Ultrasounds

For various reasons we've had many ultrasounds during this pregnancy.  We had our first in November at 7 weeks 4 days and all we could see was a bean with a tiny little flutter in the middle that was her heartbeat, and we were already blown away to see her little heart beating so fast when she was so so tiny!  At that ultrasound we were told that everything was right on track, and that she was measuring about 6 days ahead of schedule.  

Our next was on February 11th.  We were 19 weeks and 3 days along and this was the "big ultrasound" where they measured all of her parts to make sure she was growing right and all her organs were working.  They told us that she was a text-book perfect baby measuring right on time and in the 50th percentile for everything--exactly normal!  They also told us she was a SHE!  It was easy to see her heartbeat and her spine and make out her head and limbs, but we couldn't see much of her face.  She was still small enough though that you could see her head and whole body in the ultrasound photo.  In this picture, she is at the bottom, looking up, her head is on the left, and her big round belly is in the middle, her bottom is at the right.  There is a lump above her nose and that is her hand--she already liked having it up by her cheek!

Our third ultrasound was at 25 weeks.  We decided to go to a private 3D ultrasound clinic to have more detailed pictures done to surprise the family with at Easter.  The baby was so uncooperative!  She had her hands covering her face, then a foot, then she just turned her head and faced my back and refused to move for the rest of the procedure!  But, we got to see great pictures of her feet, and a few partial profiles, and a video of the ultrasound, and confirmed that she was girl.  In this picture you can see her profile.  Her head is on the left side of the picture, facing the middle.  Near the middle of the page you can make out an eye, a nose and a mouth.  She has her right arm extended up by her face so that her nose is basically in her elbow and her chin is obscured by her upper arm.

Earlier this week we had our fourth (and probably last) ultrasound to check on her growth.  I have not gained any weight yet, and the doctor was concerned that the baby may be too small.  When we checked, she was so pretty, and the technician said that she was "generously sized."  So, she's already on the big side, measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule now.

I can't wait to see her when she arrives, but it is amazing to see how much she has already grown and how different each ultrasound was.  She's so big now that we can't get a full body shot on an ultrasound picture any more.  This shot is a profile of her head, the top of her head is at the right side of the screen, she is looking up, and there is a lump above her nose--that's her hand again!