Heard the Heartbeat!

I hit 12 weeks yesterday. Hooray! I can't believe how quickly the time is passing... soon, I'll be in the second trimester and I still can't believe it.

We had another appointment yesterday, and we were able to listen to the heartbeat with a Doppler. At first, Ryan had a hard time hearing the heartbeat over all of the other noise, but I picked it out right away. It was clip-clopping along at about 160 beats per minute.

We met another new midwife at our appointment. She was nice, but I don't think I liked her as much as the last one. She definitely explained things well, and was very helpful, but I think I'm more drawn to the personality of the last midwife I met. In the end, it really doesn't matter, because I'll get whoever is on call when I'm in labor.

We had an opportunity it learn some more about the blood testing that detects such problems as Down's Syndrome and Spina Bifida. The test will be done at my next appointment. I'll be 16 weeks then.
If any of the results are unsettling or we feel like we'd like to learn more about our odds, we can pursue more testing through the University of Washington. (Ryan has a problem with the location, go figure... I told him I'd let him wear his Coug shirt and hat, and it would be ok.) The first step through the UW would be more extensive bloodwork and an ultrasound. If we still aren't satisfied with the results, we can have an amniocentesis done... but I draw the line at the ultrasound. Amnio's are risky, not to mention scary, and to be honest, none of the results will cause us the change our mind about the pregnancy. We're taking the blood test and possibly the ultrasound as an opportunity to be prepared in the event that the baby has a problem to be concerned about, and nothing more.

There's my rant for the day!
More belly photos to come... although I really haven't grown much to speak of.