Level Two Ultrasound

We were sent to a company in the city for the level two ultrasound.  This was to be performed by a neonatologist, not an ultrasound technician.  A level two ultrasound is also known as an anatomy scan because they carefully look at the anatomy of the unborn child. 

The company was not in the best part of town.  We went inside and checked in.  I remember thinking that we did not belong there.  There was a couple sitting across from us with a small, germy child (yes, I do think all children are germy, but this one really looked germy) running around the room and touching everything.  The mom looked practically homeless.  She had baggy clothes, unkempt hair, and was missing multiple teeth.  Another couple came in and you could smell the marijuana on them from across the room.  I really hope for the sake of the unborn child that it was the male and not her who was high.  Then there was us, a regular WASPy couple.  See how we didn't belong?  These people had other issues that would make their babies have anomalies.  Not us.

Can we say denial?

However, there were reasons I was worried.  First of all, this baby didn't move.  I didn't feel any movement, or if I did I was never sure if it was the baby or not.  Although all my OB appointments had shown a strong heartbeat, everything I had read said usually you feel the second child a lot earlier than you felt the first.  Nope, not me.

Second, this baby was a lot bigger than the first.  My belly was growing so much larger than it did with Baby.  I know that they say this is normal in second pregnancies, but this seemed a bit extreme to me.

Third, the percentages of it all.  My uber rare blood type that all the nurses and doctors like to point out to me puts me in a small percentage of the population.  On top of that, I fell into the tiny percentage of having a baby with choroid plexus cysts found during ultrasound.  Why wouldn't it follow that I would also fall into the percentage of having a child with Down Syndrome or Trisomy 18?  

Anyway, we were finally called back.  Surprisingly, for this ultrasound they didn't care what you ate or drank in advance.  I didn't need to have a full bladder. 

The doctor was very matter of fact.  I imagine she has to deal with distraught parents and deliver unpleasant news quite often.  The first thing she did was check for the cysts.

They were gone, resolved on their own.   

Then she went through the full anatomy of the baby, from head to toe, inside and out, looking for any other signs that could indicate abnormal development.  Once again, she confirmed we were having a girl (I'll admit, I was secretly hoping the first ultrasound tech had been incorrect and she would find some boy parts in there.).  She declared the baby very healthy and sent us on our way.

Hallelujah!  

(Although I still have some trepidations that something will pop up in the near future.)