I had tried to estimate how far along I might be. I figured, the only sign I had was the drop in my milk supply, which occurred right around November 1. Assuming I got pregnant around the end of October, I'd be due in the end of July, and that would put me at 11 or 12 weeks along right now. That seemed pretty reasonable. And Andrew would be 15 months old at the birth.
So we went over to Swedish to the doc that Mountain Midwifery recommended. It was a bit annoying - we got there 10 minutes early to fill out paperwork, but they didn't even start my paper work until 10 minutes after my appointment time. And then it was the longest medical history *ever* - I was like, dude, I'm just here for a scan! And then the doc didn't come in the room until a full 40 minutes after our appointment time - and our appointment time was first thing! Bah.
Anyway, the doc came in, and he was chatting with me about what clued me in (drop in milk supply) and when I took the pregnancy test (New Year's Day), and I notice that he's got a condom in his hand. And then I realize he's going for the trans-vaginal ultrasound wand, as if he's looking for a speck or a blob or some really early thing. I said, "Um... I think I'm more like 12 weeks along." And he said, in sort of condescending fashion, "Well, let's just take a look and see what we see, hm?"
As soon as he put the thing in, a beautiful, perfect leg, knee, calf, and foot appeared on the screen (standing right on my bladder, which explained why I had to pee even though I just went).
 |
| Well, hello there, future soccer star |
Doc said, "Whoa. That's a big baby. That's a BIG BABY." And I'm thinking, "Please stop saying it like that!" His resident, who was in training, came over and palpated my abdomen, and she said, "Your uterus is at your belly button. That's, like, 20 weeks!" I plaintively responded, "Well, I might have a bit of a full bladder." And doc said, "A full bladder can make 16 weeks seem like 20 weeks. Let's get the right tool and take some measurements."
He got the wand for my abdomen, and quickly took some measurements of the head circumference and all the long bones. The machine did its little algorithm to average the measurements together and spit out that I was 16wks5days along, due June 20. About 5-6 weeks further along than I thought!
 |
| Baby's face, looking up at us |
The doc seemed in a hurry and didn't seem keen on just browsing around looking at my beautiful kid who I didn't even know was there, so we didn't get much of a "tour." We did see that I have a nice-looking posterior placenta, which explains why I could feel clear kicks at 16 weeks along. I asked if he could see the gender, since I know that 17 weeks is right on the cusp of being able to tell, but the doc just blew me off and said, "We'll look next time." Well, maybe you would have time to look if you hadn't been running 40 minutes behind!
During all of this, Andrew was playing happily on the floor or on Daddy's lap, oblivious to his new sibling appearing on the screen.
I went back out to the reception desk, and the lady asked if he wanted to see me again. I told her yes, in three weeks. She asked if the doc had said what the appointment was for, what kind of ultrasound? "It'll be the 20 week anatomy scan," I said. Her jaw about hit the floor. "They told me it was a 1st trimester dating scan!" she gasped out. "Yeah, well, that's what I thought it was too!"
It was definitely another surprise, but I'm slowly getting used to the idea of my Irish twins (they'll be about 14 months apart). I know that it will be hard at first, but I really think there are a lot of good things about it.
Can't wait to see what else this kid has in store for us!
No comments:
Post a Comment