Howeberry

From adulthood to parenthood, or something like that…

Aug 20

Growth Ultrasound: 1 of 3

by Lisa

Early Monday morning we had our first growth ultrasound. There will be two more of these per doctor’s orders due to the low PAPP-A protein I talked about here. They also took a look at the placenta to see if it had moved since the last ultrasound.

This visit was pretty uneventful and the technician said everything looked great. Baby was was active, probably because of the cereal I ate before heading to the 7:30 AM appointment. Heart rate was 140 beats per minute. The placenta had moved as they said it usually does. And Howeberry is an average 2 pounds 3 ounces, and growing (feels like my tummy grows a little every day). I’m optimistic this means the low protein is not causing a “growth disturbance.”

We have our next doctors appointment on Monday, so maybe they’ll clarify and confirm what the technician told us during the ultrasound.

Now for the the fun stuff:

Baby feet

Meet Howeberry!

The swirly thing floating in front of baby's face is the umbilical cord.

Isn't the clarity amazing?!

Baby’s really looking like a baby person now, with unique features and everything! I’m really excited to see how close Howeberry will look to these 3D images, and what features baby inherited from Jason and me. I know baby will be much bigger when baby’s born, but there are two more ultrasounds scheduled to compare these images to.

2nd Trimester

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Jul 23

Second Trimester Ultrasound

by Lisa

So far so good.

Two weeks ago we had our second ultrasound. This was about an hour long and half the exam was the technician taking images of Howeberry’s heart. This seemed like a rather tricky procedure since Howeberry was very comfortably sleeping and not moving when the tech would prod my tummy to try to enlist a reaction and roll over of baby. And after asking me to get up and move around (and baby still not moving – traits I’m sure baby gets from both Mom & Dad), the tech was finally to get that last image of the fourth heart chamber.

Only concern brought up by the ultrasound technician is that the placenta appeared to be about 1 centimeter from my cervix. The fully expect it’ll move as baby progresses, but would be more comfortable if it were 2 centimeters away. Asking what this could mean, she said it could mean c-section at birth – you don’t want the placenta blocking baby from exiting. She did say she’d make a note of it to be checked at my next ultrasound. And emphasized it’s nothing to worry about at this point.

At today’s check up with the doctor, they were very happy with what they saw. Baby is healthy and developing beautifully! Excellent news!

We also asked some questions at today’s appointment and I’ll list them here in Q/A format, mostly for my own memory’s sake.

  • Q:  When is it advised that I shouldn’t travel by air?
  • A:  At about 32 weeks. And if you do, be sure to move around, go for a walk, every 1.5 hours or so.
  • Q:  Can I travel 5 hours by car about 1 month before?
  • A:  Let’s see how you’re doing when we get there. Maybe schedule a check up to see if you’re dilated before traveling. And consider the risks of going into labor while on travel.
  • Q:  At this point, what’s the deal on sleeping positions? I keep waking to find myself on my back.
  • A:  You’re almost to the point where you shouldn’t sleep on your back, but sleeping on your side just means having one butt cheek up. So laying one leg across the other to get that inch or so of lift counts.
  • Q:  When should I stop working before baby’s born?
  • A:  When you start to feel uncomfortable, usually about 2-4 weeks before the due date. Suggest taking some time rather than working up to your due date, because it’s time you won’t be able to get back later.

Now for the fun stuff…

Baby's looking rather cute

It's a foot

PS – We want to be surprised!

2nd Trimester

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May 22

Lookin’ like a baby!

by Lisa

On Friday, May 14 we had our First Trimester Screening. This is used to determine our risk for Down Syndrome and Trisomy, a more serious genetic defect. This test is done between week 11 and 13.6 weeks.

The risk of Down Syndrome based on my age (25) and their averages is 1 in 965. Per my blood work and my age, our risk of Down Syndrome decreased to 1 in 2,917. Using the same guidelines for Trisomy, our risk pre-test was 1 in 1,822 and dropped to 1 in greater than 10,000. Essentially dropping in both categories to that of a 20-year-old. The doctor at the ultrasound clinic essentially said we statistically do not need to worry about either condition.

From the ultrasound, they scanned for nuchal translucency. This is a visual scan for chance of genetic defects that looks at fluid at the back of baby’s neck. The ultrasound tech said Howeberry’s was “nice and thin,” which is a good thing. I’m starting to confuse where I read or heard information, if you’d like to learn more Wikipedia has a pretty nice summary about this screening.

The only potentional cause for concern is my low marker for PAPP-A. First, what the heck is this?! PAPP-A stands for Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein A. This was determined from my blood work and the marker is showing low, in the 5th percentile. But what does this mean? Per the clinic doctor, this could mean increased chance of “Growth Disturbance” in the 3rd trimester. Again, what?!  She explained this could mean for low birth-weight, potentially leading to bed-rest for me. But for now they’re suggesting 3 screenings in the 3rd trimester and, essentially, we’ll cross that bridge if we get there. But, she said, they usually find this issue resolves itself and moms with this low marker have healthy babies. So we’ll ask our doctor more about this at our next appointment.

At the time of the ultrasound, I was 13 weeks, 1 day. Howeberry’s heart rate was about 145 beats per minute.

Now for the fun stuff – PICTURES!!

Howeberry is 13 weeks 2 days based on length of 7.13 centimeters/2.8 inches head to rump.

Howeberry feet! Baby's sitting "indian style" so you see leg too.

Practicing tongue movements!

Looking like a baby!

1st Trimester

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