My 3D Ultrasound Experience.

Let me start by saying I had never had one done before. I don't think I was aware of them at all when I was pregnant with Chance and when I was pregnant with Shamus I was right at the end of being on the government health insurance. They aren't covered by insurance because (for most of us) they are considered elective and unnecessary so it all comes out of pocket. I am very sure (YES, COMPLETELY SURE, STOP ASKING ME PLEASE) this is our last baby so I felt strongly that I wanted to get one done. I was told somewhere around 32 weeks (I'm 31) was the perfect time to come in. By then they have all their features and have some of that cute baby fat. After 36 they're really big and there's tons of fluid in the way so it's harder to get good pictures. Also, this is about the time in my pregnancies when things get a little dull. I was right that it certainly amped up my enthusiasm.

We got to watch the baby on the screen for about 25 minutes. We got both pictures and video which I love. According to Yelp, most places add cheesy music to the video before they give it to you (gag) but the place we chose (3DBabyVu in Pleasanton) recorded us all sitting around in the room during the ultrasound. We will forever have the memory of the five-minute "Who farted?" discussion and Chance whining that he'd like to go home. Beats pan flutes!

I have a billion photos so I'll just put up a couple I found interesting.

^ Baby's foot. I'm sure it's an optical illusion but I'd swear this kid has six toes on his right foot. Hope not.

^ A most perfect little ear. The stuff on his head is the side of my uterus but those little wavy lines above the ear are hair, according to the technician. I'm looking forward to seeing what color it turns out.

^ A lot of shots of him frowning and looking cross. I agree with the general consensus he looks a LOT like James. The cranky faces certainly add to it. That bumpy thing on his chest is his umbilical cord. Looks like its draped across his chest, over his neck, and down his back like a necklace in all the pictures.

^ I'm particularly fond of the ones where he's playing shy. He rolled away more than a few times so his back was facing the camera and obscured his face with his hand quite a bit too. Camera shy, seems like.

In summation, it was awesome. The place we went to was awesome. Our baby's pretty awesome.