13 weeks pregnant – our first scan

Yesterday was a rather exciting day; Matt and I went to meet baby number four at our 12 week scan.

We did go for a scan a few weeks back when we thought I was 12 weeks pregnant but it turned out baby was measuring nearer 11 weeks and therefore too small to measure. The previous scan lasted just a few moments so I was excited to see a more fully formed baby and know everything was developing as it should be. We had also opted for the nuchal screening test for Down’s Syndrome.  I wrote a post about Down’s Syndrome screening during my pregnancy with Elsie – you can read it here.

The hospital was very quiet, there wasn’t another soul to be seen in the antenatal clinic.  It wasn’t long before we were called through.  I made myself comfortable on the bed and before we knew it baby was bouncing around on the monitor in front of us. I know it sounds a bit cliche but I’m sure baby was waving at us! It’s arms and legs were kicking around and its heart fluttering away nicely. It always astounds me that it’s only taken three months for baby to grow from the size of a poppy seed to the size of a pea pod – that’s some growth spurt. No wonder I’ve been tired.

The Sonographer measured the fluid in the neck and although she wouldn’t give any indication of what her measurements implied I was later told by a maternity care assistant that any number below 3.5mm is a good indication that baby will be at low risk of having Down’s Syndrome.

The scan was soon over and everything looked perfect. They actually dated me at 13 weeks exactly and so my new due date is 18th July 2017. We got some beautiful photos of baby stretched out relaxing and using my placenta as a cushion. Thankfully my placenta is posterior this time meaning I should be able to feel baby’s moments sometime in the next 3-6 weeks. My anterior placenta with Elsie meant I didn’t feel any movement until around the 22 week mark. A little disconcerting.

Following the scan I gave what felt like litres of blood to test for further chromosomal abnormalities and to measure my TSH levels as I’m on Thyroxine. Fingers crossed everything comes back normal.

Just as a bit of fun – does anyone want to have a guess at the gender based on the scan photo? I have a hunch, based on mothers intuition I guess, but I’d love to hear what you all think too!