19 weeks - all's well

We had our first ultrasound at 19 weeks. I have been remiss in reporting on it. First and foremost, the baby looks fabulous! We have been referred to maternal-fetal medicine ("high-risk OB") because of John's condition (see NAIT post). The good side of that is that they have a very nice ultrasound set-up. The best part for me was the screen on the ceiling above the examining table! For the first time, I had a good view without craning my neck. The machine also seemed much more advanced than just a few years ago - better clarity. Even I could recognize a few things this time around. (Or, maybe I am just getting more experienced with these blobs on the screen.)

So, there is our baby, all 8 ounces! As Jeremy said during the ultrasound, "I could watch these things all day." We saw that baby squirming all around for the entire hour-long scan, though I couldn't feel a thing yet. In the photos above, you see the profile of the face, then a profile that also includes the spine and body.

The technician helpfully counted 10 fingers and 10 toes for us. Funny, I hadn't thought to worry about that until she did it. Fortunately, it came out right, since given my genetic history, I guess I can't take that for granted. The baby's size measured appropriately to confirm our due date of early February. And of course, we were also anxious to find out the answer to Maggie's most urgent question. Maggie's prayers have been answered in her favor,,, it's a girl!

Or, at least we think so. The technician was not actually all that convincing in her declaration. In fact, what she said was, "Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Well, how would I know? I have gotten good enough to pick out the baby apart from the placenta or my own body parts (mostly) but I sure don't know what we are looking at. She never even voiced her guess; I had to squint and read what she typed on the screen. Still, we are assuming we can start calling the baby "she," and we told the kids, and we quit making plans to squeeze 3 boys into one bedroom. But, at the same time, I won't feel completely settled on the matter until at least one more confirmatory ultrasound. Which we are certain to get. That seems to be one thing you get plenty of with your referral to maternal-fetal medicine.