11w+3d: NT Scan and NIPT Done

FINALLY, after 2 1/2 weeks of not knowing what was going on in my womb and trying so hard to not get paranoid and worried about my baby -- I had my scan today. I was so worried we wouldn't see a heartbeat... I woke up in the middle of the night to pee & I couldn't go back to sleep, worries haunting me :(  Luckily, I had absolutely nothing to worry about! Baby is doing really good!!

NT Scan

What is the nuchal translucency scan? From Baby Center:
The nuchal translucency scan (also called the NT scan) uses ultrasound to assess your developing baby's risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities, as well as major congenital heart problems. 
The NT scan measures the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of your baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average. The NT scan is not invasive.
The NT scan took a long time, maybe 30 minutes or so. She first tried to do an abdominal ultrasound, but with my tilted uterus, she couldn't see anything. So we had to do the transvaginal ultrasound. I was anxiously awaiting to see the baby's heart beating. The first thing I saw was the baby's legs moving all around! Then the arms fluttering around! It was pretty amazing seeing the little baby wiggling around and I couldn't feel a thing. Baby's measuring really good at 11 weeks, 6 days. Heartbeat was strong at 176 bpm.

The NT took a long time since baby was moving so much that we had to wait until he/she was in the right profile position to get the readings. Good news: the measurements look good! You could see the little nose bridge and the back of the neck measured well. Now, I wait for the blood work to come back to confirm all is well. Which should come back early next week.

What was crazy about seeing the baby is, you could see so much detail! I have a cool picture of the hand, the legs, the brain, I got to see the heart and you could see the chambers. She said it was too early to tell gender, but it's either a boy or a girl. LOL. Seeing the baby, it was just... wow. There's a baby growing inside of me! And the baby's looking really really good right now! It just feels so surreal.

When I met with MFM about my diabetes log, we are upping my insulin a little bit. She wants me to make adjustments as I go so I can get my blood sugars under 95 for fasting. When I asked her about some worry for my holiday travels, she told me to stop worrying! LOL. I'm trying to lessen the worry... I really am! Today it finally felt REAL. Baby's on track, I'm almost out of the first trimester, and everything else is looking pretty good. I feel like I'm in an alternate universe, I am just so happy and relieved and feel so utterly blessed to have this life growing inside of me.

I'm a bit emotional about it all... It's like I'm finally able to believe in this wonderful thing. It's really here. I'm really pregnant.

Another nice thing happened today. I finally broke the news to one of my close friends about the pregnancy. She had gone through IVF and has twins. I haven't shared the news with her because I wanted to get a little further along before revealing it. Well, she's so sweet and offered to come out after the baby is born and stay for a little bit to help out! I don't have any family that is going to help me after the baby is born, so it was very touching to have someone offer. It means so much to me and I'm just so humbled to have such wonderful friends.

NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Test) 

I finally had my blood work taken for the Panorama testing. When the results come back, I'll know the baby's gender...!!! I'll also know some risks related to some chromosomal abnormalities, including Down Syndrome. I'm still guessing my baby's a girl! Let's see if I'm right. 50/50 chance either way. I should get the results by the end of next week or so. Might be some delay because of the holiday, but I'm really hoping to get it in. I can't wait to know if I'm having a boy or a girl.

My next scan won't be until 18 weeks... which seems like an eternity away!!!!! That's when I'll have the anatomy scan. Hopefully I'll "pop" in the next few weeks and maybe start feeling the baby move when I get closer to 18 weeks.

Now... travel for Thanksgiving. Hoping I can handle all the travel and activity. I'm still suffering from fatigue if I do too much, so hoping I can hang. It's hard without coffee!

Next Steps: 
  • 12/1/16: Annual Eye Exam
  • 12/2/16: OB, Monthly Appointment 
  • 12/2/16: MFM, Diabetes Follow-up

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