12 weeks with Olivia: Gas bubble or baby?

So for real. Last night, I’m sitting downstairs on the reclining chair and and I suddenly felt this bubbly sensation in my lower left abdomen. Like, bubble. bubble. bubble. bubble. And my eyes got wide and I froze. Baby? Or gas bubble? After some texts and Googling, determining I was not crazy, it was concluded that this was baby moving. Weirdest feeling ever. So when I went to bed, in every waking moment, every gurgle, blip, or bubble I felt was carefully analyzed: Baby or gas bubble? Conclusion: Some of those had to be baby. (Nights are fun around here.)

Today was the last of the first trimester ultrasounds. I told Chris in the car on the way there that if we had a different tech at the imaging center than last time, I would ask if we could do a video again since anyone except for my local RE clinic seems so weirded out that I could want a video of my child. But this tech was…eh.

I got in the room and was sucking on an anti-nausea sucker and the new tech asked what brought me in today, as if she didn’t already read my chart. I turned around and lovingly put my hand on my pudge and smile, “Baby!” I don’t know, expecting her to think I was just as cute as I was trying to act. But she just gave me a frown.

“I mean, is there a concern?”

It took me a moment before I realized, oh here’s another health professional that thinks weekly ultrasounds in the first trimester is akin to running around naked on the freeway. So, suddenly self-concious of the sucker in my mouth I explained that this is what my clinic does routinely.

“I see you were just here last week.”

“Yes…”

“OK…lie down there. And you don’t know the date of your last menstrual period?”

“Er, no.” I said. What’s with this question? I did IVF.

“Ok, so your due date is sometime in December?” (read: So you’re just an irresponsible whore that has no idea when she got knocked up?)

“My due date is December 11th.”

And away went the ultrasound. Most of it was in silence. She went really fast. Baby is 49.7mm (1.96in) and measuring 11w5d and her heart rate was 161 (the baby’s not the tech). Seaweed must have thought she was a total bitch too (the tech not Seaweed) because she wasn’t doing her usual acrobatics, which ended up being fine because there was no way I thought this tech would let Chris take a video anyway.

When she was done, we started walking out and I realized she wasn’t going to give us any pictures. So I asked her and she asked if I had the CD from last week’s visit and I said no, no one told me to bring it back. She did end up giving me a new CD with some pictures, but when I got home I saw the video she took of the baby’s heartbeat wasn’t on there. Oh well I guess.

• 

• 

I thanked her for the CD and while we were waiting for it to copy, I told her that I thought I felt the baby move last night because I felt little bubbles.

She smiled, “Oh I think it’s too early to feel movement right now.” Kthxbai. Chris and I walked out to the waiting room and I grabbed by sucker back from him.

“It was the baby, ” I nodded, smiling. Psh, ain’t no one getting me down.

I’m waiting for Houston to receive the faxed results and tell me everything looks good. Then I am pretty much done with the RE and I’m assuming I’ll make another appointment with the OB in the next week or so. Happy 12 weeks to Seaweed!