Going into this appointment I knew that I was seeing the doctor, but also knew that an ultrasound wasn't scheduled. I kept thinking, but how will I know if everything is going okay? What are we going to discuss? Little did I know that she would bring out the hand-held doppler. However, she couldn't find the heartbeat. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't worried that she couldn't find the heartbeat, but I think that it was actually good to see her not find anything. I had been wanting to buy a home doppler, but if she can't find a heartbeat, how am I supposed to find one? So off we went to the ultrasound room which was more than fine with me-another chance to see the baby!
Baby is looking great- measuring on time or slightly ahead of schedule. Lots of waving and moving around today (must have been the orange juice I drank this morning) and a strong heartbeat. My SCH is almost completely gone (YES!!!) so I can start working exercise back into my day and CP and I can start to "do stuff" again.
Next week I'm out in DC for a conference but needed to try to fit the BUN test in before I left because the hospital can only do it between 11 weeks and 14 weeks. This test carries no risk to me or the baby and I was hesitant to do an amniocentesis. Don't know what the BUN test is? I didn't know either!
First trimester screening (also referred to as BUN test) is designed for women interested in determining whether their baby is at an increased risk for Down syndrome and Trisomy 18. These are both chromosomal abnormalities that result from the presence of an extra chromosome in every cell of the body.
- The ultrasound demonstrates a fetal heartbeat and determines gestational age. Then, the amount of fluid accumulation behind the neck of the baby, called nuchal translucency (NT), is measured.
- A blood specimen is analyzed for two chemicals called Beta human chorionic gonadotropin (free Beta), and pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) which are normally found in the blood of all pregnant women.
- The results of the ultrasound exam will be combined with the results of the blood test to estimate a specific risk, high or low, for Down syndrome and Trisomies 18 and 13.
I'm glad that I was able to fit the BUN test in next Tuesday before my flight as it is one more chance to see the baby before I tell a few close friends in DC the good news!
13 comments:
Hooray hooray hooray! I love all this good news :)
Great news! :)
It feels like only yesterday we were looking at your beta results...
Woohoo! Great news!
I think most people do the BUN test, I know I did, but I've just never heard it called that.
This is all great news! So happy to hear it :)
Super exciting. I've never heard it called the BUN test, either, but I also had it done (and as someone else suggested, I feel like it's pretty routine).
Wow! I can't believe you are at 12 weeks already. This baby is indeed happening!
This is awesome news, congratulations! I feel like the last time I checked your blog you had just found out you were pregnant and now it's been three months! I was thinking of you last week when I was visiting Chicago - um, best city ever?! I can't wait to go back!
So happy for you! It seems like time has flown by. :)
Congrats on the SCH going down! Also, good luck on the BUN test. I also haven't heard it called that, but I did it at 12 weeks. It was great to get so much info about the baby. We're up for the next stage of the testing this week.
CONGRATS on 12 weeks and on the SCH news!! Take it easy at the DC conference, and enjoy finally being able to do active things with the husband :) re the heartbeat- I didn't get to hear my baby's heartbeat until I was well into second trimester. They could never find it with doppler! But then they'd whip out the u/s machine and there we'd see it. It was a nice bonus :)
Good news all around! (Except I would have been freaking out at the Doppler incident ... whew.)
I had that test done too, but I'd never heard it called the BUN test.
Yay! All sorts of good news in this post. I think I might have freaked a little bit if I was there and she couldn't find the heartbeat. But hallelujah to getting to the your baby moving and shaking in there! So glad to hear you are able to start working exercise back in. Things are looking good!
Post a Comment