Today was the second ultrasound for baby Janke. The goal was to see a heartbeat, which should have started about 1.5 weeks ago while I was in England. The red crosses indicate the top and tail (although I can't tell which is which!!).
When the ultrasound started the doctor immediately said, 'I see a heartbeat.' Then he got very quiet for what seemed like an eternity. He was looking at all kinds of angles and then began to explain what I was looking at. He said the reason he got quiet was because he saw what he thought might have been a twin which did not implant, but after looking from several angles he thoughts it was the yolk sack where all the genes are forming.
What the pictures don't show is that hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities we'll one hold and tickle.
If we could see inside the womb, we'd spot eyelid folds partially covering the eyes, which already have some color, as well as the tip of the nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of the baby's brain are growing, and the liver is churning out red blood cells until the bone marrow forms and takes over this role. The baby also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in the baby's growing intestines is bulging into the umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from its tiny body. Not bad for something the size of a blueberry!!!
Important stats: 7.5 weeks pregnant, strong heart beat, due date of 9 November 2008.
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