Maternal Fetal #2

We had our second visit to Maternal Fetal today.  I get so excited for these visits but so nervous too!  Part of me feels like I'm just waiting for something bad to happen.  But I know that's no way to go through this pregnancy or life in general.  This appointment definitely helped ease my mind.  :)  We saw Dr. Gross today.  They did a very detailed sono w/ dopplers to monitor the blood flow (due to my Rh negativity).  She spent what felt like forever on her brain and heart.  It's so hard sometimes because you can't see the screen very well  (even if I could, I don't know what the heck I'm looking at).  And the sono techs just tell you in general where they are, but they leave it to the doctor to say much of anything.  But Dr. Gross came in after and said that all looks good!!  The cysts that they saw previously are gone.  :)  He explained that while those can be a soft marker, the heart is considered a hard marker.  And her heart looked perfect!  He reported:  heart normal, kidneys normal, umbilical cord flow normal, amniotic fluid normal, measurements all normal!  What a huge relief!  She's already a big part of our family and I just want her to be healthy and get here safely!

Her heartbeat was 144.  I'm 22w1d and she's measuring 23w1d (which Dr. Gross said is perfectly normal).  Her arms and legs are measuring long (24w) so he thinks she'll be tall.  She's already weighing in at a whopping 1 lb. 5 oz.!!  Grow baby grow!  ;)

They also checked my cervix while I was there.  One of the "risks" due to my uterus shape is preterm labor.  During their routine questions, we discussed that I've been having occasional contractions (nothing regular at all) (and have been since the first trimester).  I've also had some "pressure".  Both I assumed were no big deal.  She agreed that it's likely normal but they decided to go ahead and check my cervix length while I was there.  It measured at over 4 cm., so very good!  I was surprised, but Dr. Gross is sending in an order to my regular OB to have a cervix check every 4 weeks for the remainder of my pregnancy.  He said I'm not "super high-risk"  :), but preterm labor can come on with women who have no risk at all, so he'd feel best if it was checked due to my slightly elevated risk.  I won't complain though!  I can have it done at my regular checkups and it will be nice just to make sure that there are no issues. 

She wasn't very cooperative during the 3D/4D pics, but here's what we were able to get today!

She's still a girl - whew!

Hard to tell, but she's got her leg all the way up to her face.  She's grabbing her foot w/ her left hand and pressing her lips to her knee!  She's a flexible little one!

Dr. Gross also got a picture at the end of her yawning!  It's kind of hard to tell, but it's her mouth wide open.  The top part of her face is cut off, but you can see her full mouth open with her little chin at the bottom.  :)  He seemed almost excited to capture the shot.  The serious doctor in him though was quick to point out that it was also good because it shows that her lips are normal w/ no cleft lip/palate.  Thanks Dr.!