Three Months Down - Seven to Go

We went for our ever-so important Nuchal Translucency (NT) Scan today.  Basically it is an ultrasound where they look at the fluid under the skin in the back of the baby’s neck.  This will assess the likelihood of the baby having Down’s Syndrome.  This test is done soon after 12 weeks.  They won’t be able to tell us for sure either way, just a percentage as to the chances of it developing Down’s.  The nurse told us that they would be concerned if it was over 2.5 mm, and that normal is around 1mm – 1.5mm. 

We got to the hospital right on time and had to wait for only 15 minutes, but don’t tell that to Heather’s bladder!  I can’t say I can completely relate to Heather’s experience.  I mean I don’t think I’ve ever had to drink a gallon of water and then have somebody poke and push on my stomach for 40+ minutes.  It must have felt awful!  But I was in such awe with our little guy dancing on the computer screen that, in my mind, it seemed to justify Heather’s discomfort.   And since this blog is named after my mind…  Well, sorry Heather, but because the little guy wouldn’t give us a perfect profile picture (what is needed to take the NT measurements) we were able to look at him/her for about 40 minutes. 

In that 40 minutes, we saw our unborn child turn, flip, wave, turn some more, and touch its head.  To see the our little guy move his hand like that and to its head had to be one of the cutest things I’ve seen.  Ok, I admit, that sounds cliché, but up until this touch of the head it has been a number, a percentage, a heartbeat, an ultrasound, a fetus, a “Teddy Bear.”  Now it was making human movements.  This really might have been the cutest thing I have ever seen. 

After a while the stubborn little guy gave the nurse a profile picture (see below) and allowed her to take a measurement of the fluid.  It measured at 1.01mm.  We are at 12 weeks 2 days.  We still have to hold our breaths for the next 8 weeks until the 20 week scan to see if everything is progressing as it should, but as of now everything is normal once again.


ps.  If you're reading this blog already, you obviously know already.  But we are starting our 2nd trimester, so please feel free to tell any friends or family of our pregnancy... if you want to.

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