my first ultrasound...seeking comforting words

edited May 2011 in First Trimester
i found out i was pregnant (while i was on a birth control pill) on april 29th, first with a positive home test, then with a beta hcg of 14. my doctor did a second beta hcg on may 5th to make sure my hormone level was rising correctly. they said i should be between 120 and 150 by that point...results came back at 468! then i was having some sharp pain on my left lower abdomen, so they brought me in for a quick ultrasound on may 11th. the dr was able to see the gestational sac and the yolk sac, but said i appeared to be more around 5 weeks and 2 days instead of 6 weeks like they expected based on my last period. since i was on birth control there is no way of knowing when i ovulated so it could be very possible that i really am 5w2d... but the dr wanted to check my hormone level again just to get a better indication of if the pregnancy was viable...she said as long as i was somewhere around 4000 that there would be no reason for concern...bloodwork came back at 7579! so i am definitely pregnant and things are going the right direction. i know it is common early in pregnancy to appear not as far along as you might have thought and everything on the ultrasound looked really good for 5w2d... but im still scared i was supposed to be 6 weeks and that the baby stopped growing. soo...im sitting here yesterday stressing trying to reassure myself that my hormone level is doubling more than every 48 hours and that it is possible that i ovulated late and that everything will turn out just fine...then the nurse calls to talk to me about my doubling rate. she and the dr did the math and my hormone is doubling every 31 hours... most women double every 36-48 hours. so i ask if my rapidly increasing hormone could be a bad thing...the nurse says no, that high is good but then schedules me another quick ultrasound for may 20th (a week from tomorrow) and tells me that on that day we are going to expect to see growth of the identified pregnancy and possibly start looking for a second baby! at that point i went from thinking "oh no, this pregnancy might not be viable... to ...oh no, this is really happening and there might be two!" the nurse explained to me that women with twins on average have an hcg doubling rate of 25 to 30 hours...mine is 31. i dont know if i am ready for one...much less two but i guess i will take it all as it comes.

has anyone had an early ultrasound and gone through any of the mixed emotions i am experiencing? it would be reassuring to know that early ultrasounds commonly show these types of discrepencies...my dr said its normal to look earlier than you are or even to have ovulated late and that dating is very difficult until later in pregnancy but to actually hear from women that have been through this before would help. this is my second pregnancy, but i miscarried my first in january of this year just a week after i found out i was pregnant. you women on here are great and always make me feel better... i am so excited! i really feel good about this one! thanks for all the input that i know is soon to come!

