Mid-Pregnancy Ultrasound

On Thursday of this week when I was 21 weeks and 5 days, we had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound.  Ryan and I debated whether or not to take Alli, and decided last week that it would be best if we left her at school in case anything was wrong.  But fate intervened, and Alli was home from school that day making sure she was 24 hours fever free after a low-grade fever with no other symptoms.  I was determined not to miss this very important appointment, and I was absolutely sure Ryan needed to be there.  So we took Alli (who had been fever free for a while, but we were extra careful and the waiting room was empty).

I was extremely nervous for this ultrasound, because I knew it was very important as far as measuring our baby's growth and development.  People focus on the gender-reveal portion, but that's really the least important thing the tech is going to check.  By the time we got called back, my heart was pounding.  I went back alone first, and they said they'd called Ryan and Alli back later.  The tech asked if she could bring a student in with her to observe, which was fine with me.  I laid down, they put the warm goo on my stomach, and off we went.

The ultrasound tech examined the baby's heart and she started exclaiming over how clear the picture was.  She commented that everyone should wait until they were almost 22 weeks, because you could tell such a difference between 18 weeks and 22.  She showed the student all of the chambers of the heart, checked out all of the organs and spine. Over and over, they both said "Oh my gosh, this scan is so clear.  This baby is as close to perfect as you can get!" That really made me relax and enjoy the process.

Finally, they called Alli and Ryan in.  The tech turned the screen so we all could see, and she started pointing out body parts - feet, legs, arms, lips.  Then she got a great profile shot, which made Alli declare "I can see her nose!"  So she finally understood what she was looking at.  It was a really neat moment.

Then it was the moment of truth.  The tech asked Alli what she preferred - a brother or a sister.  Alli answered "Sister!!" immediately.  In her mind, there's never been any other option.  So the tech took a look (I'm pretty sure she already knew before she acted like she was looking...) and confirmed, "You're getting a sister!!"  We were all thrilled, even Ryan who had halfway been hoping for a boy.  Ultimately, all any of us wanted was the glowing ultrasound report.

The tech then said that I was scanning so well that she just had to flip on the 3D to give us a look at what we'd see in 6 weeks for our full-blown 3D ultrasound.  She said sometimes she won't do this at our stage because the babies look so skinny, but she felt like ours would scan so well.  We were in awe!  How can you not be??  Look at that little face!!

I even got to do a fun gender reveal at work - we had Ricks cupcakes delivered, and my friends opened the box for the surprise.

We are so happy and blessed to be welcoming another little lady into our life, and I'm so relieved that she got such a wonderful report.  I can finally feel good about painting that nursery!!!