Week 13:

We started week 13 on Friday, January 20^th. I have finally gotten to a point where I am no longer throwing up. The nausea I was dealing with has gone down from once or twice a day, to just a couple of times a week. The only symptom of pregnancy at this point that I am feeling is that I am really tired. No matter how much sleep I get, it seems as though it isn’t enough. 

My life before pregnancy has gone almost completely away. I used to be a very strict night owl. I would stay up anywhere from 11pm to 1am. I was always up on my computer, staying in touch with everyone, keeping up to date on social media and participating in items that are close to my heart. But since becoming pregnant, I am very much the opposite. I am ready for bed by 9, I can’t stomach sitting up at my computer desk anymore. I sit at the desk all day at work, and by the time I come home, I really want to just stretch out and lay flat on my bed or on the couch. I feel as though I abandoned my social life online, but thankfully, everyone understands. I just would rather lay in bed than sit up at my computer desk.

On Tuesday the 24^th, I drove up to Sioux City for my doctor appointments. My first appointment was with the Maternal Fetal Specialist. This is only my second visit with him, and I have fallen in love. He is such an amazing doctor, very smart and is just so much fun to work with. He loves the idea of it being a surrogacy and is very excited to meet E and R. The point of this visit is doing the Nuchal Transluchancy Testing. This tests the babies to see if they are having issues forming or possibly starting to get Down’s Syndrome. 

Information about the NT test:

What is the nuchal translucency screening test?

This prenatal test (also called the NT or nuchal fold scan) can help your healthcare practitioner assess your baby's risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.

The NT test uses ultrasound to measure the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of your developing baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average.

The NT scan must be done when you're between 11 and 14 weeks pregnant. (The last day you can have it done is the day you turn 13 weeks and 6 days pregnant.) It's usually offered along with a blood test in what's known as first-trimester combined screening.

Like other screening tests, an NT scan won't give you a diagnosis. But it can assess your baby's risk for certain problems and help you decide whether you want to have chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis to find out whether your baby is actually affected.

The NT scan has been performed in the United States since 1995, mostly at large medical centers. Ultrasound technicians (sonographers) and doctors need special training and high-resolution ultrasound equipment to perform it correctly. They must be certified by the Fetal Medicine Foundation in London, the organization that sets the international standards and provides the software that enables a doctor to evaluate your baby's risk.

Luckily, everything came back looking perfect and there wasn’t a single factor that led the doctor to think there would be problems. We did schedule the next screening tests for in February that go with this ultrasound to make sure the babies continue to grow as they should.

We ended up having a blast in the ultrasound room, and spent 45 minutes to an hour looking at the babies and taking a ton of pictures. Here are pictures from that scan:

After that appointment, I went downstairs to my OB. The appointment went very quickly. It was just a basic appointment where they check your weight, make you pee in the cup, check your blood pressure and then talk to the doctor to make sure everything is going okay. My blood pressure still was a bit off, so she changed my meds again and wanted me to come back in a week to see if they worked the way they were supposed to. After my appointment, I headed home and pretty much went straight to bed!! It is amazing how tired I really am with this pregnancy. I have NEVER dealt with that symptom so much in my other three pregnancies. It has been a change for sure!!! I still have not felt any real movement. I second guess if I do or not, but I am pretty sure that I haven’t felt anything at all. I am bummed that I still have no belly. I am still wearing almost all of my regular clothing and nothing is really tight yet. But, the babies are both still really small, so I am sure in due time, I will pop out and be huge!! I am super excited that everything seems to be finally going in a very positive direction. The only thing that needs to be controlled is the blood pressure. But hopefully with the new medication, we will get that back on track!!!

On to week 14!!!