Wow, what a few days it has been!

And just think....it isn't over yet.

My first OB appointment was this past Tuesday. It was just a routine paperwork, bloodwork, congrats appointment as we were expecting. I mentioned to the nurse that I had some very very minor spotting Saturday night, but wasn't concerned because it was brown blood. The nurse told me to come back that afternoon to get my quantitative hcg results and let the doctor see me. After running to class to take an exam, I went back to the clinic to talk to the doctor.

The visit was nothing like I expected. I was prepared for them to give me some beta numbers and tell me to go on my way, or to come back for another quantitative to make sure the numbers were doubling. My beta was 21,000 so within the normal range. The doctor did an ultrasound to take a look at the baby, which I was really excited about. My excitement quickly turned into fear and devastation. After initially having difficulty locating anything in the uterus, an empty gestational sac was found. After the ultrasound, the doctor did a pelvic exam and noticed my cervix was slightly open. Based on the condition of my cervix and the lack of fetal material in the gestational sac, the doctor said miscarriage was imminent. He did reassure me that it could just be too early, and my dates could be off. He also said that he had a difficult time seeing through my bladder into my uterus, so that could have been a problem as well. He requested I return on Monday. I was devastated! I've been down the miscarriage road before, and it is a place I never want to go again. I left the doctor's office not knowing what was going on. I just knew that I was supposed to wait until Monday to figure out what was going on.

Only.....I SUCK at waiting. I called the clinic and got permission to have my hcg level rechecked 48 hours later. So, this morning, I went over to the lab, got my blood drawn and scheduled a 2:15 appointment to get my results. It was the LONGEST morning/afternoon of my life! Finally, Brian and I were called back to see the doctor. We saw the same doctor that I saw on Tuesday. Surprisingly, my beta level went up to over 3800. It didn't quite double, but it did go up significantly. Next on the agenda was another ultrasound. As I'm laying on the table, anxiously awaiting any glimmer of home from the doctor, he states again that he cannot see anything in the sac. So, we are back to the miscarriage diagnosis. Damn. Not ideal. He leaves to double check with some other OB doctors (did I mention that he is not an OB, but a resident?) and to also check into getting me some medication to start the miscarriage process. When he left, he didn't turn the ultrasound machine off, and the picture of the sac was still on the screen. I took a good look at it, and thought that I saw something inside of it. I showed Brian, and he saw it too. So, we decided to bring it up to the doctor when he came back into the room.

When he returns, he says that it appears that there is some fetal material in the sac, and that it is still possible that I am measuring early. The gestational sac has me measuring at 5 weeks 5 days, and based on the ultrasound I am right where I should be for 5 weeks 5 days. Whew!

We aren't out of the woods yet. I have another quantitative hcg check and ultrasound on Monday. For now, we are cautiously optimistic, but optimistic nonetheless.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We really do appreciate it!