Baby Face

Today I went to my appointment at the high-risk doctor (perinatologist?) for an ultrasound to get a good spine measurement. Well, the spine looks great. They estimated Baby to be around 1 lb. 8 oz. and the heart rate about 138 bpm. AND we got a beautiful photo of baby's face! If you look at the picture on the left, you can see the eyes, nose, and mouth, and Baby almost looks like he/she is smiling! I got to see the baby open and close his/her mouth, which looked really neat. The doctor's only concern (if it is a concern) is that the baby is measuring small, in the 9th percentile to be exact. I'm going to try to explain this the best I can, so bear with me. "Measuring small" simply means that based on fetal averages, our baby is smaller than average, and it could mean a couple of things. One, baby could simply be small because of genetics. Considering the fact that Davey and I are not really large people, this could very well be the case. But, our baby's smaller size could be a sign of a problem if he/she does not continue to grow at a reasonable rate. For this reason, the doctor wants to measure the baby again in three weeks to check his/her growth. From what I understand, if the baby continues to stay around the same percentile, then this would indicate a steady growth rate and everything should be fine. There is a rare chance of more serious problems due to measuring small, but again this is rare. He (high-risk dr.) may want to do more regular checks from here on out to make sure that a steady rate of growth continues. We have been praising God for a great, smooth pregnancy so far, and we will continue to praise Him and ask that He help our child develop in a normal way.

What's neat is that as I type this, I can feel (and see!) the baby starting to wiggle around a bunch like he/she normally does late at night. It's just a great reminder that pregnancy is such a miracle. I admit, there is a small part of me that wants to worry, but if I truly believe in God, the Creator of Life, then I have to trust His Sovereignty to carry this baby as He has from the beginning.

Psalm 139: 13-16
"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.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

It's amazing how specific Scripture is about God's knowledge and care of an unborn child. The phrase "my frame was not hidden from you" has so much more meaning now. Every part of a baby is visible to God. And averages don't matter to Him. He knows exactly how Baby should be growing. There is so much that we can learn from advances in modern medicine, but sometimes we can know too much if you know what I mean, and this can cause us to want to worry. God may be using this early screening to help the doctor's know that there is a significant problem and He could save our child through it. On the other hand, Baby could be perfectly fine and God could simply be growing our faith. Whatever the reason, I hope that as you read this you are made more aware of how huge and wonderful God is.

Next appointments...
Dec. 22nd - regular OB check-up
Jan. 7th - baby growth check

Because I know everyone loves pictures, I scanned a few more to include in the blog. Don't feel bad if you can't tell what you're looking at. I had to ask about some of the pictures so they could point out what I was supposed to be looking for. Some are more obvious, however, like this great foot picture! Davey wondered when he saw this if Baby would have "Bloomfield toes" like me. :) According to him, we - my sister, me, and our cousins - all have similar looking toes.

The next picture is of the baby's profile. The forehead is on the right of the photo, and the chest is on the left side. I love the definition of the nose, lips, and chin! And here's a close-up profile picture (same angle as the previous one). We love this sweet little face already!