20 week ultrasound and the bus trip getting there.

This winter in Minnesota, Minnesnowta as I have been calling it, has seemed especially harsh.  We have had close to 60 inches of snow and a record number of frigid temperature days...our school districts are scrambling to figure out how they are going to make up all of the school days cancelled due to the record negative temperatures.

Last Thursday and Friday were no different, the storm began on Thursday around 12:00pm.  It started with freezing rain and slush and turned to wet heavy snow by 5:00pm; we typically call this type of snow "heart attack snow" because shoveling it has been known to cause heart attacks.  Driving in this storm was very difficult due to the layer of ice that was on the ground first and the wet slippery nature of the snow. 

The MN department of transportation recommended no unnecessary travel on Friday, well our 20 week ultrasound appointment was necessary.  Luckily our doctors office is not far from our house, only about a mile, and the bus route to get there was simple and quick.

Now I will be honest, I was not thrilled about taking the bus to our appointment however I also knew that getting our car stuck in the alley behind our house would have been an even bigger problem.  So I bundled myself up and we headed for the bus stop.  Thankfully the bus was only about 7 minutes late and we arrived at the transfer station 1 minute before the second bus came.  We were able to make it to our appointment in 20 minutes.

Unfortunately I did not take any photos of the snow or our trip on the bus, honestly I didn't want to take my mittens off to operate the camera or my phone.

Now to the really amazing part, our 20 week ultrasound!  Mr. G and I were so thrilled to be able to see our baby and make sure he/she was growing okay and looking good to the doctor.  We, like many parents to be, had been looking forward to the appointment for so long.

Our appointment began with pictures and measurements while I had a full bladder, making a pregnant woman drink 32 ounces of water an hour before an appointment is almost torture.  Once our ultrasound tech was done taking those measurements she thankfully let me run to the bathroom, and I am serious about the running thing.

After the bathroom trip the real fun began, we were able to watch Baby G move and stretch during the entire appointment.  It was so much fun!  The ultrasound tech explained each and every measurement and picture she was taking.  We saw the baby's stomach, bladder, 2 kidneys, spine, brain and learned about the red flags the doctor looks for when scanning these pictures.  Everything was measuring perfectly and Baby G looked great!

Baby G was a little bit uncooperative at one point as the ultrasound tech needed to get pictures of the face and of the heart and our little bundle of joy kept turning away and putting its hands over its face.  We tried everything to get Baby G to turn and cooperate, I drank juice, ate some candy, used the bathroom, danced and skipped around and layed on my side for a while.  Nothing worked, so we have to go back at 24 weeks to get the additional pictures of Baby G.

I think our favorite part was when Baby G stretched out its arms and legs and had a big yawn...it was incredible to watch it.  It was a very emotional moment for both of us.

I bet you are wondering about the gender of Baby G, well you will have to wait a little longer...I'm working on the Gender Reveal party post.  Our ultrasound tech was kind enough to email the results to our cake maker, thank goodness too...I didn't want to have to drive anywhere on Friday.  The party was incredible and I can't wait to fill you in! 

With love,

Mrs. G