Relaxing In 4D At 32 Weeks

At 32 weeks we’re well into the pregnancy and nearing the end of our antenatal classes at Hillcrest Hospital. They’ve been informative with the odd gem of information here and there, but they also contain a lot of information that you probably already know. Are they necessary? Well my theory is that people have been giving birth for thousands of years without them, so probably not.

That said if you’re a nervous parent, are worried about complications,  or are just a sucker for knowledge, then they are probably well worth it. To some degree I also think it helps to calm the mothers who may be fearing the worst. In the end knowledge is power.

But on to the exciting bits…

As we near the end (or the beginning as you may see it) our check ups and scans have moved from once every 4 weeks to one every 3 weeks (and I believe they’re going to get more frequent than this too). But despite the increasing frequency every scan is as exciting as the last and, in this instance, even more so.

Having registered at Westville Hospital we were given the opportunity to have a free 4D scan. Sadly they were heavily booked up and so the earliest they could see us was at 32 weeks. This made us a little nervous since the baby needs to have some amniotic fluid around their body in order to produce a clear 3D image. At 32 weeks there was a risk that there would be very little and that the image would be less than clear.

We arrived at the hospital and eagerly awaited the arrival of the “scanner” (yes, I don’t really know what her title was). We were then quickly whisked into the room and onto the bed. Sharon’s belly was gelled up and a 2D image appeared on the screen.

She started off by showing us the normal 2D images of the baby’s face, spine, and various organs. She then isolated the heart and we listened to the heart beat. Amazing! Not quite a resting heart rate of 45 like her father, but not bad.

And then the real fun started. She focused in on the babies face and switched the view to 4D. Bham!

Our baby girl’s face lit up the screen with her chubby little cheeks and button nose. She looked incredibly relaxed lying with her hands behind her head and a little smile on her face. Her pose did mean that we couldn’t get a clear picture of her hands, but seeing her magically cute face was all that we really wanted.

We then looked at her long legs, tiny feet, and once again confirmed that she was indeed a little girl.

And then another amazing thing happened. While we watched she lifted her little feet up to her face and began sucking her toes. Incredbile!

With the 4D scan completed we grabbed our DVD and headed straight for the Dr Czarnoki’s office for our regular check up (and another 2D scan). I’m glad to say that Baby Girl Prior is growing beautifully and is still of model like proportions. She’s now reached the 2kg mark and is going strong.

Having seen her chubby little face we can’t wait to meet her. Only 8 more weeks! Tick tock…