20w4d

TIC TAC is a GIRL :)

Our 20th week ultrasound was yesterday and I was a bundle of nerves till we went to the clinic. I still haven't felt the baby move so I have times of extreme anxiousness and need some kind of re-assurance. While going to the ultrasound my husband told me that lately he has been thinking its a girl. As for me I went from thinking its a boy to a girl and back to a boy. Yesterday the only thing on my mind was I want a healthy baby in there and didn't care if it was a boy or a girl. The baby was lying sideways with its head to my right and legs to my left and was facing us. The tech pointed to us the eyes, nose, jaw and lips. She said that the lips were firm so no cleft palate. Then we moved to the heart and were able to see all 4 chambers and the heart rate was at 153. She then showed us the stomach, bladder and kidneys of the baby. Honestly we just nodded every time she pointed to some black spots on the screen. I guess they have better eyes for all this. The baby had both its arms folded up towards its ears and we were able to count all 10 fingers. She measured its femur bone and said that it was right on track. Then she pointed to in between the legs and told us that most likely it was a girl. I guess they can never be 100% sure if its a girl so she gave us a 90% probability that its a girl. The baby measure 10inches from head to toe and weighs about 14oz. Based on these measurements she said that the baby was at 21 weeks which means 4 days ahead. Other than moving its arms and legs a little, the baby did not move much. The tech asked me to empty my bladder to see if that would get the baby moving. By the time I came back the baby had flipped completely and was now showing us its back. Unfortunately I didn't feel any of this. The tech then looked at the spine and the brain and made sure everything was fine. She said that the placenta was formed on the front of the uterus which is right behind my belly button and hence it might be a little difficult for me to feel movements now. She said in a week or two I might start feeling movements in the sides and as the baby gets bigger the kicks get stronger and then I will start feeling those everywhere. My cervix looked fine and measured at 4.3cm. She printed out a couple of profile pictures for us and then we waited to see the doctor.

The doctor was called for an emergency delivery so we met with the nurse practitioner again this time. I have gained a pound since my last appointment (a month ago) and my bp was fine at 102/70. I have gained about 7.5 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight and hence do not have to worry about that for now. She said that my uterus measures on track and everything looked good in the ultrasound. She quickly measured the baby's heartbeat with the doppler and it kept moving the whole time. The heartrate came back at the high 150's. Since I have spells of dizziness she tested me for iron and it was on the lower end. She has given me a list of foods rich in iron and I am going to try and incorporate those into my diet.

On the whole we have a healthy kicking baby girl on the inside and healthy but anxious mom on the outside.