twinkle's growing

it has taken me awhile to get these scanned in but at long last... pictures of twinkle! see how our little one is growing....

week 7: meet twinkle!
this was our first ultrasound -- about a week after finding out about twinkle during my doctor's visit to treat the cough that wouldn't go away. the heartbeat on the ultrasound monitor was just a tiny flicker -- so much that it reminded me of a twinkling star. hence, our little twinkle. =)

week 13: first trimester genetic pre-screening
the time between the first ultrasound and this one was pretty nerve wracking. we were so worried about potentially losing twinkle. when we hit this milestone, we were stoked. but we were still cautious about sharing the news with anyone (family included) -- at least until we got the results back from the first trimester genetic pre-screening. i didn't want tothink about what we'd do if the results were not what we wanted, and i was getting more anxious and nervous as we researched all the potential risks. so much that i forced hubby to stop researching in my presence -- with my hormones raging, it was just too nerve wracking and emotional for me and i couldn't think logically. that said, it was a relief to get the results and find that our odds are extremely favorable that twinkle would be born without any genetic disorders. that's when we felt safe enough to share the news.






week 19 - level two ultrasound
we've been more than curious to find out what twinkle's gender is. my coworkers were placing bets, my family had their guesses and my in-laws were confident even though they haven't seen me. when we came in for the level two ultrasound/ second trimester genetic screening, we were not as nervous but still very curious to see twinkle! twinkle behaved long enough at the beginning of the exam to show us the gender but spent the rest of the period swimming around. twinkle made it pretty challenging for the ultrasound technician and the doctor to finish the rest of the exam... naughty baby. btw -- can you guess what baby's gender is?






it's been a few weeks since the last ultrasound and so far, so good. in the past week, i've felt twinkle moving and kicking inside. it's so surreal!