Winter 2013/14 - The 12 week scan, Christmas and New Year!

When we reach the 12 week scan date my husband and I are beyond excited but also incredibly nervous. When we arrive at our local hospital I am taken into a side area and have bloods taken, blood pressure done etc. Once that's done we have a short wait and are called into the sonographers room. The sonographer tells us she will do the scan, check things over and take all the measurements she needs to. Once she's happy she will tell us what she sees. As she starts she tells us we can look at the flat screen TV on the wall and we will be able to see our baby. Our little baby flickers on to the screen. A baby. An actual BABY!! No longer a little flickering bean shaped heartbeat but an ACTUAL BABY!! Once the sonographer has finished she assures us everything seems ok, pointing out the head and the babies long legs. Just like Daddy already! She asks if we have any questions and we both seem to sit in silence. After a moment we both explain we are still amazed to be pregnant and although we are well aware of what a baby looks like on a sonogram it seems a huge jump from our little Bean to an actual baby shaped baby!


Next, we see one of the Consultant's registrars who goes over my file, including the pictures from my two lap and dye's. She advises us that as all looks well with the scan and as I have had no bleeding or other problems so far they will pass me back to my midwife and I will be mostly midwife lead. They will keep my file open so if there are any issues my midwife can call and request an appointment straight away. When we discuss my endometriosis she casually pushes a picture in my direction. Not any old picture but a picture of my cervix, tubes, etc. Well, that's something I didn't think I would ever see, my insides!! On that note we make our exit!!

The next few days are a blur of telling people our news. I have been completely open about our fertility struggle with our family, friends and work colleagues and everyone is ecstatic we are finally expecting. My sister looks shocked and one of my brothers seems close to tears. My youngest nieces look me up and down and I think expect me to get bigger and more pregnant immediately in front of them! There is though one downside of telling people. Plenty of people, people you know, people you don't know that well or people you don't know at all, will tell you their opinion on your pregnancy. What you are having, how many you are having, what sex the baby is, when you should feel it move, the list goes on. Don't get me wrong I loved a lot of the advice, even the horrific labour stories. Too some extent it prepared me but if I don't know you that well or not at all, I do not need you to tell me my boobs are already the same size as Katie Price's (before her implant removal), that I am far too big, far too small, should feel it, shouldn't feel it, need to eat more, eat less etc. I certainly do not need to know the size or shape of your cervix, whether I know you or not!!!

As Christmas nears I start to think about the babies room and all the things we need. I begin to worry when we realise how much stuff we need and how much its going to cost. We fall lucky when we hear a friend is selling her pushchair/pram. Its a complete bargain, has a pram top as well as a car seat and pushchair top too and its in fab condition. As much as I always thought I wanted everything brand new for our first, long awaited for baby the cost of some items is horrendous and I decide there is no shame in it. We decide to go down the traditional route and none of the pushchair comes into the house and is promptly taken over to my Mum's house. She of course has to give it a test run and pushes it around the front room as many times as she can before Dad tells her to stop blocking the TV!

Over Christmas Santa and his friends leave us some nice gifts for the baby and my secret Santa at work gives me a baby bath! I'm not bothered by the lack of alcohol over the festive period and although plenty of people tell me one won't do any harm I decide not to risk it.

New year comes and it seems ages before I see my midwife again but when I do it's another round of excitement and nerves. She listens to the babies heartbeat and feels my tummy. She also explains the anti-D injection I will have to have due to my blood type. I have truly fallen lucky with my midwife, Angie. She is so lovely and always has time for me and doesn't mind how many daft questions I ask either!! I'm forced to ring her a couple of weeks later, around a week before my 20 week scan. I can't stop going for a wee and my back is causing me lots of pain. I also keep getting shooting pains around the bottom of my ever growing bump. My work colleagues notice my regular trips to the loo and that I am uncomfortable and push me to call Angie to be sure everything is ok. Angie is really reassuring and tells me to make an appointment to see my GP. She tells me to insist I am seen today and if I'm not I have to call her so she can give them a ticking off. She advises it's likely to be a bladder or kidney infection and that I will need pregnancy friendly antibiotics. She also tells me to request that the GP checks the baby's heartbeat.

I call the doctor's surgery and I have to get a little stroppy to get an appointment that day. Little did I know a trip to the hospital would follow that night and that it will be the first of many.

Our little pregnancy adventure was only just starting.

Katie
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