This is what I look like as of today:
Owlet is still wiggling up a storm, and the belly is definitely growing. I don't have another doctor's appointment until next Wednesday, when we'll get to talk over my ultrasound results in addition to the usual business of weight, blood pressure, Owlet's heart rate, etc.
Funny (not so much) story:
My ultrasound was last Friday, and the ultrasound tech was very kind. She did all her business, and then took time to show us fun pictures of Owlet wiggling around, and Owlet's crossed ankles, and cute profile shots and all. She told us that the radiologist would now look through the pictures and write a report, which would then be forwarded to my doctor, who would talk through the results with us. She warned us that this sometimes takes a couple of business days, and so, being a Friday, I didn't expect to hear anything until at least the middle of this week.
I got a phone call on Monday morning, within an hour of the clinic opening, which is my doctor's lovely way of acknowledging that waiting is terrible. The nurse told me that Dr. Locke had looked through the report and, then she said, "There's nothing drastic, so Dr. Locke will just go over it next week at your regular appointment."
Hm.
What she meant by that, I'm sure, was "The report looks good, and you'll talk more about it at your next appointment." Or, "There's nothing worrisome in the report, so we'll see you next Wednesday."
But when she said "There's nothing drastic," my brain heard it as, "There's something unusual...but nothing drastic...but there is something..."
So I spent the next couple days stalking my online patient portal, hoping that the radiologist's report might show up in my file, so that I could at least get an idea of whether or not to be worried.
When I showed up, I took a deep breath and opened it. According to the report, baby looks totally normal; no anomalies detected. Heartbeat 161. At exactly 20 weeks, baby is measuring 20 weeks 1 day (perfect!). Just like with Sam, I have an anterior placenta, which means that the placenta is attached to the front wall of my uterus, and the only real consequence of that is that I theoretically might not feel as much movement as I would otherwise...except that Owlet kicks me all the time and I totally feel it!
I compared the report to Sam's report, and the only difference that I noticed is that for Owlet, they also made note of the distance of my placenta from the cervical opening (2.4cm; they didn't bother giving a measurement for Sam). There is a condition called placenta previa that some women have, which means that the placenta is touching or covering part (or all) of the cervical opening. This is a condition that often remedies itself as the uterus grows and most often pulls the placenta up. My suspicion is that they included that 2.4cm measurement because it means that my placenta, while not quite in previa range, is hovering a little lower than usual, and they'll probably just want to keep tabs on it.
Either that, or the measurement is nothing at all, and there really is absolutely nothing to worry about.
Anyway, I will find out all the details of my ultrasound at next Wednesday's appointment. But for now, I have done enough medical investigating to make me feel far less worried than I did Monday morning.
Note to nurses: Never use the word "drastic," for good or for bad. It's a little dramatic for my taste. :)
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| 21 weeks (August 19, 2016) |
Owlet is still wiggling up a storm, and the belly is definitely growing. I don't have another doctor's appointment until next Wednesday, when we'll get to talk over my ultrasound results in addition to the usual business of weight, blood pressure, Owlet's heart rate, etc.
Funny (not so much) story:
My ultrasound was last Friday, and the ultrasound tech was very kind. She did all her business, and then took time to show us fun pictures of Owlet wiggling around, and Owlet's crossed ankles, and cute profile shots and all. She told us that the radiologist would now look through the pictures and write a report, which would then be forwarded to my doctor, who would talk through the results with us. She warned us that this sometimes takes a couple of business days, and so, being a Friday, I didn't expect to hear anything until at least the middle of this week.
I got a phone call on Monday morning, within an hour of the clinic opening, which is my doctor's lovely way of acknowledging that waiting is terrible. The nurse told me that Dr. Locke had looked through the report and, then she said, "There's nothing drastic, so Dr. Locke will just go over it next week at your regular appointment."
Hm.
What she meant by that, I'm sure, was "The report looks good, and you'll talk more about it at your next appointment." Or, "There's nothing worrisome in the report, so we'll see you next Wednesday."
But when she said "There's nothing drastic," my brain heard it as, "There's something unusual...but nothing drastic...but there is something..."
So I spent the next couple days stalking my online patient portal, hoping that the radiologist's report might show up in my file, so that I could at least get an idea of whether or not to be worried.
When I showed up, I took a deep breath and opened it. According to the report, baby looks totally normal; no anomalies detected. Heartbeat 161. At exactly 20 weeks, baby is measuring 20 weeks 1 day (perfect!). Just like with Sam, I have an anterior placenta, which means that the placenta is attached to the front wall of my uterus, and the only real consequence of that is that I theoretically might not feel as much movement as I would otherwise...except that Owlet kicks me all the time and I totally feel it!
I compared the report to Sam's report, and the only difference that I noticed is that for Owlet, they also made note of the distance of my placenta from the cervical opening (2.4cm; they didn't bother giving a measurement for Sam). There is a condition called placenta previa that some women have, which means that the placenta is touching or covering part (or all) of the cervical opening. This is a condition that often remedies itself as the uterus grows and most often pulls the placenta up. My suspicion is that they included that 2.4cm measurement because it means that my placenta, while not quite in previa range, is hovering a little lower than usual, and they'll probably just want to keep tabs on it.
Either that, or the measurement is nothing at all, and there really is absolutely nothing to worry about.
Anyway, I will find out all the details of my ultrasound at next Wednesday's appointment. But for now, I have done enough medical investigating to make me feel far less worried than I did Monday morning.
Note to nurses: Never use the word "drastic," for good or for bad. It's a little dramatic for my taste. :)
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