnant women experience that symptom. Since I have never been pregnant, I was just trying to go with the flow & not worry too much unless something alarming happened.

So, along comes our 2nd OB appointment this past Friday, April 23, 2010. I was just a little nervous, we were supposed to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time on that day! We had seen it on our previous ultrasounds, but had never heard it. I have read so many mama's accounts of the first time hearing that beautiful whooshing sound & had been looking forward to hearing it too. So, I was finally called back...Mr. Worry Bud was directed to go back to the exam room. The nurse took my blood pressure, got a urine sample & took my weight (which I think was about 3 lbs. off from my scale at home that I know is pretty accurate - I think she was just in a rush). Then she took me back to the exam room. The nurse practitioner (NP) - who I normally see for my annual pap smears - was handling my appointment that morning; she came & grabbed us & we went to her office to talk for a bit. After that, she did my annual pap, felt my uterus & agreed that it was enlarged normally for being almost 12 weeks. Well, then the "fun part" - listening with the Doppler for the baby's h/b!!! She put the gel on the prob, then put the probe on my ute area & started moving it around. She tried for about 5-8 min in all different areas & couldn't find it. Nothing. Panic mode set in. She said sometimes it happens, but that at this point in my pregnancy, we should be able to hear the h/b. She said she didn't want me worrying all weekend, so she would send me downstairs (to a imaging/radiology office my OB uses) to get a u/s. As soon as she left the room, I started weeping & Mr. WB tried to tell me that everything would be fine, that the baby was doing great & was just hiding. Although he seemed so sure, I knew he was freaking out a little in his own mind.

So, we went downstairs & the very nice front desk guy told us that since we didn't have an appointment, we could be waiting up to 2 hours to get in, but that he'd try & get us in ASAP. We decided we'd wait (versus coming back later that afternoon)...I don't think I could really function doing anything else until we knew what was going on with our LO anyway. So, I sat in the waiting room, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed - prayed that our baby was okay & was just hiding somehow from the Doppler, prayed that we'd get in to see him/her ASAP. About 40 min later, both of my prayers were answered. We got called in! The u/s tech said that she'd do both a tummy & trans-vag u/s, but that she'd start with the tummy. I grabbed Mr. WB's hand. As soon as she put the probe on, I recognized the gestational sac & our baby. It wasn't moving & I knew that it should be by this point, but after about 3 seconds, s/he started wiggling around & dancing for us!! I was so relieved, I started "ugly" crying. I told the tech everything that we had gone thru to get to this point & we were just so happy Baby WB was doing good. I even saw Mr. WB let out a sigh of relief! I asked why she thought the NP at my OB wasn't able to find the h/b with the Doppler, and she told me she couldn't say for sure, but it may have been because the baby was towards the back of my uterus. The Dr. at that office came in to follow up with us & told me that the baby was measuring normally; he told me, "Don't worry, be happy," that our baby looked "perfect." And without further adieu, here is a bonus peek at Baby WB at 11w6d:

Little bugger - I think he knew mommy wanted another peek at him, but I had a talk with him after the u/s was done & told him never ever to scare me like that again!

Isn't s/he so beautiful & perfect?! We feel so blessed that everything turned out okay. I know all too well in speaking with other women who battled IF that it was not a for sure thing that the baby would be okay. But s/he was, and we thank God for that. After those traumatic few hours, I even got Mr. WB to agree to let me buy a rocker I want for the baby's nursery! We are going to go look at a few options today. :)

Oh & I mentioned this in my previous post, but I started taking "bump" pics starting at 4 weeks & that I'd post them start posting them here at 12 weeks. My Dr. agrees that my uterus has grown above my pelvic cavity as it should by this point, so technically, I think I am showing a little bit. I started wearing maternity jeans last week & they are glorious. I got my normal jean size & bought this pair in two different washes from Old Navy. I also bought these real waist pants for work from ON in all 3 colors - and I highly recommend both! I'm a long way from needing shirts, but I am so happy I moved on to the pants - so comfy! So anywho, here is a comparison of my "bump" at 5 weeks vs. 12 weeks:


Thanks for reading if you got this far! I promise to get better on updating more often. Work has been crazy & I have actually been in training for the last week or so. Hopefully everything will calm down soon, but I doubt it since we are about to enter the busiest time of year in my field - third & fourth quarters. My NT Scan is this Friday, April 30, 2010 & we are praying that everything looks good at that u/s with Baby WB. Thank you so much for all the continued T&P that our little WB continues to grow big & strong & healthy!