Ultrasounds. I love them.

Between weeks 5 and 13 I had 5 ultrasounds at my Nashville clinic.It was such an incredible experience to watch my little one grow! Then, when I transferred to my OB a little before my 15th week, I got to see my little man and then again at 16 weeks. Needless to say, I was a little spoiled. Most pregnant ladies only have 5 ultrasounds total for their entire pregnancy!

Week 16. That was the last time I saw my baby boy before our anatomy scan ultrasound, which took place this time last week. The anatomy scan ultrasound lasts about an hour long, looks at every organ in baby’s body to make sure things are developing correctly, and takes place between the 20th and 22nd week. Due to insurance issues, we were forced to wait until our 22nd week (YES, yesterday marked the 23rd week!!!), and I was more than ready to see how much he’d grown in 6 weeks!

Although a major ultrasound, I didn’t feel like someone HAD to be with me, but my mom felt differently and insisted that she go with me if Neil couldn’t. I didn’t care either way but when we found out that Neil was off work and could go with me, my mom was more than relived that she didn’t have to go. She said she didn’t want me to go by myself but was glad that it didn’t have to be her because she was already nervous about the appointment. I hadn’t even thought about being nervous about it until she said that.

We arrived at the appointment early Monday morning and thankfully didn’t have to wait long before they called us back. Laying on the table, I prayed silently. I felt certain our baby was perfect, I felt peaceful, but as the saying goes – you never think it’ll happen to you.

The technician explained that she would start from the brain and work her way down, but ending with his little hands – which contains markers for Down Syndrome. Halfway through scanning his brain, she asked if we’d have any genetic testing done (for Down’s and Spina Bifida, etc). When I said no, she said that she didn’t see anything in my chart but sometimes they forget to send it down. She was silent for a minute before I pushed further into her question, would she tell us if she saw any markers on the ultrasound? She said that if everything looked fine, she would say so at the end of the ultrasound but unfortunately, no, she would have to send her findings onto the Dr and then the Dr would talk to us. Oy.

I’m an inpatient person and I suddenly realized why my mom didn’t want to be there for the appointment. When the technician moved on to his heart she became more vocal with what she was looking for and what she was finding. Then she did the same thing for all his other organs. All good, no, great things! All the great news was overshadowed, however, by the fact that she still hadn’t said ANYTHING about his brain and when she moved on to the last thing – his hands – she told us that she had to see him open and close his hands before we could end the session. NOT opening his hands was a marker for Down’s. When he finally opened his hands, she declared OK all done! She sent the information on to the Dr while I emptied my bladder and when I returned she FINALLY gave us and him the all clear! She said everything looks great and the Dr agreed!

I felt a wave of relief wash over me and I looked at Neil and knew he was feeling the same. Our little boy is completely healthy PLUS he’s right on target for length and weight! And I am a happy little momma 🙂