Baby #3 Anatomy Ultrasound and Pregnancy Update

We got back to Austin in time for two doctor's appointments to check on Baby #3- the first was our 20 week (done at 21 weeks) anatomy ultrasound and the second was our regular monthly visit. 

The 20 week ultrasound is the 'big' one, so to speak, as they measure all the major organs, look at the brain, heart, all ventricles, arms, fingers, toes, and just makes sure everything looks 'right'. Are we are so happy to say, everything the doctor could see/ determine from an ultrasound (which is not all that could be wrong, but many things) looks as good as we could hope for!! 

This is also the appointment where you have the option to find out if you are having a boy or a girl... and we decided NOT to find out!  Since we told the doctor we wouldn't be finding out, he gave us warnings not to look at the screen when he was examining areas that we may be able to see the gender- like when he looked closely at the bladder and the thigh.  These both took about 2 minutes for him to measure, while Barrett and I look away from the screen and at each other, keeping each other strong from the temptation! Then towards the end, he said, "Ok, I am going to take a minute here to confirm gender, so be sure you look away." Then about half a second later, he said, "OK got it!" HA! So Barrett and I laughed out loud, looked at each other, and mouthed 'he saw a penis!' because it was SO fast!! However, we have heard (and never seen for ourselves!) that the 'girls part' is also fast and easy to identify- so maybe the doctor is just quick at identifying! But we are pretty sure we have a little boy in there!! We will find out in October!

 Here are some profile pictures of the baby from the ultrasound... 

 The placenta is in front of the baby (anterior or closer to my belly button- which makes me feel less kicks, etc). LJ also had an anterior placenta but Evan did not. I felt much harder kicks and more movement with Evan than LJ. In the picture below, you can see how squished his nose was against the placenta! 

And here is a picture of the baby's face! Since he/she was pressed against the placenta, the nose looks a little funny to me! It was crazy to watch the doctor 'peel' away fuzz from the picture to reveal the face. Technology has gotten really amazing!! 

And here is a comparison on all our babies when in 3D ultrasounds! LJ is on the left 3 pictures and on the bottom (at 27 weeks gestation), Evan is the right 3 pictures (at 30 weeks in utero), and #3 at the top center (at 21 weeks in utero)!

Barrett and I think he/she looks a lot like LJ! 

The next day we had our normal monthly check-up, but we met with Dr. Breen since my normal doctor (well for this pregnancy), Dr. Harkins, was out of town. We liked Dr. Breen and had a nice visit. He was more optimistic than the ultrasound doctor, and actually said, "Well, this is as great as an ultrasound as you could hope for- baby looks great!" Baby's heart rate was 154 bmp, and everything else seems to be right on track.  

My pregnancy is (thank God!) going very well so far! I have been feeling great, sleeping not bad, no leg cramps or any other big problems so far! The only 'issue' I have- that I have gotten worse with each pregnancy- is varicose veins and spider veins. They are really bad on my left leg in particular! They have gone away after my previous 2 pregnancies, but they came much earlier (maybe around 10 weeks I started noticing them) and are much worse! I hope these go away too- but we will just have to see! This is really my only complaint so far though- which is a huge blessing!! Happy mama and healthy baby so far- praying it continues!!!