It's a ....

From the last appointment: the quad screening (down syndrome, tay sachs, ect.) all came back negative which is great. The OB was very pleased with the blood work!

We had our comprehensive ultrasound on Monday, November 17th and the name says it all. We had to have a 3D/4D ultrasound because Cortney's brother was born with a Ventricular Septum Defect which basically means he had a hole in is heart. The doctors wanted to monitor the progress of the heart so we got to see everything ... and we mean everything ... growing inside the baby.

The ultrasound started with the skull, onto the structure of the brain, down through the face, the heart (most time was spent here), the stomach, kidneys, hands, feet, lengths of arms and legs, and then on to the gender. The baby moved around so much so the nurse had some troubles keeping the baby still to find the gender. Then the baby moved just right and she said "I can tell the gender, would you like to know?" We said yes and she started typing on the screen ... IT'S A GIRL!!!

After the ultrasound the nurse said the baby looked great! She has all of her fingers, toes, her brain and all of the other organs are growing at the rates they should. The doctor then came in and told us we should probably have an echocardiogram around 24 weeks to monitor the heart again. Right now, at 18 weeks, the baby's heart is the size of a nickel so it is hard to tell if there are any small problems going on. From the ultrasound yesterday the doctor says he doesn't see anything major happening but scheduled the echocardiogram just to be safe.

Just so you can scale the size of the baby:

Week 18:Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.

We have another appointment with our OB on December 2nd for a regular check up and then the echocardiogram on December 30th. We will keep you all updated on the progress of the heart. But for now enjoy the awesome pictures we got from the ultrasound!!

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Leg

Hand