12 weeks

Well, if how the baby acts during the ultrasound is any indication, we have a very stubborn baby who isn't going to do what people want. We went for an ultrasound at 11 weeks 2 days (measured 11 weeks 5 days- 50 mm long) and although the technician spent a long time and then the doctor came in and tried, the baby just would not move into the right position to get the measurement for the NT scan. The NT scan tests, among other things, for down's syndrome. It's a screening, so you don't get a yes/no, you get a high/low risk. We honestly don't care about the genetic portion; we just wanted to see our baby again. But it's the only way insurance covers this one. So the baby was in the wrong position, looked all cute and cuddly, and didn't want to move. They had me try coughing, which did get the baby to move and the baby would go to the right position but move around so much that they couldn't get a screen shot for the measurement. So the baby would move back to where s/he had been, and settle down and go to sleep. Silly baby.

After the doctor tried, I asked if walking would help. (After awhile the baby even was ignoring me coughing.) They said probably not but we'll leave for 5 minutes. I walked, jumped, did jumping jacks, and poked my belly while doing all of those, hoping it would help. Nope. So they told us to reschedule and come back.

You can see the lines of the fingers, above the nose/mouth. (The head is to the left and body is to the right.)

At 11 weeks 5 days we went back AGAIN, got the same technician AGAIN (she was really nice so no complaints there) and the baby was stubborn again! The head was swapped so the baby was lying in the opposite position, and actually in the right position but they needed the chin up just a little little bit. She tried and took several pictures but the doctor said that it wasn't good enough. So someone else came in and tried and sat there for quite awhile. The baby had hiccups, kept moving his/her hands around, and it looked like even hit him/herself in the face once. So cute! And at one point the baby moved around so the head was on the other side. In the meantime, the doctor/technician was trying all different angles to get a measurement. Eventually she asked the technician to see if any of the pictures were good enough but she wasn't sure so she even kept the wand out waiting to see. But the technician came in and said yep, got one! So yay, Dave and I didn't have to come back again. Although it was so nice seeing the baby again. The baby measured 53mm, although that's approximate, and put it around 12 weeks. We also got 4 additional pictures! I wish we had brought another DVD for a video. (We got a video from the first NT ultrasound but it's probably pretty boring for anyone else to watch).

Dave says it looks like I'm sucking in my gut, but I think that's because I'm getting a little bump below my belly button!

 

How many weeks: 12

Size of baby: A plum and measures 5-6 cm or 2.0-2.4 inches. The baby also weights 14 grams or about 0.5 ounces. Our baby seems to be right on track- measured 5 cm and 5.3 cm throughout the week.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm finally eating some more food (still not better for me) and I'm up 1 pound. So overall that puts me down 0.5 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Nope, not close yet- although all my weekly updates say I should be more comfortable in looser clothing.  I haven't really noticed any issue with my clothes but I can still feel the hard spot and it's getting bigger so... we'll see how long it takes for my current clothes to be tight. 

Gender: I'm adding this back at least for this week. Early on I had a dream it was a girl. But with these ultrasounds I'm almost saying he/him and Dave seems to be referring to the baby as him. We both hate saying "it". So... does that mean boy? I'd really like to know but I think it's going to be fun guessing until we can find out at the anatomy scan.

Sleep: Are ultrasounds supposed to make you tired? If not, there's something wrong with me. ;) Saturday after the ultrasound and blood draw I was just so tired it wasn't even funny. Same thing on Tuesday after the ultrasound. I am really liking naps right now. I'm not getting up to pee as much in the middle of the night. Maybe I'm getting the knack of when to stop drinking so I don't have to pee in the middle of the night! Or maybe I'm just really tired. Some nights I still wake up around 3-4am but recently every few nights I'm actually sleeping straight until the alarm goes off.

What I miss: Still just beer and especially wine. I would love to curl up with a glass of wine right now. 


Cravings: Not really anything. I still tend to eat pizza and ice cream. 

Aversions: I'm hoping that the aversion to meat is going away.  I had a cheeseburger from McDonald's and it wasn't unpalatable. So we'll see. I told Dave I'm afraid to have him grill because I don't want to throw out a burger he made if I do still have aversions.

Symptoms: I still get really light headed, really easily. I left practice early because it was hot and I was feeling light headed. I lean against things when I stand up just to make sure I won't fall over.

Best moment this week: The two ultrasounds. The baby just looks so cuddly and I really can't wait to hold him/her in my arms. And I think I got spoiled this week with two ultrasounds. When can I have my next one? ;) 

Looking forward to: Hopefully some more energy in the weeks to come! We are going to a Batman thing at the Toonseum on Saturday and then church on Sunday and I'm hoping I won't be exhausted.