The Anatomy Scan

So the "Big Ultrasound" that most women talk about with great anticipation comes around the 20 week mark. Yes, it's exciting because that's when you can find out what brand of baby you're having (sex guesses up until week 16 or so tend to be just that - guesses), but the real point of the ultrasound is to take a look at all of the major organs and see how things are developing.

I'm on my third OB of this pregnancy, but more about that later. The sonographer was really great about telling us exactly what she was looking at and how things were going - we don't have the 100% all clear from the OB, himself, yet, but I have no reason to believe that anything looked out of the ordinary as she said up front that if there was a problem she would get the doctor. So we got to see the heart and the kidneys and the brain and all of that important stuff. I made sure to count both hands and feet, since I had a moment of panic last time around because I couldn't remember actually seeing both feet and I was convinced that my baby would be born with only one. Because that's totally rational. I think that was pre-Zol.oft.

Baby was bouncing around but cooperated nicely so that we got all of the measurements in one shot. Unfortunately, she kept moving around to face the camera so we didn't get any profile pictures. I'm not one of those "Oh my baby is soooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuute in utero" people, and the pictures that we did get look positively alienlike. We showed them to Charlie and he wasn't quite sure what to make of them.

I also learned that I have an anterior placenta, which is why I haven't been feeling much movement. The placenta is hanging out up top and in front instead of in back, so it's muffling the feel of baby. Baby is still a girl, and she's butt down right now. I know it's really, really early and that babies change position all the time, but I'm already finding the anxiety creeping up that she's going to end up breech and I'll have to have a c-section. I plan to avoid that at all costs (again, the OB story will come soon) and have already found some good yoga positioning moves and some exercises that supposedly encourage babies to take the proper, head-down position. That's the one downside about the anterior placenta - if she does keep sitting upside-down, there isn't any really good way to try to flip her around because the placenta is in the way. I'm trying to put that all out of my mind for at least another 8 weeks, but you know how I am. Not going to happen.

The other big development is that I'm meeting with a potential birth assistant next week. I never thought a natural birth would ever be something that I was interested in, but after doing some reading and thinking I've decided to give it a try. We'll see what she has to say!

Finally, a belated Hump Day Bump Day pic. I really need to get better at taking pictures - we were so religious about taking one every weekend. I guess the second baby really does get the short end of the stick.