Whew!

All is good! Our Little One is 6.6cm, which actually measures at 12w6d, and I'm only 12w1d today. So LO is growing fast! (still in normal range, though, not enough to change my due date, but hopefully enough to guarantee a 2009 tax deduction!). The heartbeat is 165, nice and strong, and the NT measurement is 1.8 (what they screen for to give you more accurate odds for Downs Syndrome). They said they like to see under 3, so I'm well within "normal" range, but I'll have the combined results (with the blood test) in a week, which will be 90% accurate.

They told me that based on age alone, my odds are 1/42. I asked her about the 1/75 I had heard about, but she said that's once I'm in the second trimester. Since I'm still in the first, it's 1/42, since many instances of downs will cause you miscarry before second tri. I'm also going to take a week 15 blood test to further refine the odds (but it will still be less than 95% accurate). She told me that I'll get those results a week later, and then they would be able to get me in for an amnio in a few days if I wanted to go forward with it. We'll just have to see. I don't want to be worried the whole pregnancy, but I so hate the idea of going ahead with something that has a 0.5% chance of miscarriage. The doc also said something about seeing the nasal bone (?) which is also a good sign that things are going well.

Other good news - my cervix is 3.3 long. Under 2.5 is considered short, and could mean you have a weak cervix (risk of 2nd tri miscarriage), but I'm looking good. Plus the placenta is not covering the cervix so far (placenta previa), which would mean most certainly a c-section. The only not-so-great thing is that my fibroid is now 5cm (grown from 3cm before pregnancy). Growth is normal during pregnancy, but you don't want it to interfere with the fetal growth by pushing into the uterus. So far it's not. You also don't want the placenta to be on top of the fibroid, and it's not. And finally you don't want the fibroid to block the birth canal, which it's not now, but it's kind of close. If that happens, it could mean a c-section. It just depends on which direction it's growing.

So all-in-all, I'm excited! The doc said everything is looking really good. LO was moving around a lot, it was really fun to see. They had to keep poking LO and asking me to cough to get the right angle. At one point, LO was sitting cross-legged, it was real cute! And I have 2 strips of pictures which are much more detailed than before.

I go back on Tues for a regular OB appt - I'm sure I won't get an ultrasound, but hopefully we can listen to the heartbeat with a doppler. We're going to tell extended family over the next week, and then I'll tell my boss once I'm at the end of 13 weeks (about 2 weeks from now). I had always thought the first trimester ended at 12 weeks, but my doc said it's the end of the 13th week. More waiting!

I think I'm starting to show a little, although it's hard to distinguish from my 17 extra IVF pounds! I haven't gained any weight on the scale, but everything is shifting. I bought a bella band, and these pant extenders with different color "shields" that slip over the extender and match your pants. But I think I'll need to break down and hit the maternity clothes pretty soon. Let's hope anyway!

Mostly, I'm going to try really hard to not let myself freak out as much anymore. Easier said than done, I know this is my post-appointment "high" talking, but I really have every reason to by confident, I think...