Monday, October 5, 2009

First trimester screen

The day I had my first trimester screen with Piglet, all I wondered about was whether they might be able to tell me the gender of the baby.  I wasn't worried or stressed, just so excited!  Then I had a suspiciously quiet ultrasound tech and after her, a complete a-hole of a perinatologist who gave us the less than perfect results of our scan.  Piglet's nuchal fold was measuring larger than the acceptable range. We were unprepared for such news.  Then the jackass actually WROTE out the word "abnormal" on my ultrasound photo.  

Thanks, Dr. A-hole.  That'll look great in our scrapbook.  

Our bloodwork also came back wonky, so we had to decide: to amnio or not to amnio.

I'll tell you one thing, we were NOT going to have that jerk perform it if we decided to have one.  

In the end we decided in favor of having it so we could gather all possible information. As you know, the ending to that story is a happy one.  Ten days later we received word that our baby boy (!) was perfect and we had gotten a false-positive on our screening tests. 

So today when I went in to have our first trimester screens done for the Twinks, I was more than apprehensive.  I mean, what are the odds of getting another false positive? And they are identical, so what one has, the other has too, right?  

When the ultrasound tech took me back to the exam room, she asked if I was okay with having an OB/GYN resident do my ultrasound with her guidance, I said sure, I'm all for learning, I'm a G.rey's Anatomy fan, go for it.  The resident was very sweet, though I think I must have been her first, real, live ultrasound patient.  The ultrasound tech, while very capable, was not as accommodating as other techs I've had.  She didn't give me an extra sheet in case I got cold (I was freezing and I told her I was), when I asked her if she would try and get a picture of the twins in one frame, she sighed and said she would try, but no promises. Then even though she got tons of great shots of the babies' feet, legs, thumbsucking, etc. at the end she printed out a paltry THREE photos for me, none of them very good.  

Oh and then get this!  The babies did not cooperate at times, making it difficult for her to get all the shots she needed and before she left she said "Your babies are ornery!  Just so you know, for your future appointments, I'm off on Wednesdays."  As in, COME IN ON WEDNESDAYS SO I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOUR BABIES.  

Hello subpar experience!

Here is one of the three grainy photos I got today. 

If I hadn't known I was getting another ultrasound in a few weeks, I would've been more bummed, but knowing that I would have many, many more ultrasounds helped me to just shrug off this bad experience and my tech's poor attitude. 

The important part is, the Twinks looked GREAT!  Nuchal folds within normal range and clear nasal bones were noted.  We're still waiting on my bloodwork, but the peri said that the ultrasound was the more important piece and there are no markers present. Hooray!  

I go back in at the end of the month for another ultrasound, at which point they'll start measuring my cervix and checking the babies' growth and fluid levels in case of TTTS. For now, all is quiet and good on the gestational front and I am grateful, so very grateful.  

13 comments:

Carrie said...

ALL RIGHT TWINKLES!!!

I am so happy to hear that. The NT scan is so helpful and seeing a nasal bone is awesome too.

As for unaccommodating U/S techs, I know 'em. I have one who basically refuses to get me any cute profile shots since I must already have so many. GRRR. It is darling that they can still fit in one frame. That is a keeper!

So grateful for your awesome news, too. :)

Marketing Mama said...

YAY - they look great! :)

Sorry the lady was an ass. What the heck? Telling you she's off on Wednesdays? Maybe they don't have ANYONE else working there... you know, budget cuts and all. hmph.

Nicole said...

That is wonderful news! I am so glad it went well for you, even though you got a not-so-nice tech. I hope you take her advice and make your appts on Wed when she is not there. Imagine actually saying that to someone? Wow!

Jammie J. said...

I'm so glad you got wonderful news. So very glad.

Subpar ultrasound techs seem to be more in abundance than in minority, which is a shame considering where they're working. You'd think they'd have more sensitivity.

Dr. A said...

Glad everything looked well, even of the tech could have used a refresher in bedside manners.

I'm super glad to be done with the u/s parts here - the tech I got all 3 times had an annoying way of pummeling my stomach with the wand when Baby Girl was not showing exactly the part he wanted to see.

Katell said...

Glad for the good news !!!!

Forget about her and go for future appointments on Wenesdays :=)

Love.

'Murgdan' said...

Hooray!!! But that US tech just pissed ME off....I mean, who says that!?

MGerson said...

Way to go, Twinkies! I'm so glad everything looked good today. Make sure you make all of your appts on Wednesdays from now on. ;)

Cameron said...

Oh my gosh. I would totally plan all my appts on Wednesdays! :) "Thanks for telling me, LADY." :)

Sunny said...

Grrrr... I would have been pissed too. But like you said, you'll have many more awesome appointments, and what's really important is that the twins ARE LOOKING GOOD! Congratulations. :) My test isn't until next Monday. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

I am going to send you an email when I get a chance. Life = crazy.

Oh, and I gave you an award!

Angela M said...

boo to lousy tech...yay to healthy babies!

baby gifts said...

Techs should not act like that. Ultrasound pictures of our baby are important. Most mothers that I know kept the pictures. I think she needs to review Ethics. Moving on, congratulations to you. I hope everything goes well. ^_^

Caroline said...

I'm so glad to see your beautiful twins! It was a heartwarming photo even if it was a little grainy.
Congratulations on your very exciting news.
I have started a new blog
caroline-frominfertilitytobaby.blogspot.com

Hugs,
xx