Adventures of the Roberts Family: An Extra Ultrasound

Normally having an extra ultrasound probably would not necessarily be a good thing, but in this case there was nothing to worry about. Just another opportunity to see our precious little one. If only I could have a window to peer in whenever I wanted.

At our 20 week ultrasound there was an advertisement on the wall looking for volunteers to sign up for ultrasounds at the Lancaster Nursing College. I took the number and didn't think much about it for a few days.

This past Monday it dawned on me that I never called, so I called and signed up for 5 pm tonight, without thinking (I'll blame pregnancy brain) that Jared would be in Philadelphia for a conference. After talking about it we decided to go ahead and not reschedule. This was probably a good thing anyways because of Jared's curiosity about the gender of the baby. And I learned that I can sign up for additional ultrasounds if I wish, so it appears it will all work out in the end.

Sarah was the student doing my ultrasound. She was working on finishing up school and would earn her degree in June. She obviously was still learning but was very nice and talkative. Her "lab" mostly involved looking at the spine from various angles and taking measurements (i.e. head and abdominal circumference, femur length, etc.)

Our baby was very still at the beginning of the ultrasound (surprisingly because it had been overly active during the day). In the middle, we got to see the baby with the hiccups. Too cute! But towards the end of the ultrasound the baby had had enough it seemed, as it started flipping and punching and kicking. Enough is enough!

The lab instructor was very impressed with our baby's spine, even calling another student over at the end of the ultrasound session to take a look. She showed me the skin covering the spine which indicated no spinal bifida! Something I guess I assumed from the ultrasound 2 weeks ago, but didn't hear specifically. Also, she mentioned that our baby had a "beautiful and perfect" brain. Maybe I'm carrying the next little Einstein! Jared says he hopes that it gets my smarts with his ability to not have to study. We'll see I suppose.

I have been having irrational fears about our baby (probably normal for all pregnant women as well as mothers in general I would think). One of my many fears, without finding out the gender, is that it was not a boy or a girl, but something in between. I asked the instructor if she could tell me if it was one or the other. She was confused because she thought I was asking her to reveal the gender. I clarified by saying that I just wanted to be reassured that it was one or the other. She said she was pretty sure that it was one or the other. I guess I can move on to another silly fear.

The baby did measure 22 weeks and 6 days, which is 6 days "ahead" of schedule. Not sure what to think about this. Like I mentioned before, I'm okay with average, but am hoping we are not above average when it comes to birth weight. I reassured myself that this was good to see, as at our appointment last week I had only gained 0.1 lbs from 4 weeks prior (6.5 lbs total so far - although by looks it feels more like 16.5 lbs) and the midwife was very concerned that I was not eating. Jared had to confirm that I was eating and had to add in that I ate more than him. Not sure that was completely true, but it made the midwife seem content.

Here are a few pictures from the ultrasound tonight. Clearly, the teaching ultrasounds are not nearly as clear as the one at the doctor's office, but it was still awesome to see our little one. Feeling truly blessed and cannot wait for the next ~18 weeks to pass. Hard to believe how fast the last 22 weeks have went. Our baby will be here before we know it!