High Five...

Look everyone...I have 5 fingers!

Well, Matt and I went to our first visit on the German economy on Monday (it was our official Dr. visit #6). The base hospital is closing down on 01 June, so all OB patients due after that date (and all hospital/ER/surgery related issues) are now being referred off base to our choice of three local hospitals. I chose the St. Elisabeth Krankenhaus in Wittlich, as it is close to our house and I liked the facilities the best. Bitburg is a bit closer, but I didn't like the video they showed of the hospital at the orientation! Anyhow, since the contract for pregnant people to go off base for all prenatal care and delivery is so new, the Germans are really stepping it up to impress us (and to keep their contracts for the future). The government is paying mega bucks for our off-base care, so I like that the Krankenhaus has really new equipment (like flat screens that suspend from the air above your feet when you're laying on the table so that you can see the ultrasound--instead of having to twist around to try to see the machine's screen), they perform ultrasounds at EVERY visit, and the staff are all ultra-cautious about things (so we only see the Chief of Obstetrics at the hospital, not just your average OB doctor).

(Sorry...my nugget is shielded by the placenta)

As you can see, our little peanut is growing into a precious little monster. Dr. Locher, my new German OB, said that he's developing according to schedule and based off of the measurements he took during the ultrasound (head, femur, arms, etc), he looked about 15 weeks and 5 days on Monday's visit...which would make him about 16 weeks and 1 day today (which is about a week ahead of what the Dr's on base initially told us). If he keeps growing like he is, maybe he'll introduce himself to us a little early...but you never know! We were just amazed and thrilled to see that he has all 5 fingers on this hand...it's astonishing how developed babies are at only 4 months.

(Sorry...my nugget is still hidden behind the placenta)

The ultrasound was incredibly fascinating, as we were able to see so much with the better technology and the fact that he's bigger. In addition to his arms and hands, we were able to see his ribs, his spine, his legs, and most of his body...EXCEPT for the parts that would tell us if he was a boy or a girl (he wasn't showing us any of his lower parts) and Matt was able to see him move for the first time, so every aspect of the ultrasound was incredibly exciting.

At our next visit in June, we're hoping to be able to find out the sex (if he's cooperating), so we can't wait. I'm dying to start shopping, so right now all the tempting European baby stores just taunt me. Regardless of the sex, we're going to be thrilled. Neither of us really has a preference--we just want him to be healthy.