Our First Glimpse of Baby #2!

We had our first High Risk appointment with Dr. Iriye at the High Risk Pregnancy Center and it went well. I was so anxious to have this appointment because I really needed to see this baby. I know I peed on a stick and it was positive. I know my blood work has confirmed this. But there is something so REAL about seeing your little bean and hearing the heartbeat of the baby that is growing inside of you. I need this tangible evidence to feel connected to this little life. 

When I scheduled the appointment the woman checked my dates and told me we would be in the window for the first trimester genetic testing. Turns out we were short by about 2 days so I could only get part of it done and I need to go back in two weeks. They were able to do the blood work in the office so we will go back for the ultrasound when I am closer to 12 weeks. They'll be able to do an immediate assessment of the risk, if any.

We had Gianna with us for this visit which made things a little more complicated. She was very interested in walking around the exam room and checking everything out. While we were in the waiting room I had told her that the doctor was going to touch mommy's belly with a magic wand and we were going to watch the baby on the TV together. I showed her Google Images of what I was talking about. She doesn't like when doctors touch me (even for blood pressure) so prepping her for what to expect has done wonders. I try to get her excited and then when the time comes she knows what is going on and wants to be part of it. She wanted to sit with me up on the table, which was cute.

The baby is measuring 10w5d, which is exactly what I was that day. Right on track for a February 22 due date. It is such an overwhelming feeling seeing your baby. It doesn't get old and I got teary when I saw him/her for the first time. The heartbeat was strong, in the high 160's. When Dr. Iriye came in he made us feel really comfortable right off the bat. He is so personable and friendly. He also gave us a special treat and showed us the baby in 4D! This will be super cool further along but still neat to see it now, too. The HRPC doesn't print out sonogram images anymore. They email them to you after your appointment. This is great because it also includes video. Here are the first images of Baby Angioni #2!

Here are some video's of our little baby stretching his/her arms and legs. I love the little feet!

This is the 4D video. I'm not sure why it's in "fast forward". Maybe Baby Angioni will be an Olympic swimmer. :)

Next steps: After our discussion with Dr. Iriye and filling him in with my history, I am being sent for a battery of tests.  He wants to be sure I don't actually have a clotting issue which is causing the complicated migraines (and that they are really not TIA's). Also, he will send me for a different gestational diabetes test this time. He wonders if I actually had it with Gianna and it was undiagnosed. (I failed the first test but passed the longer one last time.) He's getting a full workup and I am fine with that. Anything to make sure both baby and I are doing fine with as little complication as possible. We follow up in two weeks!