CVS Test:  Good and Over

So far, good news:  it's over!  And they baby looks good:  we saw him/her jumping around and waving and they were able to get the sample to send for testing. 

A general overview of what happened:  we went in at 9:15 for the genetic counseling.  We talked with the counselor about all the different diseases, etc that relatives have had.  So far, it doesn't look like we're at any major genetic problems; a few things, but nothing really out of the ordinary.  She didn't seem so keen on us doing the CVS, but I think she was just trying to make sure we knew all of our options. 

I'm apparently right at 11 weeks today (or 10 weeks 4 days based on ovulation).  I thought I was a week further along, but that can be because I have no idea how to count pregnancy weeks! 

So the exciting part of the visit was the ultrasound:  it took her a while to find my uterus which she assured us was normal, and then we saw the uterus and bunny!  And bunny was living up to his/her name and was really actively moving around.  Jumping almost!  Bunny even did a flip at one point!  It was so cool to see!!!  She took several pictures:  one in profile, one of him/her waving an arm bud at us, one with him/her facing us with both arms buds raised and one she just called: baby. We even got to hear his heartbeat at about 180 bpm.    I did tear up a bit, but I didn't cry like I thought I would.  It was such a relief to see bunny in there and see how active he was!!!!  That was a lot of fun.

The CVS part, on the other hand:  not so much fun.  I can see that with normal women this would not be a problem.  But my uterus is tilted to the left.  That meant that my cervix is pointed straight up/out.  In order to do the test, he had to reposition my uterus and thus my cervix.  Owww.   Owwwwwww. OOOOOOWWWWWWWW.  At one point, I was seriously thinking that we were close to the "We ain't doin' this test" point.  Fortunately, the godawful manipulation of my uterus worked and he could then do the test. 

Oh, and a slight aside, you do not want to go to a doctor who does less than 50 CVS's per year.  Dr. Shaver does about 150 per year, and believes that he's up to 1500 total CVS exams.  I would have liked someone with more, but his miscarriage rate is less than .5% which is apparently the lowest it can be a for a CVS.  That means that out of the 1500 CVS exams he's done, he's had 7 to 8 miscarriages result.  That's not a big number, unless you're one of the 7 or 8.

So, anyway, back to the exam:  then he stuck the needle into the cervix and uterus.  I couldn't watch that part.  The good news is that bunny was at the very bottom of of the uterus and the placenta/needle were at the top. He never even got close to bunny!  Then the test was over.  YAY!  He said that I didn't bleed at all from the procedure or from the big ass clamp he put on my cervix to pull it down.  And he said that he didn't see anything from the ultra sound that seemed abnormal.  And the woman doing the ultra sound said she could see to yolk sac, which is apparently another "good sign." 

I was so glad Dave was there.  He held my hand when they were repositioning my uterus and I'm afraid I was digging my nails into his poor hand.  And we were both pretty excited looking at bunnie jumping about.  Holy cow!  That is so weird! There's really something in there, and it's doing something! 

Tomorrow is the "regular" OB doctor's visit.  That will be a bit anticlimatic, but I'm glad we'll be going so that if anything comes up I can ask questions directly to the doctor. 

Today I get to take it easy and hang out around the house.  They said I didn't need bed rest, but I'm going to just relax and do a few light things around the house.  I can run this weekend if I'm feeling ok and nothing comes up.  I may do 5-6 miles on Saturday and then do a long run on Monday to get ready for the next half marathon. 

Off to have some leftover lunch from Dean and Deluca.  Yummmmmm!

11:20:19 AM