Ultrasound scan update

Our first ultrasound was this afternoon, and Maia and I drove downtown, picked Brian up from work, and then headed out to U of M Hospital for my 1:00 PM appointment. Let me say this first of all: thank goodness I know my way around that place really well, because it's a maze, especially with elevators and various wings blocked-off because of the construction (a new Mott Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital is going up, with all new birthing rooms! Open in 2011!).

Anyway, everything went very smoothly at the appointment, except for the fact that baby wouldn't cooperate and turn over for the tech to get a good view of his/her palate, so I'm going back in two weeks for a re-scan of that and one last view of baby's heart. The doc who was there said very clearly that he has no concerns about baby's health, but he can't "sign off" on the scan until they are able to get good shots of those last two things. We tried a few times to get baby to turn with changes in position on my part, but it was a no-go.

The tech kindly wrote down baby's gender on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope, which Brian promptly sealed and I've now hidden here in the house. I have a suspicion or two that I might think I've changed my mind, but I'll do my best to resist! I've had several doula clients who didn't know the gender of their little ones, and it was a real treat for me (let alone for the parents!) to have that beautiful moment of learning baby's gender while he/she was squirming and newly-born, right there in their arms. :) I want that this time around.

So, anyway, Baby G #2 currently weighs about 9 oz., and everything looks healthy and normal and good. Today, baby was head up and laying curled up on my placenta like it was a warm, comfy mattress. So very, very cool.

For Maia's part, she handled the hour-long appointment really well, and she was very interested in the gel on my belly and whether or not anything was hurting me. :) (The pictures on the screen? She could take or leave them.) Then, she decided to play with the curtain near the door; she insisted that it was her "new house" and that she was cooking a delicious meal of "rice on a stick" inside the oven in said house. She's napping now--it took a lot of effort to keep her awake in the car on the ride back home.

Here are a couple of photos from today's scan, just for posterity's sake. They look like all the ultrasound photos you've ever seen, but hey, might as well record the moment! :)

From 20 week ultrasound

From 20 week ultrasound