21 weeks

Two words: anatomy ultrasound. To be honest, I was a little worried it wasn't going to live up to the hype...but it was every bit as magical as people make it out to be. Thirty glorious minutes of Tom and I watching our growing baby move and play from within. At first Baby was curled up, sleeping on her tummy with her little bum in the air. The ultrasound tech got some great shots of her spine in that position, but then had me walk around the room for a while to wake her up. 

After that, Baby was wide awake and showing off. She kicked, danced, waved, sucked her thumb, and even did a somersault for us (which subsequently gave her the hiccups, poor thing)! Baby also showed the ultrasound tech some attitude by covering up a few of the body parts the tech was specifically looking for. For example, when she said, “Now I’m checking the heart,” Baby immediately crossed her arms over her chest…and when she said, “Now I’m looking at the skull,” Baby’s hands went right up to over her head. Surely a coincidence, but pretty comical nonetheless!

During the ultrasound, the technician was very careful to not refer to gender, always calling the Baby “little one” or “peanut.” She had us look away while she took pictures of the baby’s privates, and Tom shielded our eyes with his hands – just in case either of us got the urge to peek….or maybe he just didn’t trust me. Either way, we did NOT get any hints of the sex of the baby (to my mom’s dismay), and are very happy to have kept our d-day surprise in tact!

What we did find out from the fetal care doctor afterward is that our baby is “just perfect.” Her heartbeat is still strong and regular, all body parts are accounted for and developing properly, and – to no one’s surprise – she is already weighing in over the average (12 oz as opposed to the typical 10 oz). The doctor also commented on her long fingers (future pianist perhaps?!) and big feet (each over 1 in. long already!). So in keeping with Vandenberg family tradition, we’re right on track to have a ginormous newborn. God help me during delivery!

Then, just when we thought this week couldn’t get any more exciting, Tom felt our baby move for the first time! I had just fallen asleep that night when I was awoken by Tom yelling, “LAURA! Did you feel that?!” I panicked in my semi-dreamlike state, imagining an earthquake splitting the ground beneath us or a runaway train hitting our apartment building. But as I slowly emerged from my delirium, I realized that his hand was on my stomach and he was grinning from ear to ear. He was so happy; I could have sworn I saw a tear glistening in the expectant father’s eye. His hand has been glued to my stomach every night since :)