Sprout: Too Much Information

2009/04/28: Probably the last ultrasound, at 36 weeks, 5 days. We're here to check Sprout's size again, and to get a fetal lung maturity test to see if she's ready to come out. Today she's estimated at just under 2500g (5 lb, 7oz). Her head is down and she's generally facing Pam's back, so we couldn't see much of her face. She's still got feet and toes, though.

2009/03/18: At one day short of 31 weeks, another ultrasound, this time to make sure Sprout is growing at an acceptable rate. Based on her head size, torso, and leg length, she's estimated at 1450g (3.2 lbs): not at the top of her age group, but just fine. Her eyes are open sometimes, as this image shows, and she's kicking and poking constantly, especially in the middle of the night. Gee, thanks.

2008/12/22: At 18 weeks, 4 days, Sprout is too big to get all of her on one ultrasound picture. From now on we'll rely more on listening to her heartbeat and measuring Pam's belly than on ultrasounds, so no more pictures for a while.

2008/12/10: 16 weeks, 6 days: time for the detailed anatomical ultrasound, on the "Lamborghini" high-resolution ultrasound machine. Here we found out that Sprout has a brain, a liver, a stomach, lungs, kidneys, all the usual stuff – and a sense of humor. Hi, Grandma!

Oh, and one more thing we found out: it's a girl!

2008/11/06: At 12 weeks exactly, Sprout took its first test: a nuchal translucency (NT) ultrasound. The technician measured the amount of fluid around the spine and at the back of the neck. Together with a blood test done earlier (on Pam), these can indicate the likelihood of Down Syndrome and a couple of other genetic disorders.

2008/10/28: At 10 weeks, 5 days, Sprout is 34.1 mm (1.3 in) long. Legs are starting to form, and the yolk sac is mostly gone (and not in this picture anyway). The heartbeat was easier to see on the screen than it had been, but didn't show up in the printout.

2008/10/13: 8 weeks, 4 days. Sprout is 16.9 mm (0.66 in) long. It has a distinct head, a heartbeat, and two arm buds. You can also see the yolk sac, which helps nourish the embryo until about 12 weeks.

2008/09/29: After more than three years, we're pregnant! The first ultrasound, at 6 weeks, 4 days. Sprout is 3.7 mm (just over 1/8 in) long and has a flickering heartbeat on the screen. Congratulations, it's a grain of rice!

2008/08/31: Here are the three embryos a few minutes before transfer, at 3 days after fertilization. No way to tell which one became Sprout. The notches on the sides are from an acid solution that was applied to weaken the shell to help the embryos hatch after transfer.