31 Weeks Pregnant - 4D Scan

Today I am 31 weeks pregnant.  The countdown is really on now as only 9 weeks to go to until my due date.

Hubby and I went for a 4D scan yesterday.  We had a similar scan at 32 weeks with C.
As well as obviously checking all was well with baby, I wanted to check he was still a "he" and I also check his growth as I really feel HUGE this time around.  I know women are often bigger in subsiquent pregnancies compared to their first but I really am quite a lot bigger!

20 Weeks Pregnant

This week I am 20 weeks pregnant and today was my Anomaly Scan.
My appointment was at 4pm, the latest I have ever had scan, which meant a long wait beforehand.

I suspected by this time there would be a long delay to be seen however it was actually only about 20 minutes.  We made the wise decision to leave C with my parents as a fractious, hungry toddler would not make for a pleasant experience.
We were ushered into the room and informed that there would be two sonographers carrying out the scan, one trainee, one trainer.  This was fine with us and the trainee began the scan.

13 Weeks Pregnant

Last Thursday was my 12 Week NT Scan.

I was very good that morning and didn’t check baby's heartbeat with the Doppler. I had nothing to gain from doing so.  The scan was going to happen regardless and the result would be what it was.

The scan was at lunchtime and luckily the morning passed quite quickly.

We entered the hospital and checked in at the X Ray department to be directed to the correct ultrasound room.  We were directed to Foetal Medicine, the main department of the hospital where all things pre-labour are done.  We sat down at in the waiting room. It felt very strange to be back here. Last time I was sat there was 24^th February 2012. I was waiting to be examined after my waters had unexpectedly broken at 35 weeks pregnant. What I did not know at the time was that less than 24 hours later I would be holding my little preterm baby in my arms. It was very surreal to be back.

Unlike the last visit, we did not have to wait long to be seen.  We were ushered into the ultrasound room and I made myself comfy on the table.  The sonographer put the wand to my stomach and there on the screen was baby bopping around.

Everything looked good and after a bit of wiggling on my part, the sonographer managed to get an NT length of 1.6mm.  She concluded that I was measuring not 12 weeks 4 days as per my normal cycle length, but 13 weeks 4 days! If I am honest I think the reality is probably somewhere in the middle.  I do not think it is possible for me to be a whole week ahead as I am pretty sure I know when I ovulated, give or take a couple of days.   Of course it doesn’t really matter.  This baby will arrive when he or she is ready. It just makes it more complicated when people ask how far along you are.  For the time being I have decided to go somewhere in the middle and say I was 13 weeks exactly on scan day.  This would give me an estimated due date of 27^th/28^th November.

We then went round to have my NT bloods taken.  Being lunchtime I expected it to be packed and have a long wait, however I was astonished to see the waiting area almost empty and when we took a ticket from the machine we were the next ones to be seen.  I must have been in and out within 5 minutes which is unheard of!

In the car, I could tell that hubby was unnerved by the change in my pregnancy dates.  As I have previously mentioned, he was convinced this baby was going to be another girl based on a variety of factors, including dates.  If my dates were wrong it would mean the odds of being a girl were considerably less.  I am not sure why the thought of having a boy terrifies him so much.  Maybe he feels there will be more responsibility on him with regards to his upbringing.  I really don't think this is the case as the majority of little girls I know are "daddy's girls" and the boys "mummy's boys".  In any case, what we be will be and we will find out at my 20 week scan in the middle of July.

9 week pregnant

I am now 9 weeks pregnant. 12 weeks is really not far off now.  That hasn't stopped me panicking though.  I had a few days last week where my symptoms all but disappeared, and generally I have been feeling much more human. I was desperate for another scan for reassurance but felt I couldn't justify the cost of yet another private scan.  I had a look on Google and to my surprise found a local company offering a special offer on pregnancy scans for only £50. I didn't need any more persuading and I booked the appointment.  It was going to be a busy Tuesday: Midwife appointment in the morning and scan in the afternoon.