Comments

  • @hopeful1313- Don't stress yourself it's not good for the baby. But I know exactly where you are coming from and I understand why you're concerned. I had a mc last year and I found out I was preg in Feb but just like you thought you were about 6 weeks but then they said the ultrasound showed you are 5 weeks the same happened to me my calculations were about a week off but that is perfectly normal it happens all the time the most important thing is that your hcg hormone is doubeling and it sure is!
  • see...i already feel better. ima have a baby! or two! yay!
  • Yeah no need to stress. U are definitely pregnant with those high numbers. I can't wait to see if u r actually having twins.
  • im nervous...if theres two I will just take it all one day at a time. I will definitely let everyone know!
  • Early ultrasound are more accurate with telling you how ar along you are. I would go with the 5+2. Congrats!
  • I was getting really really tired and all the pregnancy symptoms were amplified. I found out we are having 2. They also told me I was 5-6 days behind. So don't stress just prepare yourself. These are babies 3 & 4 for us and we only wanted 3 but now we are super excited! I'm 32 wks and so ready to be done! I have about 4 weeks left. Thats the good thing w twins you get to meet them sooner. Don't stress! It's a harder journey than a single baby but it's so worth the extra everything! I wish the best of luck for you and your baby(s)!!!! Ill be praying!
  • thanks so much! im excited...it is such a crazy mix of emotions.
  • Good luck hun, sounds like all going great so far! And possible twins, how exciting! Xx
  • I'm not going to lie I am so excited. Twins are very hard to carry! You have to eat more and watch yourself more. Its automatically higher risk. Just listen to your dr and take your prenatals. Ive been on pelvic rest for 10 wks already. It's not all glamour like the celebs make it seem. It's hard on your body. I just think people who hope for or want twins are crazy. They don't understand. If you're having twins the best advice I can give is to take it easy to begin w and if you work plan to leave by 28 wks instead of 36. I wish you luck and hope this doesn't scare you. I pray your pregnancy if it is twins is way easier and completely complication free.
  • When I began reading this my first thought is "she's probably having twins". I know you're nervous but I'm so happy for you and as nervous as you may be about the situation right now just think of it this way children are a blessing so you're being blessed double if you do find out that you are in fact having twins.
  • @mommyof4girls is right! Twins are definitely rougher, but it's totally worth it in the end! I'm having twins as well, and I found out in an odd manner. They suspected twins from the get go because of my hcg levels, but missed a baby during my first early ultrasound. Sure enough she was in there, though! Just take it easy and don't stress yourself! Either way, everything will be just fine! :)
  • my sister was having extremely high numbers but she had her u/s n its just the 1 in there all the best anyway n congrats
  • Happen to me...when I went in I was suppose to be 10 weeks 2days... Well baby measured 7w2d off by three weeks and I'm on my 25 th weeks on Tuesday ;) you'll be fine...Good luck hun.
  • I can totally relate to the early ultrasound question part (sorry, know nothing about twins though). I had an u/s at what I thought was 6w4d because my progesterone level was low. The doc 1st did a transvag u/s & couldn't find anything! Went to radiology for another transvag and they found same as you, sac & yolk, but no heartbeat. I was so nervous but they said very common for that early on. AND after it was read by the radiologist it came back that I was more like 5w4d (or something close to that). Basically I was 1 week off on due date. Which makes complete sense because I ovulate 1 week late! So don't worry about that! And you know things are moving in the right direction because of your HCG levels. Also, I've had friends with higher than average HCG levels, and even seen it on here, and it was just a fluke...just one baby! Either way, congrats momma! You're having a baby!
  • went in for another ultrasound on friday and just one baby with a very healthy heartbeat! it seems so real now...i cant imagine if i were to miscarry after feeling this close to the baby. i can only pray that everything continues to go smoothly and that in january we will be welcoming our little baby neckel! we had a big party at my dads house over the weekend and the more beer my daddy drank the more he kept blurting out that he was gonna be a grampa! now that my whole family knows and its so early i feel a lot of pressure...but im sure everything will be ok. its just that mama gut feeling. it also helped that my dr decided to break it down for me statistically...she said 80% of miscarriages happen in the first trimester but that only 10% of them happen after seeing a heartbeat. usually the pregnancy fails before that point because of chromosomal abnormalities or failure to implant properly...so its 90% chance that im in the clear which seems a whole lot better than hearing that 20% of pregnancies work out lol. its normal for me to be nervous because i lost one in january but for some reason im not really worries....im gonna be a mommy!
  • Prayers mama all is gonna b great!
  • thanks babydoll! im excited! everyone at my dads kept touchin my belly and my dad put the ultrasound pic up on the refrigerator...that hasnt happened since i got good report cards in high school lol. made me feel sooo proud!
  • Congrats! Twins ill keep my fingers crossed for u! Don't stress, at 5 weeks there isn't much to look at. When I went for my nine week us I saw the heartbeat and I had tears of relief. It's amazing and you are truly blessed.
  • Don't worry urself I had my first ultrasound they thought I was 6wks but the baby showed I was 5wks 4days the little heart was already beating away I'm 9wks now and everything is progressing fine.. the ultrasound tech told me b4 since my periods were irregular that we may not see a hb so don't panic.. but the heart beat was there along w baby. Don't freak out..your in for a long journey of carrying 2 babies congrats!
  • huge big congrats on a healthy strong heartbeat!!!
  • congrats praying the rest of you pregnancy goes smooth!! Good Luck!!!
  • Mine doubled every 31 hours also I'm now 17 wks I had very bad nausea
  • An at 4 an half wks my numbers were 11,700 an there was only one ;)
  • Nope I found out a 4 months so I didn't deal with sn't of that but good luck hun, I an sure you are fine. You and your baby
  • I was hoping for twins! Boo! Well im happy for u all is going well! Grats!
  • @hopeful1313 I was going through fertlity treatments and my hcg levels were very high as well. The nurse even told me possibly 3 babies. We had numerous early ultrasounds that the dates were off and we knew my exact date of conception. I am only having one baby and no explanation for the extremely high levels. Congrats!
  • @hopeful1313- yaaaay congrats to you!!! Sending sticky baby dust your way:)
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