20 Weeks

I'm at 22 weeks now, but never posted after our 20 week sonogram. Even though the excitement of it has died down a bit (just in that it's already a distant memory), I really want to remember these things later. I am the type to read my old posts over and over because I love re-experiencing moments in my life.

The 20 week sonogram is for an anatomy scan. They do it now because everything is formed that they need to see, and baby can still move around a lot so they can get the different views they need. Because they have a long list of things they have to check for, you get a nice chunk of time watching baby on the screen! I had been waiting for this sonogram impatiently for eight weeks, though the last two weeks I was less antsy since I could now feel the baby. Feeling it gave me a lot of the reassurance and connection that I look to sonograms for. 

As soon as we saw Bug on the screen, it was just like this beautiful sense of peace and contentment. Oh there you are, little one, hi! The legs were bicycling like crazy, and I said to my wife, "See?? See why I'm feeling so much movement already??" The radiologist did something to highlight the bones white, and it was so cool to see little baby skeleton! She also did something to color blood red and blue so you could see what was going in and what was going out. She checked the brain and the four chambers of the heart and each little limb and bone. She said, "your baby is perfect," and what a relief that is to hear! She also said that our baby was stubborn - well, we knew that from the 12 week sonogram! It stopped turning around and they needed a different angle to finish checking the heart. They had me lay on each side for several minutes, go to the bathroom, walk around, and after each time the baby was still in the same position. The radiologist said that stuff usually works, and she was getting anxious because she needed to finish the scan and couldn't. She said, "okay, one final effort - let me get you a lollipop, and walk around while you give it sugar." That did the trick!

HOLY CRAP HALFWAY THROUGH PREGNANCY. When we realized a couple days ago that we were almost at 22 weeks and only had 18 left to go, it was such a shock to know we had less time left than what we had already gone through. It doesn't seem like much when I think of all we need to do to prepare, but at the same time, it feels like such a long time til we meet our baby! I always thought I'd feel grateful for the many months I had to enjoy peace and sleep and "us"-ness, and that it would go too fast. But honestly, it already feels like the baby is part of our family, and it feels strange to not be able to hold it and see its face. What are you like, little bug? What does your face look like? Are you a boy or a girl? What makes you content and what makes you cranky? What does your laugh sound like? Who are you??