Pregnancy - First Trimester

The appointment was set for 1145am, which worked out great, because Brian didn't have to work until 2pm. Brian and I met at the doctor's office (I came from work and Brian from home, ready for work after the appointment). We didn't wait for long (in fact, I didn't even have time to finish the paperwork for my new insurance card and name change). We were ushered into the ultrasound room where the technician attempted to do an ultrasound from the exterior of my abdomen. In a very short time, she told me that I could empty my bladder and she would have to use the interior probe. After a long time watching the technician on the screen, I focused on Brian. Every time the monitor showed something that looked like it could be a baby, he slide to the end of his chair and his head tilted to the side as his neck arched forward. Then the monitor would look inactive again and he would eventually slide back into his chair. This continued for quite a while until the technician finally said, "See that black circle? That could be a sac, but only the doctor would know for certain. I do not see any clear signs of a fetus." "What?" I exclaimed, in both terror and anger. "What is wrong with me?" The technician said that she would see if my obstetrician could see me and left. Brian and I just felt very confused at that moment. So was I pregnant or not? If I am 11 weeks along, then why can't we see and hear a baby?

The technician came back and led us to a smaller waiting room. (It gave me a chance to finish that paperwork.) Dr. Dood's nurse, Kim, came and took us to a private room to wait for him. After a few short minutes, the doctor came in and we reviewed my menstrual cycle again and the results of the ultrasound. The doctor was not very clear as to how far along I was, either. I have been experiencing a lot of problems with having a regular menstruation cycle (in fact, I had two in the month of May, which were forced by a hormone that the doctor put me on). Dr. Dood decided to have me take two blood tests and explained that these blood tests would calculate my HCG level (a hormone only present during pregnancy and the same hormone that pregnancy tests detect). An over-the-counter pregnancy test will usually register anything about a 200 HCG level. The HCG level will double every 24 hours during the beginning of a pregnancy and then lower toward the end of a pregnancy. Dr. Dood wanted a "stat" test done there at the doctor's office, the results of which he would tell me tonight and then another test on Sunday at the hospital.

On my way back to work, my mom called to tell me that she purchased Michigan 's Adventure tickets for our Labor Day vacation. It was funny that she had to tell me in code because Jared was in the car (and if he knew where we were going, it would be a long two weeks). I took advantage of the code talk and told her about the appointment and being pregnant. Unfortunately, I was too emotional to get a good read on her first reaction. She agreed that this should not become public until we were sure of the timeline and being out of the "risk" period (after the first trimester).

Brian called several times during the day to ask if the doctor had called yet. Unfortunately, my answer was always "no" and when it hit 5pm I was determined that it wasn't going to happen today. Then at 545pm, as I was walking into Brian's work at Wal-Mart to do the weekly grocery shopping, the doctor called. My HCG level is 1100 and the doctor is hoping for a level of 1800 or higher on Sunday. Before he hung up, I managed to quickly ask him the question that was really on my mind, "So, with a level of 1100, can you estimate, at all, how far along that I am?" "I would say 4 ½ to 5 weeks, the next test will give us a better idea."