Ultrasound No. 4

We had our first visit with the high risk doctor today. This is always a very long appointment and today was no exception. First, we met with the genetics counselor. Then we had the ultrasound. And finally, we met with the physician. We were there for about two and a half hours. We opted to not do the amniocentesis today, as we would prefer to wait until we have prior authorization from the insurance company. We are currently scheduled for the procedure two weeks from today.

Lovebug looked great! The sonographer was able to get some good measurements. (This, however, was a great struggle to do and at one point she actually jiggled the transducer on my belly and told the kid to "Move!") But in the end, her measurements were achieved and we were told that right now, from what they can see at this gestational age, baby looks perfectly fine. Yay!!! Also of great news is it looks like the placenta is moving!

There have been some changes at the office in the last year. This year they have all new ultrasound equipment and included with this equipment is a monitor mounted on the ceiling, so Mom can watch without having to use a mirror. This was wonderful and it was the first time that I have been able to see an entire ultrasound. They also no longer print pictures for the parents. Instead they put them on c.d. This is quite convenient.

Okay, pictures this time are kind of difficult to decipher, but I will do my best. The first shot in the post should be pretty easy to see. You are looking at another face picture. Below, the easiest thing to do is to look for the legs and feet at the bottom left hand side of the frame. If you can do that then you can follow the leg to the right and then see the body curve upward. An arm protrudes, going to the left. And above that, buried in the placenta, is the little face. Faces at this gestational age do not have much dimension so it is very difficult to get a true "face shot."

This next picture is very similar to the one above. Again, look for those legs and move upward. The face is actually, I think, a little easier to see in this picture. Also of interest, across the upper thigh and moving across the belly in both the last picture and this one, is the umbilical cord. (It looks like a little ripple.) And to confuse you even further, I believe the other hand is resting on the right side of the head (left in the picture).
This is a rear shot of Lovebug. Perhaps the easiest way to see this one is to look for those little butt cheeks on the bottom right hand side of the frame. Legs (scrunched up) are to the left, body moves upward and ends with the head on top. The little arm is extended upward in this shot. And, once again, the umbilical cord can be seen.