Week 13 To 14

Thursday 13+0
Well, I'm in the final week of the scary first trimester and looking forward to seeing the back of it to be honest! I'm feeling a lot better in myself, sickness has died down again, fatigue is not too bad. I've had a few anxious days of worrying over my blood test results. I was told to expect them by Monday or Tuesday so I was getting increasingly nervous as the days progressed. I'm happy to say I finally have them, but have mixed feelings over the outcome.

On the plus side my blood is lovely and clean. I tested negative for all sexually transmitted diseases (phew!), toxoplasmosis, rubella. I'm rhesus -ve which I already knew, but my blood is clear of antibodies which could attack the baby so all good there. The only worrying thing was the blood results for downs syndrome which was a bit of a surprise to be honest. I had such a great scan last week and the nuchal fold measurement was very small at 0.106cms, so we thought we were in the clear. However, my blood was tested for PAPP A which is a protein in the blood. Women with low levels in their blood can go on to have babies with downs. It appears my blood has a low level which could be indicative of problems.

The doctor said my combined risk of downs from the scan and the bloods is 1:469. This puts me at low risk and is a good number considering my maternal age would automatically put me at 1:323. However, if they look at the bloods alone without the scan results I have a risk of 1:83 which is obviously high. The doctor said normally they just take the combined reading and that's it, but he said he couldn't overlook the fact that the blood risk is high so has called me back for a rescan tomorrow to double check the nuchal fold measurement. If the nuchal fold measurement is still low tomorrow then not to worry about the result as I would be low risk, so just praying that it is. My appointment is for 11am so at least I don't have to wait around all day for this one. On the positive side I'm looking forward to seeing our baby again so soon!

Friday 13+1
I'm pleased and very relieved to say that all seems fine with our baby. She is measuring two days ahead of schedule today at 13+3, and the CRL is 6.87cms meaning she's grown a whole 2cms in a week! I couldn't believe the difference in her size on the screen, amazing to see! Anyway, the nuchal fold is still measuring very low at 0.107cms so this indicates that everything is fine. The nasal bone is definitely present and the length of it is also in proportion. The brain tissue also looks normal. On the whole the doctor said he was completely satisfied with the outcome of the scan. It really doesn't look like they'll be any problem at all. He is going to send my measurements to the lab for recalculation of combined risk, which should hopefully be even better than the 1:469 we were given yesterday, but I'm happy with that result anyway. I should get the results by Monday or Tuesday. So, I am a very, very happy momma-to-be, and very relieved! I feel the time has now come to relax and enjoy this pregnancy!

Sunday 13+3
I feel a bit rotten today. Late last night I got an awful headache and the start of a sore throat. This morning the headache is easing but the sore throat feels worse and I have that familiar washed out, chesty kind of feeling which I always seem to get when I'm coming down with something. We had plans for today to drive out to the countryside for a barbecue but all I want to do is go back to bed! I'm always loathed to take medication at the best of times but definitely not during pregnancy. I'm drinking plenty of plain warm water to keep myself hydrated, eating toast to ease the throat pain, I've taken a vitamin C pill and think I'm going to head back to bed for a nap. I want to try and preserve my strength and beat this before it gets worse!

Below are a couple of pictures taken of my expanding belly this evening. I'm still not sure how much is proper baby bump and how much is still bloating or fluid retention. However, it seems to be roughly the same size in the morning as at night and is now very firm.

Tuesday 13+5
I'm feeling a lot better after my "flu" type thing, which really turned out to be nothing in the end. I get the feeling it was one of those unexplained pregnancy related things. I went to acupuncture yesterday and the doctor gave me treatment for strengthening my body and energy. Seems to have done the trick! I need to head over to Dunnes Store today as I'm in desperate need of some underwear which fits and maybe a bikini too as the weather here is great now, but I can't possibly fit my chest in anything I already own!

I've just had a phone call from my doctor about my revised statistics for measurement of downs syndrome. Despite having had a really good 2nd scan where everything looks fine, the combined risk number has now gone up! It is now a 1:283 combined risk as opposed to a 1:469. The problem is, it's still the result of the blood test which is throwing out the strange numbers. The doctor said not to worry about it and he certainly wouldn't recommend further testing like amniocentesis as he doesn't envisage a problem. I wish I hadn't bothered having the blood tests done now and just had the scan! I will take his advice and not worry though, as it wouldn't change the outcome anyway. What will be will be.