I was so excited to see our little guy this weekend via an elective ultrasound! Aimee was great enough to fly down so we could see how much he’s grown since the last time we saw him in person at the 9-week ultrasound. Aimee and I usually FaceTime during appointments, but the ultrasound quality at her appointments is a much lower quality, and we were hoping to get some good photos that we could share with the grandparents and great-grandparents. Most people do an elective ultrasound around this time so they can find out the gender, but since we already knew the gender from the blood test, we were able to just enjoy seeing him.

We arrived at the ultrasound clinic and were ushered into a room filled with plush couches and a big-screen TV that broadcast the ultrasound images.


For Watching Ultrasounds, or Sunday Football

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The tech was able to find him immediately, and I teared up when I saw how big he was! He was so active, kicking his legs and moving his arms like he was waving. They did checks on all of his bones to make sure he was growing well, counted his fingers and toes, and checked to make sure that he was still a boy (he certainly is!). I was able to FaceTime with both of my parents who were so excited to see their grandson moving around.

Since I’m not the one who is pregnant, these appointments make everything feel so much more real to me, and are a huge comfort that things are going well. I love hearing that for once, everything is normal and our baby is healthy.


Baby Sea Otter’s 17 Week Ultrasound Photo

After the ultrasound, Aimee and I grabbed breakfast and then spent the rest of the day getting pedicures and just hanging out. We are so fortunate to have found a surrogate that we get along with so well and truly feels like another family member. I probably say this a lot, but I can’t even express how grateful I am.


Post Pedicures!

Our next big appointment is in January, where we’ll travel up to Portland for the 20-week appointment. A few people asked whether or not we’d be doing a 3D or 4D ultrasound. We did a basic 2D ultrasound because at 17 weeks, the baby still looks really skinny and a bit alien-esque. We wanted to wait to do a 3D ultrasound until around 30-34 weeks, when you can actually see the baby’s facial features. I think having the 3D ultrasound to use as a comparison when your baby isolder is pretty cool. And I’m a huge fan of technology. Just another thing to look forward to!

Did any of you do elective ultrasounds? If so, when did you have yours done?