No change is good change...

We spent our morning at the Perinatal Center this morning and had another ultrasound and meeting with Dr. Spadola.  While we were again frustrated at the efficiency this office is run with, we were pleased with the eventual outcome.  The ultrasound technician was very nice and offered to do some 3-D images so that she could get some "more practice" with them.   Of course neither of us mentioned that we had already talked someone else into doing some for us last time!  They did not come out as clearly as the others, but it was still pretty cool.  And during the ultrasound, she was also able to point out that the baby was sucking its thumb!  We could definitely see the little mouth moving.  It was so cute!  We could also see the baby taking "practice breathes" which is more a sign of developmental progression more than an actual indication of lung function, but it was still good to see.

At the end of the sonogram with the technician, while mom was using the bathroom for the fifth time that morning, Dr. Spadola came in so she could take a look at the baby as well.  She always likes to look for herself on top of all the images the technician saves for her.  This time she had two students with her, who seemed in awe of our situation.  We did not mind having them there, but watching them as Dr. Spadola explained our case was  almost funny.  Unfortunately, after our brief encounter with Dr. Spadola in the ultrasound room, we were sent back to the waiting room to wait for our "official" appointment with her.

We were finally called back in for our update and it was all good though!  The baby's overall growth is still right on track in the 56th percentile.  The lung-to-head ratio that tells us how well the right lung is developing is still good too!  We know that number can fluctuate and were prepared for bad news, since it has been good all long, but Gumdrop's fighting the odds!  

She was a little concerned because the baby's stomach looked big which could indicate a blockage somewhere in the baby's system; but mom's fluid levels are on the low end of normal, so she does not seem to think that there are any problems lurking.  And there was some question about where the gall bladder was (the technician had a hard time finding it), but she did not seem overly concerned and assumes that it has shifted away from its typical location as most of the other organs have moved around as well.   But good news all around from Dr. Spadola today!

In other, general news, mom seems to be feeling much better now that she has reached the third trimester.  She has only thrown up once in the past couple weeks and her energy seems a little higher for the time being.  She has been regularly checking her blood sugar levels and things have been looking good.  Hopefully we will avoid any more complications from that problem! Dad has been hard at work turning a catch all, ugly room into a dream nursery.  All the tedious prep work is done, and next step is paint on the walls, so hopefully it will be done soon!  We do have some pictures of the process, but we will put them up when we have some kind of end product to show off!  

Next appointment is Monday with Dr. Neulander at Choices West on Monday and we are meeting with our potential pediatrician next Thursday.  We will let you know how things go!