Week 9 - Ultrasound
Wave for the camera!
It’s been two weeks since my last ultrasound and my first glimpse of my little baby. I was beside myself with excitement today, as I drove to my 9-week ultrasound appointment at the fertility clinic. Eager to see my little miracle, I was grinning the whole drive there.
When I arrived, I chatted excitedly with the Technician who was also pregnant. After feeling great for her entire first trimester, she was now starting to experience severe morning sickness in her second trimester, which is not typical timing. She said she’s been so sick she is basically surviving off of ginger ale and crackers. I made mental note and crossed my fingers that I’d continue to feel good.
At 9-weeks pregnant the uterus is still sitting behind the pelvic bone, so ultrasounds are still typically conducted transvaginally at this point; hello Wanda! I laid back on the table, calmed my racing mind, and prayed that we’d see a heartbeat. I patiently waited as the Technician navigated the transducer with one hand and clicked around on the computer keyboard with the other. Waiting for some indication from her was torture… “is everything ok?”, I wondered to myself.
Finally she turned the screen to me and I felt instant relief! She wouldn’t show me the screen if there was something wrong, would she? Her words confirmed that the baby was still there and there was a heartbeat! She pointed to a tiny flickering light spot on the screen. It was just pixels on a computer screen, but to me, it was the most beautiful sight! She then pointed around the rest of the screen to identify various baby parts: head, arm, foot and bum. I was grateful for the tour - because frankly - I wouldn’t have been able to identify those features on my own. I felt a bit like Rachel in that Friends episode… you know the one where she can’t see it!
9-week symptoms
I’ve been pretty lucky in my pregnancy so far. I haven’t suffered from any severe sickness yet. These are the symptoms that I’m experiencing most at this stage of the pregnancy:
Mild and consistent feeling of nausea. I haven’t experienced any vomiting, but I’ve had a constant feeling of queasiness for several weeks now. Nausea is one of the most commonly experienced symptoms in early pregnancy, and thankfully does not affect the baby. While doctors still don’t exactly know what causes morning sickness, it is thought to be connected with an increase in hormones (like HGC and estrogen) necessary for the developing fetus.
Headaches. I’ve been susceptible to headaches my whole life, but I seem to be experiencing them more frequently (yet less severely) now. They tend to set in sometime late in the afternoon, and may be connected to being tired, and staring at a computer screen all day. I try to listen to my body and transition from work to rest as quickly as possible. I also make a point of staying well hydrated throughout the day, drinking about 2 – 3L of water (which makes for a lot of bathroom breaks!) I’ve also been waking up with headaches in the middle of the night. These headaches may be attributed to increasing hormone levels, stress, eye strain, or nasal congestion. Pre-pregnancy I relied on extra strength Advil for my headache relief, but unfortunately ibuprofen is a no-no during pregnancy. I’ve been taking one extra strength Tylenol tablet for nighttime headaches during pregnancy, and that seems to do the trick.
Birthday girl
This week I celebrated my 48th birthday! It was a low-key celebration at home with my sister and my BFF (I didn’t have the energy for anything more splashy). I’ve been missing sushi, so I insisted we order in… with veggie-only options and cooked teriyaki for me. I didn’t factor in how envious I’d be watching the others nosh on my pre-pregnancy favourites: green dragon roll, spicy tuna roll, and salmon sashimi. My hardship was softened by a beautiful birthday cake for dessert. Anyone who knows me knows how I adore birthday cake. Actually, I adore all cakes, but there’s something particularly special about BIRTHDAY cake!
I was spoiled with enthusiastic birthday wishes and lots of presents. But the best gift of all was the opportunity to reflect on the past year. This time last year I was still desperately waiting to hear some news about the possibility of adopting a child. Little did I know that 12 months into the future I would be pregnant, and expecting a baby all of my own!
One of the most amazing things about aging is becoming more confident. Feeling more confident in myself, my body, my abilities and in my decisions. 47-year-old me was starting to feel like she had to explore options outside of adoption. Sitting idly waiting and feeling my hopes and dreams of a child slip away just wasn’t an option. And so I did some research, made a decision to change course, and confidently stepped into action to make my dream a reality through IVF. I’m so glad I was confident enough in myself to take this leap. What a blessing it has been!
Some people dread birthdays, but not me. Growing older, wiser and more confident is such a precious gift. I relish birthdays!