Midwife visit
I was pretty certain I knew what to expect from this initial visit. After all, it wasn't that long ago that I was at this stage of my pregnancy with C. It was pretty much going to be a form filling exercise so they could get my details and medical history on the system, as well as booking me in for my 12 week scan and blood tests.
I was wrong!!!
Yes there was plenty of form filling and the obvious chat about C who had no choice but to tag along with Mummy, but they wanted to take blood! Luckily I do not have a problem with needles, however if I did, then this would have come as an unwelcome shock.  Apparently they have moved some of the 12 week blood tests to 9 weeks as they are shown to be more informative at this earlier stage. C looked quite concerned that Mummy was having needles stuck in her arm!

Scan
The scan was made more complicated by the fact that DH was working away therefore I had to take C along on my own. We entered the room armed with her favourite stacking beakers and a toy train she had "borrowed" from the toy box in the waiting room and I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
It didn't start well as I got a ticking off from the sonographer as my bladder was not full enough. As many of you know there is a delicate balance between having a full bladder and being so desperate for a pee you can hardly walk into the room. On this occasion I got it wrong!  Also, apparently my uterus was tilting backwards which made it doubly difficult to get a good look at what was going on inside.  We swapped to an internal scan which gave us a much clearer picture. 

One baby shaped baby, measuring bang on his/her dates of 9 weeks 2 days and one lovely heartbeat. 

Phew!
My symptoms are obviously just lessening as the pregnancy progresses. I will therefore enjoy my nausea free days from now on rather than panicking about them!

How to survive the 12 week wait

Ok, so it is not really a 12 week wait as the first 2 weeks of that you weren’t pregnant and the second 2 you did not know you were pregnant. It’s actually only an 8 week wait. But still… that’s long enough! Almost 2 months!

In the UK as standard, you get your first scan at 12/13 weeks of pregnancy.  Before that the only indisputable indication that you are pregnant is a positive home pregnancy test.  Betas and early scans are not given out on the NHS as standard although can be requested privately.

The wait until the 12 week scan can be nerve wracking and stressful, especially if you have suffered from infertility or a previous miscarriage.  You can find yourself overanalysing every possible symptom or lack of them.  I have therefore put together a 12 week wait survival guide of reassuring facts and tips to try and help you through those early weeks…

1. Try to keep busy. The more time you spend dwelling (or Googling), the more anxious you will end up making yourself.
2. Symptoms come and go. It is perfectly normal for some days for you feel less nauseous than others, or for your breasts to be less tender. It does not necessarily mean there is a problem. Look at your symptoms over a weekly basis rather than a day by day basis.
3. Stay away from online pregnancy forums. It is a known fact that most people who post on forums, do so because they have a problem and are looking for advice. People rarely post to say how well their pregnancy is going or that they have had a healthy birth.  They therefore often paint a very bleak picture of pregnancy.
4. The odds are in your favour. Although the fact 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage is a worrying statistic, it also means that 80% of pregnancies do not!  The odds are lower the further along in your pregnancy you are and younger you are.  https://sites.google.com/site/miscarriageresearch/miscarriage-general
5. Talk to close friends and family. At this early stage in pregnancy you may want to keep your news quiet for as long as possible. You do not however need to suffer in silence.  Confide in a few close friends and/or family.  They will be able to help and reassure you, and hopefully take your mind off things!
6. If all else fails, do not be afraid to book an early scan privately.  In the UK most cost between £90 and £100.  This is supposed to be an enjoyable time and it will help to ease your anxieties.

Good Luck!

6 Week Pregnant (again)

It was not really going to be a question of if I was going to book and early scan, but when...

Extensive research during my pregnancy with C told me that an embryos heart usually starts beating around the 5-6 week mark and if things look good at this point then the chances of miscarriage are significantly reduced.  Often a miscarriage at 8,9,10 actually showed the embryo stopped growing at 6 weeks.  I therefore needed this scan for reassurance. 

The day of the scan I would be 6 week and 4 days pregnant.  As the date came closer I was reassured by the fact I was feeling increasingly nauseus.

Soon after we arrived we were invited into the consultants office and I made myself comfortable on the table.  Surprisingly it was going to be an abdominal scan.... I had not expected that to clear enough at this early stage.  The scan showed that me uterus was currently tilting backwards and although the gestational sac was clear to see, it was not possible to see what, if anything, was going on inside.  We therefore swapped to an internal scan that I had been anticipating origninally.  This showed the yolk sac and as he moved the wand around I could then see the embryo, my baby!  I watched the screen closely, searching for the heartbeat.... and there it was, a rhythmic flickering on the screen. I exhaled a bit in relief.  The consultant then turned on the speakers. It's been over a year since i've heard a baby's heartbeat but there was no mistaking that wonderful sound. I beamed at my husband and he smiled back.

