Tuesday was a VERY exciting day for us...we got to see the little peanut again! Except that the baby no longer resembles anything like a peanut...it actually looks like a baby! Imagine that...
My OB sends her patients to a group up in Austin for the 20 week sonogram that can hopefully determine the sex of your baby – if you so choose to find out. There’s also an additional sonogram and early genetic screening that this group offers you at 12 weeks. They do a sonogram and take measurements of the fetus looking for indicators of neurological problems that may arise, and they also send off a blood sample for further genetic testing.
This was entirely an optional process for us. Neither of us has anything in our family medical histories that made this a “must” appointment. But we decided to go ahead with it, if for no other reason than the opportunity to see our little one again. I was a little worried about the blood work portion of the visit, but went ahead like the trooper that I have become!
We arrived a few minutes early and the lady in the waiting area that handled the front desk got on my last nerve. I think that B thought at one point that I was going to reach through the window and beat her to a pulp. Now, I won’t lie – the thought DID cross my mind when she called out my name when I was standing in line behind two people (she could clearly see me and we had just talked less than 2 minutes before so she knew what I looked like) but I’m proud to say that I suppressed the urge to smack her. Aren’t you proud of me too?
Anyway, the waiting room got full rather quickly, and I was relieved to be the first patient called back. They weighed me in before putting us in our room...neither B nor I can remember what my starting weight was at our 8-week appointment with my OB, so we’re guessing that I’ve gained about 3 pounds. Which was great news to hear as sickly as I’ve been feeling!
It was a waiting game after that. The nurse, Isabella, gathered some information and did her preliminary measurements with the sonogram. She was pretty good at jiggling my belly with the wand and making the baby move into a better position for whatever she was trying to capture. And we got to watch the baby’s antics on the screens for about 10 minutes.
I’ve got to be honest here and tell you that those 10 minutes were pure heaven. I can’t feel any movements yet, so seeing all the movements and activity on the screen was heavenly. I just remember when I was pregnant before that I knew things were ok with how much J moved during the day and night. Although sometimes uncomfortable, those little pokes, prods and kicks eased my mind that things were going fine. So seeing this one be so active on screen was truly amazing. Even more so when I see it moving all around and STILL can’t feel anything!
B was really enjoying this time too. The baby kept bringing his/her hands up by his/her face – like playing peek-a-boo – and that was really cool to watch. At one point the baby rolled all the way over. We could clearly define the skull, including the brain and jaw bones. At one point we could also see the spine going all the way down to the legs. The legs weren’t nearly as active as the arms were, but the moved around a bit too.
Here’s some pictures for you. And just to compare the growth that’s happened in 4 short weeks, the first picture is the 8-week sonogram that we got:
My OB sends her patients to a group up in Austin for the 20 week sonogram that can hopefully determine the sex of your baby – if you so choose to find out. There’s also an additional sonogram and early genetic screening that this group offers you at 12 weeks. They do a sonogram and take measurements of the fetus looking for indicators of neurological problems that may arise, and they also send off a blood sample for further genetic testing.
This was entirely an optional process for us. Neither of us has anything in our family medical histories that made this a “must” appointment. But we decided to go ahead with it, if for no other reason than the opportunity to see our little one again. I was a little worried about the blood work portion of the visit, but went ahead like the trooper that I have become!
We arrived a few minutes early and the lady in the waiting area that handled the front desk got on my last nerve. I think that B thought at one point that I was going to reach through the window and beat her to a pulp. Now, I won’t lie – the thought DID cross my mind when she called out my name when I was standing in line behind two people (she could clearly see me and we had just talked less than 2 minutes before so she knew what I looked like) but I’m proud to say that I suppressed the urge to smack her. Aren’t you proud of me too?
Anyway, the waiting room got full rather quickly, and I was relieved to be the first patient called back. They weighed me in before putting us in our room...neither B nor I can remember what my starting weight was at our 8-week appointment with my OB, so we’re guessing that I’ve gained about 3 pounds. Which was great news to hear as sickly as I’ve been feeling!
