We heard the heartbeat

First, I want to say that I hope I didn't sound too insensitive to the lady who lost two babies to Trisomy 18. I feel so bad for her, and I did send her a note on babycenter to let her know I was there for her if she needed to talk.

She hasn't gotten back to me yet, but I hope she does. I know very well that alone feeling you have when you get the diagnosis.

On to my doctor's appointment. Her nurse got me right back and took my blood pressure, which was fine, and weighed me. I had gained nine pounds. I usually don't worry at all about gaining while pregnant, but I am a little this time. I'll come back to this in a minute.

On a funny note, yesterday, Brian got a voice mail from Blue Cross, Blue Shield that it was time for his pap smear. I'm pretty sure it was meant for me, but it was still too funny. Dr. McGowen did do that, too.

She came in and asked how I was feeling. I told her I was having lots of nausea, and I also told her about how my stomach would swell during it. I also told her about the pain in my rib cage. She thought it could be gall bladder and instructed me to cut out greasy and fried foods. I'm definitely going to try that.

She then said she was going to try to find the heartbeat, but we might not hear it because it was still early. She said she had had trouble finding one on a patient earlier that day that was about as far along as I am. But, she found it. What a beautiful, beautiful sound. Tears filled my eyes. I told Dr. McGowen, "That makes me feel so much better."

She said, "I thought it would."

I am having my glucose testing done early due to me being insulin resistant, and she also thinks my lightheadedness could be from my blood sugar. I go in Wednesday morning to have that done. I hope I can drink that nasty orange stuff down without throwing it up.

We did discuss my weight. She told me if I didn't gain another pound, she would be fine with that. She wants me to try and cut out all my sugar, white flour, potatoes and pasta, just in case. She is very worried about me developing gestational diabetes because of the fact that I am insulin resistant and that my blood sugar has run high in the past.

She told me she had recently had another patient who had a baby with Trisomy 18. The baby wasn't diagnosed until birth because the girl was only 19 years old and hadn't received any testing. Dr. McGowen said she knew the baby wasn't growing right, but ultrasound didn't show any kind of abnormalities at all. I feel so bad for that poor girl. I know it's really a personal decision, but it's stories like this that make me think everyone should have the testing.

I go May 18 for the nuchal fold test. I did tell her that I was scared of the CVS, especially after reading that it was more dangerous than the amnio. She said it was just a little, but she wouldn't recommend it unless the Nuchal Fold and the PPAP-A came back as high risk. I think I agree with her.

I wish we could just get the test over with so I can feel better about things. Overall, I think it was a very good appointment.