OOOOPS......almost........

I was recently reminded of how easy it is to make a mistake with the gender if you aren't carefully conducting a "doodle" search and allowing sufficient time to do so.
On first impression with an odd angle this little one looked very much like a female (see top picture) but upon careful inspection I was able to get a clear "turtle" shot (see 2nd picture).
This is why we always allow sufficient time to be 100% sure.

Attack of the Turtles

It's funny how some people make up "signs" to help themselves recognize and remember things.
Many years ago while at Concord Hospital I remember seeing a bowel gas sign which reminded me of a croissant and exclaimed "oh the croissant sign!" which sent several colleagues scuttling to their text books in search of a sign that I had just made up.
More recently some clients have mentioned the "turtle" sign which indicates a male Bub. So I have been paying a little more attention and they seem to be everywhere (see collage).

When is the best time to have a Bonding ultrasound?

One of the most common questions I receive is "what is the best time to have a 3D/4D ultrasound?".
This is a difficult one to answer since everyone is different in their needs and expectations.I generally suggest clients have a look at the gallery on the website www.apeekofu.com.au/gallery/index.html and see what they are most interested in.
Some clients and their families greatly benefit from seeing the face in detail and watching the clear facial expressions and reactions of baby.
Some clients benefit from the early views of more of the baby done around 16-18 weeks.
We specifically designed our discounts with this in mind so that a quick peek could be done at an earlier stage and the clients would receive a discount on a longer scan later. We have recently had a number of earlier scans and you can see how they look for yourself.

long legs and very shy

Sometimes our little subjects can be shy and cover their face with a little hand or foot but this Bub set new records for hiding it's face. She had an arm, lower leg and foot in front of her face. Several times she demonstrated her long legs by putting her knee in front of her face which was a little puzzling since neither parent were particularly tall. The mystery was solved though when the mother smiled and said her brother was over six feet tall. I recommended basketball school for this one. Eventually she did come around as you can see in the short video clip and the wait and effort was worth it.

Early in the NewYear a young couple came in with their Aunt for a very special viewing of a very special new family member. At first you don't understand all the fuss. Yes she is a very cute little girl but then I was told that the last 25 babies born to the mother and father's families were all boys the significance of this cute little girl suddenly became apparent.
Several crystals were done of this very special little girl one of which is proudly displayed at her Aunts home in Chile.

pesky twin sister

We sometimes see remarkable flexibility with some of our Bubs but if you don't know the full story this video can be a little shocking.



The foot in the first part belongs to the little face in the second part. In other words the kicking culprit was her twin sister. She seems to be making a comment to the offending foot but I am not a lip reader so she could be saying anything.

One afternoon when I was getting ready to leave Wollongong a couple came in and asked if 37 weeks was too late for a Bonding ultrasound. I said the only sure way to tell was to hop up on the table and I will have a look (free of charge of course). It soon became evident that while not an easy task we could still get pretty good pictures. They didn't have the time for a proper session that day but came back in a day or so. The resultant pictures and video were excellent and I got the best tongue shot I have ever done (see the video).