The 12-week scan is where they assess the baby's risk of having Down's Syndrome when born and this is measured using 2 steps - blood tests (which I had on Weds 13th) and an ultrasound scan (which I had on Weds 20th).
Thankfully the blood test was only 1 vial this time although I did get lost on my way there from work!!
The next thing to happen was on the Monday before the scan - I received a call from the ultrasound office to say that unfortunately their Dr had gone away for a few weeks unexpectedly! I couldn't believe it - I had looked forward to this moment for so long and now it was going to be delayed. But no - I could still go - the sonographer would be there - I'd just have to receive the results by telephone later in the afternoon - phew - this was fine!
Tuesday came and with it my anxiety began to increase... by the time I got to bed my head was racing with all kinds of thoughts - what if something was wrong, what would we do etc - and I ended up having a terrible night's sleep and a horrific nightmare which eventually led to me waking up in a cold sweat with an upset stomach to boot - oh great.
To make matters worse I had to do the whole 'full bladder' thing again. Luckily I'm not feeling as sick now so the water stayed down but then I ended up over-compensating after my last experience where my bladder was empty and ended up drinking about 2 litres of water in about 45 mins... oops! Needless to say by the time we got to the hospital - early - I was pretty close to having an accident and sat with my legs crossed tightly whilst Adam had a coffee to bide time. He took pity on me in the end and we headed up to the ultrasound rooms early - luckily our sonographer arrived just after we did and took us straight in - what a relief!
As soon as she had put the cold gel on my tummy and started pressing down she laughed at the image that came up on her screen and the TV in front of us - my bladder was full to bursting! She had a quick look at bub - who seemed very still & quiet much to my distress (although there was very clearly a little heart beating away) - and then sent me to the toilet (the FIRST trip of the day).
I came back and the whole process started again. But my bladder was still too full. Oops - she had said to empty it a bit but leave a bit in there - this is a very hard thing to do when you are nervous and have an upset stomach let me tell you. So off I went again (the SECOND trip of the day). This time I was pretty sure it was empty empty!
3rd time lucky? This time my bladder was much less full but still not empty - to my complete surprise - but she was able to go ahead and start taking the measurements she required!
Baby Read remained quite calm and still whilst she looked at the uterus, placenta, cord insert and crown to rump length (which was 5.4cm in case you're wondering - about the size of a prawn!)
In this pic the white arrows towards the middle of the screen point to where the cord runs from the placenta to the bub:-
She also measured the heart beat - and we heard it for ourselves - and it was beating a very healthy 157 beats per minute. The old wive's tale says that the faster the heart beat the more likely it is a girl!!!
Next up the sonographer needed to measure the nuchal translucency - which is the amount of fluid in the 'nuchal fold' behind the baby's neck - this measurement is used to assess the risk of Down's syndrome. At this point Baby Read decided to perk up and gave us a little salute or wave with his/her left hand - or 'claw' as Adam said... the pics aren't very clear but I think you can see the little hook of a hand (let's hope it comes out a bit more human) in the following pic. This pic also shows the NT measurement (1.46mm) at the bottom with 2 yellow stars joined by a dotted line:-
The sonographer has to do 3 NT measurements to obtain an 'average' range to be used and she was also qualified to look at the nasal bone. Not all sonographers can do this but we were lucky. If the bub has a clear nasal bone the chances of Down's decrease even further as most children with Down's syndrome don't have a nasal bone at all. In the following pic the white arrow points at the nasal bone. I am hoping Baby Read gets Adam's nose not mine - his is much cuter!
Once the NT measurements were done the sonographer decided to have a bit of a 'play around' with Baby Read -this was my favourite part of the scan although the method of making Baby Read move was quite disconcerting - by wiggling my flabby tummy quite vigorously with the ultrasound machine handset. Baby Read was most obliging and promptly decided to do a head stand with his/her back towards my back which resulted us being able to see the head & brain in much more detail - in particular the choroids which are the bits which are right behind the eyes - the stomach (which looked much like Daddy's beer belly) and - my favourite bit of all - a beautiful pair of little legs, crossed neatly at the ankle - I think I fell in love at this point!
Here is my fave pic from the scan - Baby Read looking like a frog with his/her legs crossed - I have been squinting at the space in-between the legs (!!!) to see if there is any hint of gender but I think it's too early to tell yet. Roll on the 19-week scan - I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Isn't this pic the cutest?!
A few more bits & bobs were looked at but I won't bore you with any more pics. If you want to see the whole set - I think there are about 20 in total - please take a look at this slideshow:-
The scan came to an end and the lovely sonographer encouraged me to visit the WC once again so I wasn't in any discomfort (THIRD trip of the day) and then we went out to the waiting room whilst she burned the images to a CD for us. Adam had to leave at this point as he had to get to work but I was so happy to have had him there to support me and he had a great view this time with the big TV up on the wall! The receptionists joked that he was doing a runner before he had to pay!!
As I waited, an older gentleman walked in and it turned out to be Professor Morris - a Dr who was filling in for the absentee - and he would be able to see me after all - I was thrilled to bits!
He called me in after a few minutes and provided me with the results which were FANTASTIC!
Based on my blood tests and the measurements taken by the sonographer earlier that morning, it was assessed that the risk of Baby Read having Down's Syndrome is 1 in 12,485! I nearly fell off my chair. The usual 'range' for someone of my age is 1 in 600 - what a relief. And only if your odds are 1 in 300 or higher then you would be referred for further investigation.
Here is the pic lovely Professor Morris drew for me & gave me to keep - I could have kissed him:-
The weird blob in the middle next to the words 'Blood tests' is his interpretation of what a baby looks like in utero - not bad!
I left the scan feeling as though I was floating on cloud nine and couldn't stop smiling - after all my worries, the nightmare, the bad stomach & bladder issues, Baby Read was healthy and gorgeous. Let's just hope it stays that way for the rest of this pregnancy!
Gorgeous pics - and such good news re: being healthy! I so cant wait until your next scan!! xxx
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