My First Ultrasound

During my first ultrasound, which took place during week 6, I  was able to clearly see the gestational sac, which looked like a black blob. However, the doctor was unable to easily find the most important part - the baby! The doctor spent nearly 45 minutes looking, only to find a tiny white blurry circle that she could not even confirm was a baby.

Week 6 Ultrasound

See what I mean? Black blob with a fuzzy white dot in the middle.

I asked her what exactly it was supposed to look like and she said generally they're looking for a more defined white dot. And then she mentioned the M word - miscarriage. I once read in a book that the number one thing you should never ask a pregnant woman is her due date. Well, I think the number one thing you should never mention to a pregnant woman is miscarriage. So that, coupled with the fact that I was experiencing NO pregnancy symptoms put me into full-swing paranoia. I spent about the first three quarters of my first trimester with this overwhelming gut feeling that something was wrong. I'd never experienced a miscarriage before, but I have friends and family who have and they were devastated. And I can certainly see why - all that planning and waiting and excitement of finally finding out you're pregnant, only to have that happiness taken away from you for reasons still unexplained by doctors. My husband and sister-in-law Julie were very supportive of me during this time, trying to fill me with positive thoughts. And it turns out, they were right. By my second ultrasound, which took place during week 10, we were finally able to see our little one, tiny heartbeat and all :)

Week 10 Ultrasound

John was unable to come with me to this appointment, so I texted him this picture right away. He was so excited! He or she looks so cute curled up in there :) Oh, and that tiny circle? I believe that's the yolk sac.

During this pregnancy, I've had a tendency of being very impatient - impatient when waiting to find out I was pregnant (I think I took a couple negative tests before I got a positive one. The reason the first couple were negative was because I was taking them too early!), impatient when waiting to see my baby for the first time in an ultrasound, even impatient when waiting for my belly to start showing. My point is, it takes time for your baby to develop! 6-7 weeks pregnant is generally pretty early to get an ultrasound, so if you're getting one this early and you don't really see anything yet, have patience. Soon your little one will be very visible, inside your belly during an ultrasound as well as outside when you start to show!