We may not know whether we should buy pink or blue yet, but we know one thing for sure: baby has personality.
We went for our first "real" visit today. I was poked, prodded and jiggled, and I think my husband handled it better than I did. We were given a lot of information, which I had a hard time absorbing all at once. This is something that is great about the husband--before I could get worked up about the financial worksheets/delivery guidelines/hospital policies they were handing me, he took them away and kept me in the moment.
But on to the good stuff. We opted for the "nuchal translucency" screening, which is a measurement of the "thickness of scruff on the fetus' neck", as seen through an ultrasound. Paired with blood work, it tests for genetic diseases. We have decided not to do any of the invasive genetic testing, but since this test was minor we decided to have it done.
Our ultrasound technician, Linda, was very sweet to us--she called the baby "doodlebug" as the fuzzy black and white picture appeared on the screen. First she measured the heart rate--158 beats per minute, just where it should be--and we got to hear baby's heart for a few moments. There on the screen, where our baby had once been a blob with a really big head, was the shape that was definitively baby. Baby was moving around and "standing" straight up--that is, it was vertical in my tummy. We could see little arms and legs, the long spine and it's little brain, as well as the umbilical cord. I think the most amazing thing about that for me was seeing how much bigger the spine was--in December, it was a teeny little ladder with a few rungs. Today, it was the backbone of a real little human. A human we made. Whoa.
As exciting as seeing our little one "standing up" was, it wasn't the correct position for the testing. Linda poked my belly for a minute, but baby remained unimpressed and stayed where it darn well pleased. Then she took my barely there tummy in her whole hand and shook it--which, for the record, is not nice to do without warning to a pregnant woman who has to pee. Baby flipped over--and resumed his vertical position. I had to laugh. Baby is already just like it's parents--stubborn, stubborn, stubborn.
Linda sent us on our way for the next part of the exam, then we returned to her to see if baby would be a little more willing to cooperate. Little one wasn't upright this time, and gave us a beautiful profile shot--I've never seen a more perfect nose. Baby was waving it's hand and the picture she printed for us gave us a great remembrance of that.
However, it still wasn't the view we needed. More poking, prodding, and jiggling provided no help--baby was comfortable and not interested in moving for us. We have another appointment tomorrow with another technician who has a more detailed ultrasound machine to see if we can have better luck.
Once in the exam room with the doctor, we were able to hear the heartbeat again, which was great. It looks like baby is going to stay undetermined until March, when we go in for our 20 week appointment. Overall, it was a very positive appointment-everything looked good and healthy, and that's all that matters in the long run. And now I get to picture our little one giggling to itself as it dodges the pokes and prods. I imagine if it could, baby would stick it's tongue out at us and then smile--daddy's stubborn streak and mommy's charm could turn out to be a very explosive combination.
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