Week 11: In which I make the Acquantaince of Dr. W

A week ago today I had my first appointment with Dr. W, who seems really nice, knowledgeable, and pretty flexible. Even though he didn't agree that I needed to continue the progesterone suppositories and shots until 14 weeks (he says he usually discontinues progesterone supplementation at 10 weeks for his patients), he said I should continue whatever plan Dr. M laid out for me, since he was successful at getting and keeping me pregnant, and we don't want to mess with that. He also didn't agree with me being on Armour Thyroid, but again deferred to Dr. M on that. He did want to measure my level of TSH though, and when it came back low the next day, I was told to halve my dose from 90 mg to 45. I wonder what Dr. M would have to say about that! I'm sure he wouldn't be pleased, but at least they're letting me stay on the Armour Thyroid at all. I always felt like the dose was maybe a little high; plus, my plan is to taper the dose and get off the medication altogether by the time I give birth so I can safely breastfeed.

Hmmm, so what else happened at the visit? I urinated in a cup (not sure what they were measuring there), had my weight taken (up 4 lbs since the last time I was weighed at a doctor's office in November--I don't weight myself at home), had blood drawn, talked to Dr. W and his nurse about my Kartagener's Syndrome (they've actually had a patient like me before, and seem to know what it entails), and best of all, had an ultrasound. This was my first abdominal ultrasound, which was so much more comfortable than the vaginal ones. As soon as the ultrasound started, I saw little Ziggy jumping and bouncing around in my uterus! It was amazing! I didn't realize s/he was already moving so much--I wish I could feel it, but I guess that wont happen for a few more weeks at the earliest. I found the experience of seeing Ziggy moving a lot more powerful and emotional even than hearing the heart beat--it kind of hit me even harder that I really do have a baby inside me that's growing every day.

Anyway, Dr. W said it's a "beautiful baby," which I guess means everything looks good and is where it should be at this stage. He also said there's no sign of bleeding, so I guess it must have reabsorbed! Yay!!! He measured Ziggy three times to try to get a week 11 measurement (since I was exactly 11 weeks at the time), but kept coming up with 10w6d. So Ziggy was measuring a day behind, but Dr. W said it's not a big deal. Even so, I have been worrying about it a little and trying to make sure I eat every few hours. I read in one of my pregnancy books that babies get better nutrition and grow better when you eat frequently, rather than eating a few large meals a day. Plus, I find that I get hungry every few hours, so it seems to be working out.

Dr. W said I should return in 5 weeks when I'm 16 weeks, at which point we'll discuss doing a blood screen for chromosomal abnormalities, so my next appointment is on May 21. I really hope AC can make it, so he can see Ziggy dancing around too! I wanted him to be the there this time, but unfortunately he had a simulator :(

Before I end this post, I also want to update on the progesterone in oil situation. After stressing the whole weekend that I was going to miscarry because my progesterone would drop too low, on Monday I called to ask if they could measure my progesterone just to make sure the level wasn't dropping too low with me just being on the suppositories. The nurse told me that Dr. W didn't see the point in doing the blood test--basically what would we change if the numbers were low? I said I would go back on the shots if absolutely necessary. I also said that Dr. M had wanted my level measured a week after I stopped both forms of progesterone at week 14. She asked what the point of this was, and I told her that he would want me to continue the progesterone for the remainder of the pregnancy if my levels were below 20. This surprised her. She said they didn't have any patients on progesterone for the whole pregnancy, and that in general they no longer do progesterone monitoring since it had not proved clinically useful. She did say that Dr. W was willing to order the test for my peace of mind.

So I'm going in on Monday to have blood drawn, and they should have the results for me on Tuesday. I really hope my progesterone is at a decent level. I wonder if I can convince them to test me again at my next appointment after I discontinue the suppositories in two weeks. They probably already think I'm a difficult patient, but I don't care--better to be difficult than lose a baby, right? I tried to impress on his nurse how different it was to go from an infertility clinic, where you're seen every week and closely monitored, to a regular OB, where you're seen every 4-5 weeks, and they seem to take a much more blase attitude toward things. I also told her several times that the reason I was so insistent on careful monitoring is that if for some reason I lose this baby, I can't just get pregnant on my own in a few months like another women might. I'll have to do IVF all over again (well, fortunately the frozen embryos will make it easier), but it will still involve going back to NY and going through almost everything again. She seemed somewhat sympathetic, but I still got the sense that they view me as a drama queen or something.

Anyway, to end on a positive note, here are the week 12 sonogram pictures of Ziggy: