Not a definitive result, but good enough for us
Posted by: Barbara on: October 11, 2011
This morning we had our 20 week scan, to check that all the major organs are present and developing properly. The results were good – the baby is growing well, with no visible developmental issues. This is also the scan where you can usually find out the baby’s sex. The baby didn’t really co-operate with that part of the exam, stubbornly positioning itself in ways that prevented good visualization of the relevant body parts, but the sonographer said that her instinct is that it’s a girl. Strangely, this is what we’d been thinking all along. But she wasn’t entirely confident about it, so (if you were tempted) please refrain from giving us any baby tutus or pink outfits, or anything that says “baby girl” (or “baby boy”) on it.
Unfortunately, Brock wasn’t able to record the ultrasound this time – the sonographer quite firmly informed us that it’s against the policies of our NHS trust to do so. We did get a few photos, which Brock will post later, but, to be honest, the ultrasound was fairly long and kind of dull, as it was mostly focused on identifying various organs (stomach, heart, brain, kidneys) and measuring their size, rather than giving a good image of the baby overall. We were able to see distinct features such as the spine, ribs, and fingers, though.
Due to my age and weight, I am at a slightly increased risk for pre-eclampsia, so the other thing they did during the exam was examine my uterine arteries, to make sure blood is flowing well to the placenta. The results weren’t bad, but they weren’t ideal, so my OB has scheduled me in for another scan next month. There doesn’t seem to be cause for major concern, but they want to be sure. Rather than finding the extra medical intervention annoying, I’m actually reassured by it.
9 Responses to "Not a definitive result, but good enough for us"
October 11, 2011 at 7:06 pm
You’re half way there. Keep up the good work!!! I’m glad things are going well.
October 12, 2011 at 6:51 pm
Very cool. I am glad you had a reassuring 20 week scan. I can’t imagine sending you a baby tutu even when it is definite, though. When will you be posting (literal) profile pics of yourself on FB?
October 12, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Hara – Um, you mean pictures of me while pregnant? I wasn’t planning to at all.
October 13, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Well, sure, I was interested. But I will stop bugging you if you don’t want to; I completely understand. You might want to take some just for you, though, because Tex will someday enjoy looking at the pictures when he/she was just a bump.
October 13, 2011 at 2:39 pm
You’re the second person to suggest to me that children enjoy seeing photos of their mother pregnant… do you get into seeing photos of your mother while she was pregnant? I enjoy seeing photos of my mom (and my grandmother) when she was younger, but I’ve never had any interest in seeing photos of her while pregnant. The whole concept perplexes me.
FWIW, I’m not planning to hide any time a camera is out (there are already photos of me from our last trip to the states, but I’m not consistently showing yet), I just don’t wish to draw attention to it.
October 14, 2011 at 12:10 am
Hooray! I remember when we had that scan when I was pregnant with Laura, and being excited to see her spine. “Look! We’re having a vertebrate!”
[...] mentioned in my post about our 20 week scan, we were scheduled for a followup scan at 24 weeks, to monitor my uterine arterial blood flow. We [...]
October 11, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Glad to hear things seem to be going well.