12 week ultrasound

So we had the 12-week nuchal translucency ultrasound today. It was just amazing to see baby on the monitor. How quickly it went from a white spot to what really looks like a baby! Arms and legs and all. The tech turned the view where we were looking over top of baby rather than to it's side. The little hands were together and the legs were crossed indian style. Wow! It is a real baby!

From Wikipedia: A nuchal scan is a sonographic prenatal screening scan (ultrasound) to help identify higher risks of Down Syndrome in developing babies, particularly for older mothers who have higher risks of such pregnancies. The scan is carried out at 11-13 weeks pregnancy and assesses the amount of fluid behind the neck of the fetus - also known as 'the nuchal translucency'. Babies at risk of Down tend to have a higher amount of fluid around the neck. The scan may also help confirm both the accuracy of the pregnancy dates and the fetal viability. Its high definition imaging may also detect other less common chromosomal abnormalities.

Baby looks healthy! The skin at the back of the neck looked thin which is what we want to see. They also did blood work today. Apparently they measure a certain protein in my blood and that combined with the measurement of the baby's neck gives us a risk factor for Downs, which we expect to be low from what the doctor said today.

We got to hear the heart beat today as well. It was amazing, almost got a little teary ;) Someone asked me if I'd checked to see what the old wives tale says about whether it's a boy or a girl based on the heart rate. Today the heart rate was 154 beats per minute. The typical range is 120 to 160. Some people believe that if your baby has a fast heart rate, then that means you are having a girl, and that if your baby’s heart rate is lower then you are having a boy. The baby’s heart rate will get faster and stronger as he/she grows. Then the heart rate fluctuates in speed during sleep and active times for baby, just like adults. So depending on when you listen to your baby’s heart rate, it might be faster or slower than it was the day before, or even earlier that same day. So I'm not sure this tells us anything!

I have neither gained nor lost weight in this first 12 weeks. Typically they expect a 5 lb gain. The doctor said they were not concerned, that I had plenty of time still. She also said if you gain more toward the end of the pregnancy it is quicker and easier to get the weight off. Woohoo! This combined with results of blood work drawn at the last visit indicate momma and baby are healthy!

Next doctor visit is in 4 more weeks. No ultrasound at that one, just more lab work and a visit with a new doc in the practice that I haven't seen yet. Then in four more weeks, at week 20, we'll have the next visit and the ultrasound to determine the gender! Eight more weeks seems soooo far off!

Here's some pics of baby today. Hopefully one of the two is clear enough!