U/S, Info and a Plan

I loved your comments to my last post about baby names. Glad to hear it's not just me! So I'll divulge a little more. My DH seems bent on either naming the baby after his own family nationality (Dutch) or after his heroes. Thus, I'm getting "Henrick" "Kleef" "Eugenius" "Steve McQueen" and "Jim Rockford" tossed my way.

Uh, that would be a no x 5.

In more happy news, yesterday was my final Delestrogen shot! Yay. My DH said he'll miss giving them to me. Yeah, buddy, thanks. Next week I'll finish up with the progesterone and then the baby aspirin.

Of course this all presumed the baby was still alive in there. I often still have doubts.

Today I had an NT scan. That's the test where they measure the width or thickness of fluid in the back of the baby's neck. A measurement greater than a certain number is a possible indicator of Down's Syndrome or trisomy 18. They use the number in combination with some other blood work results to give you an "odds" determination. I know my egg donor was only 21, but I'm a fact and information glutton. Must know.

My DH met me at the doctor's office. He hasn't seen an U/S in about a month, so I think he was excited to see the progress. I was first dumbfounded then thrilled with the tech told me to lie down on the table (don't I need to remove some clothing first?) and just unzip my pants. My first abdominal ultrasound!

No, my husband didn't stand or sit next to me, holding and squeezing my hand. He was standing toward the foot of the table, gazing intently at the big screen on the opposite wall. Watching the baby.

The tech was proficient and described everything. There's the heartbeat (159!). There's a hand. There's a foot. There's the other foot. That's the stomach. There's the heart (could even see chambers and blood flow!). There's the bladder. There's the brain. That's where the umbilical cord attaches to the placenta. She made the measurements and gave us a strip of 12 pictures when we were done!

Okay, the funniest thing was that the baby...well, it seems he is a break dancer. Or a popper or hopper or whatever they call them (I'm so out of touch). Lying flat on its back, it literally lifted upward, arched its back, and plopped back down. Twice.

Yes, I cried for a minute when the baby lifted its hand to its mouth. And what long legs! It even has a nose. Can you imagine?! A nose! Okay, every little thing is a miracle to me.

Here are the two best shots (in the second photo, the baby is not blowing a bubble, that's its hand!):





Based on the current risk assessment, as compared with the risk of miscarriage from CVS testing, I think we're just going to wait and do the second trimester blood test screening and go from there. I just have a gut feeling that things are fine and I see no reason to go digging around in there right now.

I also thought of a way to tell our news to close friends and family. I want to start on the project this weekend. My plan is to draw a little comic book. It will start with the donor parents who wanted a baby. How they went through IVF, successfully. How they wanted to help another infertile couple. How we were the lucky recipients. I'll cover the tests, the meds, the transfer, the wait. The BFP! And it will end with pictures of our u/s's. I figure this way, many of the questions will be answered and everyone will get a big picture of how it all worked. Once I get it done, I'll post some of the pictures that I draw for it.
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