OB Appointment #4 & 20 Week Ultrasound

Today is the day Dan and I have been waiting for almost since we found out we were expecting. Today, not only did we get to go see the doctor to make sure all was still progressing well (it was....heart beat of 154 today), we also got to go and get the 20 week ultrasound! This is the sonogram where, most of the time, parents can find out if everything looks well developed and measures well with where the baby should be at this point in development. An added perk (for those inquiring minds) is that most of the time you can find out whether you're having a little boy or a little girl. Dan and I don't prefer one sex over another, but we did want to find out for planning and peace-of-mind purposes. We arrived at Radiology excited and I had a very full bladder to encourage good viewing.

Well, here is the first proof positive that the Peanut is already like his/her mom and dad....a stinker. The baby was sucking its left thumb with little legs crossed tight.....with its right hand wedged between its legs for extra coverage. The tech did most of her measurements and allowed me to hit the bathroom so I'd be more comfortable for the rest of the scan. During my bathroom visit, Peanut rearranged him/herself a bit. Now both hands were occupied elsewhere, but the tech wouldn't venture towards the lower half of the baby again. From her brisk comments, we came to the conclusion that she didn't believe parents should know the sex of the babt before birth in spite of our asking her. She couldn't even make a guess, where as a couple of times Dan and I were sure that we saw something (although I realize we're nowhere near ultrasound reading experts). That part of the experience left us feeling disappointed and a little angry that someone else would take the liberty to make that decisions when it wasn't theirs to make in the first place. However, overall the experience was a good one, all 4 chambers of the heart were well formed and pumping away, we've got all 10 fingers and 10 toes accounted for, the cord is strong and open, all the little bones are developed...ribs, skull, leg, arm bones....you could see everything. In fact, at one point the tech was looking at Peanut and pointed out what looked like a dark void on the screen....she stated 'Mom's not the only one that has to go to the bathroom!" We are very thankful Peanut is healthy, well developed, and measured just right for his/her age. However, I wish I would have been able to have this experience with the tech that I had seen with the ultrasound at 8 weeks.