achilles and the tortoise

yesterday (thursday), as i believe i mentioned previously, was the highly anticipated date of my anatomy ultrasound.

what a letdown.

the sonographer was the same woman who did my NT scan- and i didn't like her much then, either. i think i may have even posted about her. she rushed through the scan like we had somehow done her a personal disservice just by being there. sorry, do i know you? did i kill your cat? you may do this every day but i certainly don't.

an anatomy scan is supposed to be thorough. it is supposed to be comprehensive. according to all that i have read (and the many videos that i watched of anatomy scans, in my excitement) the sonographer is supposed to check blood flow through the heart and the development and placement of the kidneys, bladder, stomach, brain, and spine. they are meant to take quite a few measurements to be sure that gestational age is still on track and check the umbilical cord, amniotic fluid levels, placenta location, and fetal heart rate- not to mention checking for deformities like a cleft palate. overall, it should take 30-45 minutes.

it didn't.

i saw three measurements, andy says he saw maybe four or five; he had a better view of the screen as, initially, she didn't bother turning it towards me. i saw two measurements of the circumference of the skull, and a measurement of what i think was a thigh bone. beyond that, after telling her that yes, we would really, really like to know the sex, she spent a couple of minutes trying to get a decent view before saying that it could maybe-possibly be a boy, but not to take that as fact. and then it was over. the whole thing lasted perhaps fifteen minutes. she gave us three photos that are just as disappointing as the scan itself- one barely discernible between-the-legs shot and two blurry, blobby profile shots.

after that we were ushered out to wait for the midwife, who i actually like, but she merely mentioned in passing that my chart said "incomplete anatomy scan." when we mentioned our disappointment about not getting a more decisive boy-or-girl, she said that she could try to come up with an excuse for another scan ("we could say that we're worried about baby's size, or something?") but that it would take a while to actually get it, perhaps two appointments out. as nice a gesture as that was, that's two months, and we won't be in new port richey in two months. neither she nor the nurse who made my next appointment (dec. 30) mentioned anything about a do-over of the important parts of the anatomy scan.

to wrap up a long story, i'm frustrated and disappointed, least of all because she was leaning toward boy rather than girl. i didn't have a chance today but on monday i intend to call the doctor's office and talk to them about it. if they don't offer another ultrasound i guess we will be shelling out the money to go somewhere else, at least to confirm the sex.

i honestly have a few other things nagging at me that i'd like to vent, but i suppose this is enough for one post.