Week 8 & 9: Ultrasounds Galore & Charleston

I went back to Kaiser for my followup ultrasound on Thursday. While I expected to see the 8 week reading and just get a new EDD, I left with a big pit in my stomach (beyond the normal nausea I'd been feeling). During the ultrasound, the doctor was only able to get a measure on the lil nugget of 7w2d again. This was troubling because it was not reflecting proper growth at this point. In fact, the discussion that followed revolved around the symptoms that I may experience if I were to miscarry. Now, I realize that it's her responsibility to prepare me for the worst (especially since I was traveling until the next time I would see her) but it definitely was a low blow that really brought the fragility of this pregnancy back into focus. I was feeling good since we had a heartbeat and I heard that feeling nauseous should mean that everything was going according to plan. Now, she did also assure me that it could be just fine - perhaps the nugget was laying at a strange angle or nestled up against the wall of the uterus, causing for the short measure. But that was all a muffle under the loud-and-clear miscarriage warning.

Heading to Charleston, I had a GREAT trip with my sister. While my nausea was pretty much now at an all-day fervor, daily ice cream breaks helped and we kept busy so at least I wasn't just laying at home thinking about how bad I felt. Here's some highlights:

When I returned home, I woke up the next day feeling terrible but also excited for my Ultrasound (since I hadn't experienced any of the cramping, bleeding, etc. that she'd warned me about). I weighed in, and surprisingly didn't gain a pound - leave it to the fried chicken. We skipped the pillow talk and went straight for the ultrasound. I could tell, just from looking at the initial picture, that baby was growing. She measured and sure enough we were solidly into Week 9. Hooray! Baby's back on track. This puts my new EDD at September 27 (just two days after Mama Rose's birthday). What a relief as we were heading to LA on Friday to share the exciting news with my parents.