On Monday, Tim and I went in for our scheduled NT screening. Nuchal translucency screening is an advanced ultrasound to look at the back of the neck - there are measurements that a specialist can do to detect signs of Downs or other chromosomal anomalies. If something looks fishy, they order an amniocentesis to check; if not, you can be pretty confident that the baby won't have to contend with Downs. It also checks for spina bifida and some other developmental problems.
The first thing to report is that Speck is just fine. Everything looks great, according to the specialist. But mostly, Tim and I had way too much fun during the exam! The ultrasound equipment being used is so sensitive, we could see all 4 chambers of Speck's heart beating away! (He turned on the sound for us so we could hear it as well... that was pretty amazing.) We could also see both hemispheres of Speck's brain through his/her still-forming skull. The specialist said it's still a little early to tell the baby's gender, though we'd been kind of hopeful. But we have a healthy, and very active, Speck, who is almost precisely on average for size given his/her gestational age.
Wednesday I took the day off so we could go to the airport and pick up Tim's dad Chuck and his aunt Rosie. Chuck was in Germany once before, with Tim and Tom a few years back; it's Rosie's first trip here. It's great to have them! We spent Wednesday just chilling at the house, but we have sightseeing planned for the rest of this week.
Today (Thursday), Tim and I had our monthly check-up appointment with our obstetrician. My blood pressure is good, as is my weight gain (just a pound this month, which is really good; we're trying to keep my total weight gain for the pregnancy on the low side, since I weighed more than my fair share going into the pregnancy.) Just to check for himself, Dr. Büscher also did an ultrasound; all we could really see was Speck's back, though it was cool to see all the tiny vertebra all lined up. We'll have to speak with this child about not turning his/her back on us, though...
At Week 15, I am now definitely in maternity clothes (though with lots of room to grow), and very happy to have a third of the pregnancy behind us! I've been feeling a bit more energetic and a bit less morning sickness-y; here's hoping that trend continues...
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