Our First Glimpse of Baby

8 Week Ultrasound

A couple weeks ago I had a full abdominal ultrasound (not pregnancy related) to try and diagnose nausea and weight loss that has been present since last August. About an hour after my appointment I was getting in the car after playing at the park with Adeline when a severe cramp struck. I sat there stunned for about a minute, unable to drive, and then I felt perfectly fine. When we returned home, we took the dogs for a walk, and as we started to head home, I felt blood start to pool. I tried to remain calm as I unstrapped Addie, unleashed the dogs and sped to the bathroom. My fears were verified and the blood came fast. 

I had the same thing happen when I was six weeks pregnant with Adeline, so I tried to stay as positive as possible, although I was clearly shaken. With both babies there was a LOT of blood loss. With Adeline, the doctor said he suspected I miscarried, but ordered an ultrasound just to verify his findings. To our amazement, that's when we heard Addie's heartbeat for the first time. I often wonder if we may have lost her twin, since there was no discovered reason for the bleeding. This time at the emergency room, the ultrasound lasted an extraordinarily long time, the tech was making some strange faces, and I did not hear the heartbeat, so I prepared for the worst. Thankfully, the doctor later confirmed that I was carrying a live, six-week old baby. However, he reported the presence of a "pretty large sub-chorionic hemorrhage on the gestational sac" that was the cause of significant bleeding. He diagnosed my pregnancy as a threatened miscarriage and ordered me to "lay low" for the next month. Hopefully the hemorrhage will dissolve by week 20 (if not before) and the pregnancy will proceed perfectly. 

Yesterday, I had my first O.B. appointment. Despite our unhappiness with the nurse practitioner, we were able to see the baby for a few seconds, although we didn't get to hear the heartbeat. She printed the above picture for us, but was unable to tell us any information on the status of the hemorrhage. I'm praying that we find out more information at my next appointment in three weeks. In the meantime, prayer, prayer, and more prayer for our little babe in the making. Here, our baby makes his or her debut: