12 Weeks Pregnant - High NT Measurement

 
Normally when you reach 12 weeks pregnant it brings a sense of relief, the miscarriage rate drops significantly and you will probably be thinking about how you announce you’re good news to friends and family.

I had made it to 12 weeks pregnant but my worries about miscarriage were as strong as they had been since that pregnancy test turned positive. We weren’t thinking that we could announce our news anytime soon, and we didn’t really know how this pregnancy was going to play out.

We didn’t even know if there would be a baby at the end of it.

Along with my anxiety about miscarriage, I was trying to be hopeful and excited. This baby is wanted, so wanted. 

We had the second Fetal Medicine Appointment on the Monday, which of course offered a huge relief. It cemented that I needed to continue being positive, because the NT fluid was now normal and we were now waiting the results of our Harmony Test (which should arrive in week 14).

The tiredness seems to have returned this week with a vengeance, I have been falling asleep on the sofa under a blanket (something I never do) and haven’t been able to make it to the end of the movie Luke and I were watching. Much to his annoyance. 

This week Leo brought a sickness bug home from school which he very kindly shared with me. I was sat at work on the Wednesday (Leo had been sick in the morning before school and was with my mum), and suddenly I felt nauseous. I thought it was in my head and carried on.... When I finished at 2pm I thought I was feeling ok. 

I went to get Leo and within 20 minutes of getting to my parents, I was there with my head down the toilet. Brilliant. I thought maybe that would be it, but I couldn’t keep anything down. 

I had been texting back and forward with Nicky (the lady who did my 10 week dating scan) and she was thrilled to hear our news. She asked if I had been given an official due date (which I thought was the date I was provided with last time), and told me that she would try and get me back in to get the official due date in my notes.

The next day Nicky text me and said that she had a spare appointment on Thursday 30th January. As it happened both Leo and I were off work and school due to the fact we had been poorly the day before (Leo was lots better now but couldn’t go back to school until the Friday). So it meant that Leo could come with me and Granny to finally see his little brother or sister on the screen.

The amazing thing was, Nicky was my midwife throughout my pregnancy with Leo, so it was a really lovely moment. Leo sat on a chair next to Granny while I lay on the bed, the gel was applied and the Doppler positioned, and boom... there was baby wiggling around and so much clearer than the images we saw at the fetal medicine unit. 

I wanted to turn to see Leo’s face but couldn’t contort my body while being scanned. Nicky said straight away that baby was looking good and although she wasn’t going to re-measure the fluid, she could see that it was within normal range.

Nicky measured the baby and at 12+4 was measuring 61.7mm - all of these scans have highlighted just how quickly a baby grows and develops. 

Leo was amazed and found the whole experience brilliant, I was so happy that he had got to come along, and as always he was so well behaved. He just looked and listened. 

My due date was adjusted to August 9th 2020, a day out from where I had been placed at my 10 week ultrasound. 

When the scan concluded Nicky gave me 2 new scans, 2 beautifully clear shots of our little nugget. You could see a real difference between these images and the ones from 10 weeks. The babies head was smaller and the body had got longer, and the fluid was now gone. 

Absolutely incredible.

I sat up on the bed and we started talking. Nicky told me that everything looks perfect right now and that I need to try and relax and enjoy my pregnancy now. All of these scans has really built an anxiety up for me and before each and every scan I worry that there won’t be a heartbeat anymore. 

Each and every time though, our baby has a beautifully strong heartbeat and is continuing to grow as expected. I think with the miscarriage and then the threat of a high NT, of course there is going to be anxiety at play. 

I am one of the lucky ones though, if I had my fist scan at 12 weeks, I would never have known that there was a high fluid reading at 10 weeks. Nicky said the same, but we acted on the information that was available and I will always be thankful to Nicky for everything she did.

You can see here the difference between the 10 week scan and the 12 week scan, and you cannot help but notice the pocket of fluid on the babies neck in the top image. At this last scan Nicky said that it was the first thing that she noticed, where as I was just worrying about whether there would be a heartbeat. I guess as Nicky said, we were both looking for very different things.

I am just so glad that everything is looking much more positive now.

Nicky said that she was really impressed with how I took the news about the Nuchal measurement, which actually really threw me. I didn’t start flapping, I don’t know if that’s because I didn’t fully understand the gravity of what I was being told at the time, or if it was because I like to arm myself with facts. I remember being the same in July when I was told that I had a missed miscarriage. Again I kept it together through the appointment, and later when I was away from everyone I let my feelings out.

Nicky threw her arms around me and asked me to let her know when I got my Harmony results back. It was really lovely as she is such a genuine person and I could tell she really cared. 

I found this scan appointment the most re-assuring of them all. Hearing Nicky tell me everything was fine carried so much more weight than it coming from anyone else. 

I had been worried that the other consultant may have missed the fluid and Nicky would find it again. Thankfully though everything was fine, everything was normal, everything was as it should be.

We are almost at the end of the first trimester now, and what a rollercoaster it has been. I’m hoping that the rest of my pregnancy will be simple and straightforward. The one positive thing about all of this is, I have seen our little Nugget grow from a mere little blob on the screen to a proper teeny tiny little baby.

