Anatomy Scan

Most pregnant ladies (if they are seeing an OB for their care), have an anatomy scan between weeks 18-22 to get a more detailed view of the babies including measurements and development of organ systems.  This is the appointment when most moms find out the genders of their babies if they choose to.  As you know, we've had multiple scans to date and have been fortunate to see our babies about 10 times already.  On March 28th, we had our very own anatomy scan to check on the babies.  This scan was different than any that we have had before.

First of all, I was laying on the table with goo on my belly for just over two hours.  To be honest, it got a little uncomfortable.  Unfortunately, they don't make the exam tables out of memory foam.  As you can imagine, three babies have a lot of parts and a lot of measurements.  The ultrasound tech measured each baby's length, head circumference, mid-section, and leg length to get a composite score that they used to estimate weights.  Baby A was 9 oz (80th percentile), Baby B was 10 oz (90th percentile), and Baby C was 8 oz (70th percentile).  The percentiles are calculated using the same charts that are used for single babies.  The average size of a baby at 18 weeks gestation is 6.7 oz.  That means we have some big babies!  That's great news.  Apparently eating myself into oblivion is benefiting our little ones.  It's very important that our babies be ahead of the curve if at all possible, because at around 28 weeks, they start to run out of space and grow at a slower rate than a single baby (the Fish Bowl Effect). Hopefully we can keep them bigger than average up to that point so they have a head start.  

Other things that they look at during the anatomy scan are the four chambers of the heart, the kidneys, bladder, stomach, brain, spine, and sex organs (still Girl/Boy/Girl).  They also check to make sure each baby has all four limbs and they appear to be developing normally.  Our babies all checked out completely normal with all parts present and accounted for.  They told us that at this point, they could only see major defects in the heart, so at 22 weeks when the hearts are more developed we will have something called a fetal-echo cardiogram to take a closer look at each heart and make sure there are no minor defects.  

Almost every time I see our babies up on the screen, one of them does something sweet that brings a little tear of happiness to my eye.  I'm so in love with all three of them and we haven't even met yet.  While we were there, they took an 3D picture of each of them.  I can't get over how amazing it is to get such a clear visual of each of their little faces this early.  

Baby Girl A.  What a peaceful little face.

Lil Man B.  I feel like I could pick him up out of this picture.

Baby Girl C.  Always covering her face with her hands.

So far, the pregnancy is going about as well as we could possibly hope for.  Keep the thoughts and prayers coming--they are certainly working.