18 Week Ultrasound

 

Monday morning started out (early!) with our 18.5 week ultrasound. My doc intended to schedule it for 20 weeks, but somehow I ended up on the table at just under 19. No worries, we saw what we were hoping to see anyway. (But I'm going to make you wait until the bottom of the post to find out!) 

This scan was longer than any of the four I had with Lorien. I think it lasted about 45 minutes, and I loved every minute of it. Love watching this little one from every angle. This first picture is probably my favorite, because Lorien sleeps like this too: on her belly with her bottom in the air. We call it "turtle mode." So cute to see it in utero. 

So far it looks like everything is healthy. Lorien had two fairly common abnormalities with her umbilical cord: marginal cord insertion (cord attached to placenta near the end instead of in the middle) and a two vessel cord (instead of the normal three). The primary risk with both of these is slow growth rates, but clearly that wasn't an issue, since she was 9 lbs. 6 oz. at birth. :) All that to say: Baby #2 shows just the marginal insertion, but has all three cord vessels.

This one is also measuring about 4 days ahead of the due date I had calculated, and I don't think that means I'm wrong. I think that means I have another big baby. My doc assured me that we can do another ultrasound around 36 weeks to see what size baby we're really dealing with here, since all early indications were that Lorien would be around 7.5 pounds. That made me feel better.

And finally...the handsome profile. Yes, IT'S A BOY! He didn't let us see the evidence until almost all the way through the 45-minute scan, but once he did, it was pretty clear.

Josh was trying hard to be impartial about the gender during the ultrasound, but admitted afterward to praying for a boy. We are both very excited!