First Trimester Screening

Just another update on Baby Henderson!!

Because of the due date change, Jeff & I had to bump up our first trimester screening--which was originally scheduled for November 21--to November 12 (last Wednesday).

The screening went well. We are in the normal range for Down's Syndrome, based on the width of the folds at the back of the baby's neck, which they measure via ultrasound. We also had a blood test and elected to get the results back at the earliest possible date--within a week--so we could know ASAP if something was wrong. We have since learned that the blood test also put us in the normal range for Down's Syndrome and Tay-Sachs disease, so it looks like we are having a healthy baby!

Aside from whether everything looked OK, health-wise, my biggest question was whether the sonogram technician could determine the baby's sex based on the ultrasound. She was pretty non-committal, but she did say that she "didn't see anything," so while it's still too early to confirm, it's looking more and more like we're having a GIRL! The baby did have his/her legs crossed for part of the ultrasound, though, so nothing's definite. Hopefully we'll get to know the sex for sure at our next OB/GYN appointment on December 8th. Knowing will literally be the best anniversary/Christmas present I could ever ask for.

What else? The most exciting and wonderful part of the screening was that we got to take home a DVD of the baby's ultrasound. Jeff & I embodied the stereotype of first-time parents and watched it five or six times in a row when we got home that night. Judging by the amount of jumping our baby is doing, I think we might have a track star on our hands! I'm getting a little nervous about what's going to happen when the baby gets a little bit bigger, though. If our son/daughter continues to be as active as he/she is now, I'm afraid he/she is going to pummel my insides! My uterus will be all black and blue and battered!

If you'd like to see our peach-sized jumping baby, click here. He/she is making his/her first appearance on YouTube.