It was a waiting game after that. The nurse, Isabella, gathered some information and did her preliminary measurements with the sonogram. She was pretty good at jiggling my belly with the wand and making the baby move into a better position for whatever she was trying to capture. And we got to watch the baby’s antics on the screens for about 10 minutes.
I’ve got to be honest here and tell you that those 10 minutes were pure heaven. I can’t feel any movements yet, so seeing all the movements and activity on the screen was heavenly. I just remember when I was pregnant before that I knew things were ok with how much J moved during the day and night. Although sometimes uncomfortable, those little pokes, prods and kicks eased my mind that things were going fine. So seeing this one be so active on screen was truly amazing. Even more so when I see it moving all around and STILL can’t feel anything!
B was really enjoying this time too. The baby kept bringing his/her hands up by his/her face – like playing peek-a-boo – and that was really cool to watch. At one point the baby rolled all the way over. We could clearly define the skull, including the brain and jaw bones. At one point we could also see the spine going all the way down to the legs. The legs weren’t nearly as active as the arms were, but the moved around a bit too.
Here’s some pictures for you. And just to compare the growth that’s happened in 4 short weeks, the first picture is the 8-week sonogram that we got:
All you can really say about this picture is that it DOES look like a little peanut!
The amount of change between week 8 and week 12 is just AMAZING to me...here's a close-up on the head, where they were doing the bulk of the measurements. 
Isn’t that amazing?!?! Yes, that's the developing brain that you see, and if you look REAL close you can see an ear? That's what my Mom and I think, and we're sticking to it!
Although we saw the legs and buttocks area, it’s still WAY too early to say girl or boy...much to B’s disappointment. He’s convinced that it’s a girl, but I don’t know yet. I’m not being pulled one way or the other really. Just like Kasia from Good Finking! (If you don’t read her blog, hop on over and check it out!) I’m going to do the Wive’s Tales that she posted about and let you know the results before we get an official ruling...they worked pretty well for her! Read about it here.
Anyway, once the nurse did her stuff, she left the room to wait for the Dr. to come in and do his measurements. He came in and measured the neural space right at the back of the neck. We measured a 1.7, which he said was right where the baby was supposed to be at this stage. So that was good news. Of course, he said that we’d have to wait for the official word from the lab to come back (after they analyzed the blood work and all), but we won’t hear from them for about 10 days. But he said that he was not expecting to hear of anything, based on his preliminary findings.
While I wasn’t too worried about the genetic screening side of this appointment, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see the little one “in action” again. The one thing that they didn’t do was turn the microphone on so that we could hear the heartbeat. I’d like to have that measurement again...but we’ll just have to wait for our OB appt coming up next week.
I’ll have new belly pics posted tomorrow hopefully, so be sure to check back...I think that I’m ready to give up on my normal jeans! That means progress in the “bump” department, so be sure to check back.
Isn’t that amazing?!?! Yes, that's the developing brain that you see, and if you look REAL close you can see an ear? That's what my Mom and I think, and we're sticking to it!Although we saw the legs and buttocks area, it’s still WAY too early to say girl or boy...much to B’s disappointment. He’s convinced that it’s a girl, but I don’t know yet. I’m not being pulled one way or the other really. Just like Kasia from Good Finking! (If you don’t read her blog, hop on over and check it out!) I’m going to do the Wive’s Tales that she posted about and let you know the results before we get an official ruling...they worked pretty well for her! Read about it here.
Anyway, once the nurse did her stuff, she left the room to wait for the Dr. to come in and do his measurements. He came in and measured the neural space right at the back of the neck. We measured a 1.7, which he said was right where the baby was supposed to be at this stage. So that was good news. Of course, he said that we’d have to wait for the official word from the lab to come back (after they analyzed the blood work and all), but we won’t hear from them for about 10 days. But he said that he was not expecting to hear of anything, based on his preliminary findings.
While I wasn’t too worried about the genetic screening side of this appointment, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see the little one “in action” again. The one thing that they didn’t do was turn the microphone on so that we could hear the heartbeat. I’d like to have that measurement again...but we’ll just have to wait for our OB appt coming up next week.
I’ll have new belly pics posted tomorrow hopefully, so be sure to check back...I think that I’m ready to give up on my normal jeans! That means progress in the “bump” department, so be sure to check back.
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