11 1/2 Weeks

I have to say, I absolutely love my obstetrician. When we first realized that we would need one (when we found out we were pregnant with Phoebs), I had no idea where to go. I'd had a few recommendations, but had never actually been to the "girly doctor" here. So, being the eager, newly pregnant girl that I was...I went with the doctor that would see me first.

I was adamant that I would need to see a female doctor, so I was a little aggravated when I found out that the doctor I had been scheduled to see was, in fact, a man. I was told I'd have the ability to rotate through the practice and determine which doctor I would want to keep as my "own"... but once I met with Dr. D, I never wanted to see anyone else!

I actually love my entire practice. I'd be comfortable having any of the doctors there deliver my baby, the nurses are all fantastic, my wait times are minimal, and even the lab personnel are delightful. The Lord has really blessed us with a fantastic OB, which has been a good thing... especially considering I've been to the OB about 15 times in the past 2 years!

Anyway, one of the things I really love about my OB is that I get to have a few extra ultrasounds... 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 20 weeks. I also had a "re-check" ultrasound at 24 weeks with Phoebe, and a 4-D ultrasound at 32 weeks. Any chance to get a glimpse of that little baby's growth is incredible! I'm always amazed at the amount of change that goes on in just a few weeks, and that they can actually show me pictures of it in real-time.

Yesterday, we had our 12-week ultrasound. We were delighted to see a healthy, moving little baby with hands, feet, fingers... we even spotted the baby's profile! His or her heartbeat was also a healthy, rapid 170 beats per minute (perhaps from the hot chocolate and scone I'd had for breakfast?). Considering the last pictures we had were a tiny little dot with a heartbeat, these were quite incredible to us!

Here is a 4-D shot of the baby's "front" -- you can see head, hands (labeled) in front of baby's face, tummy, legs, and feet down at the bottom. Pretty incredible, isn't it?

This is a "back view" of the baby... I realize this looks like a kidney bean, but it's really head, back, and bottom. Along the curve, you can see a brighter white line -- that's baby's spine!

And this is baby's profile shot! You can almost count five fingers on the hand (looks like a fingernail) above baby's face. Baby waved at us on the ultrasound! If you look really closely, you can even see baby's nose.

...and the incredible thing, is that this is just 1/4 of the way there! After only 11 weeks of growth, this little miracle already does so much. What a beautiful creation! We are simply overwhelmed at God's tremendous gift to us.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well!" Psalm 139:13-14