Today Christine had her fourth ultrasound. This "Level 2" ultrasound is the big one where they do a lot of measurements that can indicate if the baby is going to have chromosome issues, etc. The blood tests so far have been good but these measurements add another layer of statistical confidence.
The baby is measuring two days ahead of schedule (19 weeks 4 days versus 19-2). The heartbeat was good. Almost all the other measurements looked good and the odds of a healthy baby continue to go up. The technician's only concern with the measurements was the size of the stomach, which was a little low. When the doctor came in he remeasured the stomach and agreed it was a little on the low side but not low enough to be a concern.
Also of minor concern at this point is that the placenta is sitting low, which it often is this early in pregnancies. If that did not self correct a cesarean birth would become necessary. For Christine, a cesarean is already necessary due to the cuts made during the emergency cesarean last time so this is even less of a concern.
If not for the early birth of Ryan and Hailey the doctor would not have wanted another ultrasound for another two months. He did however schedule one for two weeks out that will be primarily for monitoring the cerclage and not the baby.
The other thing this ultrasound can determine is the gender of the baby. So, this morning we learned that...
We are having a boy!
