19 Weeks: Anatomy Scan and Baby Kicks

Since I've decided to wake up for no reason at 4:45 in the morning today, I figured I'd write my blog post for this week.

On Monday, we had our genetic counseling and anatomy scan. I was super excited to get to see the baby again, since every time I can see him, I feel like it is becoming realer and realer.

First, we had genetic counseling, due to the anti-depressant medication that I am on. The counselor assured me that at my hospital, they have yet to have a baby born with complications due to a mother taking this medicine, and that in general, scientific studies don't show any complications either. It was very reassuring to hear this, especially since OBs are quick to jump down one's throat about continuing anti-depressants through pregnancy, mostly because they don't really know the background of the medication, just the class of the medication. While I have been assured by my psychiatrist and my RE that it wouldn't be a problem, it was nice to hear it from another medical professional.

Next, we had the actual scan. This is the scan where they look at all of the baby's major parts and organs to assure they are growing correctly. It is also usually when gender is revealed. For the most part, the baby was cooperative, except for the fact that he was VERY wiggly and was moving around everywhere, so the sonographer had to chase him down with the doppler to keep up with him. Everything looked okay, and he is still very much a boy. They couldn't get a good look at his heart because he wouldn't stay still long enough, so we have to go back again in three weeks to get another scan done to check on his heart.

Here's a picture of the boy sticking his tongue out because he's already a brat. <3

Speaking of moving around a lot, I've been trying to get my husband to feel the baby moving, since I started to feel him from the outside a week or so ago. This is not as easy as it sounds. First off, the baby is still small (he's 8 ounces according to the last scan!), so you sort of have to press down on my abdomen to be able to feel him from the outside. Pressing on my stomach freaks my husband out, so the first few times I tried to get him to feel, he'd freak out after about thirty seconds and give up. And anyone who has ever been pregnant or around a pregnant woman at this stage knows that that the baby doesn't move around all the time, so you have to keep your hand there for a little bit and wait.

I explained this to the husband and told him to be more patient, but my husband is not a patient man. I so desperately wanted him to feel the baby and be a part of this. I feel so selfish being the only one who can experience the baby rolling about and kicking me. So, I tried again last night while we were watching TV, but, as soon as I sat next to him to get him to feel, the baby stopped moving again. That, or  he moves up too far in my uterus so I can't feel him as much since I'm a fluffy girl. :P For the most part, he stays down low in my pelvis, which is when I can feel him from the outside. Sometimes, I can even feel where his little body is from the outside, and last night, I put B's hand on the left side of my pelvis, where baby usually hangs out and had him press down because you can feel the hard little bump of a baby. That freaked him out. Of course, he says something ridiculous like, "I can't tell if that's the baby or your guts."

As we were going to bed last night, I started to feel the baby getting ready to roll over. The rolling sensation is the strangest sensation of them all. So, I grabbed B's hand and pressed it down on my pelvis and told him to wait. We waited for about a minute before the baby firmly gave a kick or two, and I know that my husband felt it that time because I could feel it with my hand being on his, and because of the shocked, lingering silence to follow.

I laughed and asked him if it is not the coolest thing ever. And the first thing he says from this shocked silence? "Well, that could have been gas or something."

...what?

I assured him that it wasn't gas. I think, though, that the half a second of a moment was just so surreal that my emotionless husband didn't know how to process the emotion. I am glad that the baby cooperated with me, for once, and was able to let his daddy feel him for the first time. This experience just keeps getting better and better. :)