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                                          {Hello, in there!}

I am happy to report that my first ultrasound went really well!  So far, baby looks healthy and happy in there.  One of the first things I noticed, and what continued to blow my mind throughout the whole thing, was how still and calm this baby was!  Unbelievable.  I thought Phoenix was pretty calm compared to Zion in the womb, but even during ultrasounds with him he would be kicking like crazy and flailing his arms around.  This little babe just gently swayed back and forth and gave the occasional kick when the technician prodded my belly a little more deeply.  To be honest, it freaked me out a little at first, but the heartbeat was nice and strong at 157 beats per minute, so it looks like it might just be a peaceful baby (at least in the womb, right?)

   

{This one made me laugh…you can see baby’s mouth is open! Taking a sip of amniotic fluid perhaps? Yummo!}

I just love getting a glimpse into my pregnant belly, seeing what baby is up to.  All of these pictures I’m posting were flipped upside down by the technician.  The baby was actually laying on it’s stomach facing my back, and would even snuggle down and kind of hug the placenta, which is on my spine-side. 

And of course both me and the tech were oohing and aahing over how sweet this shot of baby’s feet was!  It’s hard to tell (I’m taking pictures of the pictures here, so bad quality) but in this photo above baby’s feet were crossed at the ankles.  How sweet is that!  And funny too because Phoenix often sits in that position. 

This is probably my favorite picture though, what a great profile!  It never ceases to amaze me when I see pictures of my unborn children…just incredible that this totally unique little face is growing inside of me right this minute. 

So the purpose of this first trimester screening is to check for Down’s Syndrome and the Trisomies.  I’ve never done this particular test before as I never felt it would affect my decision regarding the pregnancy, but this time I honestly just wanted an earlier ultrasound to have a sneak peek at the baby.  Ironically, the baby is measuring almost a whole 1.5 weeks ahead of schedule so the measurements they needed to complete the screening couldn’t be taken anyway.  So, in effect, it ended up being an ultrasound “for nothing”, except my own peace of mind and delight.  I am not surprised at all that baby is measuring big for dates considering the genetics at play here, so my due date isn’t changing at all! 

It ended up being just a very special moment…Zion came with me and it was his first ultrasound he’s ever seen.  He was so curious beforehand what it was going to be like.  He was convinced that somehow we were going to actually travel inside my belly and see the baby firsthand.  He kept asking me “How are we going to know which way to go?  How are we going to get in there?”  Apparently someone has been reading too many Magic School Bus books! :-) 

Since the baby was measuring so big, the technician humored me and gave her best guess at the sex.  She seemed fairly convinced of her accuracy, but I’m going to wait till my 18 week ultrasound on July 6th to make the big announcement!