I am 12 weeks pregnant and already had 5 scans so far...

I’m going into the second trimester back in midwife led care, I’m no longer high risk and the chances of a baby at the end of all this are looking sunnier and sunnier.

Now all we need are our Harmony (NIPT) test results back, and we will be well on our way. 

11 Weeks Pregnant - High NT (Nuchal Translucency)

I have hit week 11 of pregnancy and with each passing day I feel like I am in uncharted territory. You would be forgiven for thinking that this was my first baby, not my second. 

Leo was such a straight forward textbook pregnancy, after his scan at 9 weeks I knew that at the end of the pregnancy I would have a baby in my arms. This time despite having 2 scans already in a mere 11 weeks of pregnancy, there is more doubt than ever that I will ever hold my baby in my arms than ever before.

In some respects I do feel pregnant now, I’m waking up anything between 2-5 times a night for a wee. I don’t remember that starting this early!? It’s a real thing though, and my boobs are really sore and veiny. 

That aside though, if it wasn’t for the high NT... this really would be another dream pregnancy. 

Since my scan on Thursday I have been a crazed pregnant Google lady. I have been re-searching high NT (Nuchal Translucency) testing and results, I have been finding some incredibly amazing, heart warming positive stories that have given me hope in the darkest of days, and I have read some equally heart-breaking accounts of what high NT actually means.

My CVS (Chorionic Villus Sampling) is happening tomorrow at 4pm. They will be inserting a needle  into my abdomen and removing a sample of cells from the placenta. They will then work up my baby and his or her chromosomes. Within 3 working days I should have my first set of results back that will tell me whether or not our little Nugget has one of the 3 Trisomies.

- Edwards Syndrome

- Down Syndrome

- Patel Syndrome

It's ironic really that I spent the first 10 weeks over thinking another missed miscarriage that I took my babies over all health for granted. I agreed to the Nuchal Translucency test at my booking in appointment without giving it a second thought. I saw a heartbeat on the screen and a active real looking baby dancing around and just expected to hear that everything was OK, that everything was as it should be.

In my 3rd pregnancy I am learning yet another valuable lesson. 

I wonder if there was something I could have done differently, is the high NT because I had flu and took a few Paracetamol? Could I really be having a poorly baby at the age of 30? 

In my research over the past few days I have been given a glint of hope, my first findings were that the NT scan should actually take place between 11 - 13 weeks and when the baby measures a minimum of 45mm (1.8 inches). At the time of our last scan I was 10 weeks + 5 days, and the baby measured 39mm. 

Another theory for a raised NT is the way the baby is or has been laying within the sac, if the baby is too flat then sometimes the fluid can pool there with nowhere else to go... It may be wishful thinking but I am intrigued to see what the Nuchal Fold measurement is tomorrow at the scan where I will be 11 weeks + 3 days.

I have made the decision to stay positive, I am going to get answers and request only facts. Speculation will not serve me well so I have prepared a list of questions. I feel that I have addressed everything that has gone through my mind over the last few days. 

I know that ultimately it is a waiting game, and that the real answers will come in the form of cold hard facts from the results of the CVS.

At 11 weeks I should be feeling excited at making the announcement of our baby to our friends and family, but right now it feels like a big secret. Right now I am trying to work out and fathom the fate for my unborn child, and I have a feeling that this will be something I fight for my entire pregnancy.

Tomorrow I will push for a new NT measurement, I will ask all the questions about how the overall structure of our baby is looking, are there any other markers/anomalies that jump out at them?

Can they see any issues with the heart at this stage? 

Is the heartbeat strong and normal?

My actual list of questions is rather long and I feel that they may wonder what force that have allowed into their office. 

Of course I am hoping for a happy ending, I am hoping that I am one of the lucky ones who's baby had an un-explainable high NT that was born fit and healthy. 

Right now I don't have the answers, I don't know what the future holds. I don't know if it means getting our baby at the end of it. 

I am setting mini milestones to get through this pregnancy. The first mile stone is tomorrow, the CVS. If baby is still fighting and the heartbeat beating away, the next milestone will be the 12 week scan (which we don't currently have a date for). After this I expect that I will be booking an additional private scan so that Leo can see his baby brother or sister on the screen, I want to do this sooner rather than later just in case.

After this I have been told that we will most likely have a heart anomaly scan at 16 weeks so that they can see the heart in more detail and see if that is the reason for the raised NT. 

My biggest milestone in this set of milestones will be the 20 week scan. If we can get through the CVS, if we can keep Nugget's heart beating away, and we smash all of our upcoming scans... the 20 week may just finally offer some hope and relief. 

Right now based on our NT of 4.7mm we have a 50% chance of a healthy baby at the end of all this. 

50%

This could increase or decrease based on what they find tomorrow. .

Last night I found Nugget’s heartbeat at home with a Doppler at 11+2. Right down low behind my pubic bone. It’s crazy how low they are right now, and even crazier that I found the magical beat beat beat of their heart.

I know it was definitely Nugget because last week I found my own (Insert Laughing here), Luke thought it was hilarious, but there was no mistaking this!

Where there is life, there is hope.