All About the Baby

Yesterday I had an OB appointment. First we had the ultrasound and then the checkup. They normally don't do ultrasounds this often, but they wanted to see if the placenta had "migrated" (gross sounding, I know - but that's really the term they used) up and off of my cervix.

Now, as horrible as this may sound, the only part about placenta previa (and it was partial, at that) that was bothering me was the pelvic rest part and not being able to use dryer sheets and the like. But I followed the rules because, of course, I love my little baby and didn't want her to show up too early because I was being selfish about my own wants. But I figured that I was used to it at this point, and I am not opposed to a C-section (I think I rather prefer one - I am terrified to go through the vaginal birth again!). So I wasn't really feeling one way or the other about it.

Well, EG and Karlee came with me so they could see the little one too, not that Karlee really gets it, but it was nice to have her there. Let me start off by saying that our ultrasound tech is awesome! She always chats with EG and seems to remember us and like us. There, they don't do 3D/4D ultrasounds unless it is medically necessary or if you pay for it in advance, and then it's just for fun. We were hoping to do that later (you aren't supposed to schedule one until you're at least 28 weeks along - I'm 25 weeks). So I wasn't expecting anything like that anyway. The baby has been developing nicely and they can check the placenta with regular ultrasound (usually they use the internal ultrasound thing to see that part). So she lubed my belly up and measured all the baby's parts, then took the time to show us different parts (and her girl parts - she was like, "Oh yeah, that's definitely a girl!"), and we watched the baby squirm around. The baby is head down now, by the way. EG was asking some questions about the baby and she said, "Well, this isn't really for the baby, it's just to see if the placenta has been pulled away from the cervix or not." But she still printed out a few pictures for us of the baby anyway. Then she said, "I just want to see something..." and pulled up the 3D/4D thing. We were so surprised! Of course, the little one had BOTH of her arms in an X shape up over her face at that point. I got a glimpse of her eye, cheeks, and chin. Just a little of her mouth. The tech tried a few times to see if she would move her arms, but she wouldn't (the little stinker!). So then she tried to show me the baby's feet, but she said the baby has to be just in the right position and she wasn't in the greatest position at that point. But we thought it was awesome that she took the time to show us.

When Karlee was going to be born, their 3D/4D equipment was new and they hadn't really used it yet. So she "practiced" on Karlee and we got some awesome photos of her - all for free! She must like us or something! :)

So anyway, the real reason we were there, like I said, was about the placenta. It did move off of the cervix. Though it is still low lying, the midwife said that I could have a vaginal birth at this point. I still have to have it checked because it is so low (it's only by a centimeter or two that it's off of the cervix, and they'd be happier if it moved away more), so that means at least one more ultrasound in four weeks! :) I don't mind that at all. It's insane - I have that appointment and then I have to start coming every TWO weeks! Time is flying by.

Some things that were cute about the ultrasound - the baby has biceps! We got a good shot of those. She also likes to suck on her hand, which was really cute. She really stretches her legs out too. She's been doing that a lot for the past few ultrasounds. Her profile is the cutest! She has a cute little button nose. Her mouth looks like it could look like Karlee's. She looks chubby to me too.

After the ultrasound, my checkup with the midwife went well. I was complaining about how much my pelvis hurts - sometimes EG has to help me get up the stairs or get into bed. She said that I'll just have to hang in there - my bones are softening and my pelvis is spreading, so sometimes it can be quite painful. I know I didn't have this problem with Karlee. It really hurts to lift my legs or seperate them sometimes. I've checked online and saw that there was actually a name (something syndrome) for it, but again, there isn't much you can do. The midwife told me to maybe get a belly support and that might help. I think it might. Anyway, the baby's heartrate is about 150 and she kicked the midwife so hard that the midwife laughed and said she felt that! EG has yet to feel her - she just clams up when he tries to feel her move! She was making all sorts of noises with that doppler - moving and kicking along with her heartrate.

We are really contemplating a name - Nadia Isabella or Nadja Isabella (we haven't decided whether we want it to be extra Russian sounding or not). I make no guarantees with this name - there are other ones that we like too, but EG seems very satisfied with Nadia/Nadja (Isabella is a compromise - I love it but he's not the most fond of it). So we'll see...