Week 12

Today I had an ultrasound and some early testing done.

In short, everything looks good — looks very good. We got to hear the heartbeat (136 beats per minute) and see Le Bud in all his/her teeny glory.

In long (why isn’t that a thing?), the appointment took a long time. We were about 20 minutes late, which didn’t help — construction is rerouting traffic so that a stretch of road that usually takes 10 minutes at rush hour now takes 30. Not cool.

Anyhoo, they were not stressed about it at all. We saw a genetic counselor, had an ultrasound (that took a really, really long time), saw a perinatologist (Dr. D), and I had some blood drawn.

Most of this stuff has to due with my, ahem, “advanced maternal age” and if any of you choose to use such a phrase on me, in person, you better be out of arms’ reach because I will slug you. Just so you know.

The ultrasound test (an NT scan) took so bloody long because Le Bud declined to be a convenient position, and it took five or six go-rounds to get the measurement needed. I mean, I had to empty my bladder “a little” (which was almost painful), then empty it all the way, then get up and walk around, and cough, and get up and walk around some more.

But Le Bud finally cooperated (I guess), and the tech got what she needed.

Then we had a long chat with Dr. D, who’s a very nice guy, and made a plan for monitoring this pregnancy. We talked about low-dose aspirin (aka baby aspirin) to help with blood flow between me and the baby; it’s something I’ll talk more about with my midwives as well. There also seem to be some concerns about my weight, which is on the skinny side, but when I told him I gained 40 pounds with each of my pregnancies (no lie), he seemed relieved.

On that note, about two weeks ago, I developed a sudden aversion to peanuts and peanut butter, and any product containing either of those things. This is of concern to me because, as a vegetarian, I have depended on such things to up my calorie count during pregnancy. Maybe the aversion will lift as I move into the second trimester. But it’s definitely weird.

What other high-calorie (vegetarian) foods should I stock up on in case peanuts and/or peanut butter continue to gross me out? And, no, my aversion has not been replaced with cravings for cheeseburgers or bacon.

Let the second trimester begin! (And let the nausea subside!)