(Almost) 24 Week Appointment

A Look at the Baby...

Waving to you

View of the baby's front side, including eyelids that are closed, cheeks that are plumping up, and a good view of other facial features.

Another front face picture.



Blurry toes, due to extra wiggles and kicks.

Here, the baby is flexing his upper arm muscle. We could see the triceps and deltoids very clearly! Its as if he is "making a muscle" right towards you, but the lower arm is bent at the elbow. You can clearly see the upper arm. the lower arm is coming straight out at the ultrasound device, sort of like if you are holding your arms out in a "hug a tree" position, and we took a picture straight on.

His eyes are open here. They've just started to flutter this week. You can also see the white dot in the center of his arm is the well developed humerus bone. Last time we were there, the bone wasn't quite as solidified.

His stats: He's measuring about a week ahead of the doctor's estimated due date, which is exactly at the correct time for my estimated date. His head is in the 70% percentile, and he weighs 1 pound, 7 ounces. I forgot to ask about his heart rate, but we did listen to it and it seemed slightly slower than the past, so I am guessing still in the 150s range. The fluid around the baby looked normal, as did the placenta, which is growing at the top portion of my uterus.

All in all, Dr. G says things are going really well. In four weeks, April 22, we'll have another routine visit, and then weekly after that.

Me: "Why weekly, if things are just on pace? Is he healthy? Are you suspecting something?"

Dr.G: "You've got a MTHFR gene mutation and a (blah blah blah something) compound abnormality. You have history of first trimester pregnancy loss. Babies with mothers in this criteria need to be checked out weekly to make sure things are going as well as possible in there, that there are no signs of pre-term labor, good muscle tone development, that there are normal levels of fluid, and that the baby is growing correctly. Of course we want him to stay inside as long as possible, like say 37-38-39 weeks, but that might not happen if medical intervention will help him be healthier."

Me: "Oh. I guess I'll be seeing you a lot this summer then."

Dr. G: "Yep."