Pregnancy: The third trimester 4D scan – I saw Chua Bee Bee’s cute little face!

Oh what chubby cheeks you have!

At close to 30 weeks now, I’m into my final trimester! At my week 27 appointment, Chua Bee Bee measured 1.1kg and is growing well. But the scans at my gynae’s clinic were getting a tad boring cos he can only scan Chua Bee Bee’s head since she’s getting so big. So all I was seeing at every scan was a round shape on the screen. Like a typical first-time parent willing to spend on unnecessary things, I decided to look around for somewhere to do a 4D scan!

Where to do a 4D scan in Singapore

I checked out Raffles Hospital and Thomson Medical Centre, but both places require a doctor’s referral and cost around $390. Too troublesome for me to go back to my gynae for a referral and the available appointment slots are ages away. By then, Chua Bee Bee would be too big to ‘qualify’ for the scan! I googled and found Radlink Diagnostics which didn’t need a doctor’s referral and cost $364 nett. Still expensive, but I really wanted to see what she is up to inside my tummy!

Oh, a word about itchiness

I went for my dermatologist appointment at KK Hospital in the morning to check out my super itchy legs. I was getting paranoid because three weeks ago I started itching crazily without a rash on my soles and palms. The itch was so bad, I was even woken up by the itch. Too much google landed me on the ICP Care website (previously known as ‘Itchymoms.com’) which provides detailed info on Intraheptic Cholestasis of Pregnancy, a rare liver condition specific to pregnancy which interferes with the flow of bile. Left untreated, your baby could be at risk if not delivered by 37 weeks. I had to insist that my gynea give me a blood test to rule out the condition. I can’t believe that he laughed in my face like it was nothing and told me to stay off the internet! He also didn’t know what cholestasis is and kept asking if I’m referring to fatty liver. I’m not. I swear I’m not going back to him if we decide to have a second baby. The liver function tests came back normal (and he didn’t test my bile acids!) but I was still itching like mad. Turned out that the itching is eczema-related. After the KKH appointment, I went to Orchard to eat Yong Tau Foo at Lucky Plaza before going for a random hair cut (too much time to kill and I was missing my bangs!) before going to Radlink at Paragon for Chua Bee Bee’s scan at 4pm.

Love my haircut. And love the sun!

Err at Hilton Hotel’s toilet. Can’t really see the bump cos of the slim cutting of the dress ($17 from Qoo10), but my tummy is now quite big!

The 4D scan at Radlink Diagnostics

4pm finally arrived! I met Jason at Paragon and off to see Chua Bee Bee we went! Radlink Diagnostics is located at Paragon Medical Centre. Just go through Paragon’s main entrance, walk till the end and take the lift at Lobby E. It’s on the 8th floor.

The sonographer emphasised that the success of the scan depended on Chua Bee Bee’s position. To capture a 3D image, there can’t be any blockage on top of the her face, meaning the coast must be clear. She can’t be too close to the top or sides of the womb and can’t be facing inwards. This was the first image we saw:

Apa la, Chua Bee Bee! Both her feet were extended over and above her head, directly on top of her face, and her hand was right in front of her mouth! Couldn’t really see anything clear but we could make out her chubby cheeks, part of her nose and a bit of her lips. She’s so cute even like this!

In the next minute, she moved her hands and we could see her chubby cheeks clearly! Her hand is now just below her chin. My first thought was Chua Bee Bee your nose need to be so big or not LOLOLOL! Mummy still love you ok your have 福气 nose is the cutest! The thing/shadow you see by the left side of her face is her foot.. either she’s too tall or she has incredibly flexible joints. The sonographer said that at this time, the baby’s joints are not fully developed yet, so they’re able to do crazy yoga poses in their water balloons (amniotic sac).

We had no luck for almost half and hour. It took A LOT of coaxing, walking, emptying the bladder, talking and turning to get her to change positions. Even so, we weren’t so lucky. 4pm is her nap time! We switched to 2D view and captured this:

Chua Bee Bee yawning and pouting! This is seriously the sweetest video I’ve ever seen of my baby girl! Because her feet were blocking her face, we couldn’t see the yawning in 3D view, but we were able to see it in 2D. We also saw her sucking the back of her hand and sticking out her tongue but that video wasn’t recorded.

The sonographer had me lie on my right side in the hope of getting Chua Bee Bee to move her feet and hand out of the way, but she wouldn’t budge! In the rare occasion that she did, yeah la, she turned too. But she turned to face my placenta so there was no way we could see her face. I tried walking around in the room to try and wake her up, and finally we managed to get some shots:

This pic looks like she’s smiling with her mouth open but it’s actually her so close to the roof of my womb that her lips are pressed flat against it, so we can’t see any shape or structure. But I think her chin looks quite sharp!

This is one of the clearer pictures :) Both her hands are framing her face and she’s still sound asleep. I’m so in loveeeeee……

And this! You can see her lips so clearly here.. I think they look full and sexy and so shiny! Her feet are still by the left side of her face…..

There are lots more other pictures and videos (all given to us in a cd) but these are really the best ones. The whole session lasted about an hour. Your baby needs to be between 26-28 weeks in order to do the scan. Chua Bee Bee was 29 weeks 3 days so I guess a little ‘overage’ doesn’t matter. Other places might have different requirements. We left Radlink $364 poorer but incredibly happy! We could now put a face to all the jelly dances and flying kicks. Can’t wait to see you, our baby girl!

Next:
Pregnancy: Mount Alvernia Hospital – Maternity Tour & Estimate Bill Size 2016
Pregnancy: Bellybuds! Playing music for your baby in the womb
FY2016 Budget: Is the government giving us an extra $3K into the Child Development Account?
Pregnancy: Why I’m choosing GAIA Natural Baby Organic Skincare for #ChuaBeeBee
The third trimester: Tips for changing your gynae at Week 35
Pregnancy: When you wrist hurts like nobody’s business (De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis)
How to bake your own chunky chocolate lactation cookies
Pregnancy: Week 39 – Low amniotic fluid and an eviction notice!

Previous posts:
Pregnancy: The big reveal!
Pregnancy: The first trimester scans… I saw an empty womb on my first scan
Pregnancy: The second trimester – harmony test and gender reveal!
Pregnancy: The second trimester – 20-week anomaly scan + gestational diabetes scare