Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Graduation Day

Yesterday, it finally happened. I had wondered if they would hand me a tasseled cap or play Pomp and Circumstance, but instead it came without fanfare. It was just me and my husband sitting across from my doctor hearing these words: you're all done with me.

Wait – what? No more ultrasounds? No more tests or procedures? No more trying and pushing and struggling and working to make it happen? It's happened – really happened – and now there's nothing more to do but sit back and occasionally visit a regular old OB?

Apparently so. The ultrasound yesterday showed a baby (I would like your permission to call it – inaccurately but much more simply – a baby at this point. I have too much on my mind to worry about whether it is still an embryo or has officially morphed into a fetus.) measuring exactly on target at 8 weeks, with a heartbeat of 162. It had little arm buds (!) and you could actually make out a little human-like shape on the screen. And just when we thought we were done hearing good news, she told us there was no longer a blood clot visible in the placenta. So that bleeding? May have been a one-time thing.

I think I floated down the hall to meet with our doctor. She asked me how I was feeling and told me how normal I was for every anxiety I might have. When she took out that beautiful due-date calculator wheel, I just about cried tears of joy. I thought I might never get to see that wheel.

My new OB, recommended highly by my RE, has some huge shoes to fill. This doctor has helped give us a pregnancy, not only by meeting egg and sperm but by giving me the courage and confidence to go to these lengths to try. She is, quite simply, heaven sent.

I'm no Pollyanna – I am all too painfully aware that I will be carrying a degree of doubt, holding my breath just slightly until I'm holding a baby. But we've graduated to the world of good old-fashioned obstetric care, and I'm going to try (try!) to jump in with both feet.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooh, congratulations! I'm so glad to hear about your wonderful ultrasound and graduating from the RE! Great news!

just me, dawn said...

congratulations!! I hope your OB can live up to your expectations :)

Kate said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Happy happy happy graduation-- may the rest of your pregnancy be blissfully normal in every way--
I am so excited for you, such wonderful news and so so happy.

YAY!
Kate

Anonymous said...

Amazing. I'm so happy for you and your, yes... baby. xoxo

Amanda said...

Congrats! Yes, those will be big shoes for your ob to fill.

I glad to hear the baby is measuring right on too.

I call it a baby most of the time too... saying embryo all the time sounds a little weird to me. And I think baby implies some optimism which is not a bad thing.

Ashley said...

Congrats!!!! I've been waiting for your update! That is great news. I'm so happy for ya'll. Now hopefully I will follow suite today and all will be well!! ;)

Paula Keller said...

What a beautiful thing! I'm so happy for you!

sara said...

I KNEW everything would be great!!! I am so thrilled for you. Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations. You deserve this (and you know what I mean when I say that).

Anonymous said...

hooray!!! congrats on the wonderful ultrasound and on your graduation! enjoy being an "ordinary" pregnant woman! :D

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

My friend who graduated from our clinic said it was SO weird to be "normal" and to only see the ob every month or so (she was used to weekly ultrasounds). But she has a great ob who understands all of her anxieties. I hope yours is the same.

Big hugs. I hope you sail through the rest of your pregnancy with no fretting at all.
T.

Michelle said...

Congratulations! that is great news!

Lori LeRoy said...

YAY- made me tear up a little reading it. I hope that floating feeling takes you through the next 4 weeks and the rest of your pregnancy! I'm so happy to read of someone's good news today!

Lisa L said...

oh happiness, oh so wonderful! I haven't checked in in a long time and thought of you today - I was SO happy (okay, cried) at the news. Please email and I will hope and pray pray pray that we can pass on baby things. Also, I LOVED my high risk OB if you need one.
- the lisa half of lisafer

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your graduation!!! And so glad to hear that the blood clot is gone. I hope you continue to progress through your pregnancy with a perfect and healthy baby. I look forward to your updates as a "normal" patient at the ob.

Anonymous said...

Congrats!!! I am so happy to hear this. I am sorry I missed your initial announcements and posts. I have been MIA from the blogging world for a while now. But this is awesome! I am so excited for you.

barrenisthenewblack said...

Congrats! The least they could do is hand you a parting gift of some sort. Glad the bleeding seems to be a thing of the past

Ashley said...

I have the EXACT same hair issue;) I'm sure it will go away after but what to do now?? I don't want people seeing my belly like this!! If you find a solution let me know;)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! You look great in a tasseled cap. I'm very excited for you.

-Callie

Heather said...

Congrats on graduating from your RE!!!!! Wishing you an uneventful and blissful next several months!