Week 19 & 3 Days: A/S & Baby Gender!

Here come the big day!!  We were both so nervous about this day.  First of all, we were worried how the baby was doing.  Second of all, we were getting nervous about finding the baby gender.  I should've been more exicited about this day instead of being nervous, but I haven't really felt baby's movement and it's been a month since I saw the baby's u/s, so a lot of things were on my mind.  I know it's very stupid, but I was thinking "Well, I did watch a lot of scary movies and went to a haunted house recently. I jumped several times.  Is it good for my baby???  "I also found this awesome chocolate I cannot stop eating every night after dinner.  I know chocolate has caffeine.  Is it impacting the growth of my baby????"  It's crazy, but we did talk about a emergency getaway trip plan in case there was something wrong with the baby.  If there was no live baby, we were going to take off immediately and disappear from everyone and everything for a couple of days.   

I woke up this morning and it was snowing!!!  Snow in Cincinnati before Halloween is so rare and this is due to the hurricane Sandy.  I usually drink a glass of juice while getting ready to go to work.  Then, I eat breakfast once I get into my office.  I have seen bump girls posting about their A/S experience and some of them unfortunately couldn't find out the baby gender @ a/s.  They said that babies were sleeping or didn't want to cooperate, so they had to try to go up and down the stairs to wake them up.  There was a tip about having an glass of OJ before a/s.  That's exactly what I did!   

Anatomy Scan (A/S and a.k.a. Level 2 Ultrasound)
Most anatomy scans are performed in the second trimester of pregnancy between 18 weeks and 22 weeks.
Measurements are taken from this special ultrasound during pregnancy to make sure your baby is growing appropriately (and that his or her gestational age is still on target). A survey of the organs, including the umbilical cord, ensures that they are developing normally (or identifies any potential problems as soon as possible). The sonographer will also be looking at your amniotic fluid levels, the location of the placenta, and the fetal heart rate.

My DH came with me to the a/s.  I was excited because he has never seen u/s which shows baby's movement.  I had such a great NT scan experience, so I was dying to show him what I was talking about.  We saw the baby on the screen and looks like there are tons of movements, so we were so relieved!!!!  The sono tech studied the baby by taking bunch of measurements.  I know some clinics offer 3D u/s in general, but my place is still using 2D.  It was neat to see different areas of the baby like feet, arm, etc.  Then, sono tech asked us "So, what do you think you are having?"  We both said "We think a boy for sure." 

For some reason we've always talked about "this little girl" even long time before trying to have a baby.  When we found out that I was pregnant, we started discussing girl's names first.  I looked into an old wife's tales and did chinese gender chart, but the results were all mix, so I know nothing is for sure.  We did have a preference of having a girl, but it's totally up to God, so we both said "Let's just hope for a healthy baby.  Gender doesn't matter and a boy is a lot of fun, too!"  I felt we are having a girl by looking at my NT scan picture, but DH was very determined that we were having a boy.

Anyway, the sono tech finally said..."hmmmm, baby is moving too much so I cannot check the gender."  I said "Oh no!  I drunk OJ so that the baby would be awake for this."  This was unexpected and she said I shouldn't have....In the end, she told me to go ahead to meet with my Doc and come back.

The Doc said everything looks good, so nothing to be concerned.  The progress of the baby is on track, so my due date is still March 23rd.  I was very happy to hear my LO is doing just fine!  While waiting for the 2nd u/s try, we both looked at each other and talked how we are greatful to know that the baby is doing well.  But, it will be disappointing not to find out the gender....my next appointment will be around Thanksgiving so it seemed really far....

The sono tech called us back in the room.  We hoped the baby's go-go juice wore off little bit and looks like it did!  It was a moment of truth.  We had no idea where exactly she was looking at but the she said "You guys are having a girl."  I instantly started crying.  I cried because I was so happy.  I cried because knowing a gender added so much more identity to our baby and I felt the bond between her and me got so strong.  Things are feeling so real to me now and it's not just that we are having a baby.  We are having a daughter.

I am cooking a nice dinner tonight to celebrate this amazing day.  I am still excited and emotional so it's hard to contain myself.  We bought a big pumpkin and going to curve "It's a girl".  We are taking it to DH's family tomorrow night to reveal the gender.  I think they are going to enjoy a little Halloween surprise :)   

Happy Halloween!  We curved our special pumpkin!!!