Final Regular Ultrasound

But first, here's a backlogged picture of Bridget and the dog:

29 weeks, 5 days, 1 leetle Poopanz

It's getting hotter in Arizona for real, with afternoon temps in the mid-90s. This is the time of year I start having to take multiple showers a day just to feel human. Bridget, meanwhile — who generally loves hot weather, sunshine, warm air, and long walks on the beach — is finding her pregnant self feeling overheated on the regular. Feelin' faint. A little woozy. Thirsty.

Which seems to me like she's finally coming to her senses. At last she can relate to how I feel anytime the temperature rises above 80°. But she feels deeply unnerved by the change. Sort of. 

But then she goes into the nursery and feels great!

32 weeks, 1 combination washer/dryer

Yesterday during the ultrasound, Dr. Rolle could barely restrain himself from telling us the sex of the baby, but he somehow managed it. Here's a face:

 ...and here's some feet and maybe a hand:

The baby is 4lbs 10oz at the moment, and a little bigger than expected (reading at 33w5d instead of 32w1d) but that's fine. Bridget's blood pressure is 102/58, which makes the OB swoon with joy. Everything that we ask about as a potential problem or concern is "fine, perfect, totally normal," according Dr. Rolle. The placenta is working just fine. The baby is hiccuping, which means its diaphragm is working — a sign that breathing will come naturally(!). The baby is head-down. The baby's pulse is 142bpm. Bridget is, shockingly, drinking enough water.

So far so good!

Week 20 Sonogram

Yesterday we visited Dr. Rolle in Cottonwood for our latest sonogram. He said everything looks "great, perfect, fine!" I only realized when he said it that other outcomes were possible. Here's the best profile view we got:

"Big Nose"

...in which the kid's nose looks big.

We said "what a big nose."

Dr. Rolle said "But look at the lips, the chin, we wanna see that -- no sign of a cleft palate," pointing with the tip of his pen as he spoke, "and everything looks really great."

Bridget looked at me appraisingly. "Is that from your side of the family?"

"It's not my nose..." I protested.

"No, you have a great nose."

Dr. Rolle pointed to another printout saying "Look! Here you can see the eyes, there's a perfect lens!"

"It's the Terminator!" I cried, spying the targeting device in the flayed cyborg's eye socket. I ducked and rolled behind the receptionist's desk. The receptionist squawked and threw a bunch of papers in the air as I pulled her out of range of the robot assassin's deadly lasers.

"You sure you don't want to know the sex?" Dr Rolle asked.

"No thanks," we replied. "It's enough to know we're having a robotic Jimmy Durante."

* * *
Seriously though. They couldn't tell the sex because the position of the fetus didn't offer a good view of the relevant area. We're going back in 4 weeks so the doctor can "feel [Bridget's] belly," but there won't be a sonogram until week 36.

Dr Rolle loves to give cryptic advice. Two examples from yesterday's session:

Food
BRIDGET: So can I ask about food and weight?
DR ROLLE: (Reassuringly) Eat whatever you want.
BRIDGET: (Reassured) Oh, good.
DR ROLLE: Just watch the carbs, and the sugars.

Baths
JEREMY: And what about baths?
DR ROLLE: (Reassuringly) Enjoy! Seriously.
BRIDGET: (Reassured) Oh, wow, great! I keep worrying that I'm gonna cook the baby.
DR ROLLE: Just don't take 105° baths, you know. Keep it around 100°
BRIDGET: (stunned into silence)
DR ROLLE: And don't soak for a long time.


* * *
And now a belly picture:

20w1d

Sonogram from 14 weeks, 1 day

This is the latest image, which we got about the time of the previous post, but I wanted the announcement to come out with the angry duck image so that you could be as amazed as we were at how much these things grow in only a month:

My favorite is the bottom image, which I have zoomed in on for your closer perusal: