We had our ultrasound this morning. First, let me just tell you how cruel it is to make a pregnant woman drink 32 oz. of water in the morning, drive to an appointment, and then wait 30 minutes, all the while listening to the sound of the TRICKLING WATER from the fountain in the waiting room while a baby is tap dancing on her bladder! I have come to the conclusion that fountains, while soothing to the average person, are a very bad idea in offices where pregnant women are frequent visitors!
Anyway, we finally got into the room, and the tech started scanning. Baby was not being entirely cooperative. The tech said she *suspected* it was a girl because she didn't see a penis, but she couldn't be sure just yet. So we went on a baby tour. Heart, spine, legs, arms, hands, feet, kidneys, tummy -- all perfect! I had a little bit of orange juice (on my already full bladder -- fun!), which seemed to wake the baby up and get it moving. We finally were able to get a couple of profile shots, and then we got the money shot. Three lines between the legs -- a definite indicator of girl parts! So, the verdict is...IT'S A GIRL!
Anna is beside herself with joy. On the way to the appointment this morning, she was actually PRAYING, "Pleeeeeeeeeease let it be a girl!" She really wanted a baby sister, and it looks like she's getting her wish. She wants to name her Caroline. I love the name, too, but Jimmy is unconvinced. He's also outnumbered, and I pointed out that he'd better get used to that! The poor guy is going to have an awful lot of estrogen floating around in his house in a few years. He's already trying to figure out how he's going to pay for two weddings! Anyway, names are not yet decided, but we hope to have it at least narrowed down to a few top contenders soon.
There was one slight finding on the ultrasound that my midwife assures me is NOT a major concern at all. The baby has a small choroid plexus cyst on her brain. It sounds super scary (Cyst?!?!? BRAIN?!?!?), but she said that they are extremely common in the 18-22 week period, and they almost always resolve themselves. Even if they don't, they do not EVER cause brain damage or mental retardation, and many adults are probably walking around right now who have had them since birth and never even knew. Occasionally, the cysts can be soft markers of more serious conditions, but only when there are other abnormalities present. Everything else on the ultrasound looked perfect, so she didn't recommend any further testing other than a follow-up ultrasound in my third trimester to make sure the cyst has resolved. And yes, Mom, she showed the results to the OB who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, who also did not feel the cyst was a cause for concern. So I feel very confident that everything is fine.
I've attached two pictures from this morning's ultrasound. One is a profile shot, and the other is the money shot! The other picture is Anna holding a rubber model of a 20-week fetus. It's just about the size of our baby right now!
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