Second Ultrasound Results

Yesterday morning I went in for my second ultrasound.  I was by myself this time, as my IPs weren't able to make the long drive down this week.  I'm not sure if it was because there weren't a bunch of other people with me this time, or it was just a coincidence, but the tech had a med student and resident with her so they could observe the ultrasound.  It was actually kind of too bad that my IPs weren't there for it this time, as the tech was going over everything in a lot of detail as she explained things to the students.

Despite the bleeding I had last week, both babies looked perfect again.  Baby A was measuring right on track at 7 weeks 5 days, with a heart rate of 155.  Baby  B was measuring one day ahead with a heart rate of 165.  They looked bigger this week and the heart beat was much easier to see, but they still pretty much just look like little blobs at this point.

The SCH was still there in all its glory.  It looked huge to me.  It was almost as big as the babies' gestational sacs.  When I commented on it, the tech didn't seem concerned.  When I got the official call from the Chicago RE, they didn't even mention it.  So I guess I'm the only one who was worried about it.  I will just keep myself braced for more bleeding in the next few weeks.

Starting today I get to cut my meds in half.  The RE said I could stop using one method of progesterone.  So I could either drop the shots or drop the suppositories and increase to a shot every day.  I would have gladly dropped suppositories and increased shots, but unfortunately I don't have enough of the PIO left to make it through the first week of February without ordering more.  Since I know the meds are really expensive and I don't want to make my IPs pay for them just for my own convenience, I will just do the shots every third day as before, and skip the suppositories on those days.  I also get to drop down from 4 patches to 2, which will make my tummy skin happy!

I also set up my first regular OB appointment!  It will be February 20, and we will have the 12 week ultrasound (including nuchal translucency screening test) and then the appointment with the doctor.  This will be the first time meeting this doctor, since my last OB left the practice since I delivered by baby.  My IPs will be attending the appointment, so we will all get to meet her and decide if we want to continue the pregnancy with her or switch to someone else. 

Bleeding....Check

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, the clinic told me to not be surprised if I had some bleeding.  I'm glad they mentioned it.  Only a couple hours later, I went to the bathroom and discovered what I had assumed was my regular old suppository discharge was actually blood.  Lots of blood.  I freaked out.

Then I reasoned with myself and it was just blood, there were no clots or tissue with it.  And I had no cramping or anything.  And I had just seen two healthy little babies in there earlier that day.  It was not very likely that in the space of a few hours something would have gone that wrong.

I contacted the clinic as soon as I discovered the blood to see what they wanted me to do, and I didn't hear back until the very end of the day.  Put my feet up, keep hydrated, and let them know if it gets worse and they will send me in for another ultrasound.  It's probably just the SCH, possibly being irritated by the ultrasound wand poking around up there.

Luckily after a couple of hours the bleeding slowed, and since last night I have just had some brown spotting,  I'm hoping that's the only time the SCH rears its ugly head, but I now every time I feel any sort of discharge (which is several times a day thanks to the Endometrin), I have to run to the bathroom and make sure it's not more bleeding.  At least from now on I will be more prepared and less shocked.

Drumroll Please...

So bright and early this morning, My IPs, my husband, my kiddo, and I all met up at the doctor's office for our first ultrasound.  We shuffled into the ultrasound room, and I took off my pants and hopped onto the table and into stirrups.  Then we saw:

Yep, there are TWO babies there!  Sorry about the crappy quality of the picture, my husband took it with his phone from the back corner of the room (the babies' parents got to see the show from the front row).

They took measurements and both babies look great.  Baby A is measuring one day behind, at 6 weeks 4 days, and Baby B is measuring right on track at 6 weeks 5 days.  Both of them had nice strong heart beats at 125 bpm.

IM was overjoyed, IF was shocked.  After the ultrasound was all over, he needed clarification.  He asked the tech, "wait, there were two?"  They better start preparing for a busy future!

I will go back again in a week for another ultrasound, and then again in two weeks.  After that, they will release me to be seen by a regular OB for the rest of the pregnancy.

In less great news, the ultrasound also revealed that I have a subchorionic hematoma (SCH), which is basically an accumulation of blood that forms near the placenta.  It makes it very likely that I will have spotting/bleeding during the early weeks of my pregnancy.  SCHs are actually very common in IVF pregnancy and it will most likely eventually reabsorb back into the tissue.  The long shot risk is that the SCH could get big enough to actually cause the placenta to separate from the uterus, causing miscarriage.  So it's something we will definitely need to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.