The anatomy scan has been one of the largest sources of anxiety for me this pregnancy. As I’ve mentioned before, to most people this is just the “gender ultrasound”, but there was a lot more hinging on this ultrasound than just that for us. There’s a lot of important measurements taken, and for us, this was our first glimpse at whether this baby was growth-restricted or not (at least at this point).
On Monday, we got really good news! The baby is measuring perfectly on track and everything was in its right place. For those of you who’ve recently went through an ultrasound, you know that ultrasound techs don’t share much. They’re not really supposed to share good or bad with you, but growth is no secret. As the tech measures, the measurements come up on the screen. Waiting for the first measurements to come up on the screen was agonizing. We were 19+0 when we went in for the scan, and the first measurement popped up at 19+2. Jeff and I exchanged glances and a shrug, and I think one of us might have mumbled something along the lines of “pretty good.” The measurements continued to pop up, and they continued to be right on track.
The nice thing about going to Perinatology for a level 2 ultrasound is that the doctor comes in right away after the tech finishes to talk about the results. No agonizing wait there! Our doctor wasn’t even completely in the room before he announced that everything looked great (those privacy curtains always take a long time to open).
He delivered even more shocking news after that – while they’ll continue to monitor growth every 4-6 weeks, I don’t need to go back to Perinatology for those. In fact, I won’t visit Perinatology again unless my regular OB identifies an area of concern. It feels weird to be a “normal person”. That might be a slight exaggeration – normal women don’t need growth scans every 4 weeks, and they don’t need to visit their OB every 2 weeks either. Still, it’s a big step forward and what feels like a big vote of confidence too!
I feel the need to point out a couple of things at this point – not to be a downer, but just to help everyone understand the full scope of our situation. It’s super fantastic that the baby isn’t growth-restricted at this point (Brady was already 2 weeks behind at the anatomy scan), but that doesn’t mean that the baby won’t be at some point. Babies can fall off the growth charts at any point (which is why I’ll continue to have growth scans). The good news we got this week also doesn’t mean anything for future odds of whether I’ll develop Preeclampsia or HELLP syndrome. Those conditions can develop in the absence of growth-restriction. If we do end up in the preemie camp though, it’s better to have a normal-sized preemie than a growth-restricted one!
I give this full disclosure cautiously, because I don’t want anyone to think I’m not optimistic. I am! But, since sharing the good news from our ultrasound, I’ve received a few comments like “See, you shouldn’t have worried. Everything is fine.” and those comments sting. It discounts the nightmare we went through with Brady, and I had (and have) every right to be concerned that it could happen again.
All in all, I’m feeling great about the news we got this week! I realized after this ultrasound that it was the first time I’d allowed myself to think that we might actually bring home a living baby this time. That’s huge! The anatomy scan had been the BIG milestone I was targeting for a long time, which means it’s now time to focus on another milestone. For me, that’s viability, which is around the 23 week mark at our (great) hospitals. 23 weeks is June 11th, if you’re wondering. Side note: Happy 30th Birthday, Becky!! 😉
A sigh of gratitude and continued prayers for continued good results.
Happy 30th, Becca!!! <3 <3 <3
Thank you!
So happy to hear everything is on track Becca!
When I read your posts I always wonder what would it be for me when i ever decide to become pregnant again, after reading your posts it just makes me want to try again. But then, every single time i do, i just go back to the “what if’s?”.
That what-ifs are scary! I feel the same way… even when I get a good result for something, I think of all of the potential things that can still go wrong. It’s easy to jump to those conclusions when you’ve been through the worst.