21w4d

I had another level II anatomy scan today because the radiologist wasn't satisfied with the quality of the heart images from the first scan. The ultrasound doc felt this do-over was unnecessary — "You're wasting your time," he said — but good-naturedly said I should enjoy the chance to see the baby again. He confirmed with complete confidence that this is most definitely a boy.

We had the same problem as last time: the baby stubbornly kept his back to us so that the heart was difficult to see. The doctor spent a long time manipulating my belly and made me empty my bladder twice in hopes that he would move, but no dice. Finally the doctor got a shot he was satisfied with (I was on my side facing the wall and he was pushing upwards hard with the wand just above my pubic bone).

It's amazing how much the kid has grown. In just three weeks he has nearly doubled his weight and is now just a smidge under a pound. A pound! Tell me how it is possible that I still can't feel him moving around in there. I guess the anterior placenta combined with his apparent favoured position facing my spine conspire to muffle his movements, but still... he weighs a freaking pound! Any day now, right?

Here are some ultrasound pictures. Please excuse the quality of the reproductions; the first was scanned but the second is a photograph of the printout. You get the idea.

18w4d ~ cute!



21w4d ~ so much bigger! Doc said he was busy eating.

NT scan and first ultrasound pics!

Yep, I had my NT scan today (ultrasound to screen for Down's syndrome) and everything looks great! The NT measurement was perfectly normal, at 1.2 mm, and the heart was racing away at 177 bpm! If you subscribe to certain gender prediction myths, you'd swear this baby is a girl.

I learned that I have an anterior placenta. According to the doctor, this means the baby's movements will be muffled and less distinct than they otherwise might have been. This makes me a bit sad, although ladies on the Nest have reassured me that they still felt plenty. I hope so!

The only bad part about today was the bloodwork. They did the initial bloodwork for my OB at the same time as the NT stuff, and together they required 10 vials! My poor vein stopped producing partway through, and the tech kept pushing my wrist down to further straighten my arm and pressing my skin around the needle to squeeze out a few more drops. It seemed to go on forever.

And... I finally got ultrasound pics! Here they are. Keep in mind that these are photos of printouts, so not the best quality. Also, apparently my bladder wasn't as full as it should have been, so the images weren't the best to begin with. Oh well. I can still see my baby!