Goodness.  Has it really been a week since my appointment?  I’m not really sure where the time goes.  I’ve joked with folks that if the second half of pregnancy goes as quickly as the first, then February 16th will be here before I know it.  But many have affirmed that the closer it gets, the slower the time seems to go.  I’ll let you know.

So the appointment last week was another quickie.  Just an in and out — pee in the cup, Doppler on the belly…you know the routine.  The doctor was able to pick up Bean’s heartbeat right away again and even commented that the baby must have kicked, punched or otherwise assaulted the Doppler, evidenced by the small thud you can hear early on in the recording posted below.  Marc was especially excited to tape the Bean’s heartbeat and has spent the last week working on a couple of different songs that feature the heartbeat as the rhythm of the song.  I’ll be sure to post his final creation once it’s finished.  For anyone keeping track of the statistics…looks like the heart rate this time came in around 158-162 beats per minute.

We also opted to have the Quad Screen done at this appointment.  This is a blood test that helps to assess the level of risk that a woman is carrying a child with certain birth defects.  If you want to know more about this diagnostic test, feel free to click on the link above.  We’re still waiting for the results, which she said typically take at least a week.  If I haven’t heard back by early next week, then I’ll probably give them a call.  Part of me wishes that we wouldn’t have gotten this test.  It’s not like it’s going to change our minds about little Bean.  And we’ve already decided that if something comes back in the abnormal range then we’re not going to submit to further, more invasive tests like amniocentesis, which can increase the risk of preterm labor or miscarriage.  I guess maybe it’s just the planner in me that wanted to know.  The funny thing is, for as big of a researcher/planner/”obsessor” as I am about most things…I’ve been relatively calm about my pregnancy.  And I think that Marc would even vouch for this (right, honey?).  I think maybe it’s just the fact that I spent so much time planning and researching about trying to become pregnant that actually being pregnant just feels like a big relief…Ahhhh!  I’ve been pretty happy to just sit back and enjoy it, go to my appointments and listen to the doctor, and generally just have faith that everything will work out the way it should.  (No, I haven’t been abducted by aliens in case you were wondering!)

The only other big part of my appointment was getting the referral to the Maternal/Fetal Specialist (MFS).  We will visit Dr. S on Thursday, September 20th so that he can take a good look at Bean and let us know how things are going.  We’re under the impression that he will do a Level II ultrasound at the appointment, which means that we might get to find out Bean’s gender — provided the baby isn’t being modest that day.  We’re really excited about seing Bean look a little more human and a little less blob-like since we haven’t been able to take a good peek since 6W 3D.  This is definitely a highlight for next week!  We’ll keep you posted…