9w1d

9w1d. That is what I am, and what the little one was measuring. The doc said the heartbeat looked strong and healthy, but she isn't as adept with the ultrasound machine as the midwife so she didn't measure the rate. Because the ultrasound was external and I didn't have an even-remotely-full bladder (I had just peed in a cup), the picture is a bit blurry (and the sac looks smooshed from being pushed by the u/s itself) -- I'll try to scan it later, but it's not too impressive looking. We did get to see it move it ginormous head, though :)

The relief I felt was astounding. After the scan, the rest of the appointment is a blur -- I couldn't even remember if I had any questions so I didn't ask any. We go back to see the midwife at 13 weeks, then the doc again at 16. In the next couple of days, we're supposed to be thinking about Downs screening -- we can do none, the 11-13 week NT scan and bloodwork, the 16 week bloodwork, or sequential -- a combo of the latter 2 with no results released until after the second round of bloodwork. I was so scared we wouldn't get this far that I haven't given it any thought at all. As P pointed out, we are now in uncharted waters, as it was at our 9w1d appointment last time when we learned the little heart had stopped beating.

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Thanks everyone for the advice re the first ultrasound. The general consensus (between responses here, at my favorite message board, and via email) was that it was probably (1) nothing -- people had seen similar things on their early ultrasound or on an ultrasound they saw online; (2) a bleed of some sort (but I think those usually cause bleeding at some point and I haven't bled at all); or (3) a fibroid. Whatever it was, it appears to be gone now, so I'm guessing it was (1).

Also, I probably should have been clearer re the fear of being fired. First, it wasn't my fear. I know my doc isn't going to fire me for asking questions. It was Ps fear. Second, I don't think he really thought she'd fire us -- he just didn't want us to come off as demanding patients. And this isn't his general mentality -- it's because our doc is a friend of his mom who has known him all his life. I haven't hesitated to call her with random questions before and don't intend to start doing so now, but I also wanted to respect his wishes on this particular issue this time, especially as we had an appointment coming up within a week. Either way, whatever the weird stuff was, it wasn't there anymore, though the cyst on my left ovary hasn't shrunk.

And as for the receptionist, it's her job to do scheduling and to follow the particular schedule the doctors generally use, which means seeing a doc for the first time around 9 weeks (my 6 week midwife appt was a week earlier than their 7 week one because I asked for it). When she pushed it back a week from what she originally scheduled, she wasn't trying to be mean -- she was just following normal procedure with the benefit of a calendar, which she hadn't initially used. I would have been happier with an earlier appointment, but wasn't mad at her for doing her job. But thanks for being mad for me :)