This morning Ryan and I went to my rescheduled OB appointment with renewed hopes. We sat in the car, said a little prayer that we would learn something new about our little growing baby... and then went inside.
First let me comment on the weight-gain factor. According to my scale at home, which I weigh myself on every morning, I have gained only 4-5 pounds above my prepregnancy weight. But per the doctor's scale, it says I've gained a whopping 4 pounds since my last visit 3 weeks ago, with a total gain of 6 pounds. Let's note here for a minute that my doctor is a petite asian woman, soft spoken, and very kind. But she went as far as to verbalize the noted weight gain and mention that in the first 20 weeks, the weight gain should stay within 5 pounds. Yikes. I have 3 weeks to go and food tastes so much better and I'm HUNGRY. Does that count for anything? Plus, the change in the size of my chest alone should give me some grace-poundage, don't ya think? That's what I say, at least.
Secondly, she spent a considerable amount of time with the ultrasound (at least 15-20 minutes), checking anatomy measurements (which all measured well), and looking for gender cues. Let me say this much: We aren't certain about the gender still, as the telltale "3 lines" weren't visible yet, but she said she's 90% sure it is a girl. A GIRL!!!! We are so excited!!! And my mom... let's not even go there. From what I could tell, she's already started buying girl clothes for the baby and that was before she got the news. I, on the other hand, have decided to wait until we are more sure in another month before buying any of those adorable newborn girl clothes, just in case.
Anyhow, we have another ultrasound/appointment scheduled in 4 weeks to recheck the anatomy (because she wants to make sure the heart has all 4 chambers, since it was difficult to clearly see that today as well - so keep that in your prayers!) and she said she'd check again on the gender to see if we can see more.
One of the things she thought was that the baby's cord was draped between the legs in a way that made it hard to see clearly, plus the legs were crossed a bit (if it's really a girl, at least she was modest from the start). But the news we are taking from today is this: we are 90% sure it's a girl.
That, my friends, is worth celebrating. Now if I could only justify a bowl of ice cream right now...
Note: After letting all this sink in more, and with a scientist for a husband, I've been convinced that the absense of data isn't proof of a girl itself. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic.
Labels: baby, pregnancy, ultrasound
