The World According to Alisa: Gobbeldy Gook

We had our 20 week ultrasound appointment today and so far, all is well! We had an awesome RN today who really took her time with us (we were there 1 1/2 hours!) and talked through everything she was doing. They measure EVERYTHING at this point - even ears and lips! Of course, as soon as she started and showed us the heart was still beating, the rest was just icing on the cake. Jenn (our RN) was even nice enough to load our pictures onto a CD which made putting them on the blog super easy.
You know how I always say you don't know a person's story and how not to assume that their life is A-OK (especially when it comes to those with 2.5 children and the seemingly perfect life?)? Well I got another lesson to show I am right again today with Jenn. She has a 4 year old daughter who was born without a part of her brain (cerebelum, I think she said) which helps with step by step tasks (like walking, eating, etc.). Good news is that her brain is compensating and her daughter now walks without her walker. I asked Jenn about a picture on her badge and she explained that it was her son Ryan, who would have been 2 years old this month. He was perfectly fine until about 3 months of age and they noticed things were not quite right. Turns out his muscles were atrophy-ing (sp?) and he was on hospice from 3 1/2 months until his death at 6 months. As tough as it was to lose Maren, I just cannot imagine the heartbreak of knowing your child for 6 months and then losing him. Jenn discovered her and her husband were both carriers for this genetic disorder and so went through genetically manipulated/tested IVF to try to conceive and carry a "healthy" child. Good news is she is 13 weeks and so far, things look good. We both talked about how it is hard to just show all out enthusiasm for your pregnancy when you are always looking over your shoulder for the "what ifs". It was another life lesson for me again and Jon and I were talking on the way out about her job on a daily basis. Jon wondered if it was hard on her to do they ultrasounds knowing what a difficult path she has had. I said that it was probably her path that was WHY she does the ultrasound in the perinatal center. She was caring and kind and completely understanding with us and I am sure it is hard for her, but it is also what makes her great at what she does!

So here are the pictures that she loaded on the CD for us. I called the post Gobbeldy Gook because a lot to times U/S pictures aren't the best, but I feel you can actually see what's going on in these pretty well. They used a brand new machine today and so maybe they are better than average because of that. And in case you're curious, we still don't know the sex! You'll find out when we find out and hopefully in 20 weeks!
If you are a guesser - the heartrate was 149 today and the baby weighs 14 ounces.

This one's labeled...