Later that week we had a bit of a scare, as I discovered I was bleeding. I called Fertility Associates, and the nurse assured me that some spotting/light bleeding can be very normal at that stage of pregnancy, and for someone who has gone through the type of treatment cycle I have. Regardless, they ordered a blood test to recheck my hCG. It came back at 24300, so had still been at least doubling every 2-3 days, suggesting that everything was still ok. The bleeding also stopped after just a couple of hours, which was reassuring. I had been feeling a little nauseous, and that also hadn't changed, so it looked like we were still on track. Bleeding at this stage of pregnancy can be caused by the embryo implanting into the uterine lining, so hopefully it was just making itself at home.
Over the last couple of weeks I have found that instead of feeling hungry, I start to feel sick. While I haven't actually been sick yet, it's not a great feeling. I also find I get hungry a lot, so I'm basically feeling sick on and off most of the day at the moment. Nothing debilitating, but not fun either, especially as I'm also feeling tired most of the time. Also helpful is that I am experiencing the heightened sense of smell that often accompanies pregnancy, as well as food aversions. Some days I feel sick at the thought of certain foods, the next day it's one of the few things I can face eating. I can barely keep up! At least I can eat I suppose.
Today we had our 7 week scan. They advised me to go with a full bladder, but they couldn't get a very good view through the external probe so they asked me to empty my bladder so they could use the internal one. They were able to get a good look at our embryo, and take some measurements. We could see the embryo itself looking like a little lizard thing, and the yolk sac through which it receives its nutrients until the placenta forms. Normally, for non-IVF babies, the measurements from this scan are what they can use to calculate the estimated due date from. Today, known to be 7 weeks 3 days of age, it measured 13mm long and was calculated to be 7 weeks 4 days based on the length, so the measurements are pretty accurate. We could see its heart beating, and the ultrasound technician recorded it at 150 beats per minute, which they said was within the normal range for this stage. Since our appointment was late in the afternoon today, I expect Fertility Associates to call and discuss the scan with me tomorrow. If they're satisfied, they will discharge me into the care of my midwife.
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| Stock photo of an 8 week ultrasound. This is more or less what we saw (once again not posting our images out of respect for any potential future person). From :https://www.itnonline.com/article/fetal-pictures-ultrasounds-gallery |
While things are still very early, it was reassuring that things are looking ok so far. The appointment today helped things feel a bit more 'real', and it was nice to confirm that there really is something growing in there.