The baby measured bang on target for 6 weeks 4 days and everything looked great!  I knew the next 6 weeks waiting until the 12 week scan would still feel like an eternity however for now I was content.

Anatomy scan

Even though I had had a scan only a few days earlier, I was told to keep my NHS scan to make sure all results were official and were recorded in my notes correctly.
The sonographer basically confirmed everything I already knew. Baby was fine!!!
She also confirmed that baby was most probaby a girl.

20 Weeks Pregnant

Unfortunately hubby was not going to be able to get the time off work to come to my NHS anatomy scan therefore we booked a private scan for the weekend before so we could be there together and hopefully find out the sex of the baby.
By now I could feel the baby moving and this plus the doppler had kept be in the knowledge that he/she was alive and kicking (litterally) however this scan would check every detail to make sure all was ok.
First of all we were through all the organs, everything was fine.  Then the head, leg measurements (which were also fine) and finally into the gender.  At this point baby decided he/she had had enough and clamped his/her legs tightly shut and refused to co-oporate any more :-)
Will a bit of pushing and poking, the sonographer made a tentative guess that baby was a girl.

13 Weeks Pregnant

19th September 2011

The wait between my 10 week and 13 week scans was definately easier. Yes I was still paranoid but there was a little voice of reality inside reminding me that the chances of something going wrong now were statistically much less.
I was therefore able to lie back and enjoy this scan a lot more.  Baby definately looked like a baby now and was very active, darting all over the screen. Looking at him/her then I was convinced it was a boy. No girl could possibly want to be that active I told myself.
The sonographer took dating measurements, which tied in about right, and measured baby's nuchal fold which was 1.4mm.
I then went and had the supporting bloods taken and was told we would hear the results in a couple of weeks, sooner if there was an obvious problem.
Again I left reassured that maybe, just maybe, this might all have a positive ending.

10 Week Scan

2nd September 2011

The fertility clinic were running about an hour late and the wait to go in for the scan was excruciating!
Hubby was with me and seemed to be coping with the whole thing a lot better. He was much more confident that everything was going to be ok.
When I finally went in for the scan I couldn't see the screen so I was trying to read the consultants face for an indication of what he could see. He was impossible to read (obviously well trained in such situations).
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he said "well, you have a very active baby in there, i'm having trouble keeping him/her on the screen".
I will never forget that moment, the rush of relief that there was really something there and that it appeared be be ok!
We were given a blurry photo to take away and told that that the clinic did not need to see us again.
We would be handed over to normal NHS care and would get another scan at 12 weeks.

The Day We Found Out We Were Pregnant

5th August 2011


Hubby and I arrived at the fertility clinic to discuss our second attempt at frozen embryo transfer (FET).
Our first attempt in the Spring had been abandoned due to the lining of my womb considered not thick enough to support implantation of the embryo.
I was fustrated at the lack of progress and my bodies reluctance to do what it was supposed to be doing. Even my "period" the week before had been a little odd. I usually bleed for about 3-4 days but this time I had bled for a day, stopped, then bled again for a day before finally stopping.
Now at this point I must admit it had vauely crossed my mind that I could be pregnant. My boobs were surprisingly still sore and I had been extremely tired for the past couple of days. I had however pushed the thought to the back of my mind as it "was not possible".
The consultant decided to scan me to see what was going on.
"Prepare yourselves for a shock" he said.
At this point I expected him to say I was pregnant but had miscarried.
"You are pregnant" he said "and I can see a healthy heartbeat".
A huge range of emotions flooded me.
Yes joy... but also fear. The chances of this natural pregnancy resulting in a sucessful baby were slim, we had been told that before.
A consultant was really helpful and positive though. He gave me instructions to continue taking metformin and prescribed me progesterone pessaries to take as well to hopefully stop the bleeding.  He would scan me again at 10/11 weeks.