NT Scan Update

Friday we had our NT scan.  This is a more detailed ultrasound where they are checking to make sure that there aren't any signs of neural tube defects, or any soft markers for chromosomal abnormalities like Down's Syndrome.  They look at Baby's spine, the thickness of the skin at the back of the neck, the nasal bone and the brain.  The also take measurements of the other parts of Baby's body. 

So Friday morning Mom came down for my appointment.  We went to Swedish, tracked down a wheelchair for Mom and found the ultrasound office.  They got us back pretty quickly and found Baby immediately.  Our little one's heart as beating at 159 bpm, nasal bone was present, brain and spine looked good, and the skin thickness was 1.6 (I believe you want the measurement to be less than 3).  Baby was bouncing around and waving.  It started with it's legs crossed, but then began kicking them out, looking a little like a frog.  The ultrasound tech loved our little one and took lots of pictures.  She was thrilled that she got to see each of Baby's fingers, and loved the kicking Baby was doing.  She also had a guess as far as gender, but we are going to keep that under our hats for the time being as it is way too early to be accurate.

After the ultrasound, I met with a woman who is working on a study at Swedish.  They are trying to determine factors that make certain women more at risk for pre-eclampsia, looking specifically at women who have had migraines.  She went over the study with me and then met me at my OB's office to do a blood draw.  We stopped for lunch, and then went up to the OB's office. 

Mom got to meet Dr J, which was great.  I had told Mom so much about it, I'm sure it was nice to match a face to a name.  We went over my list of questions and because we had just had an ultrasound, Dr J didn't use the doppler.  She said that she couldn't give me the official results of the NT scan because they had to also look at blood work that was taken that day and then would be taken again at 15 weeks, but she thought it all looked good.  She is also going to have me come in an do an early glucose tolerance test at 15 weeks when I come back for the other blood draw.  And she gave me a prescription for physical therapy for my back since insurance won't cover massage therapy.  She went over my operative report from my uterine surgery in 2004 and said she doesn't think there is a reason why I would need to have a C section, but she is going to double check with some of the perinatal guys to see what they think.  Finally, she warned me that I will be on the Lovenox for 6 weeks after delivery, which means I won't be able to have my reconstruction until my blood goes back to normal after going off the Lovenox.  Overall, it was a pretty good appointment.

We got back home and Mom was wiped out.  She hasn't been feeling well (can't seem to hold any food down), so she asked if we could drive her home.  Once R got off work, we stopped and got gyros and then took Mom home.  Since we were in the neighborhood, we also stopped to visit with R's mom and daughter.  We had a nice chat, but didn't get home until almost 3:00 am.  Man, was I wiped out!  It ended up being quite the big day.  Without further ado, here are the latest pictures of our baby:

Baby waving at the camera.

Baby crossing it's legs.

Baby kicking its legs out like a frog.

- J