04 May 2006

We're having a...

well we don't know yet

The baby didn't want to show us anything yet. I was really hoping we would know by now but the baby has other plans :) My OB tried her best to make the baby changed position but to no avail. Well our little one was constantly moving mind you but his legs are folded in a way you can't see his "thingy." We had a good look of his butt but thats it...lol. Oh well there's always next time but I just can't stand the suspense...

Here's the video of my ultrasound...you could hear the baby's heartbeat though the rest might just be a blur.


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing


We're scheduled for the second trimester detailed fetal scan. This scan will take a lot longer than a normal ultrasound and should be done at the hospital itself.

What is examined at the 20 week scan?
Your baby's internal organs are examined in cross sectional views, or "slices" of your baby, which may be difficult -- if not impossible -- for you to make out! Bones will look white on the scan, fluid will be black and soft tissues will look grey and speckled.

The head
The head is usually examined first. A normal head is rugby-ball shaped with a mid-line separating the two halves of the brain which are surrounded by fluid. There is a dumb-bell shaped structure called the cerebellum (hindbrain) at the back of the head.

Spine and abdominal wall
The sonographer will check your baby's spine in both the long view and in cross section, moving through the neck and shoulders to the pelvis. She is making sure that all the vertebrae are in alignment, that the skin covers the spine at the back and the baby's abdominal wall covers all the internal organs at the front.

Heart and stomach
She will look at the heart, which should occupy a third of the chest and point to the left. The top two chambers, or "atria", and the bottom two chambers, or "ventricles", should be equal in size and the valves should open and close with each heartbeat. She will then look beneath the diaphragm to see the stomach, under the heart on the left side. Your baby swallows some of the amniotic fluid that it lies in; this can be seen in the stomach as a black bubble.

Kidneys and bladder
The two kidneys are either side of the spine, below the stomach and are usually quite hard to see. If the baby's bladder is full, it's easy to see as a black bubble in the pelvis. If it is empty it should fill up during the scan -- your baby has been weeing every half an hour or so for some months now!

Hands and feet
The long bones and position of hands and feet are examined; the fingers and toes are looked at but not counted.

Placenta, umbilical cord and amniotic fluid
The placenta may be on the front or the back wall of your womb, usually near the top (or fundus) so may be described as "fundal" on your scan report. Many are described as "low" because they reach down to or cover the neck of the womb (cervix). If your placenta is low, another scan will be arranged in the third trimester, by which time most placenta will have moved away from the cervix. (Read more about having a low-lying placenta.)

It is possible to count the three vessels in the umbilical cord but this may not be done routinely. There should be enough amniotic fluid surrounding the baby to allow it to move freely at this stage.

More detailed scan
Some hospitals offer a more detailed scan of the heart to look at the major blood vessels; some also examine the baby's face and lips. Whether your hospital offers this depends on the quality of the scan machines, the time available for each scan and on whether or not the sonographers have had special training to do this.

Okay so I know this is getting boring so I'm gonna end my post here :)

3 Comments:

Blogger Nette said...

the video was so cool...I got to hear your baby's heart beat. akala ko pa nman you guys found out the baby's gender...hehe!

12:26 AM  
Blogger Aggie said...

Jacq, I know the feeling of frustration of not knowing, ako nung 6th month ko ayaw din nya magpakita, LOL. Hope the katam is getting weaker :D

9:23 AM  
Blogger Leah said...

wow, ang bilis lumaki ni baby. :) do keep us posted with the gender ha. take care! :)

1:51 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home