Ultrasound Results

I love and respect my midwives, but I am so happy to report that Helen was proven wrong today at the ultrasound appointment. I am so glad she wished to be proactive and preventative in requesting the ultrasound, but oh so glad her gut feeling was just off yesterday. And I guess it is not really fair to say she was wrong, as she did tell me that she thought there was a good chance we were having that conversation for no reason, but, as I said, it was still somewhat anxiety-inducing, and I am happy to say that both Jarrett and I are totally relieved this afternoon.

Jarrett and I went to the appointment prepared like Boy Scouts today. Our packed hospital bags were in the car. We had our cameras, the iPad, the birth plan, extra pillows. Toiletries and snacks were packed. We took Elsa's car seat out of the car and left it in the house with the stroller after dropping her off this morning at playgroup. I had contacted Kate and let her know where things were if we were for some reason sent directly to the hospital. But thankfully we will be unpacking our toothbrushes and razors this evening.

The ultrasound technician took quite a bit of time rolling her wand around on my jellied belly, taking various measurements, as Jarrett and I stared at a screen of all baby. The technician made a comment that there was not much room in there anymore and that seeing the baby at this point was not all that much fun, and she was right about that. I think all we could truly make out were the spine, ribs, and the beating heart. She did point out the kidneys and the baby's belly and its head, but the head was so far down that you really could not make out much of anything. In fact, the head was down far enough that she was really having trouble getting measurements, so she brought in a fellow technician to help her out. I was glad for the help, as the first technician was somewhat soft spoken and was not really giving much narrative while conducting the ultrasound, whereas the second technician was saying how picture perfect all of our baby's organs looked, and that it was rare to be able to get such great shots of the baby. She also told us the amniotic fluid looked to be just fine. Yay!

After the ultrasound, I was taken into another room that had various curtained-off areas, each one containing a very comfy recliner-like chair. I laid back in the chair, and the technician strapped on both a fetal heart rate monitor and another monitor that tracked contractions. I was also given a little push-button device (what I imagine you would hold as a contestant on Jeopardy) to press whenever I felt the baby move. I reclined there for about 15 minutes or so, and at first the baby was not moving much, so the technician came in at some point and tried a little buzzer device on the surface of my belly, which I guess the baby was supposed to react to -- and she said they usually react to the noise of it more than the feel. I did not want to disappoint her and tell her that this baby is probably so used to the horrendously loud sound of our poor-working blender that this little buzzer likely did not phase the child. It was not until I drank some water that she really started moving. I also had a couple of contractions while laying there. All of this was to see how the baby reacted under stress, and it did completely fine.

We met with the physician's assistant next after a little waiting, and she went over some of the ultrasound pictures with us, as well as all of the measurements and results. The baby is measuring pretty much right in alignment with the September 10 due date. Today is 38 weeks, 5 days, according to the due date, and the baby was measuring 38 weeks, 3 days. They are also estimating that she is somewhere around 7 pounds, 9 ounces, though I know not to really count on that measurement. I have heard of ultrasounds being completely off on the weight measurement many a time. Also, there were five categories they were looking at when "grading" the baby throughout all of the tests (of which, of course, I cannot remember specifically), and she could earn a total of zero to two points in each category. Our baby scored a perfect ten today, which was wonderful news. Everything looks perfectly okay.

So I am totally relieved. We really are ready to meet this little girl, but I am so happy to let things continue to take their natural course and let her enter this world when she is good and ready. So let the waiting continue! I have a feeling she will be here soon enough.