ultrasound photoThe way my doctor talked about the 3-D ultrasound, I thought it was going to be the pregnancy test version of an IMAX movie.

Boy, was I disappointed.

My husband and I had visions of being able to see our baby in sharp, three-dimensional detail, of feeling as though we could reach out and touch her. We thought we'd come away with a really clear picture of her face, her features, her little hands and feet.

What we got instead was like something out of a freaky sci-fi flick. Or at the very least, a futuristic comic book.

So I get that the point of these, which are usually done around 20 or 21 weeks, is to make sure your baby is anatomically correct and developing properly. It's not to entertain the parents-to-be. But still.

The upside: We did get a super close-up view of her brain, her heart (all four chambers!), her lungs, and her kidneys. I feel intimately acquainted with them now, actually. Like maybe I could even pick them out of a lineup.

I also know what she'd look like if she were a skeleton. Or getting an X-ray taken.

But the cute little sonogram photos that we dreamed of, the ones we'd show her years later, all the while marveling at how similar they looked to her actual baby pictures? Didn't happen. 

I did get a great shot of her arm bone though. I mean, really great.

The other hitch: Our little princess turned out to be camera shy. She was lying on her stomach for the first part, meaning the ultrasound tech couldn't get a good screen shot of some of her organs. It also meant that she (the tech, not the baby) jiggled the ultrasound thingy around menacingly, muttered a lot, and generally got very hot and bothered. The words "little brat" came out of her mouth at one stage. Very nice. And effective if what you're trying to create is a soothing, pleasant atmosphere for the patient.

In order to get baby to move to a more convenient position, I had to stop in the middle, pace around the waiting room, drink water, and do a couple of jumping jacks in the bathroom (I'm not kidding, I swear).

When I came back, the situation was even more dire. Poor little girl was curled up in a ball, her legs thrown over her head as one does when striking the plow pose in yoga. Her hands were covering her face. She was clearly telling the paparazzi, "No more pictures!"

I don't think she liked the 3-D ultrasound any better than we did.

Needless to say, her cowering only led to more muttering and more choice words directed at her, an innocent little unborn child. I wondered if the tech would start throwing things. I wanted to ask if I could choose a different one, but I kept my mouth shut.

In the end, all the requisite photos were taken (some with the help of the doctor on duty, brought in to tackle the "most challenging ultrasound of the day"). Everything was in place and where it should be. All was right with the universe.

We just don't have the fantastic pictures to prove it.

Did you get good photos at your 3-D ultrasound?

 

Image via abbybatchelder/Flickr