Wow...6.9 cm made my day!

Today was an amazing day!

I had an appointment for an Ultra-Screen. It is a combination of blood work and an ultrasound to identify if the baby may have Down Syndrome, Trisomy 18 or Trisomy 13. In the ultrasound they are mainly concerned with the nuchal translucency which looks like a white spot behind your baby’s neck. Normal is anything under 3 mm. Our baby measured 1.3 mm! That was the first good news of the appointment. The little one was cooperating wonderfully.

We saw the brain, noted no extra fluid so that is a plus!
We noticed that the eyes have moved from the side of the head to the front of the face where they should be.
We saw the nasal bone fully formed.
All four chambers of the heart are just about complete.
The heart is already working, pumping blood through the little one.
We listened to the heart beat.
A heartbeat was recorded at 163 beats per minute.
The baby was opening and closing their mouth during the ultrasound.
We saw a full bladder on the little one - evidence that the esophagus has formed properly.
We saw the stomach cavity.
We saw the spine starting to develop.
From crown to rump the little one is measuring 13 weeks 1 day...or 6.9 cm...or about the size of a jumbo shrimp!
Can you believe that they can see everything I listed on something that is only 6.9cm long? That to me is absolutely amazing...it is soo incredible. The person doing the ultrasound said the baby was very good and very cooperative. She described it as a 'textbook picture'!