You’re excited and nervous at the same time.  The realization of an actual being growing inside of you is starting to sink in and you’re not quite sure how you feel about it all, especially if this is your first time.

‘My First Ultrasound’ is written on the calendar and you don’t know quite what to do for it.  Do you need to prep yourself in any way?  It’s not something you usually ask your doctor about, and they don’t usually explain it either.

They’re not really that big of a deal, actually.  It’s the only prenatal test where there’s no pain involved from the experience.  It’s quite an enjoyable time filled with wonder.

You usually have your first ultrasound somewhere between 8 and 12 weeks.  It’s depends on what your doctor or midwife prefers.  It’s main purpose is to confirm your pregnancy and verify that your little fetus is alive.

After that, you will have a more thorough ultrasound around 20 weeks that looks at every little part of your baby.  It’s to make sure that everything is where it should be and if any problems have arisen in your baby’s growth.

But we’re not going to dwell on the science or mechanics of your ultrasounds right now.  We’re going to chat about what you can take with you in order to help your experience be more enjoyful, complete and successful.

Most likely your doctor won’t say anything about it prior, but will simply have you scheduled for one.  Then you show up and start to wonder if there was something you needed to do beforehand.  I’ve had the same feeling.

No matter if this is your early 10 week scan, or your fuller 20 week scan; all of these apply each time.  So it’s not particular or dependent upon how far along you are.

1. Shower - You’re either going to have a probe up your vagina (when you’re very early on) or one moving across your entire abdomen.  This means you’re going to have to move clothing aside or even completely remove it.  If it’s a hot summer day, aromas can permeate because well, you’re pregnant and good at giving off those kinds of scents from your skin.  But Don’t Worry!  Your doctor or technician has seen EVERYTHING and far worse or stranger things than you.  So there’s no need to feel conspicuous.  Plus, the lights are usually dimmed for better viewing on the monitors, so they won’t see as much as you feel they can.  But turning down the lights doesn’t help with bodily odors.  Just saying…not that you smell bad at all.  It’s just for your own personal discretion.
2. Drink Enough Water - Some offices and clinics may let you know how much water they want you to drink an hour or two before.  It’s so that your bladder is full, holding greater pressure against your uterus so that internal organs (and baby) aren’t moving around so much during your scan.  It makes it much easier to see things when they’re not jumping around all over the place.  If your bladder isn’t full enough and there’s too much movement to see what they need to check, they may have to reschedule you for another time, plus maybe even charge you twice for two visits because of it.  (Learn more about the importance of water during your pregnancy here.)

So with this third baby, I had my 20 week ultrasound last month.  They requested that I drink 24 ounces of water more than an hour ahead of time.  24 freakin’ ounces!  That’s two entire bottles of water, ladies.  

 

So I did that…I didn’t want to have to reschedule.  And I was BURSTING!  The lady doing my scan actually needed me to empty my bladder some because there was too much water in there.  It was pressing my uterus to the side so much that she couldn’t tell exactly how my placenta was situated.

 

I have to say….trying to NOT let your bladder fully empty when you’re TOO full AND pregnant….one of the hardest things EVER!  But I did it and everything looked fine.

Then you just get to show up, lay down and watch a miracle appear on the screen where you’ll see your baby, breathtaking and beating heart.

Sometimes the tech doing your scan is able to record the entire ultrasound as it’s happening.  But they most likely will create a DVD and pictures for you.  So you don’t need to worry about bringing a blank DVD or photo paper and such.  It just comes with the experience.

But it can be quite useful to have a few other things on hand:

1. Comfortable Clothing - As alluded to earlier, you’re going to be showing some skin, maybe even your entire lower half.  Wear pants that are stretchy, can be shifted down or removed easily, and a shirt that rises up okay.  You might want to avoid having on dramatic panties too, because it’s likely your tech is going to have a peak at them no matter what.  If you don’t care, no big deal, just FYI.
2. Lotion - The gel they rub across your skin isn’t bothersome when it’s there.  But when things are finished and you have to rub it all off with towels, it can cause your belly to itch some.  Hopefully you’ve already got lotion in your purse, but throw it in on your way out the door in case you have trouble with it being a bother.  See what I think is best for that dry, itchy belly here.
3. Pantyliner - If you end up having the probe inserted up in your vagina, there’s going to be gunk in there for a little while until it all eventually leaks out, adding to your already discharging self.  If you don’t want a small gush in your underwear two minutes after you’ve walked out, keep on a pantyliner so things stay contained.
4. Husband - It’s ALWAYS a good idea to have support there with you.  If the hubby can’t make it, take a mother, sister or friend.  Sometimes if there’s a minor problem and you need additional comfort or confirmation of understanding your baby’s situation inside, it’s BEST to not be alone.

You may be laying there for a little while too, up to an hour, depending on how concise a look they’re taking at your baby.  It doesn’t hurt to have a snack or too with you right there on the table to munch on if you know you’re going to be hungry.

DON’T be afraid to ask questions about what you’re seeing.  Everything may look quite alien to you and some techs don’t fully explain what you’re looking at.  They will be sure to let you know if they see anything abnormal, but the simple conversation throughout can be helpful.  Some good questions to always ask are:

1. How is baby’s heartbeat?
2. Where is the placenta and is it blocking my cervix?
3. Is there anything abnormal that you see?
4. Is there anything wrong with the umbilical cord?
5. Do you see multiple babies?
6. Is my baby a boy or a girl?  (Unless you want it to be a surprise, let them know you don’t want the gender revealed.)

If anything is seen that may be problematic, rest assured that you’re going to visit with your doctor about anything and everything pertaining to that situation.  And often times, minor things can end up being no problem at all.

With my first boy, one of his kidneys was abnormally large.  But as my doctor explained, it could either mean nothing at all and that he just needed to eventually learn how to urinate properly, or some other condition affecting his kidney.  Worst case scenario was that it would have to be removed.

 

So we had an even further complicated ultrasound where a specialist measured every single possible thing AGAIN, confirming that there were no others signs of problematic conditions that could possibly be associated with an enlarged kidney.

 

Turns out, there was absolutely nothing wrong.  We checked his kidney again about a month before he was born and it was perfectly normal, he just needed to learn how to pee in order for it to empty fully.  🙂

Here’s a fun video from The Doctor’s TV show about three triplets that all had ultrasounds together.

All in all, you’re going to enjoy your ultrasound.  You’ll get pictures that you can gawk at with everyone you show.  You’re going to end up putting the best pic up on your fridge or your desktop wallpaper because it will be THAT exciting to you.  One thing I love during pregnancy is looking forward to those utrasounds.

Enjoy Your Pregnancy With This Pampering Kit

This is the beginning of the realization that life is coming full circle.  Relish that and your bond with baby will grow ever stronger even before you see them for the first time.

Anyone have any fun ultrasound stories to share?  Thanks!

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