Today we paid the OB/Gyn doctor another visit... but this visit was better than any of the previous (even the fainting incident). Today we saw our baby.
We felt certain that today would be the day. On a previous occasion two months prior, we felt certain, too, only to find that the alphafeto-protein results were positive enough that the ultrasound was unnecessary at the time. Needless to say we were more than a little disappointed... and that much more anxious today.
Before we went, Tina had to drink a bottle of glucose solution in order to facilitate a blood sugar test. Tina described it as carbonated syrup. It's got a lot of sugar.
After they had taken a urine and blood sample, her sugar high crashed to a sugar low and she suddenly became faint (sound familiar?). The nurse and I helped her into a nearby examining room where she rested on the exam table while we waited for the doctor to see us.
After what seemed like a very long time, I grew bored and began to rummage through the various drawers. After finding the tubes of KY jelly, I continued on in search of the speculum. At this point, Tina was saying, "Mick... Mick!" which was followed by a voice in back of me saying "Is everything alright in here?" I had been busted by the nurse. We told her everything was fine and she left. We had a good laugh.
The doctor arrived and whipped out the mini-Doppler device he carries on his belt. After a nerve-wracking delay, we heard the familiar "swoosh swoosh" of the baby's heartbeat. We then received the bad news that Tina was suffering from gestational diabetes. He said he would refer us to a specialist. This resulted in Tina getting a monitor to test her blood several times a day. Although her fingertips are pretty sore, her blood sugar level has been at acceptable levels.
After discussing a few other issues, we made our way to the ultrasound room. As on our previous visit, the ultrasound lady was very cool, very kind and very helpful. She started out by showing a profile of the baby who was thrashing around pretty wildly either from the increased sugar level, the unwelcome movement of the walls of the womb or possibly both. As the examination continued, the movement subsided and eventually the baby went to sleep.
After the profile, we went right for the crotch. Initially we spotted what appeared to be testicles but the ultrasound lady said that labia can swell enough to look like testicles. Thus, in order to make a positive ID, you had to simultaneously identify the testicles and the penis. "It looks like a snail," she said.
After a short, fruitless search for the penis, she turned to the more mundane albeit serious aspects of the examination. Measurements of the head, hip bone and others. Glimpses of the kidneys, heart, spine (cool!), ribs, etc. After this was completed, we returned to the snail search. By this time, the baby was curled up fast asleep. Unfortunately, this meant that the feet obstructed a clear view of the crotch. At one point, we thought that we spotted a penis, but its two companions were not visible. Eventually, the ultrasound lady said that there was a 98% chance that our baby was a boy. However, her continued efforts to verify her conclusion led me to believe that she was not 98% sure. We'll still be continuing under the assumption it could be either.
We got a few pictures from the more interesting (and intelligible) parts of the exam which I have included below. I know that these things are hard to make out so I've included some helpful hints!