A sneak peek...and a comparison

We had appointments this morning with both the Obstetrician and the Specialist. Both appointments went well. The first appointment was with the OB, and today I saw Dr.M. He was VERY nice, and advised me to not bother with kick counts until I'm about 28 weeks. He told me I'd just drive myself nuts! I'm measuring right on track (uterus measurement) and her heart beat was clocked at approximately 134 beats per minute.

We then went over to our appointment with the Specialist. She just did a quick scan, and I'm sure it was mostly for my sanity. The baby still looks good, with no concerns. Apparently, I misheard her at my last appointment, and she's only on vacation for a week! So that means my next appointment is January 13th, and we managed to get the appointments co-ordinated so we (hopefully) won't have to make trips every week after that for at least a month or so. I figure they will start to monitor me every week around the end of February.

On another note... I'm going to post two pictures. The first one is the best 3D picture from today's quick scan. The second one is a 3D picture that was taken of her big sister, Kherrington, at 28 weeks. You can't miss the similarities.

This is "Bump" or "Martha" (as her Auntie Iris has named her) taken today at 25 5/7 weeks

..and this is Kherrington. Taken at 28 3/7 weeks. It appears that "bump"/"Martha"/"G 2.oh" has her big sister's nose and chin.

Specialist appointment at 24 weeks +2 days on December 20, 2010

So, this is a few days late...again! I have been rather busy the last few days and I haven't had time to write an update. :S

We went to see the specialist on Monday, and everything still looks GOOD!!!! The bowels are still dark, but the specialist did warn me that during the third trimester the bowel may start to brighten a bit due to changes in the consistency and meconium building up. She said it is a "normal" brightening, and when it happens, the bowels are not considered to be echogenic the way Kherrington's were. She wanted us to know this so we weren't startled by it in the coming weeks.

We watched her lick her lips and move around in there, but she did NOT want to co-operate for decent pictures. The doctor even tried another 3D scan and had to get me to lie on my side to even get the picture to turn out! As you can see in the last picture below, she is a real diva and does not want any pictures taken!

The papillary muscle in the heart is still a bit bright, and when I asked about it she said "I'm really not concerned about it at all". Our girl weighs approximately 1lb 8ozs, and is right on track. I am going to see her again next Thursday because the specialist is in next week, then she is on vacation for two weeks after that. Then she is booked solid in her first week back at work, and that would mean it would be 4 weeks before I see her again. She said that she didn't have any reason to see me during the next 4 weeks, but suggested that I come back next week for a quick look so that I wouldn't have such a long wait between appointments. It is wonderful that she understands my anxiety, and is working with it.

So here are the pictures from Monday's appointment. As this pregnancy progresses (and it is seems to be progressing very quickly!), it seems like this "baby thing" might just actually happen.

This is a foot...the same one that has discovered the bottom of my rib cage!



A "classic" profile shot, but she was quartering away from us, making her face seem a bit flat!



A nice picture of her hand, and those long fingers that I would say she is getting from her Dad! .. at least it is just her index finger pointing up!



This is the attempt at the 3D scan. You can see her two forearms, and between the forearms is her chin and mouth. She has one hand covering her nose and eyes, and the other hand is covering her forehead.. "NO, NO, NO! No pictures!"



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my followers! I have to say that 2010 has to be one of the most bittersweet years of my life. We awaited a new life in January, and had to say hello and goodbye in February. We had a memorial in March, and survived the rest of the spring. I returned to work in May, and my DH graduated from the Paramedic Academy in July. We found out we were expecting July 31st, my DH started his job in August, and with each passing month, our rainbow is shining brighter and brighter.

22 weeks + 2 days...Ultrasound with the specialist and first appointment with the OB!

We did make it to Fredericton yesterday for our appointment/ultrasound with the specialist,and then our first appointment with the Obstetrician.

Both appointments went very well. Baby is still measuring right on track at 1lb 1oz and she put on quite the show for the doctors yesterday. She was head down, but she still has a lot of room in there and can flip-flop as she likes. At the start of the ultrasound she was folded in half (just like her big sister was at 28 weeks!) her feet and a hand were right up over her head, which made for good photo ops!



The nurse took a few diagnostic pictures that needed labelling, so images were frozen on the screen for about 30 seconds to a minute. When she resumed the scan, little critter had turned herself away and un-folded herself, and we laughed as she tried to re-position the ultrasound. She was very busy in there, and we even watched her opening and closing her mouth, which is what we love to see! The baby's bladder was full, which means she is swallowing amniotic fluid..which is also very good sign. So far, everything looks good. The papillary muscle in the heart is still bright, and as I mentioned in my last post, in 10% of cases it is a soft marker for downs syndrome. However, our baby doesn't have any other Downs characteristics, so the specialist is really not concerned about it. Baby's bowels are still dark (YAY!) and there were no areas of concern. I am going back to see the specialist in two weeks on Dec 20th.

After seeing the specialist, we went across the street and met the Obstetrician.
She will be my primary OB, but has encouraged me to see all of the OB doctors since any of them may be there on delivery day. To top it all off, I learned that the horrible doctor I had on the second day of our inducement with Kheri, is no longer in the province!! YAY!!!! At least I don't have to worry about seeing him in this pregnancy. Our OB is new to New Brunswick, and has come from British Columbia to practice with the group of OBs in Fredericton. She is VERY nice, knowledgeable and re-assuring. She said the best words I have heard yet in this pregnancy (next to the specialist saying "everything looks fine"). The OB said "you are the only one with a direct connection to your baby. So tell us what your concerns or feelings are... it is our job to re-assure you and address them"... AHHH it is so nice for someone to say "hey..your intuition might be right..we should listen to mom".... :D The OB wants me to return next Monday morning so she can have an opportunity to learn about Kherrington's story, hear my concerns and outline a "plan" for this pregnancy. She said "due to your previous stillbirth, you are going to be under the microscope"... and I don't mind one bit! If it means a healthy delivery, so be it! I will still be going to the local hospital for prenatal check ups as well for now..so that means LOTS of appointments! Here's hoping that these winter storms stay away on the days of our appointments! (and it would be nice if the gasoline price would drop a little too!)

So enough of my babbling! Here are the rest of the pictures from yesterday's appointment with the specialist. She attempted to take some 3D pictures but little critter is still small, and she had her face turned away, which made it hard to get distinguishable facial features. She also had her arms crossed in front of her body,and partially covering her face, which made it hard to get good pictures. We watched her uncross her arms and then move away from us! We can assure you..she does have a face..lol... She said that she hopes to try another 3D scan over the next few appointments as the best pictures are generated when the baby is between 26 and 30 weeks along. The best 3D picture is the last one, which just show her legs and feet.