Ultrasound 1

Today is my 30th birthday. I had to schedule my first ultrasound for today or wait an extra 11 days. 11 days would have been more torture for me than finding out I was miscarrying again. So I took the birthday ultrasound. I woke up that morning nervous. I had cramps. Thankfully I took the day off. Brian and I drove down to Walter Reed (Bethesda) and waited for the appointment. Then it was sweet sweet ultrasound time. And there it was. A small black circle with a little grey blob. And on the little grey blob was a little bitty flicker. And then, there was the "thump thump thump thump thump". 133 beats per minute. That was our little growing baby, just a little bean. At 0.54 centimeters, half the width of my pinky finger, and 133 beats per minute, we met our baby for the first time. thump thump thump thump thump thump

Here are the pictures!

This picture is where you can see some more of the baby itself. The two cross hairs are measuring the crown-rump length (.54 centimeters) used for dating the pregnancy (more accurate than last menstrual period for me). 0.54 cm meant approx. 6 weeks 2 days. The top cross hair is the head with the face to the left. The faint bulge in the center of the embryo is the heart and maybe some arm buds. The bottom bulge on the left is the leg buds and tail. The faint blob to the right is most likely the yolk sack.

This picture (with the squiggle waves at the bottom of the picture) is where we got to see the heartbeat. The heartbeat was a strong and healthy 133 beats per minute, which is great as the tiny little bean measured .54 centimeters (half the width of my pinky) making me approximately 6 weeks 2 days along at that point. (Most heartbeats start around 6 weeks 0 days give or take).