12 Week Ultrasound

Yesterday morning, we had our second ultrasound and it blew me away and just made this whole experience so much more real!

Seeing our little one for the first time was amazing but being able to see him or her again and actually see all the fingers and toes was unbelievable! I can't believe the detail that you can see at only 12 weeks!

This was the Nuchal translucency screen where the ultrasound tech measured the little space behind Baby J's neck.This ultrasound is done between 11-13 weeks and was completely optional. I know many people who have done (and who have not done) this screen for many reasons and I respect them all. This screening is used to rule out certain chromosomal disorders such as down syndrome. Even before getting pregnant I had always known I would do this screen. I felt like no matter what we would be facing with our baby, we would like to be as prepared as we could be. When we got pregnant, Hubby and I talked about it and he felt the same way, so we decided to do the screen.

The screen itself consisted of just an ultrasound, and blood and urine samples- nothing invasive.

I also had my monthly checkup with my OB (Dr. B) today. Since the ultrasound is technically a medical procedure, for HIPPA reasons and at our specific hospital, husbands are not allowed in for this ultrasound. I was sad Hubby couldn't go with me, but I kept a running play-by-play for him via text. :)

Let me first say that I was surprised at how low Baby J is! I can definitely feel the top of my uterus poking out below my belly button. I guess I just imagined that was where the baby was. Boy was I off!

The ultrasound tech took lots of measurements, pictures and notes and got all the information she needed then she turned the screen around for me to see. While she was taking measurements she kept laughing and saying that the baby was a wiggle worm. It was too funny to see it for myself. Baby J was doing somersaults, kicking his or her little feet out and wiggling all around in there. Baby J almost looked like a swimmer- maybe we have a future Olympian?? It was too cute for words. I wish Jim could have been able to see it :( With all the wiggling around it took her a while to get the pictures she needed which meant more time for me to look at our little one.

It was amazing- I could see all the fingers and toes. She also showed me Baby J's eyes, ears and other tiny features. Simply a miracle!! Baby J kept his or hand up by the face for  most of the visit. The ultrasound tech wondered if he or she will be a thumb-sucker? Guess we will have to see...

She printed a few pictures for me and I shared them with our family and friends ASAP. The comments from the doctors at work are my favorite. One said yesterday "she is beautiful just like her mama", yet another doc said "he's bald just like his daddy"! (He obviously knows Hubby!)  They crack me up!

Then I had my regular monthly checkup with my OB. (Oh and by the way, if we are going off their scale, since my 7 week appointment I have actually lost one lb. go figure?! I know I have plenty of time and will make up for it in the months to come!! I have actually been really hungry and eating more than I've ever eaten before. I guess you burn lots of calories growing a human...

When I got into the exam room, Dr. B's nurse asked me if I had heard the heartbeat downstairs. I told her that I had seen it but not heard it. She said "well, let's fix that!" She went and got the doppler and had a really hard time finding it (which kind of freaked me out even though I had just seen the lil bebe was fine). She finally found it and said the baby must move a lot! We definitely have a wiggle worm on our hands! It was an amazing sound and the heart rate was a strong 161.

So without further ado, here is one more look at our little love at 12 weeks 3 days gestation. (Or as someone else at work said yesterday- "dang that's one good-lookin fetus!"