Well boo...

We had our ultrasound on Friday afternoon.  We had it all planned out - I drank all 32 ounces of water an hour before the appointment.  I had some caffeine and some chocolate to get the little one moving so we could see all there was to see.  I even got out of work early so we were there way before we needed to be. 

We checked in and were taken into the ultrasound room about a half hour early.  There were two gals - a student and an on-call sonographer.  We've had a student for almost all of our doctors appointments so far, so when they asked if it was okay for a student to perform the ultrasound I didn't think twice about letting her.  BIG mistake! 

We were pretty much dummies in her classroom.  The student talked to the licensed sonographer quite a bit - asking questions and such, but she didn't talk to us much.  The screen was positioned so that I could hardly see it at all - so only Brian could see what she was looking at.  He said he could harldy tell what he was seeing either.  Now, we are no experts, but we've had 2 ultrasounds before and been able to tell what we were seeing.  This time - no such luck.  The student kept asking about level 2 measures and the sonographer kept telling her that wasn't necessary.  Finally the student handed the wand over to the licensed sonographer and told her she couldn't find the abdominal view she needed.  THe sonographer took one look and said "your bladder is full!  Do you need to go to the bathroom!?"  THANK YOU!  I ran to the bathroom and back (aw sweet relief) and the licensed sonographer when ahead and re-took all of the measures that the student had taken... I was getting suspicious, but was glad they were double checking.  Then she finally started showing us stuff.  Except, not really.  She showed us hands and feet, and told us a couple of times that 18 weeks is a really bad time to try to see the sex of the baby.  She took a look and said she thought maybe it was a boy, but the umbilical cord was between baby's legs, too, so she couldn't tell.  The student was certain there was no way of telling and putting doubt in everyones mind.  The sonographer checked a couple more times and sounded less and less convinced each time, but was still kind of saying boy.  By the time we left they were telling us not to start shopping or painting yet.  UGH! 

Now, I know that they can't always tell whether it's a boy or a girl.  I was CERTAIN the entire pregnancy that this was a girl, and now I think she's probably right that it was a boy, but I'll need more conclusive evidence before I start shopping for team blue.  

The later and later in the day it got, and the more people I talked to, the more gyped I felt!!  Everyone leaves their ultrasound with a "new" due date.  Dr. Curry had even told us to expect them to tell us one - and that he was not changing it no matter what they said.  They didn't comment on the size, or weight of the baby.  They didn't comment on anything about it at all.  I started freaking out - were they not telling us something?  Or was it just a student so focused on her "lesson" that she didn't think at all about our ultrasound!  Was the licensed sonographer in such a rush to get us out of there that she just bypassed all the excited parents stuff and got what she needed and ushered us out?  By the time I went to bed that night I was furious.  Brian found me in the shower crying the next morning because I was so mad.  Not that they couldn't tell us it was definitely a boy, but because they didn't tell us anything!  I felt more confused than when we went in! 

At our 12 week appt Dr. Curry did an ultrasound to check the heart rate (he couldn't find it on the Doppler).  He told us then that it was too early to see the sex of the baby, but that we could see it at 18 weeks.  We'd checked out some of the prenatal imaging centers and they all said they could look as early as 18 weeks - so we thought we were good to go... we were 18 weeks!  It wasn't until the sonographer, and then a couple of friends of mine said that 20-22 weeks was much better time to see the sex that I even thought that 18 was too early.  Had I known that, I may have waited to to the ultrasound at 20-22 weeks (lets be honest - 20... I can't wait any longer than I have to... which is what got me in this predicament in the first place!). 

So... I'm still not certain enough to start shopping (dang it).  Brian is convinced that it's a boy and it was just that student's lack of training (ie- inability to see it) that put doubt in all of our heads.  IDK - all I know is that Dr. Curry will be getting a call from me bright and early tomorrow morning to voice my disappointment and let him know that I'd like to hear from him when he gets a chance to look at the images.  Maybe he can tell us something since the tech's didn't!

The sonographer did say that Dr. Curry may order another ultrasound because the baby was curled into a position that made it difficult to get an image of the 4 chambers of the heart.  She thought she could see them, but she couldn't catch it for the images.  So... we'll see if we get another chance or if we'll be calling Prenatal Imaging for confirmation!

The heart rate was 144 at the time of the ultrasound.  They said that just like ours, baby's heart rate will fluctuate with activity.  Apparently my caffeine hadn't kicked in yet!  Today I'm 18 weeks and 6 days.  Baby is about the size of a sweet potato from head to rump (head on my left side, rump on my right).  Baby is becoming amazingly mobile passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that I'll soon be able to feel movements. Baby can hear now - so I'm trying to talk to it more... and play more music, too!  Sometimes we even dance (although that tends to be more spastic than rhythmic!  Most of you saw the dancing Suni in the wedding video... not much has changed since I was 8).  Big changes and developments are happening in the next couple of weeks.