Anatomy Scan

One of our big worries with my Hashimoto's Hypothyroiditis was how it would effect our little Bean, as we have been calling our baby to be. Since my diagnosis did not occur until well into my first trimester there is they worry that my thyroid could hurt how Bean was developing. I was classified as a high risk pregnancy because of this and I am being seen by the OBGYN and the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic. One bright side is that I will have routine ultrasounds until the end of my pregnancy to make sure Bean is on track instead of just having my 20 week anatomy scan and being done. Well yesterday was our big anatomy scan and a big source of my anxiety for sure! I know everyone hopes for a healthy baby, but with the thyroid issues I was terrified I could have inadvertently hurt Bean. We have to check that all organs (especially the heart) were formed and correct as well as many other things.

Well, let me tell you, our little Bean looks fantastic so far.

Baby toes!!!

Bean has ten fingers, ten toes, an adorable little nose and mouth, all four chambers of the heart (working!), as well as a spine that has a healthy taper (so no signs of spinal bifida), ribs, functioning kidneys... everything looked good from what our tech Sara could tell. Our tech was so fabulous. She had us relaxed, played some wonderful taste in music, and just helped put us two high strung first time parents to be at ease. Bean's heartbeat filled that little room at 151 beats per minute and it is a sound I will never tire of hearing. My placenta is right on top so she warned me it may take a little longer to feel kicks, especially for Ryan to feel from the outside. Occasionally I feel like I can feel little swooshes or bubbles, but it is hard to know for sure!

We told Sara we wanted to know the gender, but not right then. We asked her to write it down and seal it in an envelope for us. Then we gave that envelope to our friend Donna who will put together a box for us to open on Saturday. This weekend I am acting in a local community theatre production of A Time to Kill as the judge and both of our families are coming to see the show. We figured having everyone together, siblings included, would be the perfect time to all find out together!

The only down side is I was dying to open that envelope!!!

I had to keep it away from Ryan as he kept trying to hold it up to the light to see the picture inside, so he wasn't allowed to hold the envelope anymore after that. I then put it in the glove compartment of my car until I got to rehearsal and was able to give Donna the envelope. She refused to look at it last night as she wanted to give nothing away... so as of right now only Sara (our tech) and Donna know what Bean is for sure!

So, what do you think? Is our Bean going to be a girl or a boy? I will post after this weekend with the results!!!

Coming Soon!

 

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you've already seen the news, but we are expecting! I am officially due August 5, so I am about 13 weeks now. I found out just before Thanksgiving (literally that Monday) so I haven't blogged a lot lately because I knew I would spill the beans! Our families are as excited as we are and we feel so blessed that we were finally able to conceive after trying since July 2014 and losing a pregnancy early on last May.

Now, my thyroid does complicate matters. The doctor I mentioned that spotted my levels and ordered me on immediate medication? My midwife! Thankfully she got me on a high dose of Synthroid ASAP. My rheumatologist really dropped the ball by saying my levels were a little wonky but should be ok, just to mention it to my OBGYN when I saw them. I should have started treatment immediately (over a month before I actually did) and I am very annoyed by the way that all went down.

I officially saw an Endocrinologist last week and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism, which is an autoimmune hypothyroid disorder. We are super concerned on how this could affect the baby and are keeping a close eye on things. My endocrinologist told me with my levels it was a miracle I was able to get pregnant at all, let alone carry as far as I did without treatment. I am convinced we have a little fighter for that and hoping for a healthy baby more than anything else. When we do the anatomy scan we just have to make sure that everything formed properly organ wise and there is a risk of low IQ.... but I am trying super hard not to stress about those possibilities.  That's the main reason I am so angry with my rheumatologist, I could have started treatment when I was six weeks pregnant instead of ten and a half. The baby uses my thyroid for at least the first twenty weeks so let's just hope all will be well. My doctor mentioned he has seen women later in their pregnancies with worse levels than mine have perfectly healthy babies, but he won't put my risk level at 0%... so any prayers, good thoughts, or karma you can spare for our little Bean are most appreciated.

We are still over the moon and I cannot wait to continue on this journey!