How we found out

As you know from the previous post, we got our sonogram a week early. This is how it happened.

I'm still tracking my basal body temperatures during pregnancy. A maintained high temp (in relation to my normal BBT) is an indication that pregnancy hormones are still present, and I'm still pregnant. A period of several days with decreasing temp indicate a possible miscarriage. Well, for several days, my temps had been fluctuating low, then back up, then lower, then back up, but not as high, then even lower. By the third low temp (this one lower than it had been since pre-pregancy), I was getting a little worried. I thought, "Well, it might be a fluke. I won't worry unless I have actual signs of miscarriage (cramping, bleeding, etc.)." So I let it go.

But then, when I stepped on the scale, I had lost 8 pounds. Oh my gosh! So the two together certainly worried me. I started thinking about how tired I'd been lately, and how I hadn't felt that well on Sunday. Oh my gosh I could be miscarrying.

I called Jon, who was at work and couldn't answer his cell phone. I left him a message with what was going on and that I would call my mom to see if I should go to the dr.

When my mom answered, I immediately teared up. There's something about having someone else around (or on the phone) to be the strong one during a hard time, and I'm sure she could tell I was scared. She said I should definitely go, despite my lack of cramping, etc.

On the way to the dr, I left another message for Jon, letting him know. Then I called the dr's office. They seem nonplussed about my "possible miscarriage" because I wasn't bleeding. However, I told them I was already on my way, and I would just feel better if they could listen for the heartbeat.

I made it to the dr. and realized I'd left my wallet at home, which was fine, since they have all my information, but...well, oh well. I sat down in the waiting room, fully expecting to be called back quickly to assess if I was indeed losing my baby. After about 20 minutes, I realized that I was waiting in line like everyone else, and I reluctantly opened a Parenting magazine. Jon called to check on me, and again I had the urge to cry. I told him I was just waiting.

Finally, the nurse, Rosa, called my name. Rosa is an interesting lady. She's very business-like, and doesn't comment any more than she has to. When she checks my weight or blood pressure, it's very fast, and if I don't pay close attention, I won't even know what the numbers were. At the weigh station, the scale registered that I'd gained a pound. So much for my eight-pound loss.

My blood pressure was fine, and then Rosa said Dr. K would probably want to go ahead and do the sonogram, since we were only a week away. Ak! I didn't want Jon to miss that! I asked if hearing the heartbeat would be enough, and she said, well, Dr. K will still probably want to do the sono. She left me to wait, and I quickly texted Jon, asking if he could get off at all.

Finally, Dr. K came in, ever a spirit of sweetness and calm. She pulled out the dopplar to listen for a heartbeat, and just at that moment Jon called to see what was going on. Dr. K held the dopplar speaker up to the phone so Jon could hear as well. (What a nice doctor!) And let me just say, those dopplar things are not the best for a woman worried about her baby. It takes WAY too long to find the heartbeat! We listened to my heartbeat, we listened to what Dr. K said was our heartbeats combined, and finally, after a few tense moments for me, we heard the baby's heartbeat, measuring at 138 beats per minute. It was nice and strong and steady. I was worried because the last heartrate we'd known was 168, but she said it was normal for the heartbeat to slow as the baby got bigger.

I kept the phone line open as Dr. K explained that that was enough confirmation for her if I didn't want to do the sono today. She could see the uncertainty in my face. I didn't want to be a high-maintenance pregnant lady. I wanted that heartbeat to be enough. Jon also wanted it to be enough. And getting him off work would be a bit of a finagle. Okay, we decided. We're fine. We feel better. We promise.

Dr. K urged us to come back in if we decided it just wasn't enough for us. As I left, I heard her tell the scheduling lady to let me have an afternoon appointment if I called.

Back home, I went back to work. I waited for the baby to kick. Nothing. Hm.... The couple times I thought could be kicks, I just couldn't really tell. Jon called at lunchtime to check on me. I told him I felt fine, but neither one of us were that convinced. Realizing that I was going out of town the next day, and that the doctor seemed so fine with moving the sono up, we decided to go. Jon arranged to get off an hour early, and I called the dr. to let the know we would be coming in. Just doing that helped me feel a little better.

At 3:00, Jon called to say he was on his way home. I answered the phone with, "Hi!" and he misunderstood me to say, "Hurry!" "What? Are you okay? What's going on??" "No, I just said hi...."

So obviously we were on pins and needles, and I was glad we'd made the decision we had. At the office, again we waited. I regretted that we weren't going into this Big Appointment with more happiness. Our day had subdued our excitement over learning the gender, and we were more concerned with seeing a wiggly baby, no matter the gender.

When we made it into the sonogram room, the technician began her explorations over my stomach. Again, it takes WAY too long to find babies. Seriously. But, when she found him, we were glad. Again she found the hearbeat (this time 151bpm)--crazy baby. We didn't really breathe a sigh of relief until we saw him move around. He wasn't very wiggly; he looked like he was just adjusting in his sleep, but it was enough for us. Our little guy was okay. And a boy!

Emotionally drained, it took a few phonecalls to excited family to really lift our spirits from our concerns of the day. Nothing was wrong. We had a healthy baby boy.

I promised Jon that I wouldn't be that high-maintenance again, and I thanked him for believing my concerns and supporting me through the day. The being that was making my belly bigger every day had his hold on me, and I didn't realize how much until I thought I could lose him. I'm told that that hold will only get stronger, and will be more than I ever imagined when I have him in my arms for the first time. Only 20 weeks away! The time is going so fast!