Surprises

We received another email from SCI earlier this week.  We had assumed that during the first trimester, scans were done every two weeks.  Since it had not been quite two weeks since the last scan, and as any IP knows, a moment of panic occurs when you hear unexpectedly from the clinic.  Especially after Meg's comment that 70% of SCI's miscarriages happen between weeks 6-8, I freaked out a little (a lot). 

But not to worry, all was fine:

Greetings from SCI Healthcare..!!!

We hope you are doing fine.

We would like to inform you that we have done USG scan for Meera as per our schedule.

Please find attached herewith files of the same.

We are happy to inform you that Dr. Shivani has reviewed the reports & found everything satisfactory.

Your surrogate mother is doing fine & her pregnancy is going well.

Everything is going as per our schedule.

Please note that her next scan will be done within two weeks.

We will keep you updated.

With Regards,
Yogita
SCI Healthcare

To my untrained eye, the scans do not seem as clear as the last ones, but as long as the doctors with their expertise tell me that everything is satisfactory, I'm happy.  This USG (ultrasonography) scan shows that the baby is at 8W2D, and is on track based on the last ultrasound (done 10 days ago, which showed it at 6W6D):

The "anteverted uterus" just means it's tilted forward toward the bladder (opposite is "retroverted" or tilted back), which is common and should not be anything to worry about.  The POD is the Pouch of Douglas or rectouterine pouch.  "No free fluid seen in POD" is good according to Dr. Google, as the pouch commonly gets fluid in it

due to its position at the base of the peritoneal cavity; occasionally, these fluids do not drain correctly and over time, can cause other medical issues

unless it is drained.  So everything is progressing well. 

As I have read over and over in everyone else's blogs, "no news is good news."  So I emailed Lalit who does the treatment scheduling at SCI to ask if we can get the date of each next appointment, so that we know when to expect the next communication, and he was very obliging.  Meera is scheduled for her next check up on May 3, and I'm glad to get updates a little more frequently than two weeks.

Since my last post, once we got the heartbeat, we broke the news to Travis' family that we had been trying to have a baby and were finally pregnant.  Their reactions were priceless.  When we told Travis' brother-in-law that we have a surprise and held up the ultrasound over Skype, he asked "Is that a hurricane?"   I guess it kinda looked like a weather radar scan.  When we told Travis' mom that she was going to be a grandmother again, she asked "What color is it?" thinking that we rescued another Siberian husky from the pound! 

My mom's birthday is this weekend, and since the whole family will be gathered together, Travis and I will announce to them then.  I expect more surprises and tears.  Happy ones, I'm sure.