More Ultrasound Details

We were so excited to share our pictures yesterday, that I didn't post any other details about the ultrasound. Here goes!

We checked in at the radiology desk yesterday around 8:40. Our appointment was for 9:00 AM, but it was around 9:15 before we were called back. It was a crazy wait. It was like right before you open your Christmas presents, and you're so excited but not quite ready for the anticipation to be over. But we were so excited!

The first shot we got when the tech put the probe down was of his 4-chambered heart pumping away. You can see the individual chambers and the muscles working to pump his blood. Then we spent some time on his head, measuring the size of his skull and the brain formation. His head is measuring about a week ahead in terms of size, so hopefully that means he takes after his parents with his big brain!

After about 20 minutes of head measurements, we got the toilet shot! I have been researching them online and seeing other women post on my birth boards, but I had no idea that's what we were looking at until she pointed out the outstretched legs...and there was a penis between them! I was floored and so excited. We're having a son! His femurs were measuring right on schedule, and it was so incredible to see the little bones formed so perfectly.

The tech measured everything, from heart activity, to renal size, to diaphragm movement...it was the coolest 2 hours ever! We got some good profile shots, and he was active the entire time. He never stopped wiggling or kicking or punching. At one point he threw his whole arm back behind his head, and was just chillin' there like the cool little dude he is.

Dan's favorite part of the whole experience was watching his heart beating so perfectly. Mine was probably seeing how active he is, and when he kicked back at the probe that was trying to see his little feet. It seemed like almost every picture the tech had lined up would be ruined at the last second by our shy baby boy. By the end of the session, he had his bent legs pulled up against his chest, so it's good we got the toilet shot early, or we may not have found out. Before that though, he was folded in half for a while, and you could see his hands and feet all in the same shot.

We took a small video at the end of our appointment, but it's too big to email or post here. We're going to work on editing it down to be small enough to share, but in the mean time, we'll just have to come door to door and show you all our amazing little man!

The results of our ultrasound are that he is measuring a day or two ahead of schedule in terms of his body parts, and weighs 13 ounces. He didn't stop moving all day yesterday, and it doesn't seem like today is going to be any different.

We're having a boy!!!

It's a...

Here are photos from today's ultrasound!!

Here are two profile shots. The first has a little hand by the face.






























Here are pictures of a little foot, and the baby's face:






























And now the shot you've been waiting for!!

















IT'S A BOY!!

Can't Wait Until Tomorrow!

Tomorrow's the big ultrasound day, and I can't wait! I've never wanted a Monday to come so much. :) We ran errands yesterday, went grocery shopping this morning, and cleaned the house this afternoon. I even mopped! We're a little restless waiting to see our little peanut tomorrow, but it will come soon enough.

Halfway There!

Tomorrow we hit the 20 week mark, meaning we're halfway to our due date! Babycenter.com says:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

3dpregnancy.com says:

Your baby has established sleep patterns akin to a newborn now. Many babies even have a favorite sleep position already. Some snooze with their chins resting on their chests, while others nap with their head flung back. Many babies at this age fall into noticeable cycles of sleep and activity, so you may know before she arrives whether you have a night owl or an early bird.

I like to read about the sleep patterns, because I've noticed Baby definitely has one. I haven't noticed any movement at night while I sleep, but that may only be because it's not big enough to wake me up yet. It is amazing that there is a half-formed person in me!

Our ultrasound is at 9:00 on Monday morning, and we can't wait! We're hoping to get lots of pictures and maybe some video, so we'll post all that here when we get it.

Nothing New

Hello. I know I haven't been posting much lately, but that's only because things aren't really changing much. Our baby still seems to be strong and healthy, kicking and punching and hiccuping a lot every day. It must be growing a lot too, because I'm still exhausted all the time!

Baby is going to its first Huskies Basketball game tonight, so I'm excited to see if all the noise starts the dance party in my tummy again!

Reminder: if you haven't entered the baby pool, do so soon! We have our ultrasound Monday morning so we'll be locking down the pool Sunday night. Unless you all don't want to know the gender? :)

Hiccups!

Our baby had hiccups multiple times last night. Once for probably 30 minutes right around dinner time, and again for a while just as I was falling asleep. It took me a while to realize that it was hiccups instead of light kicks, but then I noticed it was only one at a time and at pretty constant intervals. Rubbing my stomach and walking around didn't seem to help. I know that I don't like to get hiccups, but I hope the baby doesn't mind too much!

Belly Button Update: It's almost gone. It doesn't show signs of popping out but it's super shallow. 20 and a half weeks to see what it's going to do...

Numero 19

Woohoo! We've hit 19 - one week away from the halfway point. The baby is around 6 inches long, from head to bottom, and weighs around 8 ounces. Babycenter says it's around the size of an heirloom tomato (photo courtesy of babycenter.com); another site likens the size to a six-inch sandwich from Subway. The feet are around an inch long each. No wonder I can feel the kicks more and more!

Speaking of tomatoes, I've started wanting fruit and vegetables more and more as time goes on. But I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm craving them. Food in general still doesn't excite me though. Dan's heading to the grocery store tonight without me, because I would "just get in the way." I can't come up with ideas of what would sound good, and I don't really want anything in particular. I kind of have to settle on what to eat with every meal, and that's no fun at all. Oh well. I'm sure I'll get my full appetite back some day!