13 weeks – NT Scan

Today was another exciting but nerve wrecking as we mentally prepared for the NT Ultrasound and the preliminary results for Trisomy 18, Trisomy 21 and Down Syndrome.

For this test I had to arrive with a full bladder. As the technician started the ultrasound we were able to see baby right away. Unfortunately, He/She was positioned awkwardly for this test. We needed baby to be a bit more upright and instead He/She was in a little curled up position with it’s head buried low. The technician poked at my stomach with the ultrasound wand and with her hands in hopes that baby would squirm and move. But it looked like we caught baby during nap time. He/She would move just a little but not like it’s usual dancer self. We saw it take some big sighs or breaths where the chin & chest would rise up but then quickly settle back down. With no luck on the first try the technician had me empty some of my bladder. She took a look again but baby was still in the same position. More poking at my stomach in hopes of movement but nothing major. She had me go to the restroom one more time and empty my bladder completely. Baby moved slightly which allowed her to capture a few good shots but she still didn’t feel like she got what she needed. At this point she called in the doctor to take a better look. The doctor did the same and eventually was able to get what he needed for the test. Basically they’re looking for the Nuchal Fold which is the neck area of the baby. It was really hard for them to capture this because of the way baby was curled up and resting.

Of course, just a few days ago we were laughing about how active the baby was in the ultra sounds so far. So I was saying He/She is already dancing which led hubby to calling baby “JJ”. This stands for Jumping Jack…(our internal joke). I had to remind him we don’t know if it’s a Jack or a Jill. So that lead us to “JJ”. It was funny that baby decided not to dance when we needed it to but conveniently right after we nick named it.

Fortunately, after getting what they needed from the ultrasound and combining that with my initial blood work the results looked good aka negative. Doctor said, we didn’t have anything to worry about and that we passed with flying colors. I still have to go in for one more blood test in a month to get the final green light as the results are based on the combination of the first blood test (first trimester), the NT ultra sound and the third blood test (second trimester). But for now…we can breath easy!

Thank God for the good news! We are grateful.

Now we are super excited to share the news with our friends in the next few days!