28 weeks - Big Boy's 4D Ultra Sound

Let me just say, getting to see Jase as he's growing inside me is something I will never take for granted...it's surreal every time he's on screen.  He has changed SO much even since our 3D ultra sound just 4 weeks ago...

In my opinion, he looks just like his Aunt Amy when she was a baby, but with my nose.  Grandma Pam got to go with me and she agrees, but like I said, he's changed so much since the last one when I said he looks like Kiel so who knows how much different he'll look in the next 12 weeks.

28 Weeks - 4D ultra sound

Our appointment in Peoria with Dr Gross, the perinatologist (high risk OB physician), went really well.  The ultra sound tech came in and did lots of measuring...he's head down again and weighed in at about 2lbs 12 oz.  We got to see the insertion point of the umbilical cord and the blood flowing to it...his heart beating which still amazes me...and lots of other vital organs.  FYI - this baby is definitely a boy and he is P.R.O.U.D. of it!  We have plenty of pictures of his junk...even in his sleep he was flashing the tech within minutes of being on screen.

I still can't get over how much better our first 2D sonograms are then the ones we've had recently...they're just not as clear as our 20 week ones so I'm not putting all of them on here because it's pretty hard to tell what you're looking at in most of them.

Left Foot print - let's hope he has his mama's arches and not daddy's flat feet!!!

Face, right fist, and abdomen

The 3D & 4D ones on the other hand get better with each visit!  In this one you can see his hand, but not the rest of his arm that should be right in front of his face...it's so weird! 

After the ultra sound tech was done, Dr Gross came in to take a look at his kidneys himself and talk to me about why dilated kidneys are watched so closely.  He only got to measure the right one because Jase had moved to a position where his spine was creating a shadow on his left kidney.  The first time he measured, it was 4.6mm (a normal size is 3 to 4mm) so nothing too crazy.  We talked for a few minutes and he remeasured.  This time the same kidney was 6mm.  He waited a few more minutes and measured again...this time it was 9mm.  Shocking right?  He must have been pretty empty at 4.6 and filled up with urine at 9.  Dr said he is not too concerned about 9mm or even 10mm because as long as it stays under 10, there is a 90% chance they will go to a normal size after he's born.  If they grow too large, it could mean he has an obstruction or reflux.  We know he is peeing normally because of all the amniotic fluid so there's no reason to assume anything, just mentioning some possibilities.  His exact words were "If something is going to be wrong, this is what you want it to be."  It's something people have been born with for years, but they're just now starting to keep a very close watch on it in order to prevent kidney infections further down the road in life.  If the kidneys don't correct themselves after birth, Jase could need surgery years down the road, but we wouldn't know that until months after he's born and it's nothing that would affect his health long term.  Dr Gross is very dry and gets straight to the point, which in this case is something I appreciated because it's not hard to tell this isn't something that concerns him, it's more precautionary.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned at all, but I know even if we're not in that 90%, everything will be fine.  I was hoping to get a clean report and not have to go back to MFM, but in order to keep an eye on the kidneys, he asked me to come back in 6 weeks (December 19th) to recheck and make sure they haven't made a large jump in size or anything.   Better to be safe then sorry....plus an extra ultra sound at 34 weeks :)

Some other fun facts Dr Gross told us...
My due date is probably more realistically February 4th instead of January 29th which would put me at 27 weeks instead of 28.  Makes things a little harder to label on the blog, but whatever - Kiel & I were both weeks late so a due date might not be much of an indication of when he'll be born anyways.  He also told us Jase is measuring about 2 weeks ahead of schedule and asked if there is a history of babies born with big heads in our family....guilty.  Have you seen my super cute nephews?  Lots of brains in those beans :)  I told him Kiel & I were both 9lb babies (close to 10) and he said, "I could see you having a 9lb baby...probably not 10, but definitely 9."  OUCH!  Guess that newborn outfit I bought for him to come home in can be returned :/

Next monthly check up is November 20th with Dr Ingram.  Pretty sure they will be bi-monthly after that.

We already did week 27 so for now, I'm going to continue on to...

Your baby's the size of an eggplant!

Putting on layers of fat, your baby now weighs in around 1.5 to 2.5 pounds and measures about 13.6 to 14.8 inches.

• She's starting to develop more fat, so her wrinkly skin will start to get smoother.
• Her lungs are mature enough that she'd probably survive if she was born now. Wow!

 -Nicole