Three Boys and a Princess

My doctor gave me the option of going to Anchorage for what's called a "targeted" ultrasound. I will be almost 35 years old when I deliver the baby, which almost puts me in a higher risk category. I agreed to have the ultrasound (a trip to Anchorage, a cool high-tech ultrasound, a chance to find out the baby's gender, and of course, a confirmation of the baby's state of health... I couldn't resist!).

The appointment started with a meeting with a genetic counselor. She asked me a bunch of questions about my family history (both my and Jacob's sides) and drew a diagram as I gave her the answers. Then she reviewed the results of a quad screen blood test I'd had done about a month earlier. Not only were my results negative (for chromosomal abnormalities in the baby) - they were actually very, very negative.

Next, we (I was joined by my friend Gina) went into the ultrasound room. This part, of course, was way, way, way cool. After having had ultrasounds with three other babies, I now kind of know what I'm looking at on the screen. However, I was still amazed at how much information the doctor was rattling off to her nurse. I just silently sat in amazement that she could see so much from just one image. For example, when she looked at the baby's brain, she listed off a whole bunch of measurements and findings, including the lateral ventricular atria, choroid, cavum septum pellacidum, thalami, ventricles, cerebellum and cisterna magna (yeah... a mouthful, I know!). For the heart, she was able to evaluate the situs, rate, rhythm, chamber size, outflow tract size and orientation, and pulsatility index of the ductus arteriosus. Also included were the axis, pericardium, valves, septae, and aortic and ductal arches (yes... I'm cheating by looking at a list they gave me of what the examination included). In short, IT WAS AMAZING!! The end result: the baby shows no signs of Down syndrome or trisomy 18.

At one very quick point, the doctor asked me if I wanted to know the baby's gender. I hardly had time to answer, "Yes," before she said, "It's a boy," and quickly moved on to check out some other cool stuff. Both Gina and I were amazed at how quickly and how confidently she made this assessment. She did go back later, slowed down and let us newbies see some evidence. THE BABY IS DEFINITELY A BOY! When I told Jacob that it was 100% boy, he had his doubts: "It can't be 100%... there's always room for error." I guess I'll just say that I'm certain enough that I'll be preparing for a boy!

I got home early enough to catch the three kiddos still awake. Ammon and Abraham both guessed that the baby was a boy. We watched the DVD of the ultrasound and closely examined the pictures. It was a very cool experience. Now, we're being more serious about searching for a name (the kids have had some interesting ideas... even Ziya!) and getting ready for May 15.

I'm posting two pictures of the ultrasound and one of the cute little boy outfit Gina helped me find to celebrate (Gina and I both thought the moose theme was very appropriate for our little Alaskan boy). The first picture is a 3D image of the baby's face. It was hard to get a clear shot because he had his face buried in the placenta the whole time (snuggling against it like a pillow!) and he was also constantly nestled against one of his hands (by his mouth on the right side).

We're all very, very excited and happy to know that our baby is healthy and that we will remain a family of boys with a princess in the middle!