Hellobee Boards

Yay! How exciting!

They'll actually want you to have an empty bladder (you only need a full one in the early weeks). I ate some fruit before my anatomy scan but it didn't seem to make a difference. Hopefully it will for you so you get a good view.

I just had mine today! They had me eat and drink normally and I actually peed right before the scan and it was fine! How many weeks are you? If you're closer to 18 weeks the babies have more room and move around more but it shouldn't be a problem. It took a long time like almost an hour and we had two TVs set up. One for the tech and one for us. You can watch the whole time, she told us when she'd be looking at the "goods" and I'd say its pretty hard to distinguish anything until they tell you what they're looking at!

I drank orange juice like I do every morning, and then I didn't start drinking water until 45 minutes before my appointment. They had me go to the bathroom halfway through the appointment. Wear separates, because you will have to pull your shirt up/pants or skirt down depending on where your baby is hanging out. Most importantly, have fun!

Oh my gosh, already? Have so much fun!!

I just had mine last week! Standard protocol here is to have a FULL bladder (jealous of those of you who needed to have an empty bladder) so I guzzled my litre of water the hour before the scan and waited. Baby was active enough without me drinking anything sugary, but wasn't so active that the tech had difficulty getting all the measurements. She told me they actually prefer women don't drink or eat a lot of sugar ahead of time as super active babies increase the likelihood they won't be able to complete all the measurements!

As for being TG, here the techs only look in that region if you specifically ask to know the sex, otherwise, there is no medical reason for them to poke around in that area. We didn't want to know so the tech just skipped that area altogether. It's also nice as no one knows the sex now so I don't have to worry about any slip ups at future appts (we don't get any more scans unless there's something wrong).

I'm an avid researcher so I was asking lots of questions about stuff that would have been checked anyway, but not necessarily pointed out to me as a standard protocol. I just told the tech at the start that I really love having lots of information and would like her to explain what she's checking each step of the way. She had no problem with that, but there was nothing I asked that she wasn't already checking anyway.

Really though, my only advice is to enjoy it and have your DH there if at all possible. It's amazing to see your little baby on screen and share the moment together. Also, ask for pictures on cd if possible - I love going back and staring at our baby! Enjoy!