So last week, we did our first official ultrasound. I say first official because I’ve had 2 before this one.
In France, the 12 week u/s is an important part of a woman’s pregnancy. It is when the baby is ‘dated’ – to know the exact due date. It is also when the parents are given a choice if they want to test their baby for down syndrome or the Trisomie 21 test. I was actually surprised at the number of tests a mommy has to go through during her pregnancy. I’ll tell you about those tests later.
Anyway, when I called to schedule the u/s, the secretary asked me if it was my first ultrasound. Obviously I said no. She told me that I can come in at 8 am and I don’t need to have a full bladder for it.
So off we went, all sleepy and excited.
The first thing we saw was the head – and the first thing that came out of the husband was “alien”. Then she started showing us the body – but suddenly stopped. She asked me if I drank anything that morning. I said no because the secretary said it wasn’t necessary, blah blah. The doctor got irritated and went to ask the secretary why she said it. She said it was because she thought it was for the 2nd official ultrasound which is the 6th month one, I think. Fail!!!
So I was asked to drink 1 liter of water and wait for an hour until it descends. Major fail. One, the husband wouldn’t be able to come with me anymore since he had to go to work and two, I hate drinking water. But you have to do what you have to do. By the 4th or 5th glass of water I wanted to vomit everything.
It was all worth it though. After an hour, I was let into the u/s room (sans husband, boo!) and I was able to gawk and wonder at how awesome the petit ourson is doing. The first thing we saw were his legs and feet, kicking up a storm. And he was tumbling. I saw his tiny hands and little nose and he was waving. I didn’t get all emotional though. But I was bottling it all up inside.
And here he is, the little bugger. We don’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl yet though. Besides he was on his tummy and was a bit shy after all the activity he just did. Although I am disappointed that we weren’t given a nice clear photo of his profile. Boo!
After the u/s, I went and had blood drawn for the down syndrome test. The test is 100% paid for by the social security and if there are any problems, then more tests will be made. Good thing is that from the u/s, the nuchal translucency screen was normal so there’s a low risk of ds. Whew.
I am sooo glad the 1st trimester is almost over. It was very reassuring to see the baby active and with a strong heart beat.
Exciting!
XC in the City 